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2B Daily News – Tuesday, December 20, 2011 Penn State saga voted AP sports story of year NEW YORK (AP) — The ouster of one of Amer- ica's most revered coaches, Penn State's Joe Paterno, after shocking child sex abuse charges against his former assistant was over- whelmingly voted the sports story of the year by members of The Associat- ed Press. On the morning of Nov. 5, Paterno's Nittany Lions were undefeated in the Big Ten and ranked No. 16 in the country, and the 84- year-old Hall of Famer was renowned as the win- ningest coach in Division I football, a leader who preached and practiced ''Success with Honor.'' Then came the staggering revelations: the indictment of longtime defensive coordinator Jerry San- dusky for allegedly sexual- ly assaulting eight boys over a 15-year span, per- jury charges against two high-ranking school administrators — and a grand jury report that sug- gested Paterno knew of accusations against San- dusky and did not do enough to pursue them. Within four days, Penn State's board of trustees had done the once- unthinkable, firing JoePa after 46 seasons as head coach. There were 214 ballots submitted from U.S. news organizations that make up the AP's membership. The voters were asked to rank the top 10 sports stories of the year, with the first- place story getting 10 points, the second-place story receiving nine points, and so on. The Penn State saga received 2,044 points and 172 first-place votes. It was also voted the No. 6 news story for 2011 in the AP's annual poll of U.S. editors and news directors. The No. 2 sports story — labor strife in the NFL and NBA — had 15 first- place votes and 1,345 points. The turmoil that at times seemed to rock col- lege sports on a weekly basis this year was evident in the voting beyond the Penn State selection. Three more of the top 10 stories involved upheaval in the NCAA: conference realignment (No. 4); the Ohio State infractions that cost Jim Tressel his job (No. 6); and more sex abuse accusations, these involving Syracuse basket- ball (No. 9). Tiger Woods' humbling return to the public eye was the top story last year. Here are 2011's top 10 stories: — 1. PENN STATE: Paterno said in a statement Nov. 9, ''It is one of the great sorrows of my life. With the benefit of hind- sight, I wish I had done more,'' and that he would retire at the end of the sea- son. It wasn't enough to quell the rising outrage that he didn't go to the police after then-graduate assis- tant Mike McQueary told him in 2002 about witness- ing an apparent assault. By the night of Nov. 9, Paterno was out, and so was Penn State President Graham Spanier. As 2011 comes to a close, athletic director Tim Curley, who was placed on leave, and since- retired university vice pres- ident Gary Schultz await trial, and Sandusky faces additional charges. Paterno revealed Nov. 18 he had been diagnosed with a treatable form of lung can- cer. The Nittany Lions play Houston in the TicketCity Bowl on Jan. 2. — 2. NFL/NBA LOCKOUTS: ''Million- aires vs. billionaires'' was often fans' reaction to the labor woes that struck the NFL and NBA this year. Football's work stoppage lasted 4 1/2 months before an agreement was signed Aug. 5; it cost the league just one preseason game. Fans have quickly forgiven the owners and players based on ticket sales and television ratings. Basket- ball's dragged on for more than five months and wiped out 16 games of the normal 82-game schedule. The fallout won't be clear until the season begins on Christmas. — 3. PACKERS WIN: Aaron Rodgers and Green Bay are shining and well out of Brett Favre's shad- ow. The injury-ravaged Packers barely made the playoffs as a No. 6 seed last season, then won three road games to reach the Super Bowl, where they beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 31-25 in February. They kept right on winning into the 2011 season, rolling to a 13-0 start led by play from their quarterback