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3 teams, 2 spots: Florida State, Texas, Alabama leave CFP selection committee difficult choice

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 17:25:25 GMT

One of these three teams will not make the College Football Playoff: Alabama, Florida State and Texas.Whichever is left out Sunday will have every right to be angry, and in the case of two, their absence in the CFP would be unprecedented.No. 8 Alabama was the agent of chaos Saturday, upsetting No. 1 Georgia for the Southeastern Conference title and ending the two-time defending national champ’s 29-game winning streak.“Georgia was No. 1, right? You beat the No. 1 team, what does that make us?” Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe told reporters. If only it was so simple.The final four-team College Football Playoff is poised to be the most controversial yet. Is it too late to fast forward to next year’s expansion and implement the 12-team format? The CFP selection committee might wish that was possible right about now as its sorts through a crowded field of contenders at a resort hotel in Grapevine, Texas.Safely in at 13-0: No. 2 Michigan and No. 3 Washington.That leaves two s...

Leo Carlsson has goal, shootout winner as Ducks beat Avs to snap 8-game skid

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 17:25:25 GMT

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Anaheim rookie Leo Carlsson had a goal and an assist and added the shootout winner as the Ducks snapped an eight-game losing streak with a 4-3 victory over the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday night.Carlsson, the second overall pick in June’s draft, skated in and deked Colorado goalie Ivan Prosvetov to have a clear shot at the net for the only goal in the shootout round. Carlsson has seven goals, which is second among rookies and four behind Chicago’s Connor Bedard.John Gibson, who played in his 448th game and surpassed Jean-Sebastien Giguere for most games played by a goaltender in Ducks history, stopped 34 shots and all three in the shootout.Anaheim’s Alex Killorn scored his 200th career goal and became the second player selected in the third round or later of the 2007 draft to reach that milestone. Kilorn also had an assist for his second multipoint game of the season.Adam Henrique also scored for the Ducks.Bowen Byram had a pair of first-period goals f...

Anthony Davis has double-double in Lakers’ 107-97 win over Houston to keep Rockets winless on road

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 17:25:25 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Anthony Davis had 27 points and 14 rebounds, and the Los Angeles Lakers beat Houston 107-97 on Saturday night, keeping the Rockets winless on the road.Austin Reaves added 18 points off the bench and LeBron James had 16 points and seven assists.Fred VanVleet scored 22 points and Alperen Sengun had 21 points and 13 rebounds for the Rockets, who dropped their third in a row overall while falling to 0-8 away from home. Houston coach Ime Udoka was ejected with 8:35 remaining in the game after picking up his second technical. James and Cam Reddish got techs at the same time. The Lakers dominated the paint, 54-34, and their bench outscored Houston’s reserves 33-24. Sengun scored 12 in the third, when the Rockets outscored the Lakers 28-20 and trailed 86-72 going into the fourth.After allowing Houston to shoot 60% from the floor in the first quarter, the Lakers took over in the second. Reaves scored 15 points and keyed a 29-4 run, with Davis adding eight points, tha...

Balanced scoring lifts No. 11 Gonzaga over USC 89-76

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 17:25:25 GMT

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Ryan Nembhard and Dusty Stromer each scored 15 points and No. 11 Gonzaga defeated Southern Cal 89-76 on Saturday night in the Las Vegas Invitational.The Bulldogs led wire-to-wire to extend their win streak to four since dropping a 73-63 decision to No. 1 Purdue on Nov. 20 at the Maui Invitational.Graham Ike and Ben Gregg each added 14 for the Bulldogs (6-1). Gregg, who also grabbed eight rebounds, came off the bench to score 12 of his points in the second half when Ike was whistled for his fourth foul. Reserve Braden Huff added 12 points while Nolan Hickman chipped in with 10.“We know what we’re capable of, and we’re still kind of gelling together but we’re super talented in all aspects on the court,” Gregg said. “We got guys who just love to win, love to compete. That’s kind of the culture at Gonzaga. We love to win and that’s what we want to do and we’re going to try and do every game.”USC’s Boogie Ellis led all scorers with 28 points and added seven rebounds. Fre...

Carcone scores again as Arizona wins its fourth straight with a 4-1 victory over St. Louis

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 17:25:25 GMT

TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — Michael Carcone scored for the fourth time in three games, and the Arizona Coyotes beat the St. Louis Blues 4-1 on Saturday night for their fourth straight victory.Alex Kerfoot had a goal and two assists for Arizona, which had a 3-0 lead after one period. Nick Schmaltz and Matias Maccelli also scored, and Connor Ingram made 31 saves for his fourth straight win.The Coyotes’ season-best win streak has come against the last four Stanley Cup champions — Colorado (2022), Tampa Bay (2020-21), Vegas (2023) and St. Louis (2019).“We wanted to show the league we can compete with anybody,” said second-year defenseman Michael Kesselring, who had an assist for the third straight game.Kerfoot got an empty-netter with 1:15 remaining. He has five assists in the last three games.Brandon Saad scored in the third period for the Blues, who had won four of six. Joel Hofer made 18 stops.“We want to win games,” Arizona coach Andrew Tourigny said. “We want to be in it....

