Friday Tidbits (Dec. 26)

Hope you had a good Christmas!

Carolina lost G Keydrick (groin) for the year.  Ashley Lelie also went on IR for the Raiders.  The RCA Dome was imploded. 

Cincinnati shut out Cleveland behind Cedric Benson’s 171 yards.  Jamal Lewis surpassed 10,000 career rushing yards.  New Orleans pounded Detroit to send them to 0-15.  Drew Brees threw for 351 yards. 

Tennessee showed they are still top dogs in the AFC by wrapping up the No. 1 seed.  Miami got by Kansas City.  San Fran beat St. Louis as Isaac Bruce caught his 1,000th pass and moved into No. 2 in all-time receiving yardage.

New England destroyed Arizona.  Matt Cassel was simply amazing when former MVP candidate Kurt Warner couldn’t do squat.  San Diego kept Tampa on a slide and kept their playoff hopes alive.  Buffalo topped Denver to help San Diego. 

Oakland ended Houston’s hot streak.  Seattle took care of the Jets.  Minnesota made too many mistakes, allowing Atlanta to beat them.  The Eagles fell to the Skins. 

The Giants took care of Carolina to earn the top seed in the NFC.  DeAngelo Williams had four TDs.  Brandon Jacobs had three.  Derrick Ward ran for 215 yards.  Jay Zygmunt is out as Rams GM. 

The Bears looked dead, but they came back to beat the Pack.  Shaun Ellis got fined $10K for throwing snow at fans.  The 49ers are going to rock mustaches this week to honor the team when they not only didn’t suck.

Cheddar Plax had guns and ammo seized from his house.  Wes Welker got fined $10,000 for his snow angel.  Hey Roger…get bent.  Marc Colombo signed a four-year extension with the Cowboys.  Raheem Morris will replace Monte Kiffin in Tampa.

Devin Harris torched Jason Kidd as his Nets ripped Dallas. Andre Miller and Joe Johnson each messed around and got a Triple-Double. 

Jamal Crawford dropped 50 as Golden State beat Charlotte.   Drew Gooden (ankle) will miss a week.  Carmelo Anthony (elbow) will miss a couple games. 

Houston traded Steve Francis to Memphis for a draft pick.  D-Wade bought a family a new home.  Jordan Farmar (knee) will miss two months. 

Phoenix signed Dee Brown.  The Lakers snapped the Celtics 19-game winning streak.  Chris Paul saw his NBA record of 108 straight games with a steal come to an end as well.

Washington activated Jose Theodore.  Pittsburgh re-signed Maxime Talbot to a two-year deal.  The Wild put Owen Nolan on the IR.

Vancouver lost Sami Salo (ribs) for a month.  Jonas Hiller tied Anaheim’s record with 51 saves in a win over Edmonton.  St. Louis’ Eric Brewer (back surgery) will be out a while.  Anaheim’s Teemu Selanne will miss a month.

Sidney Crosby set the record for most All-Star votes.  Columbus lost Derick Brassard (shoulder) for the year.  The Wild will be without Marc-Andre Bergeron for a while. 

Shutouts:  Buffalo’s Ryan Miller vs. LA, Nashville’s Pekka Rinne vs. the Islanders, Phoenix’s Ilya Bryzgalov vs. Columbus, Florida’s Tomas Vokoun vs. Colorado and Nashville, Boston’s Tim Thomas vs. New Jersey, Los Angeles’ Jonathan Quick vs. Columbus, Tampa Bay’s Mike Smith vs. Pittsburgh, San Jose’ Evgeni Nabokov vs. Vancouver

Hat Tricks:  Philadelphia’s Scott Hartnell vs. Washington, Dallas’ James Neal vs. Toronto

 

Juan Rivera signed a three-year deal with the Angels.  San Diego signed Jody Gerut.  Daniel Cabrera signed a one-year deal with the Nationals. 

The Pirates signed Ryan Doumit to a three-year deal.  Chien-Ming Wang signed a one-year deal worth $5 million.  I think C.C. and A.J. will pay that in taxes. 

Next the Devils, I mean the Yankees, signed Mark Teixeira to an eight-year, $180 million deal.  Good thing our economy is strong.  Kevin Mench will play in Japan next year.

 

Richmond beat Montana to win the Football Championship Subdivision national championship.  Iowa State hired Paul Rhodes.  Mount Union won the D3 championship.  Wake Forest beat Navy in the Eagle Bank Bowl. 

Colorado State beat Fresno State in the New Mexico Bowl.  South Florida beat Memphis in the Magicjack St. Petersburg Bowl.  Arizona beat BYU in the Pioneer Las Vegas Bowl.  Southern Miss beat Troy in the R&L Carriers New Orleans Bowl.

Sam Bradford was voted AP Player of the Year.  Nick Saban was named AP Coach of the Year.  Miami of Ohio hired Mike Haywood to be their next Coach.

No. 11 TCU beat No. 9 Boise State in the San Diego Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl (are they serious with that name?)  Notre Dame actually won a bowl game beating Hawaii in the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl.

 
#2 UConn beat #7 Gonzaga.  #22 Michigan State beat #5 Texas.  #6 Duke beat #7 Xavier.  Minnesota beat #9 Louisville.  #11 Syracuse beat #21 Memphis.  #17 Arizona State beat BYU behind James Harden’s 30 points. 

#18 Purdue beat #20 Davidson.  #25 Clemson beat Miami as Trevor Booker grabbed 16 boards.  Willie Warren had 31 points as #4 Oklahoma beat Rice.  Andy Rautins hit nine 3’s as #14 Syracuse beat Tywain McKee (31 points) and Coppin State. 

#22 Baylor beat Hartford behind Curtis Jerrells’ triple-double.  Portland State upset #7 Gonzaga.  #8 Texas beat Wisconsin as Damion James had 18 points and 15 rebounds. 

#10 UCLA hung 113 on Wyoming.  I guess they weren’t in the holiday spirit.  Butler beat #12 Xavier.  Arizona Freshman Jeff Withey is transferring to Kansas.

 

Vijay Singh beat Steve Stricker to win the Chevron World Challenge.  Richard Sterne won the South Africa Open.  Lam Chih Bing won the Volvo Masters of Asia.   

That concludes the Tidbits. As always feel free to add any stories you liked this week in sports or discuss any of the stories I mentioned.  Be sure to check out my Links Page for some great sites.