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ByRalphD.Russo TheAssociatedPress TCU coach Gary Patterson em- braced changed and joined an ex- clusive club. Patterson was voted college foot- ball coach of the year by The As- sociated Press on Wednesday, join- ing Nick Saban as the only two-time winners. The AP coach of the year has been awarded since 1998. Patter- son, in his 14th season at TCU, was coach of the year in 2009. Saban was coach of the year in 2003 when he was with LSU and in 2008 at Al- abama. Patterson received 27 of 54 votes from the AP Top 25 media panel. Urban Meyer of Ohio State was the runner-up with 14 votes. Mississippi State's Dan Mullen received six votes. Alabama's Sa- ban and Arizona's Rich Rodri- guez drew two votes each. Flor- ida State's Jimbo Fisher, Baylor's Art Briles and Memphis' Justin Fuente had one. Patterson guided the sixth- ranked Horned Frogs to an 11-1 re- cord and a share of the Big 12 title after going 4-8 in 2013. "The head coaches get too much attention," Patterson said. "That means really that you had a good team. Good players and really a great coaching staff." COACH OF THE YEAR Patterson wins AP award for 2nd time Guided TCU to 11-1 record this season, his 14th with the Horned Frogs; also won award in 2009 JIMCOWSERT—THEASSOCIATEDPRESSFILE TCU head coach Gary Patterson was selected as The Associated Press college football coach of the year on Wednesday. COURTESY PHOTO Mercy High School recently held its annual Fall Sports Banquet. Honored athletes include (form back le ): Angie Xiao, tennis, Most Improved Player; Tasha Pimentel, volleyball Most Valuable Player and All-League; Daphne Nandino, volleyball, Most Improved Player; Minje Park, junior varsity volleyball, Most Improved Player; Anthony Aviles, swimming, Most Valuable Player; Cheyanne Johnsons, volleyball, All- League; Jimmy Nicols, 8-man football, Most Improved Player; Elijah Gash-8-man football, All-League; Annie Feser, junior varsity volleyball, Most Valuable Player; Marissa Starman, volleyball, Most Valuable Player of Five Star League; Madeline Flynn, volleyball, All-League; Richie Borges, 8-man football All-League; Al House, 8-man football All-League and Co-Most Valuable Player and William Gentry, 8-man All- League and Co-Most Valuable Player. PREP SPORTS MERCY HONORS BEST At the recent Mercy High School Fall Sports Banquet, the school honored its top athletes Rocker Jon Bon Jovi donned a New York Police Department T-shirt on stage. Well-wishers delivered home-baked cookies by the hundreds to police in Cincinnati in a show of sup- port and gratitude. GRATITUDE A erNewYorkdeaths, support for police up FULLSTORYONPAGEB5 Thousands of Christian pilgrims on Wednesday flocked to the biblical town of Bethlehem for Christmas Eve celebrations at the traditional birthplace of Jesus, li ing spirits in the area. HOLY LAND Faithful flock to Bethlehem for holiday FULL STORY ON PAGE B6 Power companies managed to restore electricity to thou- sands of people in Mississippi on Wednesday, a day a er a powerful storm swept through the southeastern U.S. and killed four people. WEATHER Severe storms slam the South, kill at least 4 FULL STORY ON PAGE B8 Volunteers at the North American Aerospace Defense Command are pretending to monitor Santa Claus as he makes his storybook Christ- mas Eve flight. NORAD used the heat from Rudolph's nose. NORAD ON CHRISTMAS Rudolph's nose shows Santa's fabled flight FULL STORY ON PAGE B4 SUE OGROCKI — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) shoots in front of Oklahoma City Thunder guard Reggie Jackson (15) in the first quarter Nov. 23in Oklahoma City. By Antonio Gonzalez The Associated Press OAKLAND Golden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry was driv- ing in a car with his wife, Ayesha, over the summer when they put on a song by a popular rapper that every- body had been telling them to play. "Been Steph Curry with the shot," Drake called out in the song "0 to 100." The stunned couple looked at each other, smiled and broke out in laugh- ter. "It was pretty cool," Curry said. Sure, fans voted him into the All- Star Game as a starter, media se- lected him second-team All-NBA and a major car insurance company created a fictional twin for a popu- lar commercial series last season. But the shoutout from a renowned recording artist might have been the moment Curry realized he had truly made it big. As his stardom continues to rise, Curry is still surprised by the celeb- rity treatment — even though nobody else is. Coaches, players and executives have taken notice of the growth in Curry's game by strategizing every- thing they do around him. Marketers in the NBA league office and spon- sors across the country have, too, putting his boyish face on national television and social media adver- tisements to promote their brands. And with the Warriors (23-4) atop the NBA standings, Curry's case for MVP is starting to echo around the league as loud as the chants do nightly at rowdy Oracle Arena. Another chance to showcase his skills comes Thursday night, when Curry and the Warriors visit Chris Paul and the rival Los Angeles Clip- pers on Christmas for what might be the best game on the biggest day of the NBA regular season. "There's big moments throughout the course of the season that you en- joy," Curry said, "and you have fun NBA Curry'sstar,Warriorsonrise Golden State point guard begins to transcend game of basketball with flair for dramatic and excitement By Fred Lief AP Sports Writer Hold on a moment. Let's see the year out, But what in the world was that all about? In sports, it seems clear, all mayhem let loose: Racism, head trauma, spousal abuse. And that's just the start of one sorry list Led by Sterling's mouth, Putin's iron fist And Roger Goodell's fast weak- ening spine, His body of work in sudden de- cline. Far better, for sure, than such dreary talk: LeBron coming home in a cloud of chalk; Bumgarner taking a team on his back. So paint the town orange and paint it black. But we're jumping too fast out of the gate. Let's start from the top and re- calculate. Winter 2014 The BCS ends, the Seminoles win, Winston's troubles are about to begin. Vonn skips the Olympics — knee's the reason. A-Rod is banned and sits out a season. Sherman pelts Crabtree with torrents of trash. Australia swelters; Wawrinka's a smash. The right to form unions comes to the fore When Northwestern players open the door. Adam Silver checks in and out goes Stern, Then the Seahawks soar while the Broncos burn. Sochi begins with more sun- shine than sleet And more than enough polit- ical heat. Will athletes protest? Who dares to try it? Horsewhipping Cossacks lash Pussy Riot Russia passes the flag to Ko- rea — So much for the luge, on to Crimea. Michael Sam comes out, hailed for bold action. The NFL thinks this a "distrac- tion"? At Daytona, Junior reigns in the rain. Phil Jackson grabs a Manhat- tan-bound train. Pistorius goes to trial, where he grieves ODE TO 2014 When mayhem won the gold CURRY PAGE 2 YEAR PAGE 2 SPORTS » redbluffdailynews.com Thursday, December 25, 2014 MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS B1