© 2024
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
An update has been released for the Android version of the WAMC App that addresses performance issues. Please check the Google Play Store to download and update to the latest version.

Sports Report: NFC And AFC Championship Games Set

NFC and AFC Championship

NFL:

The AFC and NFC championship game matchups are set. The Denver Broncos will be home against the New England Patriots, and the Carolina Panthers will host the Arizona Cardinals. In the NFL playoffs on Sunday, Carolina beat Seattle 31-24, and Denver topped Pittsburgh 23-16. And on Saturday New England bested Kansas City 27-20 and defeated Arizona defeated Green Bay 26-20.

No need to flip out over that repeated coin toss. While there's no NFL rule specifying the need for another flip, referee Clete Blakeman used his judgment to determine that "basic fairness" dictated that the coin should be re-tossed before the start of overtime of Green Bay's game at Arizona on Saturday night, according to league spokesman Michael Signora.

When Blakeman tossed the coin, it never actually flipped after the Packers' Aaron Rodgers called "tails." The coin landed on the ground on "heads." Blakeman picked up the coin and re-flipped it, but Rodgers said after Green Bay's 26-20 loss that he would have called "heads" on the second toss. Signora says in an email to The Associated Press on Sunday that a team "gets only one choice to declare heads or tails."

A Massachusetts judge is expected to set a new trial date tomorrow for former New England Patriots player Aaron Hernandez in the 2012 killing of two Boston men. Hernandez is accused of gunning down the men after a chance encounter at a Boston nightclub. Hernandez has pleaded not guilty.

NBA:

In the NBA, Minnesota beat Phoenix 117-87, San Antonio won against Dallas 112-83, Oklahoma City topped Miami 99-74, Denver defeated Indiana 129-126, and it was Houston over the Lakers 112-95.

The NBA has fined Memphis Grizzlies forward Matt Barnes $35,000 for making "inappropriate public comments" condoning violence. The fine was announced Sunday, a day after Memphis beat the Knicks 103-95 in the teams' first meeting since the league suspended Barnes for two games for fighting with New York coach Derek Fisher in October.

NBA vice president for basketball operations Kiki VanDeWeghe says in a statement: "Matt Barnes' comments condoning violence do not reflect who we are as a league or the character of our players. His words are unacceptable and entirely inconsistent with the core principles of this game and the NBA."

According to the Commercial Appeal, Barnes said at the Grizzlies' pregame shootaround: "Violence is never the answer, but sometimes it is." Barnes and Fisher stayed away from each other Saturday night.

NHL:

In the NHL, Washington topped the Rangers 5-2, Vancouver beat the Islanders in a shootout 2-1, Pittsburgh blanked Carolina 5-0, Philadelphia won against Detroit in a shootout 2-1, Los Angeles beat Anaheim 3-2, Chicago bested Montreal 5-2, and it was Tampa Bay over Florida 3-1.

NCAA:

Union College announced on Friday that they are hiring Stony Brook football offensive coordinator Jeff Behrman as it's next head coach.

In college men's basketball, UConn closed on a 16-3 run to defeat Houston 69-57 yesterday. Sterling Gibbs scored 20 points, and Shonn Miller added 14, including the last eight of the game. Daniel Hamilton also had 14 points for the Huskies, and Jalen Adams had 13.

Saint Peter's defeated Marist 76-67 yesterday. Trevis Wyche scored 20 points. Wyche was 10 of 12 from the free-throw line, Antwon Portley added 15 points and Quadir Welton was 8 of 10 from the line for 14 points along with eight rebounds for the Peacocks.

Canisius pulled away late to defeat Quinnipiac 63-53 yesterday. Jermaine Crumpton scored 15 of his 17 points in the second half for Canisius. Aryon Hutton led Quinnipiac with 15 points, and Daniel Harris had 14. The Bobcats shot just 34.5 percent and had 16 turnovers that Canisius turned in 21 points.

Rider rallied to defeat Iona 79-75 yesterday for its first win over the Gaels in eight meetings. Teddy Okereafor scored 23 points for Rider, including two free throws that proved to be the winning points. A.J. English finished with 27 points for Iona.

Larry Toomey scored 13 points and Army used a big second-half run to beat American 65-45 on Sunday. Kyle Wilson made a 3-pointer to cap Army's 20-2 spurt for a 52-32 lead as American made just one field goal in eight-plus minutes. It was the fewest points allowed by Army this season.

In college women's basketball, Number 22 Duke beat Boston College 71-51 yesterday. Rebecca Greenwell made five 3-pointers and scored 23 points, and Azura Stevens had 17 points and 14 rebounds for Duke. Kelly Hughes hit six 3-pointers and scored 23 points for Boston College, which had 25 turnovers.

PGA:

Fabian Gomez has claimed his second PGA victory by capturing the Sony Open, beating Brandt Snedeker on the second playoff hole.

Gomez closed an 8-under 62 with consecutive birdies and closed out the tournament with his 11th birdie of the day. He ran off seven straight birdies in the middle of his round and let Snedeker back in the game with a pair of bogeys before forcing a playoff with birdies of 10 and 20 feet. Snedeker made a 4-foot birdie on the 18th for a 66 to force the playoff.

Tennis:

The Australian Open has begun in Melbourne. Men's top-seed Novak Djokovic took his first steps toward a sixth Australian Open title with a 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 win over Chung Hyeon of South Korea

Top women's seed and defending champion Serena Williams won her first-round match, beating Camila Giorgi of Italy 6-4, 7-5 on Rod Laver Arena. Williams was helped by 12 double-faults by the Italian player, including on break point in the 11th game of the second set to give Williams a 6-5 lead.

Poland's Agnieszka Radwanska, the fourth seed, moved into the second round with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Christina McHale of the United States.

First-round winners on the women's side also include sixth seed Petra Kvitova (kuh-VIH'-toh-vah) and American Nicole Gibbs.

No. 24 seed Sloane Stephens dropped 10 straight games before losing her first-round match to a Chinese qualifier.

Kei Nishikori was the first seeded men's player to advance to the second round, beating Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-4, 6-3, 6-3. Nishikori is joined in the second round by sixth seed Thomas Berdych and No. 15 David Goffin.

Meanwhile:

ATP chairman Chris Kermode and the Tennis Integrity Unit have rejected news reports that match-fixing has gone unchecked in the sport.

In reports published Monday, the first day of the Australian Open, the BBC and BuzzFeed News said secret files exposed evidence of widespread suspected match-fixing at the top level of world tennis. The report said that in the last decade 16 players — all at some stage ranked in the top 50 — have been repeatedly flagged to the integrity unit.

The reports say the players — it doesn't identify them or say whether they were involved in singles or doubles — were allowed to continue competing.

At a news conference at Melbourne Park on Monday, Kermode said officials "absolutely reject any suggestion that evidence of match-fixing has been suppressed for any reason, or isn't being investigated."

©2016 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

Related Content