WPPA/T102 Sports-Friday, December 30, 2011

Battle of the Hills at Martz Hall

Girls

Nativity 53
Pottsville 48

Boys

Pottsville 59
Nativity 23

Boys Action

Shenandoah Valley 51
North Schuylkill 39

Tamaqua 58
Sch. Haven 35

Blue Moutain 60
Oley Valley 54

Lourdes 63
Line Mountain 56


Girls

Lourdes 50
Shamokin 39

Panther Valley 44
Weatherly 18


PITTSBURGH (AP) - Jaromir Jagr and Max Talbot both scored in
their return to Pittsburgh, leading the Philadelphia Flyers to a
4-2 win over the Penguins. Kimmo Timonen and Matt Read also scored
for the Flyers, and Claude Giroux added two assists as Philadelphia
ended the Penguins' four-game winning streak. Tyler Kennedy had a
goal and an assist for Pittsburgh, and Jordan Staal scored his 15th
of the season.

DALLAS (AP) - Penn State's search to replace fired coach Joe
Paterno could be wrapped up in the next few weeks. Acting athletic
director David Joyner said yesterday he'd like the next coach to
have time to interact with recruits before high school seniors can
announce their college choices starting February 1. A four-day
contact period for coaches begins Wednesday - two days after the
24th-ranked Nittany Lions face No. 20 Houston in the TicketCity
Bowl in Dallas.

PITTSBURGH (AP) - Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger says
he'll be on the field Sunday for Pittsburgh's regular season finale
against the Cleveland Browns as long as he can deal with the pain
of his sprained left ankle. Roethlisberger sat out last Sunday's
win over St. Louis to rest his ankle. He practiced yesterday. If
Roethlisberger can't play, Charlie Batch, who threw for 208 yards
in Pittsburgh's win over the Rams, is available.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Eric Lindros is ready to return to
Philadelphia. For 11 years, the final image of Lindros in a Flyers
jersey was him curled in a fetal position, knocked cold after a
brutal shoulder-to-jaw check on the open ice from New Jersey's
Scott Stevens. Now, Lindros and the Flyers hope to put the past to
rest when he takes the ice in front of a sold-out crowd of 44,000
fans in Saturday's Winter Classic alumni game.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Juan Castillo's eyes got red and watery and
his voice quivered slightly when he was asked if he ever lost
confidence in himself during his struggles as a first-time
defensive coordinator of the Eagles. It's no surprise then that
heading into Sunday's season finale against Washington there's
speculation about Castillo's job. Some think Castillo will be
handling the defense for the last time. One report this week had
St. Louis Rams coach Steve Spagnuolo replacing Castillo.

PITTSBURGH (AP) - Pittsburgh Steelers wide receivers Mike
Wallace and Antonio Brown dubbed themselves part of the "Young
Money Family" when they burst onto the scene a year ago. Wallace
and Brown now have another nickname: Pro Bowlers. The two were
selected to their first Pro Bowl on Tuesday, with Wallace making it
as a receiver while Brown was selected as a kick returner.

SAN ANTONIO (AP) - In a game featuring the most points in
regulation and most total yards in any bowl game in history,
15th-ranked Baylor rallied from 18 points down in the second half
and outscored Washington 67-56 in a wild Alamo Bowl for the Bears'
first bowl win in 19 years. Terrance Ganaway ran five TDs for
Baylor.

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) - Florida State rallied from a 14-point
second-half deficit and used a pair of touchdown passes by E.J.
Manuel and two field goals from Dustin Hopkins to rally past Notre
Dame 18-14 in the Champs Sports Bowl. That's Florida State's fourth
straight bowl win.

CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) - The University of Miami is giving back
$83,000 it says it received "directly and indirectly" from Nevin
Shapiro. He's the former Hurricanes booster and convicted Ponzi
scheme architect whose claims of giving athletes and recruits extra
benefits for nearly a decade sparked an NCAA investigation.

PISCATAWAY, N.J. (AP) - Freshman Eli Carter scored a career-high
31 points and hit the go-ahead basket in the second overtime as
Rutgers stunned No. 10 Florida 85-83 in the Big East opener for
both teams. The Scarlet Knights are 8-5 after rallying from a
seven-point deficit late in regulation.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Kevin Durant scored 30 points and hit a
3-pointer at the final buzzer to lift the Oklahoma City Thunder to
a 104-102 victory against the Dallas Mavericks in a rematch of last
season's NBA Western Conference finals. Dirk Nowitzki
(noh-VIHT'-skee) had 29 points and 10 rebounds to lead the
Mavericks, whose title defense is off to an 0-3 start.

Today's Sports-Thursday, December 29, 2011

High School Basketball
Girls
Tri Valley 55
Williams Valley 30

Mt Carmel 62
Minersville 59

Sch Haven 31
Tulpehocken 23

Northwestern Lehigh 50
Pottsville 34

Pine Grove 44
Harriton 36

Dunmore 40
Marian 38

Boys
Pottsville 58
Northwestern Lehi 19

Tri Valley 48
Upper Dauphin 43

Williams Valley 50
Millersburg 41

Danville 77
Pine Grove 62

Northern Lehigh 48
Jim Thorpe 30

Salisbury 65
Tamaqua 45


SIXERS-SUNS
76ers surge past Suns 103-83
PHOENIX (AP) — Andre Iguodala scored 15 points to lead six players in double figures and added six assists and the Philadelphia 76ers routed the Phoenix Suns 103-83 on Wednesday night. Jrue Holiday and Thaddeus Young also scored 15 each for the Sixers, who used a 19-0 run at the beginning of the third quarter to extend a 14-point halftime lead to 67-34 with 6:44 remaining. Ronnie Price, signed as a free agent on Dec. 13, matched a career high with 16 points, and Grant Hill and Hakim Warrick added 14 each for the Suns, who are off to a 0-2 start for the first time since 1996-97. Philadelphia needed less than 90 seconds of the third quarter to stretch a 48-34 lead at halftime to 11 at 55-34 on Spencer Hawes' steal and dunk with 10:34 to go in the period.

STEELERS
Veteran Batch ready if Roethlisberger sits again
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Steelers backup quarterback Charlie Batch wants Ben Roethlisberger to play on Sunday in the regular-season finale against Cleveland. Just in case Roethlisberger's sprained left ankle is still too balky, Batch will be ready. It's what he's done over the last 10 seasons as one of the league's most consistent — and arguably most ego-less — reserves.
The Steelers are 5-2 when Batch starts over the last decade. The 37-year-old played almost flawlessly in a 27-0 romp over St. Louis last weekend, showing some surprising mobility that allowed him to extend plays and find receivers downfield. He could get the nod again versus the Browns as Pittsburgh (11-4) tries to stay alive for an AFC North title. Roethlisberger practiced on Wednesday.

EAGLES-FINISHING STRONG
Eagles playing for .500
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A meaningless regular-season game for the Philadelphia Eagles usually means resting their starters for the playoffs. Not this year. The Eagles (7-8) are going home after Sunday's game against the Washington Redskins (5-10). It's the first time since 2007 they didn't make the playoffs and just the fourth time it's happened in coach Andy Reid's 13 seasons.
That doesn't soften the blow. "Obviously 8-8 wasn't our goal," quarterback Michael Vick said Wednesday. "We expected to be in the playoffs. I think we have to take all the positives we can learn from this season and hopefully we'll come back and look like a different team next year."
As the season winds down, the Eagles are playing their best football. They've won three straight games and have outscored their opponents 91-36 in that span. The problem is they didn't play that well in the beginning. A 1-4 start doomed Philadelphia.

PENGUINS-CROSBY
Crosby still experiencing concussion-like symptoms
UNDATED (AP) — Pittsburgh Penguins star Sidney Crosby is participating in light exercise but remains sidelined indefinitely with concussion-like symptoms. Crosby hasn't played since Dec. 5 and hasn't practiced in three weeks after getting jostled in a 3-1 loss to the Boston Bruins. Coach Dan Bylsma said Wednesday that Crosby is dealing with lingering symptoms and isn't sure when he'll return. Crosby was sidelined for nearly 11 months after sustaining head shots in consecutive games in January. He returned on Nov. 21 and scored two goals in his season debut against the New York Islanders. He collected 12 points in eight games before being re-injured.
Bylsma said defenseman Kris Letang, out since Nov. 26 with a concussion, is feeling better but his return date is unknown.

76ERS-SALE-FINDER'S FEE
Pair sue ex-76ers owner over $2M finder's fee
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Two sports executives have sued former Philadelphia 76ers owner Comcast-Spectacor seeking a $2 million finder's fee over the team's October sale. Robert Whitsitt and Thomas Shine say they introduced investor Jason Levien to Comcast-Spectacor chairman Edward Snider. They say they were promised $2 million if they found a buyer and met other conditions. Levien is a former Sacramento Kings executive. He's one of many new investors in the 76ers, including Hollywood power couple Will and Jada Pinkett Smith.
Whitsitt is the former president of the Seattle Seahawks and Portland Trailblazers. Shine is an executive at Canton, Mass.-based Reebok International Ltd. Comcast-Spectacor LP spokesman Ike Richman says the company will vigorously defend the lawsuit. The Philadelphia Inquirer first reported Wednesday on the lawsuit, filed a day earlier in federal court in Philadelphia.

MUNCHAK-PENN STATE
Munchak: No contact with Penn St., loves Titans
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Mike Munchak says he is not heading to Penn State as coach.
The Titans coach says Wednesday he's flattered to be mentioned for his alma mater, but insists he loves what he's doing in Tennessee. Munchak says he is going nowhere despite reports in Pennsylvania calling him Penn State's top target to replace Joe Paterno. This is the third time since Paterno was fired that Munchak has denied interest in the job. He refuted it the day after Paterno was fired and again Dec. 2 when his name came up in connection with the opening.
Munchak says he's not been contacted by anyone at Penn State nor reached out to the university.

TICKETCITY BOWL-PENN STATE
Penn State seniors stay focused at bowl
DALLAS (AP) — Penn State defensive end Eric Latimore admits his senior season has been "interesting." The Nittany Lions are making their first bowl appearance without Joe Paterno on the staff since it tied SMU 13-13 in the 1948 Cotton Bowl. A child sex abuse scandal has engulfed Penn State, leading to the departures of university president Graham Spanier, vice president Gary Schultz, athletic director Tim Curley and Hall of Fame coach Paterno.
The scandal has overshadowed the Nittany Lions (9-3), who will play Houston (12-1) in the TicketCity Bowl on Jan. 2 at Cotton Bowl Stadium. Latimore says it's a "little weird" not having Paterno around: "We have to stay Penn State and continue to stay focused."

BIG TEN-PAC-12 SCHEDULE
Conferences expand without expanding
NEW YORK (AP) — Realizing bigger isn't necessarily better, the Big Ten and Pac-12 are going ahead with a plan to start regularly competing against one another in the hope that together they can increase their national exposure. While the partnership is for all sports, the most noticeable changes will be seen in football. The two 12-team leagues are aiming to create a 12-game inter-conference schedule by the 2017 season that would have each school play an opponent from the other conference every season. That could mean a steady diet of matchups between heavyweight programs such as Ohio State, Michigan and Wisconsin from the Big Ten against Pac-12 powers such as Southern California and Oregon — and fewer games against lower-level Division I programs.

NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION

Final Indiana 90 Toronto 85
Final Miami 96 Charlotte 95
Final Cleveland 105 Detroit 89
Final Atlanta 101 Washington 83
Final New Orleans 97 Boston 78
Final Oklahoma City 98 Memphis 95
Final San Antonio 115 L-A Clippers 90
Final Philadelphia 103 Phoenix 83
Final Denver 117 Utah 100
Final Golden State 92 New York 78


NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE

Final New Jersey 3 Buffalo 1
Final Washington 4 N-Y Rangers 1
Final 2OT Nashville 2 Minnesota 1 (SO Nashville 1-0)
Final Los Angeles 2 Chicago 0
Final OT Boston 2 Phoenix 1
Final OT Vancouver 3 San Jose 2


TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL

Final ( 1) Syracuse 75 Seton Hall 49
Final ( 2) Ohio St. 87 Northwestern 54
Final ( 3) Kentucky 86 Lamar 64
Final (12) Georgetown 71 ( 4) Louisville 68
Final ( 6) Baylor 54 (15) Mississippi St. 52
Final ( 9) UConn 60 South Florida 57
Final (16) Michigan St. 80 (13) Indiana 65
Final (19) UNLV 124 Cent. Arkansas 75
Final Missouri St. 77 (21) Creighton 65


TOP-25 WOMEN'S COLLEGE BASKETBALL

Final ( 3) Notre Dame 92 Longwood 26
Final ( 5) Maryland 84 Lafayette 36
Final Middle Tennessee 70 ( 6) Kentucky 58
Final ( 7) Tennessee 90 Old Dominion 37
Final (12) Miami 89 Holy Cross 49
Final (14) Louisville 70 UT-Martin 57
Final (17) Georgia 83 Furman 58
Final (19) Delaware 60 East Carolina 40
Final (22) Texas 89 Delaware St. 35

WPPA/T102 Sports-Wednesday

PITTSBURGH (AP) — James Neal had a goal and an assist, and Pittsburgh fired a barrage of shots at Carolina goalie Justin Peters before finally breaking him in a 4-2 victory over the Hurricanes last night that stretched the Penguins' winning streak to four games. Neal scored his 21st goal, one behind the NHL leaders. He has scored in every game of the Penguins' winning streak and has 14 goals in 16 home games.

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Steven Stamkos had two goals, Mathieu Garon made 31 saves, and the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Philadelphia Flyers 5-1 last night. Scott Hartnell scored for Philadelphia, which is 1-3-1 over the past five games. Flyers goalie Ilya Bryzgalov gave up Tampa Bay's first three goals on just eight shots.

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin says injured quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and center Maurkice Pouncey have a "shot" to play in the regular-season finale against Cleveland. Both players sat out last Saturday's 27-0 victory over St. Louis with high ankle sprains.

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) — Alex Dragicevich hit four 3-pointers and scored a career-high 22 points to lead Notre Dame to a 72-59 win over Number 22 Pittsburgh last night in the Big East opener for both teams. Jerian Grant added 15 points and nine assists, and Eric Atkins also scored 15 points for the Fighting Irish, who trailed 26-25 at intermission but rallied with an 18-for-25 performance from the field in the second half.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — It was a disappointing year for sports teams in eastern Pennsylvania as the Flyers, Phillies and Eagles failed to live up to enormous expectations. Yet nothing was more shocking than the disturbing events that unfolded at Penn State in November. In the fallout, Joe Paterno was fired after 46 seasons as the Nittany Lions' head coach.

PITTSBURGH (AP) — It was an eventful but championship-less year in western Pennsylvania sports. The Steelers stumbled, the Penguins lost superstar Sidney Crosby for months with concussion-like symptoms and the Pirates showed signs of life.

DALLAS (AP) — Penn State has opened its bowl preparations without quarterback Matt McGloin in uniform. McGloin was in street clothes yesterday when the Nittany Lions started practice at a Dallas-area high school. Before Christmas, he hit his head during a locker-room scuffle with receiver Curtis Drake. He went into seizure and suffered a concussion.

MIAMI (AP) — LeBron James scored 26 points, rookie point guard Norris Cole came up with 14 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter, and the Miami Heat nearly blew a 20-point lead before beating the Boston Celtics 115-107. Through two games, Miami is 2-0 and has trailed only once — by two points, for all of 14 seconds.

DETROIT (AP) — Purdue recovered two onside kicks and Raheem Mostert returned a kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown and the Boilermakers held off Western Michigan 37-32 in the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl. The Broncos had the ball with a chance to go ahead, but their comeback hopes ended when quarterback Alex Carder fumbled for his fifth turnover of the game with just under two minutes left.

NEW YORK (AP) — Tom Brady is one of eight Patriots and Patrick Willis one of eight 49ers to make the Pro Bowl, the most on each roster. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers tops seven Packers and linebacker Ray Lewis is one of seven Ravens in the Jan. 29 Pro Bowl in Honolulu.

DETROIT (AP) — Pavel Datsyuk and Niklas Kronwall scored 56 seconds apart in the third period to give the Detroit Red Wings a 3-2 comeback win over the St. Louis Blues. The Red Wings have won 11 straight home games.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Ryan Evans scored a career-high 22 points and No. 11 Wisconsin defeated injury-plagued Nebraska 64-40 in the Cornhuskers' inaugural Big Ten game. The Huskers closed within five points early in the second half, but the Badgers went on a 27-5 run to put the game out of reach.

NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Final
Atlanta 106
New Jersey 70

Final
Miami 115
Boston 107

Final
Milwaukee 98
Minnesota 95

Final
Portland 101
Sacramento 79

Final
L-A Lakers 96
Utah 71

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Final 2OT
Calgary 2
Columbus 1 (SO Calgary 1-0)

Final
Pittsburgh 4
Carolina 2

Final
Montreal 6
Ottawa 2

Final
Tampa Bay 5
Philadelphia 1

Final
Detroit 3
St. Louis 2

Final
Florida 5
Toronto 3

Final
Winnipeg 4
Colorado 1

TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Final
(11) Wisconsin 64
Nebraska 40

Final
Notre Dame 72
(22) Pittsburgh 59

Final
(23) Virginia 69
Md.-Eastern Shore 42

WPPA / T102 SPORTS / Friday

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger sat out yesterday's practice to rest his sprained left ankle and will be a game-time decision when the Steelers face St. Louis tomorrow. Offensive coordinator Bruce Arians says the team will wait as long as possible before determining whether Roethlisberger or veteran backup Charlie Batch will start.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Four-time Pro Bowl cornerback Asante Samuel missed a second consecutive practice yesterday with a hamstring injury. Samuel is in danger of missing the Eagles' game against the Cowboys tomorrow, a game the Eagles could need to win to keep their slim playoff hopes alive.

NEW YORK (AP) — The NHL has suspended Pittsburgh defenseman Deryk Engelland for three games for an illegal check to the head. The league punished Engelland for hitting Chicago forward Marcus Kruger during Tuesday night's game.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Two more people have come forward claiming they were abused by a Philadelphia sports columnist. Philadelphia Daily News columnist Bill Conlin abruptly retired just before a report was published alleging he abused young children decades ago. The two women bring the total number of adults who say Conlin molested them when they were younger to six.

VILLANOVA, Pa. (AP) — Maalik Wayns came off the bench to score 12 points and lead Villanova to a 73-52 victory over American University last night. JayVaughn Pinkston also had 12 points for Villanova, which had lost five of seven games.

VESTAL, N.Y. (AP) — Samme Givens scored 15 points and Drexel shot 55.3 percent from the field to defeat Binghamton 68-44 last night, keeping the Bearcats winless through 10 games. Nine of Givens' points came in the first half. The Dragons led 22-18 with 5:32 remaining before closing the half with a 14-4 run, which featured five layups to go in front 36-22.

NEW BRITAIN, Conn. (AP) — Jerrell Wright scored 21 points to lead five La Salle Explorers in double figures in an 85-59 rout of Central Connecticut State last night. La Salle took a 52-22 halftime lead and coasted the rest of the way to win easily. CCSU lost its fourth game in a row and suffered its first defeat at home.

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — The Penn State committee searching for a new football coach is taking what acting athletic director David Joyner called a very deliberate and measured approach in finding Joe Paterno's replacement. Joyner says in a statement the school is continuing to work through the interview process.

PITTSBURGH (AP) — A person with knowledge of the decision says Pittsburgh has hired Wisconsin offensive coordinator Paul Chryst as its head football coach. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because an official announcement hasn't been made yet. Chryst replaces Todd Graham, who left the Panthers last week after one season to coach Arizona State.


NFL
Thursday's Game
Indianapolis 19, Houston 16
Saturday's Games
Oakland at Kansas City, 1 p.m.
Jacksonville at Tennessee, 1 p.m.
St. Louis at Pittsburgh, 1 p.m.
Denver at Buffalo, 1 p.m.
Tampa Bay at Carolina, 1 p.m.
Minnesota at Washington, 1 p.m.
Cleveland at Baltimore, 1 p.m.
Miami at New England, 1 p.m.
N.Y. Giants at N.Y. Jets, 1 p.m.
Arizona at Cincinnati, 1 p.m.
San Diego at Detroit, 4:05 p.m.
San Francisco at Seattle, 4:15 p.m.
Philadelphia at Dallas, 4:15 p.m.
Sunday's Game
Chicago at Green Bay, 8:20 p.m.

NHL
Thursday's Games
Los Angeles 3, Anaheim 2, SO
Toronto 3, Buffalo 2
N.Y. Rangers 4, N.Y. Islanders 2
Ottawa 4, Florida 3, OT
Nashville 6, Columbus 5
Winnipeg 4, Montreal 0
Calgary 3, Detroit 2
Edmonton 4, Minnesota 1

Friday's Games
Florida at Boston, 7 p.m.
Washington at New Jersey, 7 p.m.
Toronto at N.Y. Islanders, 7 p.m.
Philadelphia at N.Y. Rangers, 7 p.m.
Ottawa at Carolina, 7 p.m.
Pittsburgh at Winnipeg, 8:30 p.m.
Nashville at Dallas, 8:30 p.m.
Tampa Bay at Colorado, 9 p.m.
St. Louis at Phoenix, 9 p.m.
Calgary at Vancouver, 10 p.m.
Los Angeles at San Jose, 10:30 p.m.

NBA PRESEASON
Thursday's Games
Atlanta 92, Charlotte 75
Denver 110, Phoenix 85
Saturday's Games
No games scheduled

TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Thursday's Games
( 1) Syracuse 80 Tulane 61
( 2) Ohio St. 69 Miami (Ohio) 40
( 3) Kentucky 87 Loyola (Md.) 63
( 6) Baylor 72 Saint Mary's (Cal) 59
( 8) UConn 79 Fairfield 71
( 9) Missouri 78 (25) Illinois 74
(10) Marquette 64 Milwaukee 50
(11) Florida 82 Florida St. 64
(12) Kansas 63 Southern Cal 47
Long Beach St. 68 (14) Xavier 58
(16) Georgetown 70 Memphis 59
(17) Indiana 89 UMBC 47
(18) Mississippi St. 82 Northwestern St. 67
(19) Michigan St. 90 Lehigh 81
(20) Michigan 77 Bradley 66
(23) Creighton 87 Northwestern 79

TOP-25 WOMEN'S COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Thursday's Games
( 4) Stanford 90 CS Bakersfield 48
(11) Ohio St. 79 Washington St. 57
(13) Georgia 81 Appalachian St. 37
(20) Purdue 73 IPFW 36
(21) DePaul 93 S. Illinois 67
(25) Vanderbilt 64 Florida St. 59

WPPA / T102 SPORTS / Thursday

DALLAS (AP) — Claude Giroux had a goal and three assists in his return from a four-game absence due to a concussion and the surging Philadelphia Flyers beat the Dallas Stars 4-1 last night. Simmonds and Jaromir Jagr added power-play goals, and defenseman Andrej Meszaros connected at even strength for Philadelphia.

