Sports

By AP CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) — Jim Larrañaga has stepped down as Miami’s men’s basketball coach effective immediately. Larrañaga will be replaced by associate head coach Bill Courtney — one of Larrañaga’s best friends for the past three decades or so — for the remainder of the season. The now-former coach says he loves

By AP UNDATED (AP) — Penn State’s offense is thriving under first-year offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki. The Nittany Lions are one of a handful of Power Four schools averaging 200 yards per game rushing and receiving heading into their College Football Playoff quarterfinal against Boise State. Penn State has one of the most unique offensive

By AP LAS VEGAS (AP) — Southern California opened its season at Allegiant Stadium with a victory over LSU that set up the Trojans for early contention for the College Football Playoff. They instead will end the year where they started. Texas A&M also had high hopes for a playoff spot. The Aggies went even

By AP PHOENIX (AP) — Dylan Edwards ran for 196 yards and scored his third touchdown on a 36-yard run in the fourth quarter, helping Kansas State rally past Rutgers 44-41 in the Rate Bowl. The Scarlet Knights led by 10 at halftime and went up 34-17 on Ja’shon Benjamin’s 7-yard touchdown catch on the

By ROB MAADDI – AP Pro Football Writer Nick Sirianni has the highest winning percentage among active NFL coaches and the fifth-best in NFL history. He should be lauded for his accomplishments with the Philadelphia Eagles. Coaches who win as frequently as Sirianni are esteemed. The four coaches ahead of him on the overall list

By ANDREW SELIGMAN – AP Sports Writer CHICAGO (AP) — Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith put in a good word for former coach Pete Carroll, saying any team would be fortunate to have him on the sideline. So did his teammates. “Coach Carroll, man, is a special human being,” Smith said after the Seahawks’ 6-3

By The Associated Press DETROIT (AP) — Tucker Gleason ran for one overtime score and threw for four more as Toledo beat Pittsburgh 48-46 in a bowl-record six overtimes at the GameAbove Sports Bowl at Ford Field on Thursday. The game surpassed the previous mark set 48 hours earlier when South Florida beat San Jose

By AP MOBILE, Ala. (AP) — Jaylen Raynor passed for 221 yards and two touchdowns to go with a rushing score, and Zak Wallace had 99 yards rushing and a TD to help Arkansas State beat Bowling Green 38-31 on Thursday night in the 68 Ventures Bowl. Wallace scored on a 14-yard run with 3:10

By ANDREW SELIGMAN – AP Sports Writer CHICAGO (AP) — The Seattle Seahawks made just enough plays to boost their fading playoff hopes by beating the struggling Chicago Bears on Thursday night. Now, they’ll be rooting for the Arizona Cardinals to beat the Los Angeles Rams this weekend. Riq Woolen intercepted Caleb Williams’ late pass

By The Associated Press INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander tied his career high with 45 points to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 120-114 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Thursday night. Gilgeous-Alexander hit 15 of 22 shots and all 11 free throws in Oklahoma City’s ninth consecutive victory. Jalen Williams scored 20 points

By JAY COHEN – AP Sports Writer CHICAGO (AP) — The defense delivered for the Chicago Bears. It was one of the team’s best performances of the season on that side of the ball. Just not good enough. “I guess we should have held them to three points or zero points at the end of

By ERIC HE – Associated Press SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Jaden Ivey converted a four-point play with 3 seconds left and the Detroit Pistons rallied past the struggling Sacramento Kings 114-113 on Thursday night. With the Pistons trailing by three, Ivey made a 3-pointer in the right corner and was fouled by De’Aaron Fox. Ivey

By AP PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Deni Avdija and Shaedon Sharpe each scored 27 points, and Scoot Henderson made a tiebreaking jumper with 0.1 seconds remaining as the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Utah Jazz 122-120 on Thursday night. Henderson finished with 18 points and 10 assists, Deandre Ayton added 18 points and 12 rebounds,

By AP FRISCO, Texas (AP) — The Dallas Cowboys are shutting down CeeDee Lamb with two games remaining after their 2023 All-Pro receiver spent the second half of the season dealing with a sprained right shoulder. The team said Thursday that additional exams revealed enough damage to keep Lamb off the field Sunday at Philadelphia

