NFL:
On Monday Night Football, the Indianapolis Colts are part of a three-way tie for first place in the AFC South following their complete dismantling of the New York Jets. Tight end Dwayne Allen grabbed three touchdown passes in the first half of the Colts' 41-10 laugher at the Meadowlands.
The Bears have formally placed quarterback Jay Cutler on injured reserve because of a season-ending right shoulder injury suffered in Chicago's Nov. 20 loss to the Giants.
Seahawks safety Earl Thomas will miss the rest of the regular season and the NFL playoffs after breaking his left tibia during Sunday's 40-7 rout of Carolina.
NBA:
In the NBA, Houston edged Boston 107-106, Washington topped Brooklyn 118-113, Denver won against Philadelphia 106-98, Cleveland bested Toronto 116-112, Oklahoma City defeated Atlanta 102-99, Memphis beat New Orleans 110-108 in double overtime 110-108, Portland trumped Chicago 112-110, San Antonio squeaked by Milwaukee 97-96, Golden State humiliated Indiana 142-106, Charlotte beat Dallas 109-101, and it was Utah over the Lakers 107-101.
The Oklahoma City Thunder have a six-game winning streak, and Russell Westbrook has recorded a triple-double in each victory. The Thunder recorded a 102-99 victory over Atlanta.
The Cavaliers have made other arrangements for players who do not want to stay at a New York hotel branded by President-elect Donald Trump. LeBron James and several teammates have decided not to stay at Trump Soho in lower Manhattan this week. The Cavs have booked rooms at the luxury hotel for two days as the team will play the Knicks on Wednesday.
NCAA:
Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson is one of the five finalists for the Heisman Trophy, along with Clemson QB Deshaun Watson, Michigan linebacker Jabrill Peppers and Oklahoma teammates Baker Mayfield and Dede Westbrook. Jackson completed 58 percent of his passes for 3,390 yards and 30 touchdowns for the Cardinals after entering the season as one of the Heisman favorites. He accounted for another 1,538 yards and 21 TDs on the ground.
Watson finished third in the balloting last year and will be on hand when the trophy is presented Saturday in New York. Westbrook and Mayfield are the first teammates to be finalists since Reggie Bush and Matt Leinart from Southern California finished first and third, respectively in 2005.
In other college football honors:
- Alabama's Jonathan Allen won the Bronko Nagurski Trophy as the nation's best college defensive player. Allen has 56 tackles and nine sacks this season for the Crimson Tide.
Jeff Brohm is the new head football coach at Purdue after accepting a six-year contract worth an average of approximately $3.5 million per season.
In men’s college basketball: Reigning national-champion Villanova is back on top of The Associated Press men's basketball poll. The Wildcats moved up one spot following Kentucky's loss to UCLA last weekend. The Bruins climbed up to second after knocking off the previous No. 1 team in Lexington. Kansas is second, followed by Baylor and Duke. Kentucky, North Carolina, Gonzaga, Indiana and Creighton round out the top 10. Meanwhile UConn beat Syracuse 52-50.
NHL:
In the NHL, Washington skated by Buffalo in overtime 3-2, Boston beat Florida in overtime 4-3, Columbus beat Arizona 4-1, and it was Pittsburgh over Ottawa 8-5.
Authorities say former Colorado Avalanche player Marek Svatos died of a drug overdose. The autopsy report released Monday says the 34-year-old had several drugs in his system at the time of his death on Nov. 5, including anti-anxiety medication and painkillers. The report noted that Svatos reportedly had a history of heroin use and battled suicidal thoughts.
MLB:
The San Francisco Giants have picked up the closer they desperately needed last season. The Giants say they have agreed to a four-year, $62 million contract with closer Mark Melancon, pending a physical. The 31-year-old Melancon collected 47 saves for the Pirates and Nationals last season after leading the majors with 51 in 2015.
In other baseball news:
- The Boston Red Sox have exercised the 2018 option on manager John Farrell's contract. Farrell won the World Series in his first season with the Red Sox in 2013 and led them back to the playoffs last season. He's 339-309 in four seasons in Boston.
- It's going to cost a bit more to attend Cubs games at Wrigley Field. The reigning World Series champs say the average season ticket price at Wrigley Field will climb 19.5 percent next season. The price hike includes a 31-percent bump for club box infield seats and a 22-percent increase for bleacher tickets.
FIFA:
Disgraced soccer chief Sepp Blatter says he has lost his appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport against a six-year ban by the governing body of soccer, FIFA. The former FIFA president, who was banned for approving a $2 million payment to Michel Platini in 2011, says he will accept the decision. Blatter could have appealed to Switzerland's supreme court. It can annul verdicts if legal process was abused.
English Soccer:
The English Football Association says its review of sexual abuse by youth soccer coaches is expanding and a new lawyer has been appointed. In a statement, the FA says the review under Clive Sheldon will start immediately and adds that "the precise number of players, alleged abusers and clubs ... is unknown."
The governing body says Sheldon has replaced Kate Gallafent as the review's lead lawyer "in the light of the increased scope of the review" and because of her "professional commitments."
Former players have been going public over the last three weeks revealing abuses by coaches from the 1970s, prompting police investigations across England. The FA review will look into whether there were failings by the organization and into the activities at clubs at the time of the abuses.
South American Soccer:
Brazil will play Colombia in a friendly match at the end of January to help victims of the air crash that killed most of the players, staff and directors of soccer club Chapecoense last week. Nineteen of Chapecoense's players were killed in the crash just outside Medellin, Colombia, as the Brazilian team headed to the first of two matches against Colombian club Atletico Nacional to determine the champion of the Copa Sudamericana — Latin America's No. 2 club tournament.
A spokesman for the Brazilian football confederation says the venue will be decided by Chapecoense directors and that all the ticket office revenues will go to the families of the victims. Chapecoense's director of communications says the match could happen at the historic Maracana stadium in Rio de Janeiro or in Chapecoense's 22,000-seater Arena Conda. Chapecoense's arena hosted a memorial service on Saturday for 50 of the 71 victims.
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