NBA:
In NBA, Orlando beat Brooklyn 100-93, the Lakers topped Boston 112-104. How's this for a role reversal - the Golden State Warriors were blown out last night, while the Philadelphia 76ers actually won again. Dallas defeated Golden State 114-91 and it was Philadelphia over Sacramento 110-105. Meanwhile Chicago edged Indiana in overtime 102-100, the Clippers squeaked by Charlotte 122-117, Minnesota bested Utah 94-80, San Antonio crushed Phoenix 112-79, Portland beat Denver 110-103, and Toronto won against Washington 94-91.
Former NBA player and University of Connecticut star Tate George will have to wait until next month to find out his prison sentence for wire fraud. George was in court yesterday in Trenton for the fourth day of his sentencing hearing. The judge ordered the parties to return January 20th. George, who played for New Jersey and Milwaukee in the NBA, has been jailed since his 2013 conviction on four counts of wire fraud. He's contesting how much money investors lost.
Law enforcement officials in New York say Knicks forward Cleanthony Early was shot in the right leg Wednesday morning during a robbery outside a strip club in Queens. The two officials say Early was in an Uber cab at around 4:30 a.m. when the vehicle was surrounded by at least two other cars. The officials say masked men got out and demanded Early's "gold," before taking a necklace and other belongings and shooting him in the right leg. He was hospitalized in stable condition.
NHL:
The Winter Classic starts tomorrow at 1 p.m. when the Boston Bruins will see the Montreal Canadiens.
In the NHL, the Rangers beat Tampa Bay 5-2, New Jersey blanked Ottawa 3-0, Washington topped Buffalo 5-2, Toronto edged Pittsburgh in a shootout 3-2, and it was San Jose over Philadelphia 4-2.
Boston Bruins forward Brad Marchand was suspended three games without pay, including the Winter Classic, by the NHL yesterday for clipping Ottawa defenseman Mark Borowiecki. Marchand upended Borowiecki away from the puck during the first period in Boston's 7-3 home victory Tuesday night. The 5-foot-9 Bruins forward swooped down and took out the 6-foot-2 Borowiecki at his knees. Borowiecki wasn't injured on the play.
NCAA:
In top 25 women’s college basketball, No. 1 UConn humiliated Cincinnati 107-45.
Clemson coach Dabo Swinney has sent three players home for violating team rules. The decision comes on the eve of the Tigers' semifinal game against Oklahoma. Receiver Deon Cain, kicker Ammon Lakip and tight end Jay Jay McCullough are all backups, but Cain had 34 receptions this season for 582 yards. Swinney didn't say what the players did wrong but did say they would not be welcomed back if the Tigers advance to the championship game.
Bowl Games:
Dak Prescott has closed out his college career in impressive fashion. Prescott set a Belk Bowl record with 380 passing yards to earn MVP honors in Mississippi State's 51-28 romp over North Carolina State. He threw for four touchdowns while completing 25 of his 42 passes. Prescott also ran for 47 yards to become the fourth player in FBS history to throw for 9,000 yards and run for 2,500 yards in his career. Prescott threw two touchdown passes to Brandon Holloway in the second half to break it open for the 9-4 Bulldogs.
In other bowl action:
— Rafael Gaglianone hit a 29-yard field goal with 2:27 left to give 23rd-ranked Wisconsin a 23-21 win over Southern Cal in the Holiday Bowl at San Diego. Badgers linebacker Jack Cichy sacked Kessler on three straight plays in the third quarter after entering the game with two career sacks.
— Backup Jeremy Johnson threw for a TD and ran for another to lift Auburn over Memphis 31-10 in the Birmingham Bowl. The Tigers scored three touchdowns in a five-minute span beginning late in the third quarter to avoid the first losing season of Gus Malzahn's 11-year college coaching career.
— Lamar Jackson ran for a career-high and Music City Bowl-record 226 yards and two touchdowns in Louisville's 27-21 win against Texas A&M. Jackson also threw for two scores in leading the 8-5 Cardinals to their eighth victory in 10 games, and the third in their last four bowl appearances.
NFL:
Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie has told reporters that the decision to fire coach Chip Kelly on Tuesday wasn't a rash one. Lurie said he took into account Kelly's three years of being in charge of the team. The Eagles are 6-9 this year following a pair of 10-6 campaigns. Lurie said he made the move before the last game of the season to get a jump start on searching for a new coach.
MLB:
Scott Kazmir's latest major league stop is Los Angeles. The well-traveled lefty has agreed to a three-year, $48 million with the Dodgers after going 7-11 with a career-best 3.10 ERA with Oakland and Houston last season. The three-time All-Star compiled the American League's third-best earned run average and had 155 strikeouts in 183 innings.
He joins a rotation that just lost major league ERA leader Zack Greinke, who signed with the Diamondbacks. The Dodgers are Kazmir's sixth team since cracking the majors in 2004. He has also pitched for the Rays, Angels and Indians while going 98-90 with a 3.96 ERA.
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