By TIM REYNOLDS – AP Basketball Writer CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) — Jim Larrañaga insists he still loves the University of Miami, still loves the game of basketball, still loves mentoring players, still loves coaching. He doesn’t love what college basketball has become. And with that, he’s leaving. The 75-year-old Larrañaga stepped down Thursday, effective

By TIM REYNOLDS – AP Basketball Writer ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — If Jimmy Butler wants a trade, the Miami Heat have no plans to make him happy. Heat President Pat Riley — in a rare move — spoke out to address rumors Thursday, saying the team has no plans to trade Butler. It’s a clear

By AP Williams, Woolen lead way as Seahawks beat struggling Bears 6-3 to boost playoff hopes CHICAGO (AP) — Riq Woolen intercepted Caleb Williams’ late pass and the Seattle Seahawks boosted their fading playoff hopes, squeezing past Chicago 6-3 on Thursday night to hand the Bears their 10th straight loss. Jason Myers kicked field goals

By ROB MAADDI – AP Pro Football Writer Pro Picks is a weekly column where AP Pro Football Writer Rob Maaddi shares his picks for upcoming games. For all previous Pro Picks, head here. Playoff berths, draft positioning and more are up for grabs in Week 17. There’s going to be plenty of football on

By SEAN HOLOHAN – Associated Press ATLANTA (AP) — Jalen Johnson had a career-high 30 points and the Atlanta Hawks rallied from a late 21-point deficit by scoring 50 points in the fourth quarter in a 141-133 win over the Chicago Bulls on Thursday night. Atlanta trailed 124-107 with 6:23 remaining in the game and

By CLAY BAILEY – Associated Press MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Jaren Jackson Jr. had 21 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks, Zach Edey also scored 21 points and grabbed 16 rebounds, and the Memphis Grizzlies set a franchise scoring record in blowing out the skidding Toronto Raptors 155-126 on Thursday night. Desmond Bane added 19

By NOAH TRISTER – AP Sports Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — In dramatic fashion, Jordan Poole lifted the Washington Wizards out of the NBA cellar. Poole’s 3-pointer with 8.1 seconds remaining put Washington ahead, and the Wizards went on to beat the Charlotte Hornets 113-110 on Thursday night. The victory — and a loss by New

By ANDREW WAGNER – Associated Press MILWAUKEE (AP) — Cam Johnson scored 29 points, Noah Clowney added 20 and the Brooklyn Nets rallied late for a 111-105 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday night. Nic Claxton had 13 points for the Nets, who had lost eight of 10 before making 16 of 38 3-pointers

By JOHN MARSHALL – AP Sports Writer PHOENIX (AP) — Kansas State faced a daunting task when DJ Giddens, one of the top running backs in the Big 12, opted out of the Rate Bowl to prepare for the NFL draft. Dylan Edwards showed the Wildcats and their fans they had nothing to worry about.

By BRETT MARTEL – AP Sports Writer NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Jalen Green scored 30 points in less than 30 minutes on the court, and the Houston Rockets cruised to a 128-111 victory over the hapless, injury-plagued New Orleans Pelicans on Thursday night. Fred VanVleet hit seven 3-pointers and finished with 25 points for Houston,

By The Associated Press All Times EST Friday, Dec. 27 NBA New York at Orlando, 7 p.m. Indiana at Boston, 7:30 p.m. San Antonio at Brooklyn, 7:30 p.m. Memphis at New Orleans, 8 p.m. Minnesota at Houston, 8 p.m. Cleveland at Denver, 9 p.m. Dallas at Phoenix, 9 p.m. Golden State at L.A. Clippers, 10

By TIM REYNOLDS – AP Basketball Writer ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Anothert Heat-Magic game, another late comeback. And this one went Miami’s way. On Saturday, it was Orlando with the rally to beat Miami. On Thursday, on the same court, it was the Heat who found a way at the end to beat the Magic.

By AP OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Boston University defenseman Cole Hutson had five assists to help the United States open its world junior hockey title defense with a 10-4 victory over Germany on Thursday at Canadian Tire Centre. Boston College’s James Hagens had two goals and two assists, and fellow BC forward Gabe Perreault and

By NOAH TRISTER – AP Sports Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — Jordan Poole’s 3-pointer with 8.1 seconds remaining lifted the Washington Wizards to a 113-110 victory over the Charlotte Hornets on Thursday night. In a matchup of two of the league’s worst teams, the Wizards (5-23) beat Charlotte (7-23) for the second straight week. Washington blew