PITTSBURGH (AP) - Ben Roethlisberger (RAWTH'-lihs-bur-gur) threw
a 43-yard TD pass and scored on a quarterback sneak as the
Pittsburgh Steelers inched closer to another division title and a
first-round playoff bye by trouncing the Carolina Panthers 27-3.
The 11-4 Steelers will wrap up the AFC North and the bye if it
beats Cleveland on Jan. 2 or if the Baltimore Ravens lose one more
game.
SAN DIEGO (AP) - Freshman Ronnie Hillman scored four touchdowns
and tied his career best with 228 yards rushing on 28 carries to
lead San Diego State to its first bowl victory since 1969, with a
35-14 win over Navy in the Poinsettia Bowl in soggy San Diego. The
game was played on a slick field after 1.5 million gallons of
rainwater were pumped out of Qualcomm Stadium following heavy rains
in Southern California.
WASHINGTON (AP) - Sidney Crosby extended his points streak to 23
games with a goal and an assist and Pascal Dupuis (paz-KAHL'
doo-PWEE') scored the decisive goal in the seventh round of a
shootout to give the Pittsburgh Penguins a 3-2 victory over
Washington. Crosby, the NHL's leading scorer, has 60 points on 29
goals and 31 assists in 36 games.
NEWARK (AP) - The disappointing New Jersey Devils fired rookie
coach John MacLean (mak-LAYN'), bringing back Jacques Lemaire
(zhahk leh-MEHR') to replace him behind the bench, but it hardly
made any difference on the ice. Josh Bailey had two goals and an
assist and the New York Islanders spoiled Lemaire's return with a
5-1 victory over the Devils last night.
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) - The San Antonio Spurs' 10-game winning
streak is history. Dwight Howard also had 29 points and 14 rebounds
in another dominant performance for Orlando, which shot 59 percent
from the floor in beating the Spurs 123-101 last night.