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is hoping to play on Saturday when the Steelers host the St. Louis Rams. Roethlisberger says his injured left ankle is no worse after throwing 45 times in a 20-3 loss to San Francisco on Monday night.

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker James Harrison says the NFL should discipline the Cleveland Browns for how they handled Harrison's helmet-to-helmet hit on Cleveland quarterback Colt McCoy. Harrison practiced yesterday for the first time since being suspended for his collision with McCoy. Harrison says he understands the hit was illegal but wonders why the Browns let McCoy return to the game so quickly.

ITHACA, N.Y. (AP) — Penn State overcame a cold night of shooting with some clutch 3-pointers yesterday as the Nittany Lions held off Cornell 74-67. Tim Frazier had 17 points for Penn State, Cammeron Woodyard and Trey Lewis added 13 each and Jermaine Marshall had 12.

FAIRFAX, Va. (AP) — Sean Johnson's 14 points paced four double-figure scorers as Duquesne raced out to an early 15-point lead and stayed ahead of George Mason in the second half for a 75-64 win last night. T.J. McConnell and Eric Evans each scored 12 points for the Dukes.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — C.J. Aiken scored 20 points as Saint Joseph's defeated Coppin State 81-72 last night, tying coach Phil Martelli for the most victories in school history. Langston Galloway added 18 points, Carl Jones had 16 and Daryus Quarles 10 for the Hawks, who won their fourth consecutive game.

LEWISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Maggie Lucas scored 22 points to help Number 16 Penn State beat Bucknell 78-54 last night in the Nittany Lions' final non-league contest before Big Ten play starts next week. It was Lucas' fourth straight game topping 20 points for Penn State, which is now off until December 30th when it opens conference play against Nebraska.

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — About two dozen fans gathered outside Joe Paterno's home last night to wish the former Penn State coach a happy 85th birthday and sing a Christmas carol. Paterno's son, quarterback coach Jay Paterno, thanked the crowd on behalf of his father. He said because of chemotherapy Paterno was a little weak so he couldn't come outside.

LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) — Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby is lending his support to the first Winter Youth Olympics. The IOC says the Canadian star was chosen as the fifth and final "ambassador" for the games, which will take place in Austria, from January 13th-22nd.


NFL
Thursday, Dec. 22
Houston at Indianapolis, 8:20 p.m.

Saturday, Dec. 24
Oakland at Kansas City, 1 p.m.
Jacksonville at Tennessee, 1 p.m.
St. Louis at Pittsburgh, 1 p.m.
Denver at Buffalo, 1 p.m.
Tampa Bay at Carolina, 1 p.m.
Minnesota at Washington, 1 p.m.
Cleveland at Baltimore, 1 p.m.
Miami at New England, 1 p.m.
N.Y. Giants at N.Y. Jets, 1 p.m.
Arizona at Cincinnati, 1 p.m.
San Diego at Detroit, 4:05 p.m.
San Francisco at Seattle, 4:15 p.m.
Philadelphia at Dallas, 4:15 p.m.
Sunday, Dec. 25
Chicago at Green Bay, 8:20 p.m.
Monday, Dec. 26
Atlanta at New Orleans, 8:30 p.m.

NHL
Wednesday's Games
Phoenix 4, Carolina 3
Chicago 5, Montreal 1
Philadelphia 4, Dallas 1
Colorado 3, St. Louis 2
Vancouver 4, Detroit 2
San Jose 7, Tampa Bay 2
Thursday's Games
Buffalo at Toronto, 7 p.m.
N.Y. Islanders at N.Y. Rangers, 7 p.m.
Florida at Ottawa, 7:30 p.m.
Columbus at Nashville, 8 p.m.
Montreal at Winnipeg, 8:30 p.m.
Detroit at Calgary, 9:30 p.m.
Minnesota at Edmonton, 9:30 p.m.
Anaheim at Los Angeles, 10 p.m.
NBA PRESEASON
Wednesday's Games
Orlando 104, Miami 100
Boston 81, Toronto 73
New York 88, New Jersey 82
New Orleans 95, Memphis 80
Minnesota 85, Milwaukee 84
San Antonio 97, Houston 95
Utah 92, Portland 89
L.A. Clippers 108, L.A. Lakers 103
Thursday's Games
Charlotte at Atlanta, 7:30 p.m.
Denver at Phoenix, 9 p.m.

TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Wednesday's Games
( 5) North Carolina 82 Texas 63
(22) Murray St. 78 UT-Martin 54
(24) Virginia 83 Seattle 77
Thursday's Games
No. 1 Syracuse vs. Tulane, 7 p.m.
No. 2 Ohio State vs. Miami (Ohio), 8:30 p.m.
No. 3 Kentucky vs. Loyola (Md.), 1 p.m.
No. 6 Baylor vs. Saint Mary's (Cal) at Orleans Arena, Las Vegas, 10:30 p.m.
No. 8 UConn vs. Fairfield, 7 p.m.
No. 9 Missouri vs. No. 25 Illinois at Scottrade Center, St. Louis, 9 p.m.
No. 10 Marquette vs. Milwaukee, 9 p.m.
No. 11 Florida vs. Florida State, 7 p.m.
No. 12 Kansas at Southern Cal, 11 p.m.
No. 14 Xavier vs. Long Beach State at the Stan Sheriff Center, Honolulu, 11 p.m.
No. 16 Georgetown vs. Memphis, 7 p.m.
No. 17 Indiana vs. UMBC, 6 p.m.
No. 18 Mississippi State vs. Northwestern State, 8 p.m.
No. 19 Michigan State vs. Lehigh, 9 p.m.
No. 20 Michigan vs. Bradley, 6:30 p.m.
No. 23 Creighton vs. Northwestern, 8:05 p.m.

TOP-25 WOMEN'S COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Wednesday's Games
( 1) Baylor 90 McNeese St. 50
( 2) UConn 72 Coll. of Charleston 24
(17) Georgetown 71 ( 7) Miami 46
( 8) Kentucky 90 Samford 61
(15) Texas Tech 75 W. Kentucky 38
(16) Penn St. 78 Bucknell 54
(24) Nebraska 80 S. Dakota St. 71

WPPA / T102 SPORTS / Wednesday

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A veteran Philadelphia sportswriter has been accused in a newspaper report of molesting children decades ago. The Philadelphia Inquirer reports three women and a man claim Bill Conlin groped and fondled them in the 1970s, when they were ages 7 to 12. Conlin is a Hall of Fame baseball writer and Philadelphia Daily News columnist. He retired yesterday from the paper.

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Evgeni Malkin had three assists to move into a tie for the NHL scoring lead and the Pittsburgh Penguins snapped the Chicago Blackhawks' five-game winning streak with a 3-2 victory last night. Malkin assisted on goals by Chris Kunitz, James Neal and Tyler Kennedy, giving him points in all six games since Penguins captain Sidney Crosby left the lineup again because of concussion symptoms.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Jrue Holiday scored 24 points, including 15 in the last 5:35 of the fourth quarter, to propel the Philadelphia 76ers to a 101-94 preseason victory over the Washington Wizards last night. JaVale McGee led Washington with 20 points, 12 in the fourth quarter. John Wall scored 17.

PITTSBURGH (AP) — The lights weren't the only thing that went out in San Francisco. The Pittsburgh Steelers saw their opportunity to take control of the AFC disappear in a 20-3 loss to the 49ers. Injured quarterback Ben Roethlisberger passed for 330 yards, but also threw three interceptions. The Steelers were held without a touchdown for the first time in more than two years.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The Philadelphia Phillies have hired former general manager Ed Wade as a special consultant. Wade was a GM for parts of 13 seasons for the Phillies between and the Houston Astros. He was fired last month after the Astros posted a franchise-worst mark of 56-106 this year.

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) — Kris Joseph had 17 points, Scoop Jardine added 14 and Number 1 Syracuse cruised past Bucknell 80-61 last night. The Orange, who retained the Number 1 ranking for the second straight week after an 88-72 road win over North Carolina State on Saturday, won their 30th straight nonconference home game.

PITTSBURGH (AP) — J.J. Moore scored 15 points, Dante Taylor added 14 points and eight rebounds as Number 15 Pittsburgh crushed St. Francis 71-47 last night. The Panthers won their ninth straight by holding the Red Flash to 35 percent shooting and continuing their dominance on the glass.

MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. (AP) — Velton Jones scored 18 points and Lucky Jones added 16 points and nine rebounds off the bench as Robert Morris defeated Hampton 64-54 last night. Lucky Jones scored five points and Velton Jones four during a 12-4 run that increased a four-point lead for the Colonials to 59-47 with 5:53 remaining.

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — Penn State's current message to prospective recruits sounds a bit unusual: Keep your options open until the school finally settles on a replacement for ousted Hall of Fame coach Joe Paterno. Interim coach Tom Bradley says he wants to maintain transparency with potential Nittany Lions. Meanwhile, Joe Paterno turns 85 today.

NHL
Tuesday's Games
N.Y. Islanders 3, Winnipeg 2, SO
N.Y. Rangers 4, New Jersey 1
Washington 4, Nashville 1
Pittsburgh 3, Chicago 2
Ottawa 4, Buffalo 1
Phoenix 2, Florida 1
Calgary 2, Minnesota 1

Wednesday's Games
Phoenix at Carolina, 7 p.m.
Montreal at Chicago, 7:30 p.m.
Philadelphia at Dallas, 7:30 p.m.
St. Louis at Colorado, 9:30 p.m.
Detroit at Vancouver, 10 p.m.
Tampa Bay at San Jose, 10:30 p.m.

NBA PRESEASON
Tuesday's Games
Philadelphia 101, Washington 94
Detroit 90, Cleveland 89
Chicago 93, Indiana 85
Oklahoma City 87, Dallas 83
Denver 127, Phoenix 110
Sacramento 95, Golden State 91

Wednesday's Games
Miami at Orlando, 7 p.m.
Toronto at Boston, 7:30 p.m.
New Jersey at New York, 7:30 p.m.
Memphis at New Orleans, 8 p.m.
Minnesota at Milwaukee, 8 p.m.
Houston at San Antonio, 8:30 p.m.
Portland at Utah, 9 p.m.
L.A. Lakers at L.A. Clippers, 10:30 p.m.

TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Tuesday's Games
( 1) Syracuse 80 Bucknell 61
( 2) Ohio St. 70 Lamar 50
( 3) Kentucky 82 Samford 50
( 4) Louisville 69 Coll. of Charleston 62
(15) Pittsburgh 71 St. Francis (Pa.) 47

TOP-25 WOMEN'S COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Tuesday's Games
( 3) Notre Dame 90 UCF 38
( 4) Stanford 97 ( 6) Tennessee 80
( 9) Duke 107 UNC Wilmington 45
(11) Ohio St. 88 S. Utah 50
(13) Georgia 63 Montana St. 49
(18) Green Bay 80 Ball St. 39
(20) Purdue 66 Oakland 47
(22) Texas 91 Grambling St. 38
(23) North Carolina 65 East Carolina 61

WPPA / T102 SPORTS / Tuesday

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The San Francisco 49ers were lights-out in their return to prime time. They prevailed through a pair of power outages to beat ailing quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and the Pittsburgh Steelers 20-3 last night. The Steelers missed a key chance to take sole possession of first place in the AFC North and gain the AFC's Number 1 playoff seed.

