AP-Sports Right Now
NFL-SCHEDULE
Seahawks wrap up division crown
SEATTLE (AP) — The Seattle Seahawks have become the first team to wrap up an NFC division title after taking advantage of the sputtering Los Angeles Rams. in a 24-3 rout
Russell Wilson threw for three touchdowns and the Seahawks allowed just a second-quarter field goal in a 24-3 rout of the Rams. Wilson hit Tyler Lockett for a 57-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter to clinch the victory and Seattle's third division title in four years. The quarterback completed 19 of his 26 passes for 229 yards, four days after he was picked off a career-high five times in a loss at Green Bay.
Lockett had seven receptions for 130 yards for the NFC West champions, who allowed just 183 total yards and improved to 9-4-1.
Seattle is 7-0 at home and just 2-4-1 on the road.
The 4-10 Rams lost for the ninth time in 10 games and finished Thursday's setback without rookie quarterback Jared Goff, who was 13 of 25 for 135 before taking a hard hit near the goal line.
It was the Rams' first game under interim coach John Fassel (FAH'-sul), who was promoted when Jeff Fisher was fired on Monday.
To weekend Football where the Jets will take on the Dolphins in NY tomorrow/ Saturday night at 8:25. On Sunday, the bills take on the Browns and the Giants face the Lions both at 1 p.m. At 4:25 the Patriots face the Broncos and the Cowboys battle the Buccaneers in the night game at 8:30.
For the rest of the weekend schedule click here https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=nfl+football+schedule+2016
NFL-NEWS
AP practices with Vikes
UNDATED (AP) — Vikings running back Adrian Peterson practiced Thursday while wearing a brace to support his surgically-repaired right knee.
Head coach Mike Zimmer said Peterson participated in a full practice. Peterson didn't hold firm to any return date, but acknowledged his hope of being back on Dec. 24 against the rival Green Bay Packers.
The 7-6 Packers are battling the Giants, Redskins and Buccaneers for an NFC wild-card berth despite Peterson's 11-game absence.
In other NFL news:
— The New England Patriots have claimed wide receiver Michael Floyd off waivers, giving Tom Brady a big, experienced target. Floyd was Arizona's first-round draft pick in 2012 but was released by the team this week after he was arrested on charges of driving under the influence and failure to obey a police officer. He had 33 catches for 446 yards and four touchdowns with the Cardinals this season, but had several critical drops.
— Browns offensive lineman Alvin Bailey has been suspended without pay for two games by the NFL for a substance violation. Bailey was arrested for operating a vehicle while intoxicated on Sept. 26, hours after the team returned from an overtime loss in Miami.
--FLORHAM PARK, N.J. (AP) — New York Jets running back Matt Forte practiced on a limited basis and will likely be a game-time decision against the Miami Dolphins Saturday night. Forte sat out practice Wednesday with an injured right knee, but was able to participate in some of Thursday's session.
NBA-SCHEDULE
Spurs get another road win
UNDATED (AP) — It's been road-sweet-road this season as the San Antonio Spurs continue to lead the NBA's Southwest Division despite Tim Duncan's retirement over the summer.
The Spurs are 21-5 overall and 14-1 away from San Antonio following their 107-92 win at Phoenix. The Spurs blew a 10-point lead in the second half and trailed 77-76 with about 10 minutes left before going on an 11-0 run.
Kawhi (kah-WY') Leonard had 18 points and 10 rebounds for the Spurs, who held the Suns to 40 percent shooting. Pau Gasol (gah-SAHL') added 18 points and nine boards to help San Antonio improve to 6-1 in the second of back-to-back games this season.
Meanwhile, the Golden State Warriors improved to a league-best 23-4 by downing the short-handed Knicks, 103-90. Klay Thompson paced the Warriors with 25 points and JaVale McGee added 17 points on 8-for-10 shooting. Kevin Durant shot just 7-for-18 but finished with 15 points, 14 boards and eight assists.
Golden State also withstood poor shooting nights from Draymond Green and Stephen (STEH'-fehn) Curry, who combined for 13 points on 5 of 26 from the field.
