NFL:
On Thursday Night Football, Philadelphia kept the Giants playoffs hopes at bay with a 24-19 victory last night.
A warning to football fans, most NFL games are taking place on Saturday this week. Starting at 1 p.m. Miami goes head-to-head with Buffalo and the Jets are in New England to face the Patriots.
Only two games take place on Sunday, Baltimore and Pittsburgh at 4:30 p.m. and then at 8:30 p.m. Denver takes on Kansas City.
New York Giants receiver Odell Beckham Junior has been fined $18,000 by the NFL for wearing unapproved cleats against Detroit, two people familiar with the fine tell The Associated Press. Beckham wore cleats honoring the late broadcaster Craig Sager, who lost his lengthy battle with cancer last week. The people spoke on condition of anonymity Thursday because the fine has not been announced publicly.
Michael Floyd says he's trying to learn from his mistakes following an arrest on charges of driving under the influence earlier this month that led to him being waived by the Arizona Cardinals. In his first comments since being claimed off waivers by the New England Patriots, Floyd said Thursday he's trying not to think about the December 12th incident in Scottsdale, Arizona.
NHL:
In the NHL, New Jersey blanked Philadelphia 4-0, Carolina bested Buffalo 3-1, Boston won against Florida 3-1, Minnesota doubled up Montreal 4-2, Columbus crushed Pittsburgh 7-1, Tampa Bay topped St. Louis 5-2, the Kings blanked Nashville 4-0, Toronto shut out Colorado 6-0, Winnipeg won against Vancouver 4-1, and Ottawa edged Anaheim in overtime 2-1.
NBA:
In the NBA, Boston beat Indiana 109-102, the Knicks topped Orlando 106-95, Golden State bested Brooklyn 117-101, Miami defeated the Lakers 115-107, and it was Clippers over San Antonio 106-101.
NCAA:
In men’s college basketball, Hofstra beat Siena 84-64.
Michigan has suspended sophomore wide receiver Grant Perry after he was charged with assaulting a police officer and improperly touching a woman outside a bar in October. The 19-year-old Perry was arraigned Thursday on two counts of criminal sexual conduct, one count of assaulting a police officer and an underage drinking charge. He has a preliminary examination Jan. 5.
Georgia has fined assistant football coach Shane Beamer $25,000 for accepting leaked game plan information while at Virginia Tech from a former Wake Forest assistant coach. Beamer said in a statement released by the school that then-Demon Deacons assistant Tommy Elrod called him the night before the 2014 game with "a few plays that he said Wake Forest might run." The son of former Virginia Tech head coach Frank Beamer said he did not share the plays with anyone and didn't use the information in the game.
MLB:
The Cleveland Indians have picked up a lethal bat after getting within one victory of their first World Series title since 1948. A person familiar with the negotiations says the AL champs have worked out a three-year, $60 million contract with free-agent slugger Edwin Encarnacion. The deal is contingent on Encarnacion passing a physical after the holidays. Encarnacion had 42 home runs and an AL-high 127 RBIs for the Blue Jays last season. He has averaged 39 home runs and 110 RBIs over the past five years.
Ivan Nova has agreed to a $26 million, three-year contract with Pittsburgh, a person with knowledge of the situation has told The Associated Press. Pittsburgh acquired Nova from the New York Yankees at the Aug. 1 trade deadline and he went 5-2 with a 3.06 ERA in 11 starts. That was a big improvement from the 7-6 record and 4.90 ERA he posted in 15 starts for the Yankees. Nova was particularly effective at PNC Park, going 3-1 with a 2.45 ERA and giving up just two walks in 40 1/3 innings.
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