DENVER (AP) — Ryan O'Reilly scored in the first round of a shootout and the Colorado Avalanche beat Philadelphia Flyers 3-2 last night for their sixth straight victory at home. Jean-Sebastien Giguere turned away a shot by Matt Read in the shootout and had 31 saves for the Avalanche.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The Philadelphia Eagles' playoff hopes are improving. The Eagles are still in the playoff hunt in a mediocre NFC East following a 45-19 rout over the New York Jets on Sunday. Now they will need those same Jets to beat the New York Giants on Saturday to keep them in contention.

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — A person close to Joe Paterno's family says the former Penn State coach is out of the hospital and showing signs of improvement after being treated for lung cancer. The person says Paterno's tumor is showing substantial reduction following radiation and chemotherapy. Paterno turns 85 tomorrow.

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — Penn State interim coach Tom Bradley says he interviewed to keep the job on a permanent basis but doesn't know when the school might reach a decision. Bradley has declined to offer details on his interview other than to say he's excited to get the opportunity.

HOUSTON (AP) — Juan Fernandez scored 23 points and reached a career milestone, Ramone Moore added 15 points, and Temple pulled away in the second half last night to beat Rice 77-70. Fernandez came into the game needing three points to reach 1,000 for his career. He got to 1,001 on a layup 5:10 into the game, then kept scoring. For the game, Fernandez was 8 of 18 from the field, including 5 of 7 on 3-pointers.

NEWARK, Del. (AP) — Khalid Lewis scored all 18 of his points in the second half to lead Delaware to a 70-66 victory over La Salle last night, snapping the Explorers' five-game winning streak. Kyle Anderson hit a jumper and 3-pointer to break the game's ninth tie and give the Blue Hens a 65-60 lead with 3:16 remaining.


NFL
Thursday's Game
Atlanta 41, Jacksonville 14

Saturday's Game
Dallas 31, Tampa Bay 15

Sunday's Games
New Orleans 42, Minnesota 20
Seattle 38, Chicago 14
Cincinnati 20, St. Louis 13
Carolina 28, Houston 13
Kansas City 19, Green Bay 14
Indianapolis 27, Tennessee 13
Miami 30, Buffalo 23
Washington 23, N.Y. Giants 10
Detroit 28, Oakland 27
New England 41, Denver 23
Arizona 20, Cleveland 17, OT
Philadelphia 45, N.Y. Jets 19
San Diego 34, Baltimore 14

Monday's Game
San Francisco 20, Pittsburgh 3

NHL
Monday's Games
Los Angeles 3, Toronto 2, SO
Colorado 3, Philadelphia 2, SO
Boston 3, Montreal 2
Dallas 5, Anaheim 3
Detroit 3, Edmonton 2
Vancouver 4, Minnesota 0

Tuesday's Games
N.Y. Rangers at New Jersey, 7 p.m.
Nashville at Washington, 7 p.m.
Chicago at Pittsburgh, 7:30 p.m.
Buffalo at Ottawa, 7:30 p.m.
Phoenix at Florida, 7:30 p.m.
N.Y. Islanders at Winnipeg, 8:30 p.m.
Minnesota at Calgary, 9 p.m.

NBA PRESEASON
Monday's Games
Charlotte 79, Atlanta 77
Portland 110, Utah 90
L.A. Clippers 114, L.A. Lakers 95

Tuesday's Games
Washington at Philadelphia, 7 p.m.
Detroit at Cleveland, 7 p.m.
Indiana at Chicago, 8 p.m.
Dallas at Oklahoma City, 8 p.m.
Phoenix at Denver, 9 p.m.
Golden State at Sacramento, 10 p.m.

TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Monday's Games
( 5) North Carolina 99 Nicholls St. 49
( 6) Baylor 95 Paul Quinn 54
( 7) Duke 90 UNC Greensboro 63
LSU 67 (10) Marquette 59
(11) Florida 82 MVSU 54
Davidson 80 (12) Kansas 74
(17) Indiana 107 Howard 50
(19) Michigan St. 89 UMKC 54
(21) UNLV 81 Louisiana-Monroe 63
(23) Creighton 83 Tulsa 64
(25) Illinois 64 Cornell 60

Tuesday's Games
No. 1 Syracuse vs. Bucknell, 7 p.m.
No. 2 Ohio State vs. Lamar, 8:30 p.m.
No. 3 Kentucky vs. Samford, 7 p.m.
No. 4 Louisville vs. College of Charleston, 9 p.m.
No. 15 Pittsburgh vs. St. Francis (Pa.), 7 p.m.

TOP-25 WOMEN'S COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Monday's Games
(11) Ohio St. 88 Charlotte 58
Gonzaga 71 (13) Georgia 68
(14) Louisville 75 Washington St. 71
(19) Delaware 68 Providence 47
(21) DePaul 73 Illinois St. 54

Tuesday's Games
No. 3 Notre Dame vs. UCF, 7 p.m.
No. 4 Stanford vs. No. 6 Tennessee, 10 p.m.
No. 9 Duke vs. UNC Wilmington, 7 p.m.
No. 11 Ohio State vs. Southern Utah, 2 p.m.
No. 13 Georgia vs. Montana State at South Point Arena, Las Vegas, 6:30 p.m.
No. 18 Green Bay vs. Ball State, 8 p.m.
No. 20 Purdue vs. Oakland, Noon
No. 22 Texas vs. Grambling State, 8 p.m.
No. 23 North Carolina vs. East Carolina at the Myrtle Beach (S.C.) Convention Center, 7 p.m.

WPPA / T102 SPORTS / Friday

MONTREAL (AP) — Andrei Meszaros scored 8:08 into the third, Mathieu Carle had three assists and the Philadelphia Flyers extended their winning streak to seven with a 4-3 victory over the Montreal Canadiens last night. Maxime Talbot, Harry Zolnierczyk and Wayne Simmonds also scored for the Flyers in the victory tempered by news that captain Chris Pronger will miss the rest of the regular season and playoffs because of severe post-concussion syndrome.

CARLISLE, Pa. (AP) — An attorney for former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky says his recent comments about some children needing instruction on how to shower did not apply to his client's conduct. Carlisle attorney Karl Rominger said during an interview with WHTM-TV earlier this week that troubled youths sometimes have to be taught basic life skills "like how to put soap on their body."

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Today's court hearing in Harrisburg for two Penn State officials will focus on exactly what they were told about child sex-abuse allegations in 2002. Former Vice President Gary Schultz and athletic director Tim Curley are charged with lying to a grand jury and failing to report sex-abuse allegations to police.

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — Penn State has asked for more time to respond to an NCAA inquiry over the university's handling of child sex abuse accusations against former assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky. Penn State said in a letter to the NCAA that answers to questions about the Sandusky case might come from other, separate investigations already in progress.

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger says his sprained left ankle feels better but he's still not sure when he will return to practice. Roethlisberger hopes he sees enough improvement over the next day or so to practice sometime before the Steelers play at San Francisco on Monday night.

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. (AP) — Plaxico Burress credits Michael Vick for paving the way for his NFL comeback. The New York Jets wide receiver says if Vick hadn't been able to return to the league and be successful after serving prison time, he's not sure he would have been able to do the same.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The Philadelphia Phillies have signed lefty Dontrelle Willis to a one-year contract, worth $850,000. The 30-year-old Willis was the 2003 NL Rookie of the Year with Florida and finished second in Cy Young Award voting in 2005. He was 1-6 with a 5.00 ERA for Cincinnati last year.


NFL
Thursday's Game
Atlanta 41, Jacksonville 14
Saturday's Game
Dallas at Tampa Bay, 8:20 p.m.
Sunday's Games
New Orleans at Minnesota, 1 p.m.
Seattle at Chicago, 1 p.m.
Cincinnati at St. Louis, 1 p.m.
Carolina at Houston, 1 p.m.
Green Bay at Kansas City, 1 p.m.
Tennessee at Indianapolis, 1 p.m.
Miami at Buffalo, 1 p.m.
Washington at N.Y. Giants, 1 p.m.
Detroit at Oakland, 4:05 p.m.
New England at Denver, 4:15 p.m.
Cleveland at Arizona, 4:15 p.m.
N.Y. Jets at Philadelphia, 4:15 p.m.
Baltimore at San Diego, 8:20 p.m.
Monday's Game
Pittsburgh at San Francisco, 8:30 p.m.

NHL
Thursday's Games
Dallas 3, N.Y. Islanders 2
Carolina 4, Vancouver 3
Los Angeles 2, Columbus 1
Philadelphia 4, Montreal 3
Tampa Bay 5, Calgary 4, OT
St. Louis 4, N.Y. Rangers 1
Nashville 4, Detroit 3
Washington 1, Winnipeg 0
Phoenix 4, Edmonton 2
San Jose 5, Colorado 4
Friday's Games
Toronto at Buffalo, 7:30 p.m.
Pittsburgh at Ottawa, 7:30 p.m.
Calgary at Florida, 7:30 p.m.
Dallas at New Jersey, 8 p.m.
Anaheim at Chicago, 8:30 p.m.

TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Thursday's Games
(10) Missouri 104 Kennesaw St. 67
(14) Wisconsin 66 Savannah St. 33
(24) Murray St. 89 Lipscomb 65
Friday's Games
No games scheduled

WOMEN'S TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Thursday's Games
No games scheduled
Friday's Games
No. 7 Miami vs. Louisiana-Monroe, 7 p.m.
No. 23 DePaul vs. Arizona State, 8 p.m.

WPPA / T-102 SPORTS / Wednesday

WASHINGTON (AP) — Scott Hartnell extended his goal-scoring streak to six games, Marc-Andre Bourdon got his first NHL goal and the Philadelphia Flyers beat the Washington Capitals 5-1 last night for their sixth straight victory. Philadelphia, which owns the best record in the Eastern Conference, built a 4-0 lead in the second period and coasted to the finish.

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Pavel Datsyuk had a goal and an assist and Jimmy Howard stopped 25 shots to lead the Detroit Red Wings to a 4-1 victory over the injury-depleted Pittsburgh Penguins last night. Johan Franzen added his team-leading 14th goal for Detroit and Danny Cleary provided some insurance with a pair of late goals as the Red Wings won their third straight.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Lawyers for two Penn State officials charged with perjury and failure to report suspected child sex-abuse say the two men won't waive their preliminary hearing later this week. Lawyers for Gary Schultz and Tim Curley say their clients are eager for Friday's hearing in Harrisburg. Meanwhile, former assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky waived his preliminary hearing yesterday on child sex abuse charges.

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is questionable for next Monday's game at San Francisco because of a sprained left ankle. Coach Mike Tomlin says Roethlisberger is "day-to-day" but is working hard to be on the field against the 49ers.

UNDATED (AP) — Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker James Harrison has been suspended for one game without pay for his hit last week on Browns quarterback Colt McCoy. NFL officials say the suspension is the result of Harrison's fifth illegal hit against a quarterback in the past three seasons. The NFL says Harrison won't be allowed at team facilities until next Tuesday, December 20th.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A person familiar with the deal says the Philadelphia Phillies have agreed to a one-year contract with lefty Dontrelle Willis. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the deal is pending a physical. Willis will make about $1 million.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Mouphtaou Yarou had 13 points and 13 rebounds as rebuilding Villanova shook off a slow start to overcome Boston University 68-43 last night. Dominic Cheek chipped in with 14 points and seven rebounds as the unranked Wildcats avoided a third consecutive loss.

LEWISTON, N.Y. (AP) — Chris Fouch scored a season-high 24 points, hitting six 3-pointers, and Drexel held Niagara without a field goal for more than 14 minutes in the second half of a 71-58 victory last night. The Dragons had their own shooting woes in the first half, losing a nine-point lead en route to trailing 37-31 at the break. Drexel then broke the game open with a 29-4 run.