almost as perfect as their record, until an upset loss to the Chiefs. — 4. CONFERENCE REALIGNMENT: San Diego State in the Big East? Another dizzying round of college confer- ence hopping made a mockery of geography. Texas A&M bolted the Big 12 for the SEC in Septem- ber — likely ending its more than century-old rivalry with Texas — which set off the domi- noes. Missouri followed the Aggies to the SEC. The Big East lost Syracuse and Pittsburgh to the ACC and West Virginia and TCU to the Big 12, then regrouped by adding some hardly Eastern schools: Boise State, San Diego State, Houston, SMU. — 5. CARDINALS WIN: St. Louis trailed in the wild-card race by 10 1/2 games in late August but rallied to clinch a play- off berth on the season's final day. The Cardinals' comeback in the World Series might have been even more remarkable. They were twice down to their final strike in Game 6 against the Texas Rangers, who were up by two runs in the ninth and 10th innings. St. Louis won it on David Freese's home run in the 11th before clinching the champi- onship in Game 7. Manag- er Tony La Russa retired after the victory parade. — 6. OHIO STATE: The Buckeyes beat Arkansas 31-26 on Jan. 4 in the Sugar Bowl with five players allowed to take part even though they were suspended for the first five games of the 2011 season for NCAA infractions. Ohio State would soon have far bigger problems. The school learned that month that Jim Tressel, who coached the Buckeyes to their first national title in 34 years, long knew about the transgressions and had violated NCAA rules by not reporting them. On May 30, he finally resigned under pressure. After a 6-6 season, Ohio State replaced Tressel with Knicks sign veteran guard Baron Davis GREENBURGH, N.Y. (AP) — Baron Davis' desire to play in New York out- weighed the chance to play with Kobe Bryant or LeBron James. The veteran point guard signed with the Knicks on Monday, passing up a chance to join stronger teams because he said he always saw himself playing at Madison Square Garden. "I always kind of rise to the occasion when I'm playing against the Knicks and playing in the Garden," Davis said at the Knicks' training facility. "It's just an unbe- lievable opportunity and I'm ready to accept the challenge." Not yet, however. A herniated disc in his back has sidelined Davis all preseason, an injury he's heard could keep him out eight to 10 weeks. But Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni hopes it will be much sooner, and the team is willing to wait for the chance to add a veter- an to an inexperienced starting backcourt. "The first order of business is just get him healthy and make sure that when he is able to play, he's ready to go," D'Antoni said. "If we get to that point, which hopefully we will, we've got one of the better point guards in the league, just adds another weapon to already a pretty good group." The Cleveland Cavaliers waived Davis last week and designated him as their amnesty player so the $28 million he was owed over the remaining two years of his contract wouldn't count against their salary cap figure. No team claimed him, so he was free to sign with anyone. His hometown Los Angeles Lakers and the Miami Heat both called, and Davis said he even spoke to players on both teams. But he said his mind was already made up that if he got to free agency, he was going to New York — and he even agreed to accept the veteran's minimum salary, worth about $1.4 million, to do so. "Those teams did call and I have a great respect for both organizations, but for me it was just the opportunity to play in New York, play in the Garden, play for these fans, and to play on this team," Davis said. The Knicks were looking to fortify their backcourt, where they are slated to start youngsters Toney Douglas and Landry Fields, after waiving Chauncey Billups with their amnesty clause so they could afford Tyson Chandler. Though they continue to express confidence in both, both struggled in the