Here is the latest Mid-America sports news from The Associated Press
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Wild are preparing to play in the NHL's Winter Classic for the first time. They've long lobbied to host the league's marquee outdoor event. They'll play the St. Louis Blues on Saturday night at Target Field. Defenseman Alex Goligoski is one of three native Minnesotans on the Wild. He grew up in Grand Rapids where the outdoor rink was two blocks down the street from his home. Minnesota has produced more NHL players than any other U.S. state.
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — When it comes to being coy about personnel in order to gain a tactical advantage, clearly it's like father, like son in the Iowa football program. Following a week of preparations for the Citrus Bowl in which Hawkeyes' offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz repeatedly refused to name a starting quarterback, head coach Kirk Ferentz coyly did the same Friday. No. 17 Iowa heads into Saturday's showdown against No. 25 Kentucky without a definitive, named starter under center. That's a somewhat odd occurrence for a 10-win team that climbed as high as No. 2 in the country in early October before a midseason tumble.
Update on the latest sports
COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF
Alabama, Georgia set up SEC rematch in championship game
UNDATED (AP) — Alabama has a chance to repeat, while Georgia will have a chance for revenge in the College Football Playoff national championship on Jan. 10 in Indianapolis.
The Crimson Tide and the Bulldogs rolled to easy semifinal wins over Cincinnati and Michigan to set up a rematch of the Southeastern Conference title game back in early December. Alabama won that one, humbling Georgia 41-24. Still, the last two title games that have been regular-season rematches have seen the team that lost the first game come out on top.
Here's a recap of the semifinal games:
— Nakobe Dean led an angry Georgia defense, and the third-ranked Bulldogs returned to their dominant ways, beating No. 2 Michigan 34-11 in the Orange Bowl. Stetson Bennett threw two touchdown passes, as Georgia became the first team in the eight-year history of the CFP to score on each of its first five possessions and led 27-3 at halftime. The Wolverines had rolled to their first Big Ten championship since 2004 without trailing by as many as seven points this season.
— Alabama smothered Cincinnati's offense and beat the Bearcats 27-6 in the Cotton Bowl. Brian Robinson ran for a career-high 204 yards, while Heisman Trophy winner Bryce Young threw three touchdowns for the Crimson Tide. The Bearcats had been undefeated and were the first non-Power Five team to make the four-team College Football Playoff.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL-BOWL SCHEDULE
Hartman leads No. 20 Wake Forest to 38-10 romp in Gator Bowl
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Sam Hartman tossed three touchdown passes, two of them to tight end Brandon Chapman, and No. 20 Wake Forest dominated Rutgers 38-10 in the Gator Bowl.
The Demon Deacons scored on their first three drives and opened up a double-digit lead just before halftime. The game played out about as expected as Rutgers was a late replacement for 23rd-ranked Texas A&M.
In other college bowl action:
— Late replacement Central Michigan pull out a 24-21 victory over Washington State in the Sun Bowl. Lew Nichols III ran for 130 yards and a touchdown to lead the Chippewas, who ended a five-game bowl losing streak.
NBA-SCHEDULE
Brown, Smart star as Celtics beat Suns 123-108
UNDATED (AP) — The Boston Celtics finally found a winning formula against one of the league's best teams, beating the Phoenix Suns 123-108.
The Celtics got off to a quick start, shooting 58% in the first half and leading by as much as 30 points.
Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart each scored 24 points, while Robert Williams had 10 points, 10 assists and 11 rebounds for his first career triple-double, punctuating it with five blocked shots.
In other NBA action:
— LeBron James scored a season-high 43 points and extended his streak of 30-point games to seven in Los Angeles Lakers' 139-106 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers. The Lakers had dropped six of their last seven coming into the game. Russell Westbrook had his ninth triple-double of the season.
— DeMar DeRozan made a 28-foot 3-pointer at the buzzer to give the Chicago Bulls a 108-106 victory over the Indiana Pacers. DeRozan led the Bulls with 28 points, while Coby White added 24 points, and Zach LaVine had 17 to help Chicago win its sixth consecutive game.
— Jimmy Butler scored a season-high 37 points and the short-handed Miami Heat built a big lead early and held on for a 120-110 win over the Houston Rockets. The Heat extended their winning streak to five games in their return to action after Wednesday's game at San Antonio was postponed because Miami didn't have enough players.
— The Grizzlies have now run off four straight wins. Ja Morant had 30 points, eight assists and six rebounds, leading Memphis to a 118-105 victory over the San Antonio Spurs.
— The Atlanta Hawks rallied from a 16-point deficit for a 121-118 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers. Trae Young scored 35 points, while Clint Capela had 18 points and a season-high 23 rebounds.
— The Raptors beat the Los Angeles Clippers 116-108. Pascal Siakam helped key Toronto's victory with 25 points and a career-high 19 rebounds, while Fred VanVleet scored 31.
— The Dallas Mavericks rolled past the Sacramento Kings 112-96. Kristaps Porzingis had 24 points, nine rebounds and six assists to lead the Mavs, while Jalen Brunson added 23 points and eight assists.