Justin Holiday scored a team-high 15 points off the bench for the Knicks, who played without Carmelo Anthony and Derrick Rose.
Checking out the rest of the NBA action:
— The Bucks were 108-97 winners against Chicago as Giannis Antetokounmpo (YAH'-nihs an-the-toh-KAHM'-poh) scored 30 points and Jabari Parker delivered 28. Milwaukee led the entire game and held a 24-point advantage early in the fourth quarter before ending a three-game skid.
— Danilo Gallinari (gah-lih-NAHR'-ee) dropped in 27 points to lead eight Nuggets in double-figures in a 132-120 victory over Portland. Gary Harris had 18 points on 7 of 11 shooting to help Denver overcome Damian Lillard's 40 points and 10 assists.
— Rookie Buddy Hield (heeld) scored 14 of his season-high 21 points in the third quarter and Anthony Davis contributed 10 points during a 15-0 run inside the last five minutes of the Pelicans' 102-95 win over Indiana. Davis finished with 35 points, 16 rebounds and five blocks, including two rejections when New Orleans was turning a 90-85 deficit into a 10-point lead.
OBIT-SAGER
Longtime NBA broadcaster dies
UNDATED (AP) — Longtime NBA sideline reporter Craig Sager has died at the age of 65 following a lengthy battle with cancer.
Turner Broadcasting President David Levy said in a statement that Sager had died, without saying when or where.
Famous for his flashy suits and probing questions, Sager worked basketball games for TNT for nearly a quarter-century.
Levy called Sager "a beloved member" of Turner Broadcasting.
His son, Craig II, wrote on Twitter: "We packed a lifetime and then some into these 28 years together."
COLLEGE FOOTBALL-MINNESOTA-BOYCOTT
Gophers players to boycott all football activity
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — University of Minnesota football players are staging their own work stoppage.
The Golden Gophers say they are boycotting all football activities leading up to the Holiday Bowl until they get satisfactory answers from the school about the suspensions of 10 teammates.
The 10 players were punished following an internal investigation into a sexual assault case. Although police declined to charge any of the players, the school suspended them based on internal regulations involving the allegations.
The university announced the suspensions Tuesday night without disclosing the reason for such discipline. The incident at an off-campus apartment in September led to three-game suspensions of four of the players earlier this season. Those four players are benched again along with six of their teammates.
The players said Wednesday that they haven't ruled out skipping the Dec. 27 bowl game against Washington State in San Diego.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
AP names its Coach of the Year winner
BOULDER, Colo. (AP) — Colorado's Mike MacIntyre has been named Coach of the Year by The Associated Press after leading the Buffaloes to 10 victories in his fourth season at the school.
MacIntyre received 109 points and 25 first-place votes from the AP college football poll panel, while Penn State's James Franklin was second with 98 and 16. Alabama's Nick Saban was third with 57 and 13.
MLB-PHILLIES
All-Star center fielder gets $30.5 million in 5-year deal
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Phillies center fielder Odubel (oh-DOO'-bul) Herrera has agreed to a five-year, $30.5 million contract extension with a $12.5 million team option for 2023.
Herrera has been the top player on a rebuilding franchise, hitting .286 with 15 homers, 87 runs and 25 stolen bases last season. The All-Star was acquired from Texas in the 2014 winter-meeting draft.
Also in the majors:
— A New Jersey judge has dismissed a charge stemming from a domestic violence complaint against Mets closer Jeurys Familia (jeh-REES' fah-MEEL'-yuh). The dismissal came after Familia's wife told a prosecutor that her husband did not hurt her. Familia still faces a possible Major League Baseball suspension if he is found to have violated the sport's domestic violence policy.
— A person familiar with the situation says free agent reliever Junichi Tazawa (joo-NEE'-chee tah-ZAH'-wah) has agreed to a two-year, $12 million contract with the Marlins. Tazawa has compiled a 3.58 ERA since breaking into the majors with the Red Sox in 2009. He had a 4.17 ERA in 49 2/3 innings for Boston this year.
— The Rockies have come to terms with 31-year-old reliever Mike Dunn on a three-year, $19 million contract. The lefty was 6-1 with a 3.40 earned run average in 51 games with Miami last season, recording eight holds and four blown saves.
