Sports

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Zia Cooke had 14 points and No. 1 South Carolina opened Southeastern Conference play with a 76-34 victory over Texas A&M. The Gamecocks improved to 13-0 for the third time in the past nine seasons. They beat the Aggies for the 10th time in the past 11 meetings. South Carolina, which

By ALANIS THAMES AP Sports Writer ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Jordan Travis threw for 418 yards and two touchdowns and No. 13 Florida State beat Oklahoma 35-32 on Thursday night in the Cheez-It Bowl. Johnny Wilson made a one-handed grab for a 58-yard gain to set up Ryan Fitzgerald’s 32-yard field goal with 55 seconds

By ERIC W. BOLIN Associated Press FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) — Angel Reese and Alexis Morris each scored 19 points as No. 9 LSU handled No. 24 Arkansas in both teams’ SEC opener Thursday, 69-45. Flau’jae Johnson had 10 points and 11 rebounds. Arkansas shot just 28% and was more than doubled-up by LSU on the

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indiana’s Buddy Hield made the fastest 3-pointer on record when he hit just three seconds into the Pacers’ game against Cleveland. The opening tipoff was batted to Hield, who caught it behind the arc, turned and shot. The ball went through with 11:57 remaining in the first quarter, with Pacers center Myles

By The Associated Press CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Charlotte 49ers defeated the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders 82-67 on Thursday night led by Brice Williams’ 31 points. The 49ers improved to 10-3 with the win and the Blue Raiders fell to 8-5.

By PAT GRAHAM AP Sports Writer ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — Denver Broncos defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero elected to pass on taking the interim head coaching job after his good friend Nathaniel Hackett was fired. Evero wants to concentrate on leading one of the league’s top defenses. That doesn’t diminish his desire to one day be

CLINTON, S.C. — Led by Crosby James’ 23 points, the Presbyterian Blue Hose defeated the Campbell Fighting Camels 82-72 on Thursday night. The Blue Hose moved to 5-9 with the victory and the Fighting Camels fell to 5-8.

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio — The Bowling Green Falcons defeated the Ohio Dominican Panthers 102-65 on Thursday night led by Leon Ayers III’s 30 points. The Falcons moved to 6-7 with the victory.

BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. — Led by Ludovic Dufeal’s 16 points, the Gardner-Webb Runnin’ Bulldogs defeated the Charleston Southern Buccaneers 83-63 on Thursday night. The Runnin’ Bulldogs are now 6-7 with the victory and the Buccaneers fell to 4-8.

By JOHN WAWROW AP Sports Writer BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — The wallop of a two-day blizzard that struck Buffalo over the weekend and the sense of desperation that came with it hit home for Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams on Christmas Eve, when he trudged through the storm to check on his mother-in-law. What is

By RONALD BLUM AP Sports Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Pelé was remembered for a life beyond the field, for transcending the sport of soccer and becoming perhaps the most well-known person on Earth. “Before Pelé, ’10′ was just a number,” current Brazil forward Neymar wrote following the soccer great’s death Thursday at the age

By BRETT MARTEL AP Sports Writer NEW ORLEANS (AP) — In an age of opt outs in college football, top NFL prospects for Alabama and Kansas State are opting in at the Sugar Bowl. Alabama quarterback Bryce Young and edge rusher Will Anderson Jr. headline those players who could have skipped Saturday’s game and the

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix is retiring as a Green Bay Packer after spending his first 4 1/2 seasons with that franchise. Green Bay general manager Brian Gutekunst announced Thursday that Clinton-Dix had informed the team of his decision to retire with the Packers. The Packers selected Clinton-Dix out of Alabama

By JEROME PUGMIRE AP Sports Writer PARIS (AP) — Marseille paid tribute to Brazilian soccer great Pelé before routing Toulouse 6-1 to rise to third place, while Lens failed to keep pace with league leader Paris Saint-Germain after drawing 0-0 at Nice. The draw left second-place Lens seven points behind PSG, which won on Wednesday

By LARRY FLEISHER Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Mohamed Ibrahim rushed for 71 yards on 16 carriers with a touchdown and became Minnesota’s all-time rushing leader in the Golden Gophers’ 28-20 win over Syracuse in the Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium. Ibrahim broke the school record held by Darrell Thompson (1986-89) on a 10-yard

By TOM WITHERS AP Sports Writer BEREA, Ohio (AP) — Deshaun Watson is preaching patience. Four games into his tenure with Cleveland, Watson feels he’s improved each time out, but he’s still not where he wants to be. The Browns are 2-2 with Watson as their starter after he returned from an 11-game suspension suspension

FARMVILLE, Va. — Led by Isaiah Wilkins’ 25 points, the Longwood Lancers defeated the High Point Panthers 87-73 on Thursday. The Lancers are now 9-5 on the season, while the Panthers fell to 8-5.

By TALES AZZONI and MAURICIO SAVARESE Associated Press SAO PAULO (AP) — Pelé was simply “The King.” He embraced “the beautiful game” of soccer in his 1958 World Cup debut for Brazil and never really let go. He won a record three World Cups and was widely regarded as one of his sport’s greatest players.