NHL
Tuesday's Games
Columbus 2, Vancouver 1, SO
New Jersey 3, Florida 2, SO
Colorado 4, San Jose 3, SO
Boston 3, Los Angeles 0
Ottawa 3, Buffalo 2, OT
Toronto 2, Carolina 1, OT
Dallas 1, N.Y. Rangers 0
Detroit 4, Pittsburgh 1
Philadelphia 5, Washington 1
Montreal 5, N.Y. Islanders 3
Nashville 2, Calgary 1
Winnipeg 2, Minnesota 1
Wednesday's Games
Boston at Ottawa, 7:30 p.m.
Chicago at Minnesota, 7:30 p.m.
Phoenix at Anaheim, 10 p.m.

TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Tuesday's Games
(14) Wisconsin 60 Milwaukee 54
(17) Mississippi St. 75 FAU 68
(20) Michigan 63 Ark.-Pine Bluff 50

Wednesday's Games
No. 2 Ohio State vs. South Carolina-Upstate, 7:30 p.m.
No. 6 Baylor vs. Bethune-Cookman, 8 p.m.

TOP-25 WOMEN'S COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Tuesday's Games
( 6) Tennessee 67 (11) Rutgers 61
(12) Ohio St. 83 Southern U. 49
(23) DePaul 78 Princeton 67

Wednesday's Games
No. 14 Louisville at Cincinnati, 7 p.m.
No. 24 Texas vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Noon

WPPA / T102 SPORTS / Tuesday

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A former Penn State assistant football coach accused of molesting boys is set to face his accusers today. The preliminary hearing for Jerry Sandusky will last at least one day. Sandusky is charged with more than 50 counts of child sex abuse involving 10 boys. The accusers could testify publicly for the first time about what prosecutors say was years of child abuse. Sandusky admits showering with boys but says he didn't molest them.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Court officials setting media rules for the preliminary hearing for a former Penn State assistant football coach accused of molesting boys will allow real-time reporting from the courtroom. Officials say reporters will be allowed to email, send text messages and tweet from inside the courtroom in Centre County during Jerry Sandusky's hearing.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Every time the Philadelphia Eagles have won a game during this lost season, they've considered it a starting point. They've run out of time to turn things around, but they're still clinging to playoff hopes. A 26-10 win at Miami on Sunday coupled with the New York Giants' 37-34 victory at Dallas kept Philadelphia alive in the division race.

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker James Harrison doesn't think the NFL should fine him for his helmet-to-helmet hit on Cleveland quarterback Colt McCoy in last week's victory over the Browns. Harrison says he hasn't heard from the NFL and doesn't expect to. The 2008 NFL Defensive Player of the Year insists he did nothing wrong on the play.

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Pittsburgh Penguins star Sidney Crosby is out indefinitely with concussion-like symptoms. Crosby says he noticed a recurrence of the problems that sidelined him for more than 10 months earlier this year following a 3-1 loss to Boston last week. Crosby sat out Pittsburgh's two-game road trip to Philadelphia and New York as a precaution but says he's noticed familiar symptoms during light workouts over the weekend.

VOORHEES, N.J. (AP) — Flyers center Claude Giroux will not make the trip to Washington for tonight's game as he recovers from a head injury. Giroux leads the NHL with 39 points. He was hit in the back of the head by teammate Wayne Simmonds on Saturday night against Tampa Bay.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The Philadelphia Phillies have traded outfielder Ben Francisco to the Toronto Blue Jays for left-hander Frank Gailey. Francisco spent parts of three seasons with the Phils, hitting .259 with 17 home runs and 75 RBIs in 225 games. He hit a three-run, pinch-hit homer to lead the Phillies past St. Louis in Game 3 of the 2011 NL division series. The Cardinals won the series in five games.

PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Pittsburgh Pirates have acquired third baseman Casey McGehee from the Milwaukee Brewers in a trade for reliever Jose Veras. The move came hours after the Brewers agreed to terms with free-agent third baseman Aramis Ramirez yesterday.


NFL
Thursday's Game
Pittsburgh 14, Cleveland 3
Sunday's Games
New Orleans 22, Tennessee 17
Baltimore 24, Indianapolis 10
N.Y. Jets 37, Kansas City 10
Detroit 34, Minnesota 28
Houston 20, Cincinnati 19
Jacksonville 41, Tampa Bay 14
Atlanta 31, Carolina 23
Philadelphia 26, Miami 10
New England 34, Washington 27
Arizona 21, San Francisco 19
Denver 13, Chicago 10, OT
San Diego 37, Buffalo 10
Green Bay 46, Oakland 16
N.Y. Giants 37, Dallas 34
Monday's Game
Seattle 30, St. Louis 13
NHL
Monday's Games
New Jersey 5, Tampa Bay 4
Tuesday's Games
Los Angeles at Boston, 7 p.m.
Ottawa at Buffalo, 7 p.m.
Carolina at Toronto, 7 p.m.
Dallas at N.Y. Rangers, 7 p.m.
Detroit at Pittsburgh, 7 p.m.
Philadelphia at Washington, 7 p.m.
Vancouver at Columbus, 7 p.m.
New Jersey at Florida, 7:30 p.m.
N.Y. Islanders at Montreal, 7:30 p.m.
Calgary at Nashville, 8 p.m.
Minnesota at Winnipeg, 8:30 p.m.
San Jose at Colorado, 9 p.m.
Top 25 College Basketball
Tuesday's Games
No. 14 Wisconsin at Milwaukee, 8 p.m.
No. 17 Mississippi State vs. Florida Atlantic, 9 p.m.
No. 20 Michigan vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff, 7 p.m.
Women's Top 25 Schedule
Tuesday's Games
No. 6 Tennessee at No. 11 Rutgers, 7 p.m.
No. 12 Ohio State vs. Southern U., 7:30 p.m.
No. 23 DePaul at Princeton, 7 p.m.

WPPA / T-102 SPORTS / Monday

MIAMI (AP) — The Philadelphia Eagles forced three turnovers while scoring four times in a nine-minute span in the second quarter. They totaled nine sacks to beat the Miami Dolphins 26-10 yesterday. Michael Vick was back after missing three games with broken ribs. He threw for 208 yards and a touchdown. LeSean McCoy scored two touchdowns.

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — A source close to the family of Joe Paterno tells The Associated Press the former Penn State coach was admitted to the hospital yesterday after re-fracturing his pelvis following a fall at his home. Paterno initially injured the pelvis after a player accidentally blindsided him in preseason practice. Paterno is also being treated for lung cancer.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — With his team in first place and the Winter Classic coming to town, it's a good time to be Ed Snider. The Philadelphia Flyers founder and owner is set for a more personal honor: Snider will be inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame today.

FAIRFIELD, Conn. (AP) — Shane Gibson led Sacred Heart with 22 points and seven rebounds, propelling the Pioneers to an 84-79 win over Lafayette yesterday. Chris Evans added 16 points and Stan Dulaire 15 for the Pioneers, who snapped a three-game losing slide ahead of a trip to Notre Dame next Monday.

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — Maggie Lucas scored 20 points, Nikki Greene added 14 and Number 17 Penn State defeated Maryland-Eastern Shore 76-51 yesterday. Alex Bentley had 11 points and a game-high nine assists as the Lady Lions shot 47 percent from the field. Penn State has averaged 80 points per game over its last six contests, going 5-1 during that stretch.


NFL
Thursday's Game
Pittsburgh 14, Cleveland 3
Sunday's Games
New Orleans 22, Tennessee 17
Baltimore 24, Indianapolis 10
N.Y. Jets 37, Kansas City 10
Detroit 34, Minnesota 28
Houston 20, Cincinnati 19
Jacksonville 41, Tampa Bay 14
Atlanta 31, Carolina 23
Philadelphia 26, Miami 10
New England 34, Washington 27
Arizona 21, San Francisco 19
Denver 13, Chicago 10, OT
San Diego 37, Buffalo 10
Green Bay 46, Oakland 16
N.Y. Giants 37, Dallas 34
Monday's Game
St. Louis at Seattle, 8:30 p.m.

NHL
Sunday's Games
Chicago 3, San Jose 2, OT
N.Y. Rangers 6, Florida 1
Monday's Games
New Jersey at Tampa Bay, 7 p.m.

TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Sunday's Games
(16) Alabama 62 Detroit 54
Murray St. 76 (21) Memphis 72
(24) Illinois 80 Coppin St. 63

TOP-25 WOMEN'S COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Sunday's Games
( 1) Baylor 73 St. John's 59
( 5) Maryland 78 George Mason 50
( 6) Duke 93 SC-Upstate 35
( 7) Tennessee 84 (20) DePaul 61
( 8) Texas A&M 68 TCU 53
(10) Kentucky 101 Ark.-Pine Bluff 43
Cent. Michigan 75 (12) Purdue 62
(17) Penn St. 76 Md.-Eastern Shore 51
(18) North Carolina 93 ETSU 77
(19) Georgetown 59 George Washington 50
(22) Delaware 70 Wake Forest 57
(24) Oklahoma 72 Milwaukee 50

PIAA FOOTBALL PLAYOFFS

CLASS A SEMI FINALS

Southern Columbia 37

Penns Manor 6

Clairton 30

Sharpsville 8

CLASS AAA SEMI FINALS

Archbishop Wood 70

Allentown Central Catholic 14

Bishop McDevitt 41

Montour 32

HIGH SCHOOL OPENING NIGHT HOOPS

Boys

Shenandoah Valley 44

Pine Grove 43

Pottsville 64

Danville 59 OT

Mahanoy Area 47

Panther Valley 30

Jim Thorpe 55

Marian 42

Nativity 41

Lourdes 37

Tamaqua 56

Weatherly 27

Girls

Minersville 66

Pottsville 20

Marian 66

New Hope Charter 16

Lourdes 69

Bellefonte 23

Nativity 57

Moravian Academy 41

Blue Mountain 50

Whitehall 36

Mahanoy Area 35

Catasauqua 20

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - The 76ers have agreed to a new multi-year
contract with restricted free agent forward Thaddeus Young. Sixers
president Rod Thorn said last week he'd match any reasonable offer
made to Philadelphia's top reserve. But they never let negotiations
get that far by signing him on the first day of training camp,
without having to match another team's offer.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Flyers defenseman Chris Pronger will be
sidelined indefinitely with concussion-like symptoms. Flyers
general manager Paul Holmgren says Pronger has complained of a
fairly persistent headache and sluggish feeling over the last few
days. Pronger will visit with two concussions specialists Wednesday
in Pittsburgh.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - The 76ers have signed first-round draft pick
Nikola Vucevic and second-round pick Lavoy Allen on the first day
of NBA training camp. The Sixers took Vucevic, the 7-foot,
260-pound out of USC, with the 16th overall selection. The Sixers
stayed local in the second round, picking Temple forward Allen with
the 50th pick.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Holding onto their last breath of making the
postseason, the Eagles will once again attempt to fix the weakest
link of their weakest unit. In what has become almost a weekly
change, the Eagles are asking their forgotten man, Casey Matthews,
to return to the nickel defense this week when they travel to Miami
to face the Dolphins in a battle of a 4-8 teams tomorrow.

BETHLEHEM, Pa. (AP) - Lehigh's top receiver has been suspended
for Saturday's FCS quarterfinal at North Dakota State for
forwarding a message on social media that included a racial slur
against members of the Towson University team. The Division I
Football Championship Committee announced Thursday that it had also
reprimanded junior Ryan Spadola.

