San Diego Union-Tribune - 1. TITLE TIME : LaDainian Tomlinson didn’t score last week for the first time in 10 games, but it’s doubtful the Chargers are too concerned. He rushed for more than 100 yards for the ninth straight game, and San Diego now has won the past 22 games in

TAMPA, Fla. - Tennessee wide receiver Bret Smith has been declared academically ineligible to play in the Outback Bowl on Monday against Penn State.

Michigan the latest victim in college football’s unending debate 
CARSON, Calif. — To hear the Michigan Wolverines tell it, the debate is over. They had their chance, they didn’t make the national title game and there’s no use crying about it now.

Alstott’s greatest work is away from football 
In the photo, Mike Alstott is leaning on the railing along the Friendship Trail Bridge in Tampa while a young boy wearing a red Tampa Bay Buccaneers T-shirt dips a fishing line in Tampa Bay. They are huddled close, with Alstott leaning forward.

MU Football: MU’s rallying cry: Wait until next year 
Much of the success for the Missouri football team early this season was predicated on its Independence Bowl win a year ago.

AZCentral.com - TUCSON - With nine seconds left and Arizona’s 89-75 win against Stanford in hand, Arizona seniors Mustafa Shakur and Ivan Radenovic went to the bench and received something they have never gotten from UA coach Lute Olson - an embrace. Those are

Sharks humiliated in 3rd straight loss
Alameda Times-Star - Then Thornton took matters into his own hands and dropped Saprykin, who went down face-first in front of the Coyotes’ bench. “When somebody hits our good players, we’ve got to respond,” captain Patrick Marleau said. “It should be everybody. It

Lewis picks Chara for match game
Boston Globe - Lewis must send out his players first after each whistle on the road, so Chara mans the left side during the first and third periods, which is closer to the Boston bench. In the second period, Chara goes to the right side. “We’ve been pretty

Bruins go out with a thud
Boston Globe - With Thomas playing well (perhaps deserving of All-Star consideration ), Toivonen might be rooted to the bench for the near future. “If you ask him, he’s probably disappointed in his performance,” Lewis said. “This year, he hasn’t had a lot of

Missed chance in Pac-10
AZCentral.com - Freshman George Odufuwa, who came off the bench after Jeff Pendergraph was charged with his second foul with 5:09 left in the first half, added a point to the margin by hitting one of two free-throw attempts. But a three-pointer by Ubaka allowed the

N. Carolina A&T 80, SMU 76
Miami Herald - DALLAS - Steven Rush came off the bench to score 22 points, including six 3-pointers, in North Carolina A&T’s 80-76 win over SMU on Saturday night. Rush led the Aggies (4-9) with seven rebounds. Nicholas Wilson had 16 points off the bench and Jason

Pittsburgh Post Gazette, PA - 1 hour ago… Geoff Greco went to sleep only to be awakened by a call from Alex Calder, a good friend and a teammate on the North Allegheny High School football team. …

MARTIN'S TEAM-BY-TEAM REVIEW
ITV.com, UK - 13 hours ago… Renault wasn't always the team to beat this year. Ferrari just edges that one because of the way it came back and developed its car through the year. …

Canton Repository - COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - Sales at giant beer blasts during the unprecedented matchup between No. 1 Ohio State and No. 2 Michigan last month dwarfed the money earned by charities whose nonprofit status makes the parties possible, state records show. The

Whitney leads Carolina over Anaheim
FOXSports.com - The Rangers were shut out for the second straight game. The losing streak is their longest since an eight-game skid in the wake of the 2004 trading deadline. Alfredsson gave Ottawa a sudden lead when he tipped Chris Phillips ‘ shot past Henrik Lundqvist

Buckeyes blundered right away in 2002 title game
Canton Repository - COLUMBUS Those who know Jim Tressel best say never play the man in poker. He has no tells, and looking at the 2002 national championship game may be the best example. Tressel was nervous his players more so. Sure he appears cool, calm and

Bryant’s key errors help Bobcats beat Lakers
Herald Tribune - He hit 22 of 45 shots and his performance trailed only his 81-point game last January in Toronto and a 62-point effort last December in Dallas. Emeka Okafor had 22 points and a career-high 25 rebounds, Gerald Wallace scored 28 points and Matt Carroll

