The Daily Fives for January 8th, 2011 From the Sports Mac

Top 5 Stories From Yesterday

1.         Jim Harbaugh agrees to become the new head coach of the San Francisco 49ers, signing a five-year, $25 million contract.

2.         Louisiana State runs all over Texas A&M to blow out the Aggies and win the 75th Cotton Bowl.

3.         Amar'e Stoudemire scores 23 points for the New York Knicks in his first game back in Phoenix since leaving as a free agent last summer.

4.         Toronto scores four power-play goals in less than five minutes, the first team to do so in over 12 years, in a demolition of the Thrashers in Atlanta.

5.         The NCAA rules that Enes Kanter is permanently ineligible and will not play basketball for the University of Kentucky.

Top 5 Games From Yesterday

1.         Miami Heat 101, Milwaukee Bucks 95, Overtime: Miami went 6-6 from the free throw line and held Milwaukee to just two field goals in OT to win its eighth straight game.

2.         New York Rangers 3, Dallas Stars 2, Shootout: Artem Anisimov tied it in the third period and Mats Zuccarello had the only goal in the shootout as New York rallied for the road win in Dallas.

3.         Canisius 62, Siena 61: Gaby Belardo hit the game winning jumper with 11 seconds left to lead the Golden Griffins to the MAAC home win over the Saints.

4.         Detroit Red Wings 5, Calgary Flames 4, Shootout: Goals by Patrick Eaves and Brian Rafalski tied the score and Todd Bertuzzi had the only goal in the shootout to help Detroit come from behind.

5.         Creighton 72, Southern Illinois 66, Overtime: The Blue Jays started the extra session on a 9-4 run and went on to the Missouri Valley Conference road win over the Salukis.

Top 5 Performances From Yesterday

1.         Kevin Love, Minnesota Timberwolves PF: 30 points and 19 rebounds in Minnesota’s 108-98 home loss to Portland

2.         Jordan Jefferson, LSU QB: 225 yards of total offense and accounted for four TDs in the Tigers 41-24 Cotton Bowl win over Texas A&M

3.         Nikolai Kulemin, Toronto Maple Leafs RW: Two goals and two assists in Toronto’s 9-3 blowout win in Atlanta

4.         Carlos Boozer, Chicago Bulls PF: 31 points and 13 rebounds in Chicago’s 105-99 road loss to Philadelphia

5.         Michael Glover, Iona F: 23 points and seven rebounds in the Gaels 70-52 MAAC home win over St. Peter’s

5 Performances That Weren’t So Good From Yesterday

1.         Texas A&M defense: the Aggies gave up 41 points and 446 yards of total offense in their 41-24 Cotton Bowl loss to Louisiana State

2.         Chris Mason, Atlanta Thrashers G: Gave up three goals on just four shots in Atlanta’s 9-3 home loss to Toronto

3.         Devin Harris, New Jersey Nets PG: Just 1-7 shooting and only four points in New Jersey’s 97-77 road loss to Washington

4.         R.J. Hall, Marist G: Just 3-10 shooting and only nine points in the Red Foxes 59-44 MAAC home loss to Fairfield

5.         Mathieu Garon, Blue Jackets G: Gave up two goals on five shots in just 13:00 in Columbus’s 6-0 road loss to Anaheim

Top 5 Events To Follow Today

1.         BBVA Compass Bowl: Pittsburgh (7-5) vs. Kentucky (6-6), 12:00 PM, ESPN: There is a chance for the Big East to have a respectable bowl season if the Panthers can beat the Wildcats.

2.         NFL Playoffs: New Orleans Saints (11-5) at Seattle Seahawks (7-9), 4:30 PM, NBC: This year’s playoffs start with the defending champs facing the most unlikely playoff team ever.

3.         NBA: Boston Celtics (27-7) at Chicago Bulls (23-11), 8:00 PM, NBA TV: Chicago has risen toward the top of the Eastern Conference and will look to continue its climb, welcoming Boston to the Windy City.

4.         NFL: New York Jets (11-5) at Indianapolis Colts (10-6), 8:00 PM, NBC: The AFC side of the playoffs gets started with a rematch of last year’s AFC Championship Game.

5.         NHL: Detroit Red Wings (25-10-5) at Vancouver Canucks (26-8-5), 10:00 PM: Two of the top teams in the league, and the top two in the Western Conference, face off in Vancouver.