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) - Penn State will no longer license the
name, likeness or image of former coach Joe Paterno. A school
spokeswoman says the university sent notices this week to licensees
that Paterno's daughter, Mary Kay Hort, will now handle the
licensing program for JVP Properties. Penn State previously
assisted with licensing.

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) - UCLA swept four-time defending national
champion Penn State in the NCAA regional semifinals yesterday to
end the Nittany Lions' record 26-game postseason winning streak.
Aiyana Whitney had 12 kills for the eighth-seeded Nittany Lions in
the 25-20, 25-22, 25-21 loss.

WPPA / T102 SPORTS / Friday

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger played through a painful left leg injury to lead the Steelers to a 14-3 victory over the Cleveland Browns last night. Roethlisberger passed for 280 yards and two touchdowns, including a 79-yard scoring strike to Antonio Brown with 2:52 remaining to help the Steelers win for the eighth time in their last nine games.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Danny Briere, Wayne Simmonds and Scott Hartnell each scored to lift the Philadelphia Flyers to a 3-2 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins last night. Penguins star Sidney Crosby missed the first of two games as a precaution following a collision with teammate Chris Kunitz in Monday night's loss to Boston.

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — The wife of ex-Penn State coach Jerry Sandusky says her husband is innocent of the child sex abuse allegations against him. Dottie Sandusky says his accusers are making up their stories. These are the first comments she's made since her husband was arrested last month and accused of molesting boys.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A state agency has upheld Penn State's refusal to release records of a campus police investigation involving former assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky. The state Office of Open Records has ruled that Penn State doesn't have to release any records of the 1998 inquiry involving Jerry Sandusky.

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — Penn State plans to cooperate with the Big Ten after the conference said it would review the child sex-abuse scandal at the school. The 12-member league also reserves the right to hand down sanctions pending its findings.

UNDATED (AP) — Penn State interim coach Tom Bradley hopes to sit down with acting athletic director David Joyner next week to talk about taking the job on a permanent basis. The longtime defensive coordinator took over November 9th after school trustees fired Hall of Famer Joe Paterno in the wake of child sex-abuse charges against retired assistant coach Jerry Sandusky.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The Philadelphia Phillies have signed outfielder Laynce Nix to a $2.5 million, two-year contract. Nix batted .250 with a career-high 16 home runs and 44 RBIs in 124 games for the Washington Nationals last season. He started 79 games, including 59 in left field, 12 in right field and six at first base. The 32-year-old Nix is a left-handed hitter.

CORAOPOLIS, Pa. (AP) — Trevon Harmon tied his career high with 24 points, helping Cleveland State rally to overtake Robert Morris and then hold on for a 62-58 win last night. Harmon scored all 10 points for the Vikings in the final 3:04 of the first half, including a 30-foot 3-pointer at the buzzer, for a 27-24 halftime lead.

LEXINGTON, Va. (AP) — Stan Okoye scored 22 points to lead six Virginia Military Institute players in double figures as the Keydets pulled away from Central Penn College 109-86 last night, snapping a four-game losing streak. VMI, which posted its highest point total of the season, led only 46-42 at halftime.


NFL
Thursday's Game
Pittsburgh 14, Cleveland 3
Sunday's Games
New Orleans at Tennessee, 1 p.m.
Indianapolis at Baltimore, 1 p.m.
Kansas City at N.Y. Jets, 1 p.m.
Minnesota at Detroit, 1 p.m.
Houston at Cincinnati, 1 p.m.
Tampa Bay at Jacksonville, 1 p.m.
Atlanta at Carolina, 1 p.m.
Philadelphia at Miami, 1 p.m.
New England at Washington, 1 p.m.
San Francisco at Arizona, 4:05 p.m.
Chicago at Denver, 4:05 p.m.
Buffalo at San Diego, 4:15 p.m.
Oakland at Green Bay, 4:15 p.m.
N.Y. Giants at Dallas, 8:20 p.m.
Monday's Game
St. Louis at Seattle, 8:30 p.m.

NHL
Thursday's Games
New Jersey 5, Ottawa 4, SO
Tampa Bay 3, N.Y. Rangers 2, SO
Vancouver 4, Montreal 3, SO
Florida 2, Boston 0
Chicago 3, N.Y. Islanders 2, OT
Philadelphia 3, Pittsburgh 2
Nashville 4, Columbus 3, OT
Detroit 5, Phoenix 2
St. Louis 4, Anaheim 2
Calgary 3, Colorado 2
Minnesota 4, Los Angeles 2
San Jose 5, Dallas 2
Friday's Games
Toronto at Washington, 7 p.m.
Florida at Buffalo, 7:30 p.m.
Carolina at Winnipeg, 8:30 p.m.
Colorado at Edmonton, 9:30 p.m.

TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Thursday's Game
( 9) UConn 67 (25) Harvard 53

TOP-25 WOMEN'S COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Thursday's Games
( 1) Baylor 72 Milwaukee 41
( 5) Maryland 108 Delaware St. 33
(10) Kentucky 72 ( 6) Duke 65
(11) Rutgers 68 Fordham 48
(21) Green Bay 72 Toledo 65
Fresno St. 69 (24) Oklahoma 66

WPPA / T102 SPORTS / Thursday

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — Jerry Sandusky was taken to a Pennsylvania county jail after he was unable to post $250,000 cash bail. The former Penn State assistant coach was jailed yesterday after a brief court hearing. Sandusky faces new charges based on the testimony of two new accusers, including one who claims Sandusky molested him numerous times in a basement bedroom at Sandusky's home.

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Claude Giroux scored 2:27 into overtime for the Philadelphia Flyers, who overcame a three-goal, first-period deficit and beat the Buffalo Sabres 5-4 last night. Rookie Matt Read, Scott Hartnell, and Jaromir Jagr scored in the second period, and Maxime Talbot added goals for Philadelphia, which led 4-3 in the third.

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Pittsburgh Penguins star Sidney Crosby will miss the next two games as a precaution after he collided with teammate Chris Kunitz in Monday night's loss to Boston. General manager Ray Shero said yesterday the former MVP wasn't "feeling 100 percent" after running into Kunitz in the third period.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Until the Philadelphia Eagles are mathematically eliminated from playoff contention, they won't look toward the future or reflect on the past. The underachieving Eagles head to Miami on Sunday, and playing the Dolphins is all they're talking about.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Langston Galloway scored a career-high 30 points to lead Saint Joseph's to a 75-68 win over Boston University last night. Galloway shot 9 for 14 from the field, while making a career-best 6 of 8 3-pointers. His last one came with 2:11 to play after BU had cut the deficit to 66-61. The Hawks closed out the game 6 for 11 from the foul line.

TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) — Aaron Brown came off the bench to lead all scorers with 19 points as Temple posted a 77-58 win over Toledo last night, snapping the Rockets' six-game winning streak. The Owls never trailed and opened up an 18-point lead at 30-12 midway through the first half.



NHL
Wednesday's Games
Washington 5, Ottawa 3
Philadelphia 5, Buffalo 4, OT
Carolina 5, Edmonton 3

Thursday's Games
Florida at Boston, 7 p.m.
Ottawa at New Jersey, 7 p.m.
Chicago at N.Y. Islanders, 7 p.m.
Tampa Bay at N.Y. Rangers, 7 p.m.
Pittsburgh at Philadelphia, 7 p.m.
Nashville at Columbus, 7 p.m.
Vancouver at Montreal, 7:30 p.m.
Phoenix at Detroit, 7:30 p.m.
Anaheim at St. Louis, 8 p.m.
Colorado at Calgary, 9 p.m.
Minnesota at Los Angeles, 10:30 p.m.
Dallas at San Jose, 10:30 p.m.

NFL
Thursday, Dec. 8
Cleveland at Pittsburgh, 8:20 p.m.

Sunday, Dec. 11
New Orleans at Tennessee, 1 p.m.
Indianapolis at Baltimore, 1 p.m.
Kansas City at N.Y. Jets, 1 p.m.
Minnesota at Detroit, 1 p.m.
Houston at Cincinnati, 1 p.m.
Tampa Bay at Jacksonville, 1 p.m.
Atlanta at Carolina, 1 p.m.
Philadelphia at Miami, 1 p.m.
New England at Washington, 1 p.m.
San Francisco at Arizona, 4:05 p.m.
Chicago at Denver, 4:05 p.m.
Buffalo at San Diego, 4:15 p.m.
Oakland at Green Bay, 4:15 p.m.
N.Y. Giants at Dallas, 8:20 p.m.

Monday, Dec. 12
St. Louis at Seattle, 8:30 p.m.

TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Wednesday's Games
( 5) Louisville 90 IUPUI 60
( 7) Duke 87 Colorado St. 64
( 8) Xavier 73 Butler 61
(12) Florida 78 Arizona 72, OT
(14) Wisconsin 70 Green Bay 42
Dayton 74 (16) Alabama 62
(22) Texas A&M 64 Sam Houston St. 37
(24) Illinois 48 St. Bonaventure 43

Thursday's Game
No. 9 UConn vs. No. 25 Harvard, 7 p.m.

TOP-25 WOMEN'S COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Wednesday's Games
( 3) Notre Dame 95 Marquette 42
(16) Texas Tech 88 Texas-Arlington 48
(18) North Carolina 95 Lipscomb 53
(19) Georgetown 82 Pittsburgh 54
(20) DePaul 69 St. John's 52
(23) Vanderbilt 99 UT-Martin 84

Thursday's Games
No. 1 Baylor vs. Milwaukee, 8 p.m.
No. 5 Maryland vs. Delaware State, 7 p.m.
No. 6 Duke at No. 10 Kentucky, 6 p.m.
No. 11 Rutgers vs. Fordham, 7:30 p.m.
No. 21 Green Bay at Toledo, 7 p.m.
No. 24 Oklahoma at Fresno State, 10 p.m

WPPA / T102 SPORTS / Wednesday

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — Penn State football bowl revenue this year will reach at least $2 million, $500,000 more than the amount the school promised last week would be donated to charities to raise awareness of child abuse issues. School president Rodney Erickson says the additional revenue will go toward helping establish a Penn State institute that would work in the treatment and prevention of child abuse.

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — Penn State likely won't provide the NCAA all the answers it wants by next Friday's deadline for its inquiry into whether the school broke rules with its handling of the scandal that cost Joe Paterno his job. School president Rodney Erickson said yesterday the university would respond to the NCAA as a "work in progress."

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Pittsburgh Steelers nose tackle Chris Hoke's neck injury may force him to miss the rest of the season. Hoke visited with doctors on Monday to take a second look at the stinger the 10-year veteran sustained against Jacksonville in October.

BEREA, Ohio (AP) — Browns quarterback Colt McCoy is practicing and expects to start tomorrow against Pittsburgh. McCoy sprained his right knee in the first quarter of Sunday's loss to Baltimore. He was seen limping around the team's facility on Monday, but Browns coach Pat Shurmur said McCoy participated in yesterday's pre-practice walkthrough and "is ready to roll."

NEW YORK (AP) — Marcus Denmon had his second straight strong game from 3-point range, this time making six and scoring 28 points in Number 10 Missouri's 81-71 victory over Villanova in the Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden last night. The 6-foot-3 senior guard made seven 3s while scoring a career-high 31 points in the Tigers' last game against Northwestern State.

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Ashton Gibbs scored 20 points and Number 15 Pittsburgh rolled to its sixth straight win with a 97-70 victory over VMI yesterday. Nasir Robinson added 19 points, 14 rebounds and five assists for the Panthers, who shot 49 percent from the floor and made a season-high 13 3-pointers while easily outscoring the uptempo but overmatched Keydets.