— The Brewers have given infielder Eric Sogard a minor league contract and an invitation to spring training. Sogard hit .247 with one homer and 37 RBIs in 120 games for Oakland this year.
--NEW YORK (AP) — Hard-throwing reliever Aroldis Chapman completed his return to New York when the Yankees finalized his $86 million, five-year contract Thursday. Chapman energized fans at Yankee Stadium this year with a fastball of up to 105.1 mph, but New York pivoted to youth as the trade deadline neared and dealt him to the Chicago Cubs on July 25th.
MLB-CAREW
BOSTON (AP) — San Diego Padres infielder Yangervis Solarte is the winner of the 2016 Tony Conigliaro Award. The annual honor goes to a baseball player who overcomes adversity through "spirit, determination and courage." Solarte's wife, Yuliett Pimentel Solarte, died of cancer in September at the age of 31. The award will be presented at the 78th Boston Baseball Writers' dinner on January 19th.
Hall of Famer to get new heart and kidneys
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The wife of Baseball Hall of Famer Rod Carew says her husband is getting ready for heart and kidney transplants. The 71-year-old former hitting star has struggled with heart issues since September 2015 when he had a heart attack and went into cardiac arrest while undergoing a procedure to open clogged arteries.
A machine has kept Carew alive since he nearly died 15 months ago. Doctors say the kidney transplant will improve his chances for a strong recovery.
NHL-SCHEDULE
Hawks complete NYC sweep
UNDATED (AP) — The Chicago Blackhawks have a three-game winning streak following back-to-back victories in the Big Apple.
Richard Panik snapped a 4-4 deadlock with 6:13 left in the Hawks' 5-4 win over the Islanders. Artemi Panarin (ahr-THE'-mee pah-NAH'-rihn) had two power-play goals and an assist for the Blackhawks, who trailed 2-0 just four minutes in and were down 3-2 late in the 2nd period.
Artem Anisimov (ah-NEE'-see-mahv) also scored for Chicago, which leads the NHL with 44 points. The Blackhawks were coming off Tuesday's 2-1 win over the Rangers at Madison Square Garden.
Anders Lee notched his eighth goal in 11 games for the Islanders, who failed to kill any of Chicago's three power plays.
Elsewhere on NHL ice:
— Henrik Lundqvist returned to the Rangers' nets and stopped 27 shots in his 61st career shutout to lead a 2-0 win at Dallas. Lundqvist sat out New York's previous four games while Antti Raanta (AN'-tee RAHN'-tah) recorded two shutouts and a 0.75 goals-against average. Rick Nash broke a scoreless tie with a short-handed goal 7:08 into the third period.
— Minnesota picked up its sixth straight win as Devan Dubnyk (DOOB'-nihk) turned back 34 shots and Eric Staal scored twice in a 5-2 triumph at Nashville. Jonas Brodin, Charlie Coyle and Mikael Granlund also tallied for the Wild, who are second in the Western Conference with 38 points.
— Vladimir Tarasenko provided a goal and two assists as the Blues downed New Jersey, 5-2 to improve to 13-1-3 in St. Louis. Jake Allen stopped 24 shots for the Blues, who wiped out a 2-0 deficit and went ahead on Alex Pietrangelo (peh-TRAN'-jeh-lohz) goal at 7:45 of the second period.
— Rickard Rakell (rah-KEHL') scored the tiebreaking goal late in the second period and had an assist as the Ducks turned an early 2-0 deficit into a 4-3 triumph at Boston. Anaheim rallied after Zdeno Chara (zuh-DAY'-noh CHAH'-rah) and Austin Czarnik scored 13 seconds apart to put the Bruins ahead 2-0 in the first period.
— Nic Dowd supplied the go-ahead goal and Tyler Toffoli (tah-FOH'-lee) scored twice during a 2:36 span late in the third period of the Kings' 4-1 verdict over the Red Wings in Detroit. Jeff Zatkoff stopped 17 shots to help Los Angeles improve to 1-1 on its nine-game road trip.
