Today's Sports-Thursday,December 30, 2010

UNIONDALE, N.Y. (AP) - Sidney Crosby's 25-game point streak was snapped by the Islanders and goalie Rick DiPietro, who stopped the Pittsburgh captain and the rest of the Penguins' high-powered offense in a 2-1 shootout victory last night. Crosby had at least a point in every game since November 3rd at Dallas.

PHOENIX (AP) - Jrue Holiday scored 25 points and the Philadelphia 76ers beat the Phoenix Suns 123-110 last night. Evan Turner scored 23 points off the bench and Andres Nocioni finished with 22 points and 12 rebounds for the Sixers. Philadelphia was without Andre Iguodala, who missed his second straight game with tendinitis in his right Achilles' tendon.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Eagles coach Andy Reid says he hasn't decided if Michael Vick's leg bruise will keep the quarterback out of Sunday's regular-season finale against the Dallas Cowboys. Vick sustained a quad contusion on the first play of the Eagles' 24-14 loss to the Vikings on Tuesday night. The Eagles don't need Vick to play Sunday because their playoff position is set.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Fox analyst Tucker Carlson says Eagles quarterback Michael Vick "should have been executed" for his role in a dogfighting ring. Carlson was guest hosting for Sean Hannity's show on Fox News Channel on Tuesday night when he made the remarks. He was discussing President Barack Obama's commending of Eagles
owner Jeffrey Lurie for giving Vick a second chance.

PITTSBURGH (AP) - A game the Steelers were hoping would mean nothing now means everything, and they know it. The Steelers wanted to have the AFC North and a playoff bye wrapped up by now. They don't, and that means Sunday's game at Cleveland has the potential to significantly damage their chances of winning the Super Bowl
even before the NFL playoffs begin.

PITTSBURGH (AP) - There isn't much winter in the Winter Classic forecast. Air Science Consultants, a suburban Pittsburgh firm that is advising the NHL, predicts a high of 54 with showers Saturday for the Capitals-Penguins outdoor game at Heinz Field. The league said the ice can be kept stable, but any rain poses a risk to the
players that might require a delay.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - The NHL has suspended Flyers forward Jody Shelley for two games for hitting Vancouver defenseman Andrew Alberts. Shelly was given a five-minute match penalty in Tuesday's game for a punch on Alberts, who was down on the ice and then forced to leave the game with 7:31 left.

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - Penn State athletic director Tim Curley plans to meet with Joe Paterno next month and expects the 84-year old coach to return for the 2011 season. Curley says no date has been set yet for the meeting. Paterno insisted he has no plans to stop coaching after this week's game against Florida.

VILLANOVA, Pa. (AP) - Temple vs. Villanova on the marquee can sell itself in Philadelphia. Throw in all the intriguing subplots surrounding tonight's game and it's easily the marquee matchup of the season in city hoops. Bragging rights are on the line when Number 25 Temple plays at Number 8 Villanova.

GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) - Kyle Singler scored 27 and Nolan Smith added 26 as top-ranked Duke routed North Carolina-Greensboro 108-62 to give coach Mike Krzyzewski (shuh-SHEF'-skee) sole possession of second place on the men's all-time wins list with his 880th victory. Coach K moved past longtime rival Dean Smith, and now
trails all-time leading Bob Knight by 22 victories.

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) - Notre Dame might be poised to crack the top 10 teams in The Associated Press rankings after the 15th-ranked Irish spanked ninth-ranked Georgetown 69-55 in their Big East opener. Tim Abromaitis scored 20 points and Tyrone Nash added 15 points and 10 rebounds for the 12-1 Irish.

UNIONDALE, N.Y. (AP) - Sidney Crosby's 25-game point streak was snapped by the New York Islanders and goalie Rick DiPietro, who stopped the Pittsburgh captain and the rest of the Penguins' high-powered offense in a 2-1 shootout victory. Crosby had at least a point in every game since Nov. 3 in a streak in which Crosby produced 26 goals and 24 assists.

WASHINGTON (AP) - Da'Rel Scott ran for 200 yards and two touchdowns to help send Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen out a winner in the Military Bowl. The Atlantic Coast Conference coach of the year, who's being fired by his alma mater after winning 60 percent of his games over 10 years, coached the Terps to a 51-20 rout of East Carolina in his final game.

