WPPA / T102 SPORTS / Friday

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — According to multiple reports, New England Patriots offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien has agreed to replace Joe Paterno as Penn State's head coach. Citing unnamed sources, ESPN first reported last night that an official announcement would be made on Saturday, and that O'Brien would continue on as an assistant with the Patriots the rest of the postseason.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — James van Riemsdyk's second goal on the power play with 32.8 seconds remaining lifted the Philadelphia Flyers to a 5-4 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks last night. Brent Seabrook and Patrick Kane scored 25 seconds apart late in the third period to tie it, but van Riemsdyk made sure the Flyers shook off the disappointment from their Winter Classic loss.

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger practiced yesterday but his left ankle is still sore heading into Sunday's wild card game at Denver. Offensive coordinator Bruce Arians says there are no plans to consider putting backup Charlie Batch into the lineup.

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — Billy Oliver scored a career-high 21 points and Penn State held Purdue to a season-low 31 percent shooting in a 65-45 win last night to end a six-game losing streak against the Boilermakers. Tim Frazier added 15 points, including a leaning banker in traffic in the lane to extend the lead to 54-38 with about 8 minutes left.

ROSEMONT, Ill. (AP) — Brandon Young scored 26 points, including a three-point play with 1.3 seconds left, as DePaul beat Pittsburgh 84-81 last night. Young scored the game's last seven points for the Blue Demons after Pitt held an 81-77 lead with 17.2 seconds remaining.

VILLANOVA, Pa. (AP) — Jawanza Poland matched his career-high with 20 points to lead South Florida to a rare Big East road victory, 74-57 over Villanova last night. It was just the seventh road win in the seven seasons since the Bulls joined the league.

SMITHFIELD, R.I. (AP) — Velton Jones scored nine of his 15 points during a huge second-half run as Robert Morris pulled away from Bryant for an 84-53 Northeast Conference victory last night. The Colonials eased to a 29-14 lead in the first half, but the Bulldogs fought back to trail 34-28 at intermission.

DENVER (AP) — Denver Mayor Michael Hancock is making a friendly wager with Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl over the Broncos' playoff game against the Steelers. If the Broncos win, Ravenstahl will kneel, like Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow does, in front of an iconic Pittsburgh location and wear a Broncos jersey. If the Steelers win, Hancock will wear a Steelers jersey and sport a Terrible Towel during one of his public events.


NBA
Thursday's Games
Miami 116, Atlanta 109,3OT
San Antonio 93, Dallas 71
Sacramento 103, Milwaukee 100
Portland 107, L.A. Lakers 96

Friday's Games
Atlanta at Charlotte, 7 p.m.
New Jersey at Toronto, 7 p.m.
New York at Washington, 7 p.m.
Detroit at Philadelphia, 7 p.m.
Indiana at Boston, 7:30 p.m.
Houston at Oklahoma City, 8 p.m.
Denver at New Orleans, 8 p.m.
Cleveland at Minnesota, 8 p.m.
Chicago at Orlando, 8 p.m.
Memphis at Utah, 9 p.m.
Golden State at L.A. Lakers, 10:30 p.m.
Portland at Phoenix, 10:30 p.m.

NHL
Thursday's Games
Boston 9, Calgary 0
Toronto 4, Winnipeg 0
N.Y. Rangers 3, Florida 2, OT
Philadelphia 5, Chicago 4
Ottawa 4, Tampa Bay 1
St. Louis 4, Edmonton 3
Dallas 4, Nashville 1
Los Angeles 1, Phoenix 0, OT
San Jose 2, Columbus 1

Friday's Games
Florida at New Jersey, 7 p.m.
N.Y. Rangers at Pittsburgh, 7 p.m.
Buffalo at Carolina, 7 p.m.
Colorado at Chicago, 8:30 p.m.
N.Y. Islanders at Anaheim, 10 p.m.

TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Thursday's Games
(12) Indiana 73 (16) Michigan 71
(17) UNLV 89 CS Bakersfield 57
(24) San Diego St. 83 San Diego Christian 52
(25) Gonzaga 73 Pepperdine 45

TOP-25 WOMEN'S COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Thursday's Games
( 4) Stanford 93 Oregon 70
( 6) Tennessee 80 (16) Georgia 51
(11) Kentucky 84 Arkansas 72
(12) Miami 78 NC State 68
(18) Purdue 63 Wisconsin 52
(19) Nebraska 62 Indiana 48
(21) Delaware 74 Towson 51
South Carolina 65 (24) Vanderbilt 55
(25) North Carolina 78 Virginia 73, 2OT