NFL:
The NFL is investigating whether the New England Patriots deflated footballs that were used in their AFC championship game victory over the Indianapolis Colts. The inquiry was first reported by the website for WTHR-TV in Indiana, citing an unnamed source. The Patriots beat the Colts 45-7 on Sunday night to reach the Super Bowl. New England will play Seattle for the NFL title on February 1st.
Shortly after the victory Patriots defensive lineman Vince Wilfork helped Massachusetts State Police tackle a problem — getting an accident victim out of her car. State troopers say they responded to an SUV rollover in Foxborough not far from Gillette Stadium shortly before 1 a.m. yesterday and were surprised to see Wilfork checking on the driver.
NBA:
The NBA's two conference leaders were winners yesterday. The Golden State Warriors are an NBA-best 33-6 after the Warriors' 122-79 rout of Denver. The Atlanta Hawks earned their 13th straight victory in a 93-82 victory over the Detroit Pistons. Meanwhile the Knicks 16-game losing streak is over after they beat New Orleans 99-92, the Clippers bested Boston 102-93, Washington topped Philadelphia 111-76, Toronto beat Milwaukee 92-89, Phoenix defeated the Lakers 115-100, Portland trumped Sacramento 98-94, Charlotte topped Minnesota 105-80, Dallas beat Memphis 103-95, and it was Houston over Indiana 110-98.
NHL:
Over on the ice, the Islanders beat Philadelphia 7-4, Carolina bested Toronto 4-1, Vancouver edged Florida 2-1, St. Louis topped Colorado 3-1, Columbus defeated Minnesota 3-1, Calgary defeated Los Angeles in overtime 2-1, and it was New Jersey over San Jose 5-2.
NCAA:
UAlbany men’s basketball team’s junior guard Peter Hooley announced that he will be taking a leave of absence from the men’s basketball team due to his mother battling cancer. UAlbany also took on Stony Brook last night for a 64-47 victory to the Great Danes.
ALPINE SKIING:
Lindsey Vonn won a race and Tiger Woods lost a tooth in Italy.
Vonn is now the winningest skier in women's Alpine history. She won a super-G in Italy for her record 63rd World Cup, a day after she tied the record held by Annemarie Moser-Proell (MOH'-zhur prehl) for 35 years.
Vonn was welcomed by her boyfriend, Woods, after her final run. Vonn says she had no idea the former world No. 1 in golf would be on hand for the race. But the athlete who got more attention was Woods after a photo from the event revealed that he had lost a front tooth.
Woods' agent said the golfer lost the tooth when he was accidentally hit in the mouth by a video camera as media swarmed the awards podium. However, race organizers said the incident was not reported to them, adding that Woods did request extra security and a snowmobile to exit the finish area.
Woods had been wearing a scarf with a skeleton pattern over the lower part of his face, sunglasses and a stocking cap. The photo was taken when the scarf was lowered.
GOLF:
The Australian Open has entered its second day of play.
Stan Wawrinka began his title defense with a straight-sets victory. The fourth-seeded Wawrinka had 34 winners and saved the only two break points he faced.
Also advancing to the second round was top seed Novak Djokovic . Fifth seed Kei Nishikori and No. 8 Milos Raonic were straight-sets winners in their opening-round matches. No. 12 Feliciano Lopez needed five sets to reach the second round.
Winners on the women's side include 11th seed Dominika Cibulkova, 19th seed Alize Cornet, 20th seed Sam Stosur and unseeded Victoria Azarenka.
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