Sports

By W.G. RAMIREZ – Associated Press LAS VEGAS (AP) — Brett Howden scored his 15th goal of the season and Ilya Samsonov stopped 31 shots as the Vegas Golden Knights defeated the Calgary Flames 3-0 on Sunday night. Howden redirected defenseman Alex Pietrangelo’s shot from the top of the slot late in the second period

By MARK LONG – AP Pro Football Writer JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Whoever ends up coaching the Jacksonville Jaguars next season, receiver Brian Thomas Jr. will be the team’s most dynamic rebuilding piece. Mac Jones threw two touchdown passes, including his fifth in as many games to Thomas, and the Jaguars beat the Tennessee Titans

By FRED GOODALL – AP Sports Writer TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — The Tampa Bay Buccaneers played like a team determined to do whatever’s necessary to make the playoffs. Baker Mayfield and the offense purred, the defense tightened after yielding a touchdown just before halftime, and special teams stood out, too, in a 48-14 rout of

By TOM CANAVAN – AP Sports Writer EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — Snapping a franchise-record 10-game losing streak, winning for the first time at home this season and ending the Indianapolis Colts’ slim playoff hopes Sunday didn’t salvage the season for the New York Giants. The main positive in the 45-33 win that Drew Lock

By JOHN WAWROW – AP Sports Writer ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Josh Allen reflected on Buffalo’s many offseason critics and doubters when asked about the Bills achieving their latest milestones while sewing up the AFC’s No. 2 seed with a 40-14 rout of the unraveling and undisciplined New York Jets on Sunday. It was

By DAN GELSTON – AP Sports Writer PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Saquon Barkley normally would have tossed his game-used cleats to the kid who asked for the pair as the star Philadelphia Eagles running back ran off the field and back to the locker room. Sorry, kid. Not today. Barkley kept his mucked-up cleats for good

By The Associated Press HOUSTON (AP) — Tyler Herro scored 27 points before being one of six people ejected after a fight in the final minute of the Miami Heat’s 104-100 victory over the Houston Rockets on Sunday night. Herro was thrown to the ground by the Rockets’ Amen Thompson with 35 seconds left and

By DAN GELSTON – AP Sports Writer PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Nick Sirianni wore the hat given to NFC East champions as he sat at the podium and considered all the greatness that his Eagles still could accomplish this season. Personal goals, sure. Saquon Barkley has Eric Dickerson’s NFL rushing record in sight. Team goals, absolutely.

By The Associated Press MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Sam Darnold added another exploit to his career-altering season, passing for a personal-best 377 yards and three touchdowns as the Minnesota Vikings hung on to beat the Green Bay Packers 27-25 on Sunday for their ninth consecutive victory that put them one win from the NFC’s top seed

By DAVE CAMPBELL – AP Pro Football Writer MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The top of the NFC standings are towering over the Green Bay Packers as they move toward the playoffs, casting a long shadow shaped like Vikings, Lions and Eagles over what has been an otherwise-promising season on both sides of the ball. For as

By TOM WITHERS – AP Sports Writer CLEVELAND (AP) — Tyler Huntley stepped in for Tua Tagovailoa and stepped up for the Dolphins. Miami still has a playoff pulse. Huntley scrambled for a touchdown and threw for one while starting for the injured Tagovailoa, and the Dolphins stayed in the AFC wild-card race heading into

By AP Jayden Daniels dazzles again as Commanders clinch a playoff spot by beating Falcons 30-24 in OT LANDOVER, Md. (AP) — The Washington Commanders clinched a playoff spot by beating the Atlanta Falcons 30-24 in overtime. Jayden Daniels ran for a season-high 127 yards and threw for 227 and three touchdowns to make the

By ROB MAADDI – AP Pro Football Writer The NFC’s No. 1 seed will come down to the final game of the regular season when the Detroit Lions host the Minnesota Vikings next Sunday night. The winner takes the NFC North and gets a first-round playoff bye and home-field advantage until the Super Bowl. The

By The Associated Press TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Jake Evans scored for the career-high fifth consecutive game and the surging Montreal Canadiens beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 5-2 on Sunday night. Christian Dvorak, Joel Armia, Brendan Gallagher and Alex Newhook also scored to help the Canadiens win for the fifth time in six games. Sam

By DAN GREENSPAN – Associated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) — Anze Kopitar scored twice, Adrian Kempe had a goal and an assist, and the Los Angeles Kings got their seventh straight home win by beating the Philadelphia Flyers 5-4 on Sunday night. Kevin Fiala and Warren Foegele also scored for the Kings, who trailed 4-2