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Lijah Thompson scored 17 points and helped Robert Morris make a 7-2 closing run to defeat Duquesne 64-60 last night. Russell Johnson added 15 points and Velton Jones 13 for Robert Morris which is off to its best start in school history.

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — Maggie Lucas scored 20 points to help Number 17 Penn State cruise to a 66-28 victory over Virginia Tech last night. Nikki Greene added 14 points for the Nittany Lions and Alex Bentley had 11 to reach 1,000 for her career.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A judge has refused to grant Lenny Dykstra a temporary restraining order against a man the former baseball player claims is threatening his finances and freedom. An attorney for Dykstra sought the order against Pennsylvania resident Daniel Herman. The filing accused Herman of trying to sabotage Dykstra's business interests and contact the judge handling the former New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies outfielder's embezzlement case.


NHL
Tuesday's Games
Columbus 3, Montreal 2, SO
New Jersey 3, Toronto 2, OT
N.Y. Islanders 5, Tampa Bay 1
St. Louis 3, Detroit 2
Phoenix 3, Nashville 2
Winnipeg 2, Boston 1
Calgary 7, Carolina 6
Vancouver 6, Colorado 0
Anaheim 3, Los Angeles 2
Minnesota 2, San Jose 1
Wednesday's Games
Washington at Ottawa, 7 p.m.
Philadelphia at Buffalo, 7:30 p.m.
Carolina at Edmonton, 9:30 p.m.

TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Tuesday's Games
( 3) Syracuse 62 Marshall 56
( 4) North Carolina 97 Evansville 48
(10) Missouri 81 Villanova 71
(11) Marquette 79 Washington 77
(13) Kansas 88 Long Beach St. 80
(15) Pittsburgh 97 VMI 70
(21) Memphis 71 Miami 54

Wednesday's Games
No. 5 Louisville vs. IUPUI, 7 p.m.
No. 7 Duke vs. Colorado State, 7 p.m.
No. 8 Xavier at Butler, 9 p.m.
No. 12 Florida vs. Arizona, 7 p.m.
No. 14 Wisconsin vs. Green Bay, 8 p.m.
No. 16 Alabama at Dayton, 7 p.m.
No. 22 Texas A&M vs. Sam Houston State, 8 p.m.
No. 24 Illinois vs. St. Bonaventure, 9 p.m.

TOP-25 WOMEN'S COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Tuesday's Games
( 2) UConn 81 ( 8) Texas A&M 51
(14) Georgia 80 Mercer 43
(17) Penn St. 66 Virginia Tech 28

Wednesday's Games
No. 3 Notre Dame vs. Marquette, 7 p.m.
No. 16 Texas Tech vs. Texas-Arlington, 8 p.m.
No. 18 North Carolina vs. Lipscomb, 7 p.m.
No. 19 Georgetown at Pittsburgh, 7 p.m.
No. 20 DePaul vs. St. John's, 1 p.m.
No. 23 Vanderbilt at UT-Martin, 8 p.m.<

WPPA / T102 SPORTS / Tuesday

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Gregory Campbell, Benoit Pouliot and Tyler Seguin scored, Tim Thomas stopped 45 shots, and the surging Boston Bruins kept rolling with a 3-1 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins last night. The Bruins improved to 14-0-1 in their last 15 games. It's their longest point streak since the club went 17 games without a loss in 1983.

PITTSBURGH (AP) — No rest for the surging Steelers. Fresh off a 35-7 thumping of Cincinnati on Sunday, Pittsburgh doesn't have much time to get ready for the slumping Cleveland Browns on Thursday. Coach Mike Tomlin says he's pleased with how his team played against the Bengals. The Steelers won for the seventh time in eight games and remain tied with Baltimore atop the AFC North.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The Eagles are finally getting their quarterback back. Too little, too late. Michael Vick returned to practice yesterday after missing three games with two broken ribs, and will play this weekend as last-place Philadelphia meets the Miami Dolphins.

EASTON, Pa. (AP) — Julian Boyd scored 18 points and Jamal Olasewere had 17 points and 14 rebounds as Long Island University defeated Lafayette 82-80 last night for its third consecutive victory. Boyd got 16 of his points in the second half, including three baskets in a span of 53 seconds that gave the Blackbirds a 46-44 lead.

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — The president of the TicketCity Bowl says the scandal that emerged from the shocking child sex-abuse charges against former Penn State assistant coach Jerry Sandusky didn't factor into organizers' deliberations to select the Nittany Lions for the January 2nd game. Tom Starr says organizers focused on the positives, including Penn State's tradition-rich legacy.

BELLEFONTE, Pa. (AP) — A lottery has been established for public seating for former Penn State assistant coach Jerry Sandusky's next court hearing on child sex-abuse charges. The Centre County Court of Common Pleas says applications for seating at the December 13th preliminary hearing would be accepted for 24 hours on the county's webpage starting tomorrow at noon. A random drawing will then be held to assign seats. Those who get seats will be notified on Friday.

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — The Daily is reporting that former Penn State head football coach Joe Paterno had close business ties with board members of The Second Mile, the charity founded by alleged child molester and former Nittany Lions assistant coach Jerry Sandusky. The publication reports Paterno and three fellow investors secured financing to build a $125 million luxury retirement community around 2002.

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — NCAA President Mark Emmert says he's asking the U.S. Education Department to help create advisory guidelines for universities about dealing with ball boys, ball girls and other minors on campus. Emmert tells The Associated Press he's contacted Education Secretary Arne Duncan to provide help with two of the ugliest scandals to hit college sports.



NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE
Final
San Diego
38
Jacksonville
14

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Final
Boston
3
Pittsburgh
1

Final
Toronto
4
N-Y Rangers
2

Final
Ottawa
4
Tampa Bay
2

Final
Florida
5
Washington
4

Final 2OT
Phoenix
4
Chicago
3 (SO Phoenix 2-0)

TOP-25 WOMEN'S COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Final 2OT
( 9) Miami
92
(11) Rutgers
81
Final
(22) Delaware
77
Yale
45

WPPA / T-102 SPORTS / Monday

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Ben Roethlisberger passed for a pair of touchdowns and set a team record for career completions as the Steelers beat the Bengals 35-7 Sunday. Rashard Mendenhall and Mike Wallace also had two touchdowns and Antonio Brown returned a punt 60-yards for a score. The Steelers improve to 9-3.

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger's 9-yard strike to tight end David Johnson early in the fourth quarter of yesterday's win over the Bengals gave the QB the team record for pass completions -- passing Terry Bradshaw. Roethlisberger finished 15 of 23 for 176 yards and two touchdowns. Roethlisberger already holds nearly 40 team records.

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — Penn State will face Houston in the Ticket City Bowl on January 2nd. The Nittany Lions are 9-3 and finished tied with Wisconsin for first in the Big Ten's Leaders Division. Houston was undefeated until Saturday's upset win by Southern Miss in the Conference USA title game.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Pittsburgh is bound for the second straight year for the BBVA Compass Bowl, where the Panthers will take on SMU January 7th. Pitt is making a fourth straight postseason appearance. The teams have split their first five meetings, 2-2-1.

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Pitt is losing three assistant coaches. Co-offensive coordinator Calvin Magee, tight ends coach Tony Dews and secondary coach Tony Gibson are pursuing other jobs, with all three of them having ties to former West Virginia and Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez, who became head coach at Arizona last month.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Temple and Wyoming will kick off the football bowl season when they meet up in the New Mexico Bowl on December 17th. The Owls are making their second bowl game in three years but had seen a 30 year drought between bowls before 2009.

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — Mississippi saw a career-high 27 points from Jarvis Summers and downed Penn State 72-70 at State College last night. The Rebels used a 12-5 run over the final 4:14 to seal the win and move to 7-1. The Nittany Lions fell to 6-3 with the loss.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Charles Hinkle scored 32 points as American University downed Saint Joseph's last night, 66-60. Carl Jones scored 13 points for the Hawks in the loss, while C. J. Aiken, Ronald Roberts and Halil Kanacevic added 11 points apiece.

DURHAM, N.C. (AP) — Chelsea Gray had a triple double with 14 points, 11 rebounds and a school-record 13 assists as 7th-ranked Duke routed Pittsburgh 92-43 yesterday. Brianna Kiesel had 12 points to lead the Panthers, who shot 24 percent for the game.


NFL
Thursday's Game
Seattle 31, Philadelphia 14
Sunday's Games
Kansas City 10, Chicago 3
Houston 17, Atlanta 10
Denver 35, Minnesota 32
Carolina 38, Tampa Bay 19
Pittsburgh 35, Cincinnati 7
N.Y. Jets 34, Washington 19
Miami 34, Oakland 14
Tennessee 23, Buffalo 17
New England 31, Indianapolis 24
Baltimore 24, Cleveland 10
San Francisco 26, St. Louis 0
Arizona 19, Dallas 13, OT
Green Bay 38, N.Y. Giants 35
New Orleans 31, Detroit 17
Monday's Game
San Diego at Jacksonville, 8:30 p.m.
NHL
Sunday's Games
Colorado 4, Detroit 2
Minnesota 5, Anaheim 3
Vancouver 5, Calgary 1
Monday's Games
Toronto at N.Y. Rangers, 7 p.m.
Boston at Pittsburgh, 7 p.m.
Tampa Bay at Ottawa, 7:30 p.m.
Washington at Florida, 7:30 p.m.
Phoenix at Chicago, 8 p.m.
TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Sunday's Games
( 7) Baylor 69 Northwestern 41
Wichita St. 89 (18) UNLV 70
San Diego St. 64 (24) California 63
TOP-25 WOMEN'S COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Sunday's Games
( 1) Baylor 89 Minnesota 60
( 3) Notre Dame 76 Creighton 48
(13) Purdue 60 ( 4) Texas A&M 51
( 5) Stanford 93 Fresno St. 59
( 6) Maryland 76 American U. 42
( 7) Duke 92 Pittsburgh 43
( 8) Tennessee 73 (21) Texas 57
(12) Kentucky 74 (10) Louisville 54
(15) Georgia 75 Georgia Tech 68
(17) Ohio St. 69 (18) Oklahoma 63
(20) Georgetown 58 Rider 51
(23) Green Bay 75 N. Iowa 67
(24) Delaware 73 William & Mary 57
(25) Vanderbilt 70 High Point 54

Sports-Saturday, December 3, 2011

PIAA Football Playoffs

Class AAA

Allentown Central Catholic 56

Shamokin 14

Class A

Southern Columbia 55

Pius X 25

Today’s Schedule

Class AA

Lancaster Catholic vs Mt Carmel, from Kemp Memorial Stadium in Shamokin-Noon ON T102

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) - Claude Giroux scored 3:29 into overtime and the Philadelphia Flyers rallied from a three-goal deficit for a 4-3 victory over the Anaheim Ducks, who collapsed in coach Bruce Boudreau's debut. Jaromir Jagr scored two power-play goals and Scott Hartnell tied it with 3:02 left in regulation for the Flyers.
Ilya Bryzgalov made 19 saves in Philadelphia's return from a five-day break.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - The Penguins are in Carolina to take on the Hurricanes tonight. The Pens are coming off a 2-1 victory over the Capitals on Thursday.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Eagles coach Andy Reid says he is focused on getting better and isn't concerned about his job security. Philadelphia lost 31-14 at Seattle Thursday night to fall to 4-8 on the season. Philadelphia, which has reached the playoffs nine of the last 11 years, needs to win its remaining four games to avoid
only its second losing record since 2000.

