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Frazzled and frantic, we're bound and determined not to miss any holiday activity but the season only has so many days to get all that cooking, shopping, socializing, decorating, and volunteering done. The resulting stress along with fewer hours sleep, lots of rich, calorie-laden holiday foods, and...

Round Three of the Sevens World Series takes place at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth. We bring you all the action as it unfolds... Pool A: Samoa, France, South Africa, Australia Report to follow... Pool B: New Zealand, Fiji, Scotland, England Report to follow... Pool C: Kenya,...

From left, Heisman Trophy candidates Johnny Manziel of Texas A&M, Manti Te'o of Notre Dame and Collin Klein of Kansas State pose for a photo Thursday at the Home Depot College Football Awards in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. (John Raoux, The Associated Press) NEW...

OKLAHOMA CITY — This wasn't supposed to happen after the James Harden trade created a clear path for the Lakers in the Western Conference. This wasn't part of the plan after Steve Nash was acquired in July and Dwight Howard a month later. This was meant to be the Lakers' conference, their season, their return to the NBA Finals. Instead they fell seven games behind the Oklahoma City Thunder after a 114-108 loss Friday to the Thunder at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Seven games by the seventh of December. "That's really like, wow," Metta World Peace said after several awkward seconds of letting the concept sink in. "That's a lot. Again, wow. I can't believe it." It's true. The Lakers (9-11)...

Soccer Scorpions re-sign Wagner, Hannigan Starting fullback Blake Wagner and backup goalkeeper Pat Hannigan have re-signed with the Scorpions for the 2013 season. Wagner started 23 matches as the Scorpions allowed the fewest goals in the NASL last season. Hannigan started three matches before an injury forced him to the sideline. Indiana, Georgetown in men's NCAA final: Femi Hollinger-Janzen scored midway through the first half, and Indiana held off Creighton 1-0 on Friday in the NCAA semifinals. The seven-time champion Hoosiers will play Georgetown in the title game Sunday. The Hoyas beat Maryland 4-3 on penalty...

New Delhi: A clinical Australian team dashed India's hopes of reaching the Champions Trophy final as their skipper Jamie Dwyer scored...

Long Beach Poly Coach Raul Lara sure knows how to tease his team's football fans. Everyone knows the Jackrabbits' success in the postseason has come from running the ball, so why in the name of common sense were they attempting 18 passes during a 7-7 first half against Clovis North in Friday's CIF state regional Division I championship bowl game at Veterans Stadium? Poly got back to running the ball in the second half, combined with a few clutch pass completions and a strong defense, and the Jackrabbits came away with a 28-7 victory. Eric Sondheimer | Also...

LAS VEGAS — The fact they're much bigger than when they first met eight years ago is undeniable. Both Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez have added bulk along with the pounds, and both have had to deal with those who suspect they didn't do it naturally....

Once bitten but not twice shy, John Senden is relishing the prospect of a final-round Australian Open duel with English star...

06:45, Dec 8 2012 Cardiff manager Malky Mackay lavished praise on Craig Bellamy and Heidar Helguson after the veteran forward duo inspired the npower Championship leaders to a resounding 4-1 win over Blackburn at Ewood Park. Bellamy, 33, linked up cleverly with his 35-year-old strike partner to restore City's lead in the 54th minute after...

Updated: December 8, 2012 1:25AM In their attempts to be the most thorough front office in baseball, Theo Epstein's Cubs seem almost too deliberate at times as trade and free-agent targets go elsewhere in volatile markets. But like they did with free agent David DeJesus and Cuban outfielder Jorge Soler more than a year ago, quick decisions and early efforts this winter have put the Cubs in a position of relative strength not even they expected at this point as they fill an abundance of holes. Granted, it's measured in terms of strength more relative to the 101-loss baseline they're working on...

Georgetown goalkeeper Tomas Gomez blocked Helge Leikvang's shot in the final round of a shootout, lifting the Hoyas over Maryland, 4-3, on penalty kicks Friday night following a 4-4 tie in the NCAA soccer semifinals in Hoover, Ala....