Knicks' victory at New Jersey on Satur- day in their exhibition opener, and they decided to take a chance on Davis without even making him pass a physical first. Davis said he doesn't care if he supplants one of them or comes off the bench. And though he's always been more scorer than playmaker from the point, he's ready for that to change playing with potent scorers Carmelo Anthony and Amare Stoudemire. "A big reason why I came here was because of the front line," David said. "You just think about two 20-plus scorers on your front line and then a guy like Tyson Chan- dler, who's a defensive stopper and a great defensive leader. I think you have the right complements, they all complement each other well and I think that for me it'll be great to get out on the floor and just play with guys at that talent level." Davis played in 58 games last season, averaging 13.1 points and 6.7 assists for the Clippers and Cavaliers. The two-time All- Star has averaged 16.5 points and 7.3 assists since being drafted by the Charlotte Hornets with the No. 3 overall pick in the 1999 draft. somebody who's won two national championships: former Florida coach Urban Meyer. — 7. MAVERICKS WIN: Five years after blowing a series lead in the NBA finals to the Heat, Dallas and Dirk Nowitzki got revenge and redemp- tion against Miami. The Mavs picked up fans around the country by beating the Heat, suddenly everybody's favorite team to hate with the nucleus of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. After Dallas won in six games, Dirk finally got his title — while LeBron still seeks his. — 8. WHELDON DIES: Two-time Indi- anapolis 500 winner Dan Wheldon was killed Oct. 16 during IndyCar's sea- son finale in Las Vegas in a fiery 15-car crash. The 33- year-old Brit won Indy this year in one of just three starts during the season as he searched for sponsor- ship. Wheldon was chas- ing a $5 million incentive in Las Vegas, and IndyCar is still answering questions about whether the race was excessively dangerous. — 9. SYRACUSE: Less than two weeks after the Sandusky charges, ESPN reported that two former Syracuse ball boys accused longtime men's basketball assistant coach Bernie Fine of molesting them. Then, on Nov. 27, Fine was fired after the net- work aired a tape in which a woman it identified as Fine's wife tells one of the men, Bobby Davis, she knew ''everything'' that was going on. Fine has not been charged, and a feder- al investigation is ongoing. — 10. WOMEN'S WORLD CUP: Their country devastated by a tsunami and earthquake, Japan's soccer players vowed they would inspire their homeland. They did it with an improbable victory in the final, rallying from a goal down late in regula- tion and again in overtime against the favored Ameri- cans to force penalty kicks, which they won 3-1. The Japanese also upset host Germany in the quarterfi- nals. NHL WESTERN CONFERENCE Pacific Division WL OT Pts GF GA Dallas 19 12 1 39 85 89 SHARKS 17 10 3 37 86 74 Phoenix 16 13 3 35 84 85 Kings Ducks 15 14 4 34 72 81 9 19 5 23 78 110 Central Division WL OT Pts GF GA Chicago 21 8 4 46 111 98 Detroit 21 10 1 43 107 71 St. Louis 19 9 4 42 82 69 Nashville 17 11 4 38 85 84 Columbus 9 20 4 22 80 111 Northwest Division WL OT Pts GF GA Minnesota 20 9 5 45 84 76 Vancouver 20 11 2 42 110 80 Colorado 16 17 1 33 91 102 Calgary 14 15 4 32 82 94 Edmonton 14 16 3 31 89 90 EASTERN CONFERENCE Atlantic Division WL OT Pts GF GA Philadelphia20 8 4 44 112 94 N.Y. Rangers18 8 4 40 87 67 Pittsburgh 18 11 4 40 107 88 New Jersey 18 13 1 37 90 92 N.Y. Islanders10 14 6 26 69 97 Northeast Division WL OT Pts GF GA Boston 22 9 1 45 111 63 Toronto 16 13 4 36 102 108 Buffalo 16 13 3 35 89 94 Ottawa 15 14 4 34 102 116 Montreal 13 14 7 33 87 92 Southeast Division WL OT Pts GF GA Florida 18 9 6 42 90 84 Winnipeg 15 13 4 34 89 97 Washington 16 14 1 33 91 96 Tampa Bay 14 16 2 30 87 107 Carolina 10 18 6 26 86 116 NOTE: Two points for a win, one point for overtime loss. —————————————————— Monday's