INDIANA 93, DETROIT 92: Billups hurt as Pistons falter
Detroit Free Press - Although the Pistons had plenty of fight in them, there were plenty of bad things to point out in Friday night’s game. The Pistons were playing some of their sloppiest basketball of the season. They committed 19 turnovers against an Indiana team

MICHIGAN 4, MICH. TECH 1: U-M crushes Michigan Tech
Detroit Free Press - Every game against Michigan State is huge,” Hunwick said, noting that U-M plays several more times at the Joe this season. “It would be nice to have our banner hanging in the rafters.” Sophomore Travis Turnbull and freshman Brian Lebler also scored

Hart, Henne Hope to End Big Game Skid
Ledger - BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. For three seasons, Mike Hart and Chad Henne have been the focal points of Michigan’s offense and two of the best players in the Big Ten. Hart and Henne will return for their senior seasons next year and if they stay healthy

Toivonen tries to stay focused
Boston Globe - CHICAGO — After yesterday’s morning skate at the United Center, Hannu Toivonen wasn’t thinking about tonight’s game in Nashville, where he’ll get his first start since Dec. 12. Toivonen wasn’t dwelling on that game against the Montreal Canadiens

Kobe spoils big game with bigger miscues
Boston Globe - CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Kobe Bryant walked slowly into the locker room, sighed and stopped instead of continuing to his locker to meet reporters. “I don’t want to have to walk all the way over there,” Bryant said. Bryant was exhausted. His 58 points in 55

Johnson Returns After 1-Game Suspension
Caspar Star-Tribune - LAKE FOREST, Ill. - Tank Johnson sounds like a man ready to put his recent troubles behind him. The Chicago Bears defensive tackle thanked his teammates and the organization for their support and said he can’t wait to play against Green Bay on Sunday

Wilmington Morning Star, NC - Dec 26, 2006Houston | Suddenly, the Houston Rockets are facing another season ruined by injuries to All-Stars Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady. Yao …

Robert Morris seeks more bench support
Pittsburgh Post Gazette, PA - 1 hour agoRobert Morris' game against Division III Goucher today should give Colonial fans a good look at the RMU bench players — especially freshman Mezie Nwigwe and …

Tribe thrashes Panthers in opening round
Pottstown Mercury, PA - Dec 27, 2006No, Holmes has seen plenty of action on the floor this season, but the 6-foot-4 junior hasn t had to watch the game from the bench very often. …

Vujacic gives team a boost off the bench
Long Beach Press-Telegram, CA - Dec 27, 2006By Ross Siler, Staff writer. ORLANDO, Fla. - The final box score told the story of a modest night for Sasha Vujacic, who finished …

Court punctures docs defence
Malaysia Star, Malaysia - 6 hours ago… The three-man Bench Federal Court unanimously ruled that the Bolam test adopted from a 1957 negligence case in England could no longer be used as the yardstick …

Carroll comes through on Friday
Rotoworld.com - 47 minutes agoBobcats SG Matt Carroll came through in Friday's win over the Lakers, finishing with 27 points (8-16 FG), eight rebounds and four 3-pointers off the bench. …

Mendez-Valdez Leads Strong Bench Contingent As WKU Earns 73-64 Win
WKU Athletics, KY - Dec 28, 2006… He wasn t the only player to come off the Topper bench and contribute as Boris Siakam collected eight points on 4-of-4 shooting, Butch Jointer chipped in …

Detroit coach vomits on bench
SI.com - Dec 28, 2006LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) -Detroit assistant coach Garland Mance became ill while sitting at courtside Thursday night during the Titans' game against Kansas. …

Charlotte Observer, NC - 16 hours agoNY JETS DEFENSE/SPECIAL TEAMS: All the Jets wanted for Christmas was a must-win game against the worst offense in the NFL. Here …

College Football Notebook: Ohio State fund-raiser not a NCAA …
Pittsburgh Post Gazette, PA - 18 hours agoAP. An Ohio State investigation has concluded no NCAA rules violations occurred at a spaghetti-dinner fund-raiser in Akron to help …

Football: Our Losers Made It an Annus Horribilis ; REVIEW OF THE …
International News Service, Australia - 40 minutes ago… Just as on a North London building site where a longstanding construction deadline could not be met, on a Gelsenkirchen football pitch, on Twickenham's …

Former Hoyas football coach Glacken dies
San Jose Mercury News,  USA - 2 hours agoAP. WASHINGTON - Scotty Glacken, Georgetown's football coach for 23 seasons and a standout quarterback for Duke in the 1960s, has died. …

Pacific sports 2006: First football title the crown jewel for …
Stars and Stripes, DC - 3 hours ago… times have changed, Edgren s athletic director says, particularly in the wake of the Eagles capturing their first Far East Class A football championship. …

In Lubbock to witness history, Andy Katz instead saw Texas Tech lose to UNLV. He notes, though, that passing Dean Smith is about much more than one game.