Lovie Smith's glass is still half-full. He doesn't seem to realize that a month ago, it was three-quarters-full. It's almost as if the Bears' best chance to make the playoffs with enough momentum to be a factor is Smith's resolute belief that they can. Some people see a Bears team that has lost three of its last four games, is 1-4 against opponents with winning records and just got beat at home by a 5-11 rookie quarterback drafted in the third round who ran Brian Urlacher and Co. into the ground with an offense ranked...

By Jack Wang, Staff Writer Posted: 12/07/2012 09:44:01 PM PST Updated: 12/07/2012 11:26:13 PM PST Ben Howland is preaching patience, but he understands if UCLA fans aren't biting. "The fans here are always going to have expectations to win...

Clovis High has been the king of California wrestling two years running. Based on results from the Clovis West...

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Round Three of the Sevens World Series takes place at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth. We bring you all the action as it unfolds... Pool A: Samoa, France, South Africa, Australia Report to follow... Pool B: New Zealand, Fiji, Scotland, England Report to follow... Pool C: Kenya,...

The Kansas City Chiefs say they have established a trust fund for the 3-month-old girl left without parents when her father, linebacker Jovan Belcher, murdered the girl's mother then killed himself. The Chiefs announced Friday that the Zoey Michelle Belcher Irrevocable Trust will be established with contributions from the Hunt family, which own the team, as well as Chiefs players, coaches and staff. The public may contribute. Belcher fatally shot 22-year-old...

Updated: December 8, 2012 1:14AM In an effort to contain defensive end Jared Allen, the Bears threw the kitchen sink at him when they played the Minnesota Vikings two weeks ago. They double-teamed him with a tight end, chipped him with running backs and receivers, used quick, three-step drops by quarterback Jay Cutler and rolled him out with play-action. ''We're going to do similar stuff that we...

With four games left, Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson is threatening to crack 2,000 rushing yards and, in classic fashion, is pounding his way into the MVP conversation. Q: Did he expect such a season? A: Why not? Because less than a year ago at Washington at the end of a three-yard gain, Peterson's left knee awkwardly turned when Redskins safety DeJon Gomes slammed into him. Because Peterson remembered feeling three pops and immediately enduring ''terrible'' pain. Q: What did he think then? A: ''Why me? Why me?'' ''But I was able to refocus fast,'' Peterson told the Sun-Times, ''and get my mind back right.'' The legend of Adrian Peterson started early in Palestine, Texas,...

Columbine offensive lineman John Lisella is one of CU's oral commitments. (Hyoung Chang, The Denver Post) Related Dec 7:Cincinnati AD Whit Babcock talks about CU's pursuit of Butch JonesVols hire Cincinnati's Jones as new football coachColorado football moves to Plan B after Butch Jones backs outDec 6:Colorado chancellor Phil DiStefano comments on coaching searchButch Jones out at Colorado; Buffs' Mike Bohn on to "Plan B" in coach searchDec 5:Mark Kiszla: Butch Jones in a gotta-get-mine, college football cash grabButch Jones to be Colorado coach, source says; Jones denies decisionThe wait continues and plot thickens in Colorado coaching search The clock is ticking during Colorado's search...

Dec 7 (Reuters - Oklahoma City guard Russell Westbrook gorged himself with 27 points in the first half as the Thunder extended their recent dominant run with a 114-108 win over the short-handed Los Angeles Lakers on Friday. The victory was the Thunder's seventh in a row, and their 16th win of the...

Updated: December 8, 2012 1:30AM All-American Jerry Harkness achieved all that a college basketball player could dream of when he starred at Loyola from 1960 to 1963, including winning the NCAA championship. ''I thought winning the national championship was the greatest accomplishment in my life,'' he said. ''But then you get older and realize things, and it's not even close. ''Winning the championship fell way down to second place.'' What meant more was the game the Ramblers played against Mississippi State in the regional semifinals before they faced defending national champion Cincinnati. It was much more than "a game.'' It was the episode that forever changed college athletics in the...

