Bowls: Gators survive ECU

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Treon Harris threw an 86-yard scoring pass to Ahmad Fulwood and Vernon Hargreaves III intercepted a pass in the end zone late to preserve Florida's 28-20 victory over East Carolina on Saturday in the Birmingham Bowl.

Playoffs: So far, so good, so let's expand

Midway through the first College Football Playoff, one thing really stands out.

Big Ten striking back with bowl success

The Big Ten is starting the new year with a new sense of pride.

SEC getting roughed up

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - It was bound to happen.

Ducks vs. Bucks for title

Ohio State is looking for its first national title since 2002. Oregon is seeking its first, period.

Sweet as Sugar: Buckeyes upset Alabama 42-35

NEW ORLEANS - Urban Meyer had barely sat down after the Sugar Bowl when someone told him the score from the other semifinal game.

Oregon routes FSU

PASADENA, Calif. - Marcus Mariota and Oregon turned an avalanche of Florida State mistakes into a mountain of points and the Ducks rolled past the defending national champions 59-20 Thursday to turn the first College Football Playoff semifinal into a Rose Bowl rout.

Bowls: Badgers down Auburn

Gordon loose on Auburn, there was no stopping the nation's leading rusher.

NFL Wild Card teams — trust hard to come by

The main question for the NFL's weekend of wild-card games is who will advance, of course. The next big query: Who do you trust?

Brave new world

Rose Bowl: Oregon vs. Florida State

An ode to 2014

A year in golf: Tales from the Tour

Harbaugh gets big reception as he returns to Michigan

Falcons fire Mike Smith after 2nd straight losing season

ATLANTA - Mike Smith was fired as the Atlanta Falcons' coach Monday, one day after the end of his second straight losing season and a 34-3 rout by the Carolina Panthers before booing fans at the Georgia Dome.

Bowls: Penn State wins 1st bowl since scandal

NEW YORK - Christian Hackenberg hit Kyle Carter for a 10-yard touchdown pass in overtime and Penn State kicked the extra point that Boston College could not, lifting the Nittany Lions to a 31-30 win in the Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium on Saturday night.

No. 1 Kentucky stays unbeaten

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Kentucky understands that its brand name often brings out the best efforts from opponents.

Lance Armstrong loses $10 million arbitration hearing

AUSTIN, Texas - An arbitration panel ordered Lance Armstrong and Tailwind Sports Corp. to pay $10 million in a fraud dispute with a promotions company for what it called an "unparalleled pageant of international perjury, fraud and conspiracy" that covered up his use of performance-enhancing drugs.

Hawks still riding high

NEW YORK - LeBron James isn't used to looking up at so many teams at the All-Star break.

Westbrook has 41, West edges East in NBA All-Star Game

NEW YORK - Mixing Broadway and basketball, this NBA All-Star Game was a West Side Story.

Snedeker breaks own record and wins Pebble Beach

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. - Coming off the worst season of his career, Brandt Snedeker's mission was to become relevant again. He was eligible for only one major and none of the World Golf Championships, and he hated the idea of the world's best players competing without him.

Furyk flies into lead at Pebble

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. - Jim Furyk hasn't competed on the PGA Tour in seven months, so he kept his expectations to a minimum at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.

Ex-UAB players trying to stick together

The scenery will change, but some UAB football players forced to look for new schools after their program was shuttered in December will remain teammates next season.

Silver addresses state of league

NEW YORK - Commissioner Adam Silver is determined to make a schedule that keeps NBA players fresher, and he is willing to discuss starting the season earlier or ending later.

Manning meets with Elway

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. - A person with knowledge of the meeting tells The Associated Press that Peyton Manning huddled with Broncos general manager John Elway on Thursday to talk about his future in football. No decision was announced on whether Manning would return in 2015 or retire.

Snedeker, Jones tied at -12

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. - Enjoying the best weather Pebble Beach has to offer is one thing. Brandt Snedeker knew he had to take advantage of it with his golf clubs, too.

'Bubble watch' commences as season enters final month

As an automatic-qualifying conference, the Mountain West is guaranteed to have one team get into the NCAA tournament. The conference appears to be in decent shape to add another for the second straight season.

Teams gambling big on $100 million arms

Max Scherzer and Jon Lester might as well have neon-green dollar signs stamped all over their uniforms and caps when spring training opens next week.

Daly has lowest opening round in 10 years at Pebble

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. (AP) - Sunshine is always a pleasant surprise at Pebble Beach, and Thursday brought a real stunner: John Daly was near the top of the leaderboard.

Little League, big trouble

CHICAGO - A Little League team that captured the attention of the nation and the hearts of its hometown was stripped of its national title Wednesday after an investigation revealed that team officials had falsified boundaries so they could add ineligible players to the roster.

Woods returning to course when his game 'is ready'

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. - Tiger Woods said Wednesday his game is "not acceptable" to compete in tournaments and he will return when he thinks it is.