The Daily Fives For Jan. 18, 2011 From The Sports Mac

Top 5 Stories From Yesterday

1.         No.4 Pittsburgh hands No.3 Syracuse its first loss of the season after the Panthers defeat the Orange in Pittsburgh.

2.         Brett Favre officially files retirement papers with the National Football League, taking the next step in completing his 20-year career.

3.         Blake Griffin explodes for 47 points in the Clippers' win over the Pacers in Los Angeles.

4.         The Raiders promote offensive coordinator Hue Jackson to their head coaching position.

5.         Rafael Nadal needs only 47 minutes to cruise through his first-round match at the Australian Open.

Top 5 Games From Yesterday

1.         Thrashers 3, Panthers 2, Shootout: Alexander Burmistrov had the game-winning goal for Atlanta in their win in South Florida.

2.         76ers 96, Bobcats 92, Overtime: Evan Turner went 4-of-4 from the free throw line, including the game-winning FTs, in the last 16 seconds to help Philadelphia to the home win.

3.         Canadiens 5, Flames 4, Overtime: P.K. Subban scored the winner a minute into the extra session to save Montreal after they had blown a 4-0 second period lead against Calgary.

4.         No.8 Connecticut 61, No.7 Villanova 59: Kemba Walker hit a floater with 2.5 seconds remaining to lift the Huskies to a huge Big East home win over the Wildcats.

5.         Loyola (Maryland) 65, St. Peter’s 63: Brian Rudolph hit a jumper with a second left to give the Greyhounds the MAAC road win over the Peacocks.

Top 5 Performances From Yesterday

1.         Blake Griffin, Clippers PF: 47 points and 14 rebounds in Los Angeles’ 114-107 home win over Indiana

2.         Zdeno Chara, Bruins D: Three goals for his first career hat trick in Boston’s 7-0 home win over Carolina

3.         Kwame Morgan II, Hampton G: 36 points and five assists in the Pirates' 82-77 MEAC home win over North Carolina A&T

4.         Boris Diaw, Bobcats PF: 25 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists in Charlotte’s 96-92 overtime road loss to Philadelphia

5.         Trevis Simpson, North Carolina-Greensboro F: 33 points, including four three-pointers, in the Spartans 77-69 home SOCON win over Davidson

5 Performances That Weren’t So Good From Yesterday

1.         Jose Calderon, Raptors PG: went 0 for 5 shooting and did not score in Toronto’s 85-81 road loss to New Orleans

2.         Jussi Jokinen, Hurricanes LW: had a -3 and two penalty minutes in Carolina’s 7-0 road loss to Boston

3.         Josh Davis, Samford G: just 3-of-12 shooting and only seven points in the Bulldogs 61-50 SOCON home loss to The Citadel

4.         Niklas Hagman, Flames LW: had a -3 in Calgary’s 5-4 overtime road loss to Montreal

5.         Rudy Gay, Grizzlies SF: just 1-of-10 shooting and only nine points in Memphis’s 96-84 home loss to Chicago

Top 5 Events To Follow Today

1.         NCAA BB: No.18 Michigan State (12-5, 4-1) at No.22 Illinois (13-5, 3-2), 7:00 PM, ESPN: Another big game in the Big Ten with the Spartans traveling to face the Illini.

2.         NHL: Capitals (25-14-7) at Flyers (29-11-5), 7:00 PM: Philadelphia has eight of their next 10 at home, and it starts with a visit from Washington.

3.         NHL: Red Wings (28-11-6) at Penguins (28-14-4), 7:00 PM: Two of the best teams over the last few seasons in the NHL meet in Pittsburgh.

4.         NBA: Hawks (27-15) at Heat (30-12), 7:30 PM, NBA TV: Atlanta makes the trip south to face their division rivals, who may not be at full strength tonight.

5.         NCAA BB: Clemson (13-4, 2-1) at North Carolina (12-5, 2-1), 8:00 PM, ESPN3.com: Two ACC teams, still trying to find themselves early in the conference slate, meet in Chapel Hill.