Sports 2000

UCLA rallied past Temple to win the EagleBank Bowl in Washington D.C., 30-21, tonight. Temple (9-4), playing in its first bowl since 1979, led 21-7 late in the first half and 21-10 at halftime.

UCLA (7-6) narrowed the deficit to 21-20 with six minutes left in the fourth quarter when Akeem Akers intercepted a pass and returned it five yards for the go-ahead touchdown. A two-point conversion and a poor punt snap that resulted in a safety provided the final margin.

Wisconsin defeated Miami, 20-14, in the Champs Sports Bowl in Orlando. Wisconsin, rated 15th, improved to 10-3. Miami, ranked #25, fell to 9-4.

Miami scored touchdowns in the first minute of the game and in the last two minutes of the fourth quarter. However, Wisconsin continued most of the other 57 minutes with a stingy defense and balanced offense.

In the NBA Tuesday, Cleveland (25-8) beat Miami (21-9), 95-84. New York (12-19) thrashed Detroit (11-20), 104-87. Houston (19-13) dispatched New Orleans (13-16), 108-100. The Los Angeles Lakers (25-6) edged Golden State (9-22), 124-118. Oklahoma City (17-14) dismissed Washington (10-20), 110-98. Chicago (12-17) defeated Indiana (9-21), 104-95. San Antonio (18-11) crunched Minnesota (7-25), 117-99.

Around the NHL tonight, Buffalo (52 points) edged Pittsburgh (53 points), 4-3. Dallas (45 points) prevailed over Chicago (55 points), 5-4. Phoenix (53 points) squeaked past Vancouver (47 points), 3-2, in a shootout. The New York Islanders (39 points) beat Columbus (38 points), 2-1, in a shootout. Nashville (49 points) defeated St. Louis (39 points), 4-3. Anaheim (39 points) handled Minnesota (43 points), 4-2.

Chicago beat Minnesota, 36-30, in overtime Monday. Minnesota (11-4) has lost three of its last four games after a 10-1 start.

Chicago (6-9) jumped to a 16-0 halftime lead before the Vikings responded. Chicago converted an Adrian Peterson fumble midway through the extra period in a 40-yard touchdown pass one play later.

With the defeat, Minnesota lost any chance at becoming the number-one seed in the NFC playoffs. Despite losing its past two games following a 13-0 start, New Orleans will have home-field advantage until the Super Bowl.

Clemson (9-5) defeated Kentucky (7-6), 21-13, in the Music City Bowl Sunday. Georgia (8-5) hammered Texas A&M (6-7), 44-20, in the Independence Bowl tonight.

Georgia’s interim bulldog mascot, Russ, will retire with a 2-0 lifetime record. He replaced Uga VII, who died suddenly last month. A new white bulldog will be christened Uga VIII in time for the 2010 football season.

While Peyton Manning played, Indianapolis led the New York Jets, 15-10. When Curtis Painter replaced Manning at quarterback midway through the third quarter, the Colt offense collapsed. The Jets rallied with 19 unanswered points and claimed an important win, 29-15. New York improved to 8-7. Indianapolis (14-1) dropped its first game of the season.

Elsewhere around the league, Atlanta (8-7) crushed Buffalo (5-10), 31-3. Cincinnati (10-5) prevailed against Kansas City (3-12), 17-10. Cleveland (4-11) defeated Oakland (5-10), 23-9. Green Bay (10-5) humbled Seattle (5-10), 48-10. Houston (8-7) held off Miami (7-8), 27-20. New England (10-5) smashed Jacksonville (7-8), 35-7.

In other NFL action, Tampa Bay (3-12) upset New Orleans (13-2), 20-17, in overtime. Carolina (7-8) embarrassed the New York Giants (8-7), 41-9. Pittsburgh (8-7) outlasted Baltimore (8-7), 23-20. Arizona (10-5) dispatched St. Louis (1-14), 31-10. San Francisco (7-8) knocked off Detroit (2-13), 20-6. Philadelphia (11-4) survived against Denver (8-7), 30-27. Dallas (10-5) blanked Washington (4-11), 17-0.

Urban Meyer announced today he won’t resign as Florida coach after Friday’s Sugar Bowl. Instead, he’ll take a sabbatical and reassess his health later. Steve Addazio, the Gators’ offensive coordinator, will be the interim coach while Meyer is away from the team. Meyer admitted to suffering from stress, high blood pressure and chest pains.

In the NBA tonight, Dallas (22-9) defeated Denver (20-11), 104-96. Miami (16-12) crushed Indiana (9-20), 114-80. Toronto (15-17) dispatched Detroit (11-19), 102-95. San Antonio (17-11) beat New York (11-19), 95-88. Cleveland (24-8) smashed Houston (18-13), 108-83. Boston (23-5) leads the Los Angeles Clippers (12-17), 68-59, in the third quarter.

In the NHL Sunday, Philadelphia (38 points) beat the New York Islanders (37 points), 2-1. Buffalo (50 points) outgunned St. Louis (39 points), 5-3. Toronto (37 points) upended Pittsburgh (53 points), 4-3. Boston (45 points) outlasted Florida (39 points), 2-1. Chicago (55 points) defeated Nashville (47 points), 5-4. Vancouver (46 points) throttled Calgary (45 points), 5-1.