PITTSBURGH (AP) - Troy Polamalu says he fears one day he will take a blow to the head that will result in serious long-term negative effects on his brain. But the Steelers safety says he isn't going to change his style of play or torpedo-like manner of tackling. It was his first comments to the media since being knocked out of a win against Kansas City due to concussion-like symptoms five days ago, Polamalu said he feels good.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Tennessee Titans coach Mike Munchak says you can't believe everything you hear, saying he has not contacted his alma mater Penn State about its coaching vacancy. A StateCollege.com report linked the Titans head coach to the Penn State job though Munchak previously said he wouldn't be a candidate
for the position. The former Penn State lineman says he's focused on the Titans' game Sunday against Buffalo.

PITTSBURGH (AP) - Pittsburgh and Syracuse meet on Saturday in what could best be described as a playoff game. Both the Panthers and the Orange need a win to become bowl eligible. This could be the final Big East game for both schools. Pitt and Syracuse are moving to the ACC by 2014, a move that could come sooner.

PITTSBURGH (AP) - Pittsburgh junior point guard Travon Woodall is out a month with a groin strain and an abdominal tear. Coach Jamie Dixon says Woodall will need four to five weeks of rest but will not require surgery. Woodall sustained the injury in the 17th-ranked Panthers' 80-69 win over crosstown rival Duquesne on Wednesday.

WPPA / T102 SPORTS / Friday

SEATTLE (AP) — Marshawn Lynch ran for 148 yards and a pair of first-half touchdowns and David Hawthorne returned Vince Young's third interception 77 yards for a clinching score with 4:24 remaining as the Seattle Seahawks beat the Philadelphia Eagles 31-14. Young finished with a career-high four interceptions. McCoy had a 1-yard touchdown run in the first half and caught a 2-yard shovel pass from Young that pulled the Eagles (4-8) within 10.

SEATTLE (AP) — Philadelphia cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha sustained a neck injury and is being examined for a head injury after hitting his head on the turf against the Seattle Seahawks. Asomugha was hurt in the second quarter last night on a pass intended for Seattle receiver Mike Williams. Backup Philadelphia safety Colt Anderson injured his left knee injury covering a punt. The team said Anderson would not return.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Chris Kunitz scored the tiebreaking goal at 2:36 of the third period, and the Pittsburgh Penguins beat Washington 2-1 to keep the Capitals winless under new coach Dale Hunter. Craig Adams also scored for the Penguins, who improved to 4-1-1 since captain Sidney Crosby returned to the lineup following an 11-month absence with a concussion.

NEW YORK (AP) — Gabe Knutson had 21 points to lead four double-figure scorers for Lehigh as the Mountain Hawks dropped Fordham 78-60 for their sixth straight win. Holden Greiner scored 18 points, C.J. McCollum 15 and Mackey McKnight 10 for the Mountain Hawks (6-2), who tied their longest winning streak since the team's Patriot League Championship season of 2009-10. The Mountain Hawks posted four players in double-figure scoring for the fifth consecutive game.

LORETTO, Pa. (AP) — Anthony Ervin scored 11 points to help St. Francis (Pa.) get off to a fast start and beat Monmouth (N.J.) 71-49 in the Northeast Conference opener for both teams. The win snaps a six game losing streak for St. Francis.

MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. (AP) — Coron Williams and Velton Jones combined for 37 points and Robert Morris rode its backcourt to a big first half and an easy 66-54 win over Fairleigh Dickinson in the teams' Northeast Conference opener.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Attorneys for someone claiming to have been molested by a former Penn State assistant football coach have settled a lawsuit aimed at keeping solvent a charity the coach founded. A pair of Harrisburg lawyers sued to prevent The Second Mile charity from dissolving or transferring its assets. They announced the settlement Thursday. They say the charity must obtain court approval before transferring assets or closing.(backslash)

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Penn State isn't disclosing information that could shed light on the child sex-abuse case involving a former assistant football coach because the state open records law gives the institution special status. That may soon change. Pennsylvania lawmakers are questioning those protections while the university denies requests for records showing what key figures knew about the allegations before Jerry Sandusky was charged last month with molesting children.

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — Penn State's new president says the school will have a wide-open search for a new football coach, focusing on candidates with honesty and integrity. President Rod Erickson says in an interview with The Associated Press that one of the top criteria for Hall of Famer Joe Paterno's replacement would be how the candidate "would fit into the value system of Penn State," also citing a commitment to academics as one of the characteristics.


NFL
Thursday's Game
Seattle 31, Philadelphia 14
Sunday's Games
Kansas City at Chicago, 1 p.m.
Atlanta at Houston, 1 p.m.
Denver at Minnesota, 1 p.m.
Carolina at Tampa Bay, 1 p.m.
Cincinnati at Pittsburgh, 1 p.m.
N.Y. Jets at Washington, 1 p.m.
Oakland at Miami, 1 p.m.
Tennessee at Buffalo, 1 p.m.
Indianapolis at New England, 1 p.m.
Baltimore at Cleveland, 4:05 p.m.
St. Louis at San Francisco, 4:15 p.m.
Dallas at Arizona, 4:15 p.m.
Green Bay at N.Y. Giants, 4:15 p.m.
Detroit at New Orleans, 8:20 p.m.
Monday's Game
San Diego at Jacksonville, 8:30 p.m.

NHL
Thursday's Games
Columbus 4, Calgary 3, SO
San Jose 4, Montreal 3, SO
Pittsburgh 2, Washington 1
N.Y. Rangers 5, Carolina 3
Dallas 3, Ottawa 2
Winnipeg 1, Phoenix 0
Nashville 6, Vancouver 5
Los Angeles 2, Florida 1
Friday's Games
Detroit at Buffalo, 7:30 p.m.
New Jersey at Minnesota, 8 p.m.
N.Y. Islanders at Chicago, 8:30 p.m.
St. Louis at Colorado, 9 p.m.
Columbus at Edmonton, 9:30 p.m.
Philadelphia at Anaheim, 10 p.m.

TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Thursday's Games
( 1) Kentucky 81 St. John's 59
Georgetown 57 (12) Alabama 55
Friday's Games
No. 4 Syracuse vs. No. 10 Florida, 6:30 p.m.
No. 6 Louisville vs. No. 20 Vanderbilt, 8:30 p.m.
No. 13 Missouri vs. Northwestern State, 8 p.m.

TOP-25 WOMEN'S COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Thursday's Games
( 7) Duke 64 (13) Purdue 53
( 9) Miami 76 Michigan St. 60
(24) Delaware 81 Princeton 70Friday, Dec. 2
No. 3 Notre Dame vs. Pennsylvania, 7 p.m.
No. 11 Rutgers vs. Florida at Daytona Beach, Fla., 8 p.m.
No. 23 Green Bay vs. Marquette, 8 p.m.
No. 25 Vanderbilt vs. Denver, 8 p.m.

WPPA / T102 SPORTS / Thursday

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — Penn State students say they're glad the university held a forum for them to discuss the child sex abuse charges against former assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky. They say it will help in the healing process. Penn State's new president says the university will raise the visibility of ethics "to a new level."

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Michael Vick will miss his third straight game because of broken ribs when the Eagles play at Seattle tonight. Vince Young will start for the Eagles. The two-time Pro Bowl quarterback is 1-1 in his first two starts.

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Pittsburgh Steelers rookie tight end Weslye Saunders was so excited after scoring his first NFL touchdown in a 13-9 win over Kansas City last week he forgot to do the dance he prepared for the occasion. Saunders won't make the same mistake the next time he meets the end zone, though he remembered to keep the ball. He called it proof his long journey to the NFL was worth it.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The Philadelphia 76ers kept busy for a team with no games on the schedule. They have new owners. They fired their general manager. They even retired their mascot. All they needed was players and a season. The Sixers can return to their practice facility today for the first time since the lockout began on July 1st.

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — Penn State could have a replacement for fired football coach Joe Paterno by the end of the year. School president Rod Erickson says the school hopes to have a new coach in place by the Nittany Lions' bowl game. Number 23 Penn State should learn its postseason destination by this weekend.

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Ashton Gibbs scored 18 points and Number 17 Pittsburgh downed crosstown rival Duquesne 80-69 last night in the annual City Game. Dante Taylor added 15 points and Lamar Patterson scored 10 for the Panthers, who dominated the glass to overcome serious turnover problems and beat the Dukes for the 11th straight time.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — C.J. Aiken had 13 points and nine blocks as Saint Joseph's defeated Drexel 62-48 last night. Aiken, who tied his career-high in blocks, helped the Hawks set a school record with 16 rejections. That breaks the old record of 12 set against Cleveland State on December 2nd, 1987.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Earl Pettis led four La Salle players in double figures with 15 points, and the Explorers defeated Northeastern 68-51 last night. After shooting 36 percent in the first half, La Salle made 63 percent from the field in the second half. The Explorers were 7 of 8 from 3-point range after halftime, a strong contrast to the 2-for-12 performance from behind the arc in the first half.

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — Zhaque Gray scored 25 points and Number 16 Penn State snapped a three-game losing streak in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge by defeating Number 14 North Carolina 103-84 last night. All five Lady Lions starters scored in double figures. Leading scorer Maggie Lucas had 21 points despite sitting out most of the second half with four fouls.


NFL
Thursday, Dec. 1
Philadelphia at Seattle, 8:20 p.m.
Sunday, Dec. 4
Kansas City at Chicago, 1 p.m.
Atlanta at Houston, 1 p.m.
Denver at Minnesota, 1 p.m.
Carolina at Tampa Bay, 1 p.m.
Cincinnati at Pittsburgh, 1 p.m.
N.Y. Jets at Washington, 1 p.m.
Oakland at Miami, 1 p.m.
Tennessee at Buffalo, 1 p.m.
Indianapolis at New England, 1 p.m.
Baltimore at Cleveland, 4:05 p.m.
St. Louis at San Francisco, 4:15 p.m.
Dallas at Arizona, 4:15 p.m.
Green Bay at N.Y. Giants, 4:15 p.m.
Detroit at New Orleans, 8:20 p.m.
Monday, Dec. 5
San Diego at Jacksonville, 8:30 p.m.

NHL
Wednesday's Games
Minnesota 3, Edmonton 2, SO
Boston 6, Toronto 3
Detroit 4, Tampa Bay 2
Colorado 6, New Jersey 1
Anaheim 4, Montreal 1
Thursday's Games
Pittsburgh at Washington, 7 p.m.
N.Y. Rangers at Carolina, 7 p.m.
Ottawa at Dallas, 8:30 p.m.
Phoenix at Winnipeg, 8:30 p.m.
Columbus at Calgary, 9 p.m.
Nashville at Vancouver, 10 p.m.
Florida at Los Angeles, 10:30 p.m.
Montreal at San Jose, 10:30 p.m.

TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Wednesday's Games
( 5) North Carolina 60 ( 9) Wisconsin 57
(15) Kansas 77 FAU 54
(17) Pittsburgh 80 Duquesne 69
(18) UNLV 94 UC Santa Barbara 88, 2OT
(19) Gonzaga 73 Notre Dame 53
(25) Texas A&M 56 Alcorn St. 44

TOP-25 WOMEN'S COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Wednesday's Games
( 1) Baylor 91 Texas Southern 39
( 2) UConn 92 Towson 31
( 5) Stanford 93 UC Davis 44
( 6) Maryland 74 Michigan 65
(11) Rutgers 71 Temple 50
(16) Penn St. 103 (14) North Carolina 84
(15) Georgia 85 SC State 48
(17) Ohio St. 78 Florida St. 75, OT
(19) Texas Tech 85 Texas St. 40
(20) Georgetown 70 Coppin St. 54
(25) Vanderbilt 83 Austin Peay 51