— One week after being dealt by the Maple Leafs, Peter Holland made his return to Toronto and scored the lone shootout goal to send the Coyotes to a 3-2 victory. Jordan Martinook and Oliver Ekman-Larsson tallied in the first 3:24 of the second period after Toronto rookie Auston Matthews scored his 14th goal of the season late in the first.
— The Jets ended a four-game skid as Mathieu Perreault (peh-ROH') scored in the sixth shootout round to complete Winnipeg's 4-3 win over Florida. Bryan Little tied the game 2:36 into the third period and had the Jets' first shootout goal.
NHL-PENGUINS
Pens lose Letang
PITTSBURGH (AP) — The NHL-champion Penguins won't have defenseman Kris Letang (leh-TANG') for a couple of weeks due to a lower-body injury.
Pens coach Mike Sullivan made the announcement less than 24 hours after Letang played 26 minutes in a 4-3 overtime win over the Bruins. Letang has two goals and 21 points for the defending Stanley Cup champs.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL-MOREHEAD STATE
Eagles coach steps down
MOREHEAD, Ky. (AP) — Morehead State men's basketball coach Sean Woods has resigned following an independent investigation into allegations by two players that Woods assaulted them.
Police in Evansville, Indiana, filed a battery charge against Woods on Tuesday, about three weeks after he was suspended by the school. Woods was 77-65 in four-plus seasons with the Eagles, including a 2-2 mark this fall.
STORRS, Conn. (AP) — A UConn football player has been charged with misdemeanor assault and breach of peace in connection with an off-campus incident in September. State police say Brian Cespedes, a 6-foot-7, 313-pound offensive lineman, was charged Saturday after an investigation into a fight at a home on September 16th.
PRINCETON, N.J. (AP) — Princeton University has suspended the rest of the men's swimming and diving team's season after school administrators discovered that members had posted "vulgar and offensive" material on the team's electronic mailing list.
The suspension comes after an anonymous complaint alerted university officials to several materials, including the school-sponsored team mailing list and other electronic correspondence.
A statement released by the university Thursday did not disclose specifics but said the "misogynistic and racist" comments involved the women's swimming and diving team.
Princeton's athletic director calls the team's behavior "simply unacceptable."
The university will decide whether to cancel the season completely in the coming days.
The suspension is the third for an Ivy League team since November. Harvard University and Columbia University suspended teams for similar behavior last month.
Tokyo governor confirms new volleyball arena for 2020 Games
WINTER OLYMPICS
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The first ice sports event to be held at Pyeongchang — host of the 2018 Winter Olympics — started on Friday with the 33rd KSU Short Track Speed Skating Championships.
Construction of Gangneung Ice Arena, which will also host figure-skating in February 2018, was finished in December. There will be a total of six new venues in place.
"The completion of the ice venues is a meaningful step for Pyeongchang 2018," said Choi Moon-soon, Governer of Gangwon Province, home to Pyeongchang.
"After Pyeongchang 2018, they will be returned to the public and open doors for potential athletes and create new horizons for Gangneung residents."
The World Cup leg, which sees qualification on Friday with competition on Saturday and Saturday across 10 individual or relay events, doubles as a test event for operational aspects of the arena.
Almost 200 athletes from 31 countries, including three-time gold medal winner Charles Hamelin of Canada, are expected to compete over the weekend with organizers reporting that the 12,000 seater venue is over 90 percent sold-out.
South Korea is a traditional power in speed-skating. Locals are cheering on Choi Min-jeong who hopes to widen her lead in the women's 1,000-meter standings.
The arena will host the ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championship in January.
2020 OLYMPICS
TOKYO (AP) — Tokyo governor Yuriko Koike wants a new volleyball arena for the 2020 Olympics built in the city's waterfront Ariake district instead of using an existing facility in neighboring Yokohama.
The backflip comes despite a Tokyo government panel previously warning that the cost of the Olympics could exceed $30 billion — four times the initial estimate — unless drastic cuts are made.
Koike subsequently proposed moving volleyball, swimming and canoe sprint to existing venues outside the capital, but has now agreed that facilities for all three will be built in the city as originally planned.
The final decision on the new arena is expected to be made Dec. 21 during a teleconference of a four-party working group reviewing costs of the 2020 Olympics.
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