Favre’s Potential Finale ‘Just Another Game‘ 
It might indeed be his final game, and he might have a shot at the playoffs. But for Brett Favre, the Green Bay Packers’ regular-season finale in Chicago on Sunday night feels like any another game.

uefa.com, Switzerland - 4 hours agouefa.com chief writer Mark Chaplin ends his look on what happened within European football's governing body during 2006. UEFA admits …

New Farm Bureau President Has Roots in Ag, Football
Hollister Free Lance, CA - 8 hours ago… "He spent a certain amount of time being a referee at college-level football," said Paul Hain, the outgoing president of the farm bureau. …

Scottish Football Briefing - 29 December
Scotsman, United Kingdom - 6 hours agoYOUR weekly round-up of the last seven days' gossip and rumours from around Scotland's football grounds. Blimey, Jimmy Nicholl s …

Milner remembered as a Marine, football star and a good neighbor
Asheville Citizen-Times, NC - 12 hours agoASHEVILLE An All-American football lineman at Duke who played five seasons in the NFL, a Marine who served his country in World War II and the Korean …

Some final thoughts on football season
OCRegister, CA - 7 hours agoThe Register's All-County football team was published this past weekend, causing some thinking - some self second-guessing - on how we put these teams together …

Will Arrington tackle politics after football?
Richmond Times Dispatch, VA - 14 hours ago… In both, the truth sometimes is a mallea ble product. Arrington has had an outstanding professional football career. At no time has he hidden his feelings. …

FOOTBALL: Town hosting Hemel
Rugby Review, UK - 7 hours agoTHE VALLEY'S busy holiday campaign continues this Saturday with the visit of Hemel Hempstead to Butlin Road, with manager Billy Jeffrey looking to build upon …

CBS Sportsline - Since then, life has returned to something approaching normal for Daniels, an Ohio State assistant coach, and his wife and kids. The specter of the disease lingers, but he has responded well to treatment. “It came as a shock, the health issues, but it

Former Sweden coach Sandlin dies at 62
Guardian Unlimited - STOCKHOLM, Dec 28 (Reuters) - Tommy Sandlin, who coached Sweden to ice hockey world championship gold in 1987, has passed away at the age of 62, Swedish media reported on Thursday. No cause of death was given but Sandlin recently received heart

Wake Forest safety content with controversial college choice
Ledger - So did North Carolina State and its second-year fireball of a coach, Chuck Amato. But Gattis raised eyebrows in his hometown of Durham, N.C., when he picked long-suffering Wake Forest over the two in-state schools which appeared at the time to have

Memphis Grizzlies fire head coach Mike Fratello after a 6-24 start
680 News - MEMPHIS, Tenn. (CP) - The Memphis Grizzlies fired coach Mike Fratello after a 6-24 start. Jerry West, Grizzlies president of basketball operations, announced the move in Memphis. Fratello was the Grizzlies’ all-time winningest coach with a 95-83

Grizzlies fire coach Fratello after 6-24 start
Boston Globe - MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The Memphis Grizzlies fired coach Mike Fratello on Thursday after an NBA-worst, 6-24 start. The Grizzlies’ career winningest coach, Fratello had a 95-83 record and had guided Memphis to consecutive playoff appearances. He started

Fisher turned Titans into unlikely winners
ESPN.com - My criterion for coach of the year is simple: he who does the most with the least. In 2006, that coach has been Tennessee’s Jeff Fisher. The favorites appear to be rookie coaches Eric Mangini of the Jets and Sean Payton of the Saints. But they’ve had

Jerry West, Grizzlies president of basketball operations, announced
CBS Sportsline - The Grizzlies’ all-time winningest coach, Fratello had a 95-83 record and had guided Memphis to consecutive playoff appearances. He started the season without All-Star Pau Gasol , who broke his foot this summer in the world