By AP CHICAGO (AP) — Blackhawks defenseman Alec Martinez and forward Craig Smith could return in time for the NHL Winter Classic. Martinez and Smith participated in the team’s optional morning skate ahead of Sunday night’s 5-1 loss to the Dallas Stars. Martinez was placed on injured reserve on Dec. 13 because of a neck

By JAY COHEN – AP Sports Writer CHICAGO (AP) — Matt Duchene and Jamie Benn each had a goal and two assists, and the Dallas Stars beat the Chicago Blackhawks 5-1 on Sunday night. Jason Robertson, Evgenii Dadonov and Wyatt Johnston each had a goal and an assist for Dallas, which had lost three of

By AP HOUSTON (AP) — Rockets forward Amen Thompson threw Heat guard Tyler Herro to the floor to trigger an altercation that resulted in six ejections in the closing minute of Miami’s 104-100 victory over Houston on Sunday. Thompson and Herro became entangled with Miami about to inbound the ball leading 99-94 with 35 seconds

By PHIL ERVIN – Associated Press ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Josh Norris broke a tie on a power play with 7:18 left, Leevi Merilainen made 30 saves in his fifth NHL game and the Ottawa Senators beat the Minnesota Wild 3-1 on Sunday night. Ottawa has won seven of its past nine games, while

By AP CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — Freshman Ian Jackson scored a season-high 26 points, RJ Davis added 23 points, including five 3-pointers, and North Carolina beat Campbell 97-81 Sunday night in the Tar Heels’ final nonconference game of the season. Elliot Cadeau added 12 points and a career-high 12 assists, Drake Powell also scored

By AP ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Vladislov Goldin and Nimari Burnett scored 17 points apiece and Tre Donaldson and Danny Wolf posted double-doubles to lead Michigan to a 112-64 romp over Western Kentucky on Sunday night, snapping a six-game win streak for the Hilltoppers. Goldin made 7 of 8 shots with two 3-pointers and

By AP HOUSTON (AP) — Tyler Herro scored 27 points before being one of seven people ejected, six for their roles in a fight in the final minute of the Miami Heat’s 104-100 victory over the Houston Rockets on Sunday night. Herro was thrown to the ground by the Rockets’ Amen Thompson with 35 seconds

By The Associated Press All Times EST Monday, Dec. 30 NFL Detroit at San Francisco, 8:15 p.m. NBA Chicago at Charlotte, 7 p.m. New York at Washington, 7 p.m. L.A. Clippers at New Orleans, 8 p.m. Denver at Utah, 9 p.m. Cleveland at Golden State, 10 p.m. Dallas at Sacramento, 10 p.m. Philadelphia at Portland,

By DAN SCIFO – Associated Press PITTSBURGH (AP) — Sidney Crosby broke Mario Lemieux’s Pittsburgh franchise career record for assists on Michael Bunting’s power-play goal and the Penguins beat the New York Islanders 3-2 on Sunday night. Crosby has 1,034 assists, good for 12th in NHL history. Only three players — Ray Bourque, Wayne Gretzky

By AP OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Tuomas Uronen scored at 1:46 of overtime to give Finland a 4-3 victory over the defending champion United States on Sunday in the world junior hockey championship. Uronen, who plays for the Kingston Frontenacs in the Ontario Hockey League, came down the right side on a rush and beat

By TOM WITHERS – AP Sports Writer CLEVELAND (AP) — Myles Garrett was in no mood to celebrate his birthday or making history. Garrett recorded two sacks to become the first NFL player with 14 sacks in four straight seasons, but the Cleveland Browns couldn’t do anything on offense during a 20-3 loss to the

By TIM WILLERT – Associated Press OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 35 points and the Oklahoma City Thunder won their 11th straight game, beating the short-handed Memphis Grizzlies 130-106 on Sunday night in a matchup of Western Conference leaders that turned lopsided before halftime. Rookie Ajay Mitchell scored 17 points, Aaron Wiggins contributed

By DAN SCIFO – Associated Press PITTSBURGH (AP) — Penguins captain Sidney Crosby is alone at the top. Crosby broke Mario Lemieux’s franchise record for most assists in team history during a 3-2 win against the New York Islanders on Sunday. “I want to congratulate Sid on setting the team’s assist record,” Lemieux said in

By AP MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) — Oklahoma co-defensive coordinator Zac Alley is being reunited with Rich Rodriguez at West Virginia. Rodriguez, who was hired for his second stint as West Virginia’s coach on Dec. 12, announced Sunday that he hired the 31-year-old Alley as defensive coordinator and linebackers coach. “Zac is one of the top

By AP BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Cam Carter hit five 3-pointers and finished with 23 points, Vyctorius Miller added 20 points and LSU never trailed Sunday night in a 110-45 win over Mississippi Valley State, the Tigers’ 21st consecutive victory when scoring at least 100 points. LSU’s 65-point margin of victory was its largest