NFL:
Chip Kelly has been dismissed with one game remaining in his third season as head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles. Kelly went 10-6 in each of his first two seasons, but the Eagles missed the playoffs last year and are 6-9 heading into Sunday's game with the New York Giants. Offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur will coach the Eagles this weekend.
Missouri politicians are letting the NFL know how much they want to keep the Rams in St. Louis. A task force commissioned by Missouri's governor has sent to the league its proposal for a billion-dollar stadium to be built along the Mississippi River. The submission comes a day ahead of the deadline set by the NFL. The St. Louis proposal calls for $150 million from the city, $300 million from the league, $250 million from the team owner and $160 million in fan seat licenses. The rest of the money comes from the state, either through tax credits or bonds. The Rams, Oakland Raiders and San Diego Chargers are seeking to move to the Los Angeles area. League owners are expected to consider the matter during meetings Jan. 12-13.
A friend of former New England Patriots player Aaron Hernandez has lost in his attempt to get a murder charge against him dismissed. A Massachusetts judge yesterday denied the request by Carlos Ortiz to dismiss the indictment that charges him with one count of murder for the 2013 killing of Odin Lloyd.
The Colts have signed free agent quarterbacks Josh Freeman and Ryan Lindley with their top three options injured or out altogether. The former Tampa Bay signal-caller has started 60 games but hasn't played in the NFL since 2013. Starter Andrew Luck is still out with a lacerated kidney, backup Matt Hasselbeck is considered doubtful after due to a shoulder injury and third-stringer Charlie Whitehurst was placed on injured reserve yesterday with a hamstring problem.
NBA:
In the NBA, New York topped Detroit 108-96, Atlanta won against Houston 121-115, Memphis bested Miami in overtime 99-90, Oklahoma City beat Milwaukee 131-123, and it was Cleveland over Denver 93-87.
Another day has passed in the New Jersey sentencing hearing for a former NBA player convicted of running a real estate Ponzi scheme. Former University of Connecticut and New Jersey Nets guard Tate George appeared in federal court in Trenton yesterday for the continuation of a hearing that began earlier this month. The hearing will continue today.
NHL:
The NHL's hottest team remains the Florida Panthers, who earned their seventh straight win and took over first place from Montreal in the Atlantic Division after downing the Habs 3-1. Meanwhile the Islanders doubled up Toronto 6-3, Boston won against Ottawa 7-3, New Jersey skated by Carolina 3-2, Winnipeg beat Detroit 4-1, St. Louis edged Nashville in overtime 4-3, Anaheim blanked Calgary 1-0, Chicago defeated Arizona 7-5, Columbus doubled up Dallas 6-3, and it was Los Angeles over Edmonton 5-2.
NCAA:
In top 25 men’s college basketball, The top-ranked Michigan State Spartans have absorbed their first loss of the men's college basketball season when Iowa blasted the Spartans 83-70.
Vermont pulled away from Siena for a 73-64 victory yesterday. Trae Bell-Haynes scored 19 points, 11 in the final 5½ minutes. The game was tied at 56 when Bell-Haynes made four straight free throws to put the Catamounts up for good and hit a 3-pointer that made it 65-57 at the 3:37 mark. Twice the Saints made a pair of free throws but each time Bell-Haynes answered with a basket.
Connecticut beat Texas 71-66 last night. Rodney Purvis scored 16 points and led a second half rally. Shonn Miller and Daniel Hamilton added 13 points apiece for UConn, and former Longhorn Sterling Gibbs scored 12.
Maine held off Quinnipiac 98-95 in overtime last night. Kevin Little scored 20 points for Maine, including four from the line late in overtime. Till Gloger scored 20 points, and Lavar Harewood added 16 for the Black Bears. Abdulai Bundu led Quinnipiac with 23 points.
Massachusetts beat LIU Brooklyn 83-79 last night. Trey Davis scored 25 points, and Donte Clark had 21. Jabarie Hinds added 17 points for the Minutemen, who made 21 of 27 free throws, including 10 of 12 by Davis. Seth Berger grabbed 10 rebounds to lead a 45-38 advantage on the boards.
College Bowl Games:
The college bowl schedule finally had its first matchup of top-25 teams, and the 18th-ranked Baylor Bears ran over No. 10 North Carolina in the Russell Athletic Bowl.
Johnny Jefferson ran for 229 yards and three touchdowns as the Bears outscored the Tar Heels 49-38. Terence Williams augmented a Baylor rushing attack that gained 645 yards, finishing with 97 and scoring two TDs. Devin Chafin added 161 yards rushing and a touchdown as the Bears ended their season 10-3.
Baylor had 756 total yards despite missing two quarterbacks, an award-winning receiver and a 1,000-yard running back.
North Carolina ends the season 11-3 despite Marquise Williams, who passed for 243 yards and three scores, and rushed for two more TDs.
In other top-25 bowl games:
— Leonard Fournette accounted for over 250 total yards and five touchdowns as 22nd-ranked LSU ripped Texas Tech 56-27. Fournette ran for 212 yards and four TDs, and he also had a 44-yard scoring grab. D.J. Clark had a 79-yard scoring run for the Tigers, who rolled up 384 yards on the ground and finished the year 9-3. Patrick Mahomes threw for 370 yards and four touchdowns for the Red Raiders.
— California won the Armed Forces Bowl as Jared Goff threw for 467 yards and six touchdowns in the Bears' 55-36 win against Air Force. Goff had three of his scoring tosses in a span of five plays in the second quarter as the 8-5 Bears won a bowl game for the first time in seven years.
— James Butler scored on a 4-yard run with 1:06 left to send Nevada past Colorado State 28-23 in the inaugural Arizona Bowl. Nick Stevens threw for 189 yards for the Rams and orchestrated a quick-hitting drive in the final minute with no timeouts, but receiver Jordon Vaden was unable to get out of bounds at Nevada's 12-yard line before time ran out.
MLB:
Former Red Sox third baseman and six-time All-Star Frank Malzone has died of natural causes at 85, according to the team. Malzone played for the Red Sox from 1955-65, hitting .276 with 131 home runs and 716 RBIs. He was inducted into the Red Sox Hall of Fame in 1995.
The New York City council's speaker says the New York Yankees were wrong to trade for a pitcher who was investigated over a domestic-violence accusation. Democratic Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito says the Yankees should reconsider their decision to trade for Cincinnati Reds closer Aroldis Chapman.
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