results Boston 3, Montreal 2 Colorado 3, Philadelphia 2, SO Dallas 5, Anaheim 3 Detroit 3, Edmonton 2 Los Angeles 3, Toronto 2, SO Vancouver 4, Minnesota 0 Today's games Nashville at Washington, 4 p.m. N.Y. Rangers at New Jersey, 4 p.m. Buffalo at Ottawa, 4:30 p.m. Chicago at Pittsburgh, 4:30 p.m. Phoenix at Florida, 4:30 p.m. N.Y. Islanders at Winnipeg, 5:30 p.m. Minnesota at Calgary, 6 p.m. Wednesday's games Tampa Bay at San Jose, 7:30 p.m. Phoenix at Carolina, 4 p.m. Montreal at Chicago, 4:30 p.m. Philadelphia at Dallas, 4:30 p.m. St. Louis at Colorado, 6:30 p.m. Detroit at Vancouver, 7 p.m. Sunday's game Chicago at Green Bay, 5:20 p.m. Monday's game Atlanta at New Orleans, 5:30 p.m. Saturday's games No games scheduled Sunday's games No. 14 Xavier vs.TBD at Honolulu, TBA Pacers send Rush to Golden State for Lou Amundson OAKLAND (AP) — The Golden State Warriors have completed a trade sending forward Lou Amundson to the Indiana Pacers in exchange for guard Brandon Rush. The teams announced the trade Monday. Rush averaged 8.9 points and 3.6 rebounds in three seasons for the Pacers. Indiana considered him a part of the core group of young players, but the team eventually added enough talent at his position to make him expendable. Rush showed great potential at times but also found trouble. He was suspended for five games last season for violating the league's substance abuse policy. Amundson has averaged 4.1 points and 3.7 rebounds in five seasons, primarily with Philadel- phia, Phoenix and Golden State. He has shot 52 percent from the field for his career. Texas Rangers win negotiating rights to Yu Darvish NEW YORK (AP) — The Texas Rangers have submitted the winning bid for Yu Darvish, earning the right to negotiate a contract with the Japanese pitcher. Major League Baseball announced Monday night that the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters of Japan's Pacific League informed the U.S. commis- sioner's office that they have accepted the top bid for Darvish. The Rangers, who have won the past two AL pennants, have 30 days to sign Darvish to a con- tract. The 25-year-old right-hander is considered the top pitcher in Japan. Bidding for the posting fee closed last Wednes- day, and the Ham Fighters had until 5 p.m. EST on Tuesday to accept. 49ERS (Continued from page 1B) yards to overtake Hall of Famer Jerry Rice for San Francisco's single- season scoring record. The Steelers (10-4) missed a key chance to take sole possession of first place in the AFC North and gain the AFC's No. 1 playoff seed. NFL AFC West WL T Pct PF PA Denver 8 6 0 .571 292 343 RAIDERS 77 0 .500 317 382 Chargers 7 7 0 .500 358 313 Kansas City 6 8 0 .429 192 319 East WL T Pct PF PA y-N. Eng. 11 3 0 .786 437 297 N.Y. Jets 8 6 0 .571 346 315 Miami 5 9 0 .357 286 269 Buffalo 5 9 0 .357 311 371 South WL T Pct PF PA y-Houston 10 4 0 .714 343 236 Tennessee 7 7 0 .500 279 278 Jacksonville 4 10 0 .286 207 293 Indianapolis 1 13 0 .071 211 395 North WL T Pct PF PA x-Baltimore 10 4 0 .714 334 236 x-Pittsburgh 10 4 0 .714 285 218 Cincinnati 8 6 0 .571 305 283 Cleveland 4 10 0 .286 195 274 NFC West WL T Pct PF PA y-49ERS 11 3 0 .786 327 185 Seattle 7 7 0 .500 284 273 Arizona 7 7 0 .500 273 305 St. Louis 2 12 0 .143 166 346 East Dallas WL T Pct PF PA 8 6 0 .571 348 296 N.Y. Giants 7 7 0 .500 334 372 Philadelphia 6 8 0 .429 342 311 Washington 5 9 0 .357 252 300 South WL T Pct PF PA x-N. Orleans11 3 0 .786 457 306 Atlanta 9 5 0 .643 341 281 Carolina 5 9 0 .357 341 368 Tampa Bay 4 10 0 .286 247 401 North y-Green Bay 13 1 0 .929 480 297 Detroit Chicago 7 7 0 .500 315 293 Minnesota 2 12 0 .143 294 406 x-clinched division y-clinched division —————————————————— Week 15 results Thursday's result Atlanta 41, Jacksonville 14 Saturday's result Dallas 31, Tampa Bay 15 Sunday's results Detroit 28, Oakland 27 Arizona 20, Cleveland 17, OT Carolina 28, Houston 13 Cincinnati 20, St. Louis 13 Indianapolis 27, Tennessee 13 Kansas City 19, Green Bay 14 Miami 