NEW YORK (AP) - Minnesota QB Brett Favre is being fined $50,000 for not cooperating with the NFL's investigation into an alleged sexting incident. The league was looking into allegations that he sent text messages and lewd photos to a former New York Jets game-day hostess when he played for the team in 2008.

NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION

Wednesday's Scores
Charlotte 101 Cleveland 92
Atlanta 103 Golden State 93
Washington 104 Indiana 90
Detroit 104 Boston 92
Denver 119 Minnesota 113
L-A Lakers 103 New Orleans 88
Oklahoma City 114 New Jersey 93
Miami 125 Houston 119
Philadelphia 123 Phoenix 110
Sacramento 100 Memphis 98
Utah 103 L-A Clippers 95

Thursday's Games
New York at Orlando, 7 p.m.
San Antonio at Dallas, 9:30 p.m.
Utah at Portland, 10 p.m.

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE

Wednesday's Scores
N.Y. Rangers 3 New Jersey 1
N.Y. Islanders 2 Pittsburgh 1 (Shootout)
Carolina 4 Ottawa 0
Minnesota 5 San Jose 3
Detroit 7 Dallas 3
Phoenix 6 Los Angeles 3

Thursday's Games
Columbus at Toronto, 7 p.m.
Boston at Atlanta, 7 p.m.
Montreal at Tampa Bay, 7:30 p.m.
San Jose at Chicago, 8:30 p.m.
Colorado at Edmonton, 9:30 p.m.
Philadelphia at Los Angeles, 10:30 p.m.

TOP-25 MEN'S COLLEGE BASKETBALL

Wednesday's Scores
No. 1 Duke 108 UNC Greensboro 62
No. 3 Kansas 82 Texas-Arlington 57
No. 15 Notre Dame 69 No. 9 Georgetown 55
No. 19 UCF 71 Furman 53
No. 23 Illinois 87 Iowa 77
No. 24 Vanderbilt 77 Marquette 76

Thursday's Games
No. 8 Villanova vs. No. 25 Temple, 7 p.m.
No. 10 Missouri vs. Old Dominion, 8 p.m.
No. 16 BYU at Buffalo, 7 p.m.
No. 19 UCF vs. Northeastern or Princeton, 5 or 7:30 p.m.
No. 21 Memphis vs. Lipscomb, 8 p.m.


TOP-25 WOMEN'S COLLEGE BASKETBALL

Wednesday's Scores
No. 11 Kentucky 81 Middle Tennessee 72
No. 15 Oklahoma 118 Ark.-Pine Bluff 52
No. 16 Notre Dame 70 Gonzaga 61
No. 18 Maryland 66 No. 17 St. John's 60
No. 20 Iowa St. 85 Florida A&M 60
No. 21 N.J. Tech at DePaul (postponed, Snow)

Thursday's Games
No. 1 Connecticut at No. 9 Stanford, 9 p.m.
No. 2 Baylor vs. Texas-Pan American, 8 p.m.
No. 3 Duke vs. Temple, 7 p.m.
No. 5 Tennessee vs. Rutgers, 3 p.m.
No. 6 West Virginia at St. Bonaventure, 7 p.m.
No. 7 Texas A&M vs. UTSA or San Diego State at Viejas Arena, San
Diego, TBA
No. 11 Kentucky vs. Tennessee-Martin, 6 p.m.
No. 13 Ohio State at Michigan, 6:30 p.m.
No. 14 Iowa at Penn State, 7 p.m.
No. 16 Notre Dame vs. Loyola Marymount, 4:30 p.m.
No. 19 Georgetown vs. Clemson, 7 p.m.
No. 20 Iowa State vs. Prairie View, 8:30 p.m.
No. 21 DePaul vs. NJIT, 8 p.m.
No. 23 Texas vs. Hofstra or San Diego at Jenny Craig Pavilion,
San Diego, 9 or 11:15 p.m.
No. 24 Syracuse vs. Bryant, Noon
No. 25 Florida State vs. Stetson, 7 p.m.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL BOWL GAMES

BOWL GAMES
Armed Forces Bowl, SMU vs. Army at Dallas, Noon
Pinstripe Bowl, Syracuse vs. Kansas State at Bronx, N.Y., 3:30
p.m.
Music City Bowl, North Carolina vs. Tennessee at Nashville,
Tenn., 6:40 p.m.
Holiday Bowl, Nebraska vs. Washington at San Diego, 10 p.m.