GYMNASTICS-DOCTOR-SEXUAL ASSAULT
A former USA Gymnastics and Michigan State University sports doctor wants to avoid a lengthy trial after being accused of molesting several girls.
A person with knowledge of the agreement tells The Associated Press that Dr. Larry Nassar will plead guilty Wednesday to multiple charges of sexual assault and face at least 25 years in prison.
Nassar is charged with molesting seven girls, all but one of whom were gymnasts, mostly under the guise of treatment at his Lansing-area home and a campus clinic. Olympic gymnasts Aly Raisman, McKayla Maroney and Gabby Douglas are among the women who have publicly said they were among Nassar's victims.
He's facing similar charges in a neighboring county and lawsuits filed by more than 125 women and girls.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL-CFP RANKINGS
Alabama and Miami are one-two in the latest College Football Playoff rankings.
The Hurricanes moved ahead of Clemson for the second spot, 10 days before the two teams meet in the ACC championship game.
The Crimson Tide will put its 11-0 record on the line when they take on Auburn on Saturday. Alabama moved to the top of the rankings after previous No. 1 Georgia lost to the Tigers on Nov. 11.
Oklahoma remains No. 4 heading into Saturday's game against West Virginia.
Wisconsin and Auburn are right behind the top four.
T25 MEN'S BASKETBALL
Sixth-ranked Wichita State has advanced to Wednesday's Maui Invitational title game.
Landry Shamet scored 19 points and Connor Frankamp added 13 as the Shockers carved out an 80-66 win over Marquette. The Shockers shot 54 percent and had a 44-33 advantage in the paint to earn a spot in Wednesday's championship game against No. 13 Notre Dame.
The Irish had no trouble advancing as T.J. Gibb poured in 26 points and Matt Farrell added 17 in a 92-53 thrashing of LSU. Bonzie Colson had 12 points and 11 rebounds for the Irish, who shot 52 percent and hit 15 of 32 from 3-point range.
Checking out the other top-25 finals:
— Svi Mykhailiuk scored 21 points and Udoka Azubuike added 20 as third-ranked Kansas blew out Texas Southern 114-71 in the Hoophall Miami Invitational. Lagerald Vick contributed 10 points and 10 rebounds, while Devonte' Graham added 17 points and 11 assists in the rout.
— Cane Broome dropped in 13 points and No. 12 Cincinnati dominated the first half of a 75-48 thumping of Richmond in the championship game of the Cayman Islands Classic. The Bearcats hit 8 of 14 3-pointers and shot 54 percent overall to race to a 40-14 halftime lead.
— Jordan Murphy delivered 20 points and 10 rebounds in his fifth straight double-double as No. 14 Minnesota ripped Alabama A&M 100-57 to improve to 5-0. Davonte Fitzgerald chipped in 13 points and Nate Mason scored 12 for the Golden Gophers.
— Robert Williams had 21 points and 10 rebounds to lead No. 16 Texas A&M to victory in the Progressive Legends Classic title game, 98-87 versus Penn State. Duane Wilson led the 4-0 Aggies with 22 points while Tyler Davis chipped in 15.
— Jordan Nwora came off the bench to score a career-high 18 points and No. 19 Louisville held Southern Illinois to 27 percent shooting in an 84-42 throttling of the Salukis. Deng Adel's 16 points and seven boards helped the Cardinals get to 3-0.
— Baylor won the Hall of Fame Classic title game as King McClure had 19 points to push the 22nd-rated Bears past Creighton 65-59. Terry Maston finished with 15 points and made a series of big baskets down the stretch after Baylor fell behind 40-28.
— No. 23 UCLA pulled out a 72-70 win over Wisconsin on Aaron Holiday's scooping layup just before the final buzzer. Holiday knocked down two 3-pointers and converted two free throws to spur a comeback after the Bruins fell behind 65-59 with about four minutes left.
— Collin Sexton scored 29 points and No. 25 Alabama had to rally to beat UT-Arlington 77-76. The Crimson Tide shot 51 percent but didn't take their first lead until there were 12 minutes remaining.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL-NEWS
American University beat New Hampshire 74 to 70.
Montana State topped Binghamton 74 to 64.
University of Buffalo beat UAB 96 to 91.
UMass defeated Western Carolina 85 to 76.
And on the women’s side:
UConn beat UCLA 78 to 60.
New Hampshire defeated Bryant 74 to 65.
Tulsa beat Binghamton 60 to 55.
Louisville says in an appeal that the NCAA's Committee on Infractions imposed "grossly excessive" penalties in ordering the vacation of its 2013 men's basketball championship and tournament revenue for a sex scandal.
The NCAA in June placed Louisville on four years' probation and ordered that it vacate up to 123 victories , including the 2013 title and 2012 Final Four appearance. Its decision followed an investigation into an escort's book allegations that former Cardinals staffer Andre McGee hired her and other dancers for sex parties with players and recruits from 2010-14 .
Louisville's response to the Infractions Appeal Committee called the COI's penalties "unfair" for seeking to wipe away players' careers and vacating victories "because of the participation of a handful of student-athletes who did little wrong."
NBA-LAKERS/BULLS
This was projected to be a rebuilding season for the Chicago Bulls, and it's certainly playing out that way.
The Bulls are just 3-12 after blowing a 19-point lead in the second half of a 103-94 loss to the Lakers in Los Angeles. The Lakers trailed 61-42 before reeling off a 38-19 run to knot the score.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored 11 of his 21 in the fourth quarter, including a layup with 3:08 remaining to put the Lakers ahead for good.
Kyle Kuzma had 22 points for the Lakers, who have back-to-back wins for just the second time this season.