— The Oklahoma City Thunder beat a depleted New York Knicks team 95-80. After sitting out the Thunder's last game with a sore ankle, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander returned to play a team-high 34 minutes and score 23 points.
NBA-NEWS
AP source: Cavs acquiring Rondo from Lakers for Valentine
UNDATED (AP) — A person familiar with the trade tells The Associated Press the Cavaliers have agreed to acquire veteran guard Rajon Rondo in a trade with the Los Angeles Lakers for swingman Denzel Valentine. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal still must be approved by the NBA.
The Cavs needed an experienced guard after losing Ricky Rubio to a season-ending knee injury. A four-time All-Star, the 35-year-old Rondo averaged 3.1 points and 3.7 assists coming off the bench for the Lakers. He has been in league health and safety protocols and will need to be cleared before joining the Cavs.
In other NBA news:
— The Boston Celtics say Hall of Famer Sam Jones has died at the age of 88. Jones won 10 NBA titles in his 12-year career, second only to teammate Bill Russell. A Celtics spokesman says Jones died last night in Florida, where he had been hospitalized in failing health. The team held a moment of silence before its game against the Phoenix Suns. Jones was a North Carolina native who played for Hall of Fame coach John McLendon at North Carolina Central. Celtics general manager Red Auerbach selected him eighth overall in the 1957 draft despite never seeing him play.
NHL-SCHEDULE
Golden Knights top Ducks 3-1 in Pacific battle
UNDATED (AP) — The Vegas Golden Knights extended their Pacific Division lead with a 3-1 victory over division-rival Anaheim.
Laurent Brossoit (LOH'-rehn BROH'-swah) stopped 15 shots but had his shutout attempt snuffed with just 12 seconds left, when Ryan Getzlaf scored for the Ducks.
Mattias Janmark, Adam Brooks and Nic Roy scored for the Golden Knights. They improved to 4-0 at home on New Year's Eve or New Year's Day since entering the league in 2017.
In other NHL action:
— Alex Ovechkin had two goals in the third period, including the go-ahead score, and the Washington Capitals beat the Detroit Red Wings 3-1. The game-winner, a slap shot from the right point with 2:51 remaining, was his 275th career power play goal, setting a new NHL record.
— Mika Zibanejad scored the lone goal in a shootout and the New York Rangers beat Tampa Bay 4-3. Barclay Goodrow scored twice, and Alexis Lafrenière (lah-frehn-YEHR') also had a goal for the Rangers, while Corey Perry scored the tying goal with 1:57 to go in regulation for the Lightning.
— Jack Hughes scored 2:55 into overtime and New Jersey beat the Edmonton Oilers 6-5. Hughes finished with two goals and an assist. Devils coach Lindy Ruff tested positive for COVID-19 hours before the game, ceding coaching duties to assistant Alain Nasreddine.
NFL-NEWS
Vikings lose Cousins to COVID list before game vs. Packers
UNDATED (AP) — The Vikings have lost quarterback Kirk Cousins to the COVID list ahead of their game against the Packers Sunday.
Cousins is unvaccinated. Even if he's asymptomatic, there's not enough time to clear him to play. Sean Mannion will start for the Vikings.
The Vikings are 7-8 and one game out of the last wild-card spot in the NFC with two weeks to go. The Packers are 12-3 and in control of the top seed and a first-round bye.
In other NFL news:
— The Denver Broncos scrubbed their regular practice for the second straight day and instead held an indoor walkthrough on Friday after several more players were added to the reserve/COVID-19 list, including wide receiver Jerry Jeudy and outside linebacker Bradley Chubb. Broncos Coach Vic Fangio says he expects the virus list to contain between 15 and 18 players when it's finalized, and he's unsure whether the team will be able to dress the usual 45 players Sunday when they play the Chargers, who are dealing with a COVID-19 outbreak of their own.
— Baltimore star Lamar Jackson missed practice again because of his injured ankle, and the Ravens listed him as questionable for Sunday's game against the Los Angeles Rams. Jackson has missed the past two games.
— The Jacksonville Jaguars activated seven players from their COVID-19 reserve list, including defensive starters Josh Allen, Myles Jack and Damien Wilson. The Jaguars still have 20 players on the COVID-19 list, including three starting offensive linemen.
— San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo is listed as doubtful this week because of a injured right thumb with rookie Trey Lance in line to get his second start.
— Quarterback Justin Fields will likely miss his second straight game because of an ankle injury when the Chicago Bears host the New York Giants on Sunday. Coach Matt Nagy says Andy Dalton will start.
T25 MEN'S BASKETBALL-HIGH POINT/KENTUCKY
Grady scores 23 as Kentucky beats Smith, High Point 92-48
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — Kellan Grady spoiled Tubby Smith's return to Rupp Arena, making seven 3-pointers to lead No. 18 Kentucky to a 92-48 victory over High Point.
Smith coached Kentucky for 10 years from 1997-2007, winning the NCAA title in 1998. The High Point alum was hired to coach the Panthers in March 2018.
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