30, Buffalo 23 New England 41, Denver 23 New Orleans 42, Minnesota 20 Philadelphia 45, N.Y. Jets 19 San Diego 34, Baltimore 14 Seattle 38, Chicago 14 Washington 23, N.Y. Giants 10 Monday's result San Francisco 20, Pittsburgh 3 Week 16 schedule Thursday's game Houston at Indianapolis, 5:20 p.m. Saturday's games Oakland at Kansas City, 10 a.m. San Francisco at Seattle, 1:15 p.m. Arizona at Cincinnati, 10 a.m. Cleveland at Baltimore, 10 a.m. Denver at Buffalo, 10 a.m. Jacksonville at Tennessee, 10 a.m. Miami at New England, 10 a.m. Minnesota at Washington, 10 a.m. N.Y. Giants at N.Y. Jets, 10 a.m. St. Louis at Pittsburgh, 10 a.m. Tampa Bay at Carolina, 10 a.m. San Diego at Detroit, 1:05 p.m. Philadelphia at Dallas, 1:15 p.m. WL T Pct PF PA 9 5 0 .643 395 332 Roethlisberger, play- ing on a sprained left ankle that had Big Ben in a walking boot during the week, threw two early interceptions and another in the waning minutes. Even all those Terrible Towel-waving Steelers supporters couldn't will their team when San Francisco's unique home-field advantage became two blackout delays. NCAA The Top Twenty Five The top 25 teams in The Associated Press' college basketball poll, with first- place votes in parentheses, records through Dec. 18, total points based on 25 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 25th-place vote and previous ranking: Record Pts Prv 1. Syracuse (53) 11-0 1,585 1 2. Ohio St. (5) 10-1 1,474 2 3. Kentucky (4) 9-1 1,457 3 4. Louisville (2) 10-0 1,364 4 5. North Carolina 9-2 1,340 5 6. Baylor 7. Duke 8. UConn 9. Missouri 9-0 1,271 6 9-1 1,266 7 9-1 1,102 9 11-0 1,076 10 10. Marquette 10-0 1,021 11 11. Florida 12. Kansas 8-2 946 13 7-2 939 12 13. Wisconsin 10-2 746 14 14. Xavier 15. Pittsburgh 10-1 707 15 16. Georgetown 9-1 644 16 17. Indiana 8-1 728 8 10-0 601 18 18. Mississippi St. 11-1 576 17 19. Michigan St. 9-2 413 21 20. Michigan 21. UNLV 9-2 381 20 11-2 251 — 22. Murray St. 12-0 222 24 23. Creighton 24. Virginia 25. Illinois 8-1 130 25 9-1 102 — 10-1 96 19 Others receiving votes: Harvard 88, San Diego St. 67, Stanford 61, Saint Louis 33, Gonzaga 23, Kansas St. 22, Texas A&M 18, Alabama 8, Wichita St. 8, Cleveland St. 7, N. Iowa 7, California 5, Vanderbilt 5, Northwestern 4, Ohio 3, Long Beach St. 2, Indiana St. 1. Top 25 Schedule Monday's results No. 5 North Carolina 99, Nicholls State 49 No. 6 Baylor 95, Paul Quinn 54 No. 7 Duke 90, UNC Greensboro 63 LSU 67, No. 10 Marquette 59 No. 11 Florida 82, MVSU 54 Davison 80, No. 12 Kansas 74 No. 17 Indiana 107, Howard 50 No. 19 Michigan State 89, UMKC 54 No. 21 UNLV 81, Louisiana-Monroe 63 No. 23 Creighton 83, Tulsa 64 No. 25 Illinois 64, Cornell 60 Today's games No. 1 Syracuse vs. Bucknell, 4 p.m. No. 2 Ohio State vs. Lamar, 5:30 p.m. No. 3 Kentucky vs. Samford, 4 p.m. No. 4 Louisville vs.C. of Charleston, 6 p.m. No. 15 Pitt vs. St. Francis (Pa.), 4 p.m. Wednesday's games No. 5 North Carolina vs. Texas, 4 p.m. No. 24 Virginia at Seattle, 7:10 p.m. Thursday's games No. 1 Syracuse vs. Tulane, 4 p.m. No. 2 Ohio St. vs. Miami (Ohio), 5:30 p.m. No. 3 Kentucky vs. Loyola (Md.), 10 a.m. No. 16 Georgetown vs. Memphis, 4 p.m. No. 6 Baylor vs. Saint Mary's at Orleans Arena, Las Vegas, 7:30 p.m. No. 8 UConn vs. Fairfield, 4 p.m. No. 9 Missouri vs. No. 25 Illinois, 6 p.m. No. 10 Marquette vs.Milwaukee, 6 p.m. No. 11 Florida vs. Florida State, 4 p.m. No. 12 Kansas at Southern Cal, 8 p.m. No. 14 Xavier vs. Long Beach State at Honolulu, 8 p.m. No. 17 Indiana vs. UMBC, 3 p.m. No. 18 Miss. St. vs. Northwestern St., 5 p.m. No. 19 Michigan State vs. Lehigh, 6 p.m. No. 20 Michigan vs. Bradley, 3:30 p.m. No. 22 Murray State vs. UT-Martin, 5 p.m. No. 23 Creighton vs. Northwestern, 5:05 p.m. Friday's Games No. 4 Louisville vs.Western Kentucky, 4 p.m. No. 6 Baylor vs.West Virginia at Orleans Arena, Las Vegas, 6 p.m. No. 13 Wisconsin vs. MVSU, 2:30 p.m. No. 14 Xavier vs.TBDE at Honolulu, 8 p.m. or 10:30 9.m. No. 15 Pittsburgh vs.Wagner, 5 p.m. No. 21 UNLV vs. California, 2 p.m.