No. 2 Michigan beats No. 18 Iowa 26-0 for Big Ten title, likely to claim top playoff seed

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 17:25:25 GMT

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh celebrated his return to the sideline Saturday by hugging players and evasively running to avoid a Gatorade bath.Blake Corum and J.J. McCarthy were already reflecting on bigger goals.And when the confetti came streaming down over the Wolverines, they made sure everyone knew they were no longer the nation’s second-best team.Corum scored twice and the defense pitched a rare shutout as No. 2 Michigan routed No. 18 Iowa 26-0 for its third straight Big Ten title game, a third straight playoff berth and likely the top seed in the College Football Playoff.“We set our goals earlier this year and this is another one we checked off,” Corum said after rushing for 52 yards on 16 carries and tying Anthony Thomas’ career record for TD runs with 55.And with No. 1 Georgia falling to No. 8 Alabama in the Southeastern Conference title game, Michigan (13-0, No. 2 CFP) is finally poised to reach No. 1 after spending 13 of 14 weeks at No. 2. Michigan lost ...

Booker returns with 34 points, Suns top Grizzlies 116-109

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 17:25:25 GMT

PHOENIX (AP) — Devin Booker returned after missing a game with a sprained right ankle and had 34 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists to lead the Phoenix Suns to a 116-109 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday night.Booker, who sat out Friday’s loss to Denver, hit a 3-pointer to start the fourth quarter and put the Suns up by 15, their biggest lead of the game to that point. He was also 13 for 13 from the free throw line.Suns coach Frank Vogel said before the game that Booker was a game-time decision. The star guard ended up playing a game-high 37 minutes.“He wanted to play yesterday,” Vogel said. “He played a great game. He is the leader of our offense in terms of organizing us. It’s always tricky when he is out of the game, getting our guys in the right spot.”Booker said his ankle, which forced him to miss action earlier in the season, caused problems again after the long flight from Toronto to Phoenix following a loss to the Raptors on Wednesday.“When we landed af...

Jonathan Marchessault scores twice as Golden Knights beat Capitals 4-1

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 17:25:25 GMT

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Jonathan Marchessault scored twice, and the Vegas Golden Knights beat the Washington Capitals 4-1 on Saturday night.Jack Eichel had a goal and two assists for the Golden Knights (16-5-4), who were coming off a 4-1 victory over Vancouver on Thursday night. Mark Stone also scored, and Logan Thompson made 21 saves.The Pacific Division leaders improved to 5-5-3 in their last 13 games.Tom Wilson scored in the third period for Washington (12-7-2), and Darcy Kuemper made 32 stops.Vegas opened the scoring with a power-play goal 8:53 into the first period. Marchessault beat Kuemper with a wrist shot for his 10th goal of the season.Marchessault also got an empty-netter with 1:57 left for career goal No. 199.Eichel scored his 10th goal of the season on a breakaway 7:56 into the second. Stone made it 3-0 just 49 seconds into the third.Golden Knights goalie Adin Hill didn’t dress for the game because of a lower-body injury. He is day to day after leaving Thursday night’s game ag...

Strong earthquake that sparked a tsunami warning leaves 1 dead amid widespread panic in Philippines

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 17:25:25 GMT

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — A powerful earthquake that shook the southern Philippines killed at least one villager and injured several others as thousands scrambled out of their homes in panic and jammed roads to higher grounds after a tsunami warning was issued, officials said Sunday.The U.S. Geological Survey reported that the quake Saturday night had a magnitude of 7.6 and struck at a depth of 32 kilometers (20 miles). The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said it expected tsunami waves to hit the southern Philippines and parts of Indonesia, Palau and Malaysia, but later dropped its tsunami warning.In Japan, authorities issued evacuation orders late Saturday in various parts of Okinawa prefecture, including for the entire coastal area, affecting thousands of people.A pregnant woman died after she, her husband and daughter were hit by a 15-feet (4.5-meter) concrete wall that collapsed in their neighborhood as the ground shook and prompted them to flee from their house in Tagum city in...

As host of UN COP28 climate talks, the autocratic UAE is now allowing in critics it once kept out

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 17:25:25 GMT

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — As participants at the United Nations’ COP28 climate talks filed in Sunday for another day of talks, they found themselves greeted by a rare sight in the United Arab Emirates — a protest. From activism about the Israel-Hamas war to environmental issues, activists allowed into the UAE can demonstrate under strict guidelines in this autocratic nation. Others from organizations long banned by the country also have been let in, providing them some the opportunity for the first time in over a decade to offer criticism — though many acknowledge it may see them never allowed back in the country. The UAE, a federation of seven sheikhdoms led by Abu Dhabi’s ruler, bans political parties and labor unions. All power rests in each emirate’s hereditary ruler. Broad laws tightly restrict speech and nearly all major local media are either state-owned or state-affiliated outlets.Laws also criminalize the very few protests that take place by foreign laborers ...