OKLAHOMA CITY — The Lakers are debating whether to bring Pau Gasol off the bench when he returns from knee tendinitis, said a person familiar with the team's thinking. Gasol has struggled mightily this season, averaging 12.6 points and shooting only 42%, both career lows. The Lakers are trying to decide how a demotion to the bench would affect Gasol. If they determined it would be adverse, they'd keep him in the starting lineup. It was unclear when Gasol would return, though it could be Sunday against Utah at Staples Center. The Lakers then take off for another road trip, to Cleveland, New York, Washington and Philadelphia. Before Friday's game, Gasol worked out on an elliptical...

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton likely will command many more dollars than the Yankees would be willing to pay. Though it's an extreme long shot proposition, the Yankees have done some vetting on free agent outfielder Josh Hamilton – whose potent bat comes with a troubled past and a high salary demand....

Matt Bellerive scored the winning goal late in the third period as the Red Deer Rebels edged the host Moose Jaw Warriors 2-1 on Friday in Western Hockey League action. Bellerive circled the Warriors' net, found a shooting lane and picked the top corner on Moose Jaw goaltender Daniel Wapple with only 10.9 seconds on the clock for the game winner. "Going into every game, it doesn't matter if we're down 1-0, we don't panic," said Bellerive. "We just know we're going to win. We have that confidence right now." Tyson Ness also scored for the Rebels (19-11-2), who have won nine games in a row, and Patrik Bartosak stopped 25-of-26 shots for the victory. "We can't have that...

The draft class DT Derek Wolfe — Wolfe and defensive end Elvis Dumervil continue to lead the way up front in terms of play time on the defense. Wolfe played 42 of 51 defensive snaps in Oakland. He gave way to Robert Ayers in a selection of longer down-and-distance situations, but continues to be a versatile player at the power end — left defensive end — much of the time. Wolfe also added one snap of special teams play against the Raiders. QB Brock Osweiler — For a time it looked like Osweiler may get some playing late in Oakland as the Broncos offense repeatedly moved the ball up and down the...

By Associated Press Comments Butch Jones has a 50-27 record in six seasons as a head coach. He went 27-13 in three seasons at Central Michigan and was 23-14 at Cincinnati the last three years. (Jonathan Ernst/Getty Images) Knoxville, Tenn. — Butch Jones was pondering whether to leave Cincinnati this week to coach Colorado when he received a text message that inadvertently foreshadowed his eventual destination. It was from Denver Broncos quarterback and Tennessee great Peyton Manning. "He was selling me on Colorado," Jones said. "He said it was hard for a person from the University of Tennessee to be selling somebody to come to the University of Colorado. I wanted to text him back,...

Editor's note: NFL reporter Jeff Legwold analyzes the Broncos' 26-13 victory over the Oakland Raiders on Thursday night and looks ahead: When all was said and done in Oakland, Calif., on Thursday night, no Broncos player was using synonyms for "glowing" when breaking down Denver's 26-13 victory over the Raiders. The defense looked vulnerable to the big play — Carson Palmer completed 58- and 56-yard passes. The offense had only two touchdown "drives," one of those for all of 2 yards. And the Broncos came within an eyelash of losing a fumble on special teams. Not a game for the display case. But what the Broncos showed,...

Air Force coach Troy Calhoun (Andy Cross, Denver Post file) AIR FORCE ACADEMY — Coach Troy Calhoun was focused on getting his Air Force team ready to play in the Armed Forces Bowl at practice Friday, brushing off any interest in the rash of head coaching changes in major-college football. When Calhoun was asked whether he had been contacted...

LAWRENCE, kan. — No hard feelings. Kansas coach Bill Self, who insists he will not reschedule archrival Missouri now that the Tigers are in the SEC, doesn't blame the Buffs for roaming out of the Big 12 and into the Pac-12. "I have no ill will at all toward Colorado," Self told The Kansas City Star. "They left the league because they had to. With the league potentially breaking up,...