The Bulls have dropped seven of their last eight games.
NBA-BUCKS-TELETOVIC
Bucks forward Mirza Teletovic is expected to miss four weeks following arthroscopic surgery on Tuesday to repair cartilage in his left knee. He is averaging 7.1 points in 10 games this season, shooting 46 percent from 3-point range before missing Milwaukee's last six contests.
NFL-NEWS
Tomorrow’s Thanksgiving Day Matchups:
Minnesota Vikings at Detroit Lions 12:30 p.m.
Los Angeles Chargers at Dallas Cowboys 4:30 p.m.
New York Giants at Washington Redskins 8:30 p.m.
The Seattle Seahawks have waived veteran defensive end Dwight Freeney just four games after signing him to help boost their pass rush. The 37-year-old Freeney was signed late last month to strengthen Seattle's pass rush after Cliff Avril was lost to a neck injury.
Freeney had three sacks in his first two games but did not record a tackle in his last two.
Seattle didn't have much of a pass rush at all in Monday's loss to Atlanta as quarterback Matt Ryan was sacked only once and the Seahawks recorded just three QB hits.
In other NFL news:
— Jacksonville Jaguars receiver Allen Hurns has missed a fourth consecutive practice and is unlikely to play Sunday at Arizona due to a sprained right ankle. Hurns injured his ankle while making a catch against the Chargers on Nov. 12.
— Cornerback Jalen Collins has been waived by the Falcons on the day his second suspension ended. He was suspended without pay for the first two games of the season following a second positive test, one year after serving a four-game ban for the same infraction.
— Center Spencer Long has landed on the Redskins' IR due to a quadriceps injury that will require surgery. Third-stringer Tony Bergstrom could start Thursday against the Giants because backup center Chase Rouiller still has a cast on his right hand.
— The Raiders have fired defensive coordinator Ken Norton Jr. in a staff shake-up following a 4-6 start. Head coach Jack Del Rio called the move a difficult decision and said that assistant head coach for defense John Pagano will take over as coordinator.
— First-year eligibles Ray Lewis and Randy Moss are among 27 semifinalists for induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Others in their initial year of eligibility who made this cut are Brian Urlacher, Richard Seymour, Steve Hutchinson and Ronde Barber.
MLB-POSTING SYSTEM
A new posting system is a step closer to reality for Major League teams interested in signing Japanese players.
A person familiar with the agreement tells The Associated Press that MLB, its Japanese counterpart and the American players' union have agreed to a system that could allow Japanese star pitcher-outfielder Shohei Ohtani to be put up for bid next week. The person says the agreement is still not in writing and must be ratified by Nippon Professional Baseball and the players' union.
Major league owners are scheduled to vote for ratification on Dec. 1 and Ohtani is expected to be posted then or the following day. Under a shortened timetable this offseason big league teams willing to pay the posting fee have 21 days to negotiate a major league contract. The fee is expected to max out at $20 million.
In other baseball news:
— Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred has come down hard on the Atlanta Braves for circumventing international signing rules from 2015-17. Highly-touted infielder Kevin Maitan is among 13 prospects stripped from the Braves and now available to negotiate with other teams. Also, former general manager John Coppolella was banned for life and former special assistant Gordon Blakely was suspended for one year by Manfred.
— Yankees slugger Aaron Judge is expected to be ready for spring training after undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his left shoulder. The 25-year-old Judge hit .284 with a rookie-record 52 homers and 114 RBIs in 155 games this past season, winning AL Rookie of the Year honors and finishing second in the MVP balloting. Judge was hitting .329 with 30 homers and 66 RBIs at the All-Star break, then batted .179 with seven homers and 16 RBIs with 67 strikeouts in his next 44 games through the end of August.
— Hall of Fame second baseman Joe Morgan is urging voters for Hall admission to keep "known steroid users" out of Cooperstown. Morgan sent a letter arguing against the inclusion of players implicated during baseball's steroid era in a letter to voters with the Baseball Writers' Association of America. The letter comes a day after the Hall revealed its 33-man ballot for the 2018 class.
NHL-SCHEDULE
Vladimir Tarasenko fell just short of his fourth career three-goal game, but he pulled off the Gordie Howe hat trick.
The St. Louis Blues sniper scored twice, had two assists and got into a rare fight in leading an 8-3 pounding of the Oilers. Tarasenko opened the scoring 3:13 into the game on a pass from Brayden Schenn, who also finished with a pair of goals and four points. Tarasenko also got into the third fight of his six-year NHL career, landing a punch on Matt Benning in reaction to Benning's hit on Schenn.
Tarasenko has nine goals and 14 points in his last 13 games versus Edmonton.
The outcome leaves the Blues atop the entire NHL with 33 points at 16-5-1, six points ahead of Winnipeg in the Central Division.
Elsewhere on NHL ice:
— Devin Shore and Jason Spezza scored 59 seconds apart late in the second period of the Stars' 3-1 verdict over the Canadiens. Shore and Spezza have scored in back-to-back contests after combining for just one goal in their first 19 games.
— Brock Boeser scored twice and Daniel Sedin had a goal and an assist as the Canucks won for only the second time in their last six games, 5-2 at Philadelphia. Sedin is now four points shy of 1,000 for his career.
TENNIS-GRAND SLAM CHANGES
Grand Slam tournament officials are getting tougher on players who withdraw or perform below professional standards during a first-round major singles match.
The Grand Slam Board says a player who is unfit to compete and withdraws before the draw could receive just 50 percent of the first-round prize money. The replacement will receive the remaining 50 percent.
It is an attempt to stop players who aren't fully fit from playing in the first round just so they can collect prize money.
Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
