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Colt McCoy fired the cannon. He banged the big drum. Then he left the field to chants of "Colt for Heisman!" There's still plenty of work to do for the quarterback of No. 3 Texas, but for this one last night in front of the home crowd, he was going to have some fun. McCoy passed for 396 yards and four touchdowns, earning his NCAA record 43rd career victory as a starter in a 51-20 win...

Jeremiah Masoli tied it with a touchdown pass to Ed Dickson with six seconds left, then won it with a 1-yard run in the second overtime as No. 11 Oregon defeated Arizona 44-41 on Saturday night and took a big step toward the Pac-10 title. Masoli threw for three scores and ran for three more as the Ducks rallied from a 24-14 deficit early in the fourth quarter.

The California players listened quietly all week to the pregame talk about how powerful Stanford had a chance to go to the Rose Bowl. The Golden Bears provided their emphatic answer in one of the most exciting and important Big Games in recent memory. Shane Vereen ran for a career-high 193 yards and three touchdowns on 42 carries and Mike Mohamed intercepted a pass from Andrew Luck at the 3 with.....

The Hornets' two rookies left the New Orleans Arena with bright-colored, glittery suitcases specially selected for them by veterans, Darren Collison's with a "Little Mermaid" theme and Marcus Thornton's emblazoned with Tinkerbell's smiling visage. "It keeps us grounded, I'll tell you that much," Collison said....

So many unusual things happened in the final 3 minutes of Mississippi's victory Saturday against No. 10 LSU, it got confusing. Even for the participants. "I don't know what all happened down there at the end," Ole Miss coach Houston Nutt said. "I just know the scoreboard read 25-23 Ole Miss Rebels." Nutt's confusion was nothing compared to what was happening on the LSU...

When Jeff Capel left Virginia Commonwealth to become the head coach at Oklahoma four years ago, his contract mandated that he bring his new team back to Richmond to play the Rams. Capel received a very warm welcome Saturday night, and then the Rams showed him that things are just fine without him. Jay Gavin scored 20 points, Larry Sanders 17 and Virginia Commonwealth never trailed in an 82-69 upse...

Former Seattle and Green Bay coach Mike Holmgren is interested in working for the struggling Cleveland Browns. Holmgren said on his weekly radio show on Seattle's KJR that he has not yet spoken to Browns owner Randy Lerner, who is looking for a "serious, credible leader" football authority to run his struggling team.

Kyle Busch only needed the green flag to drop to win his first NASCAR title. His coronation was never in doubt and neither, really, was the outcome of the Nationwide Series finale....

No matter how bleak things look for the Knicks, they can take comfort knowing worse basketball is being played 10 miles away. And if the Nets don't win soon, they could be the worst ever to start an NBA season. Al Harrington and Danilo Gallinari each scored 17 points, and New York dropped New Jersey to 0-13 with a 98-91 victory Saturday....

Running back Reggie Bush and defensive tackle Sedrick Ellis are not traveling with the New Orleans Saints for Sunday's game against Tampa Bay. A team spokesman said Saturday that both players had been downgraded on the official injury report from questionable to out with knee injuries. Both players are expected to be back at practice next week.

Kellen Moore didn't need to throw his usual three touchdown passes. All the Boise State quarterback had to do was hand it off and watch Doug Martin and Jeremy Avery go. Martin ran for four touchdowns, Avery ran for two more and both topped 100 yards rushing to help the sixth-ranked Broncos remained unbeaten and in BCS contention with a 52-21 win over Utah State on Friday night.

Dany Heatley thought he could have scored a few more goals, but he wasn't about to complain. He was having too much fun. Heatley scored three times, Joe Thornton recorded his 600th NHL assist, and the San Jose Sharks beat the Philadelphia Flyers 6-3 on Friday night. "When you have a chance to play with guys on a line like that it's just fun," Heatley said....

Josh Smith spent most of the fourth quarter cheering on his teammates from the bench. He was on the court, though, for the biggest play of the game. After sitting for all but 44 seconds of the final period because of foul trouble, Smith soared through the lane to drop in a missed shot with 0.7 seconds remaining and the Atlanta Hawks won their seventh in a row, beating the Houston Rockets 105-103.....

Vince Carter scored 26 points, Rashard Lewis had 16 points and 10 rebounds, and the Orlando Magic beat the Boston Celtics 83-78 on Friday night. Dwight Howard grabbed 15 boards and Mickael Pietrus added 14 points for Orlando, which won the rematch of last season's Eastern Conference semifinal for its fourth consecutive victory....

Cleveland's offense was stagnant, and the Indiana Pacers had turned a five-point halftime deficit into a five-point lead entering the fourth quarter. The Cavaliers went back to their tried-and-true formula -- LeBron, LeBron and more LeBron -- and it got the usual result. James scored 10 of his season-high 40 points in the final 7:07, and Cleveland beat the Pacers 105-95 on Friday night....

Jim Boeheim has always made a point of telling the media not to get too caught up in runs because basketball, especially on the college level, is a game of runs. He could only smile as he was asked about Syracuse's 22-1 run to open the second half of an 87-71 victory over No. 6 North Carolina on Friday night in the championship game of the 2K Sports Classic.

New York Giants linebacker Antonio Pierce is out indefinitely after an MRI exam on Friday surprisingly revealed a bulging disk in his neck. The Giants said their defensive captain underwent the test in New York and was examined by team physician Dr. Russell Warren and Dr. Frank Camissa, chief of the spinal surgical services at the Hospital for Special Surgery.

Ohio State's two-game visit to Madison Square Garden was inconsistent to say the least. The Buckeyes' best player, however, has been consistent all season. Evan Turner had 26 points and 14 rebounds, his fourth double-double in as many games, and No. 15 Ohio State beat No. 13 California 76-70 on Friday night in the third-place game of the 2K Sports Classic.

Kyle Orton missed a third consecutive practice Friday because of a sprained left ankle and has only an outside chance of playing Sunday when the Denver Broncos and San Diego Chargers meet with first place in the AFC West on the line. Broncos backup Chris Simms again took first-team practice repetitions, as he has all week in the absence of Orton, who was injured during last week's 27-17 loss...

Steelers safety Troy Polamalu did not practice all week because of a left knee injury and will not play Sunday in Kansas City. He may miss the Nov. 29 game at Baltimore as well. Polamalu sat out the Steelers' second through fifth games with a ligament tear, only to injure the same knee during an 18-12 loss to Cincinnati on Sunday.

The New York Knicks won't sign Allen Iverson, believing any short-term gain would hinder their plans to build for the future. Team president Donnie Walsh said Friday the team won't make any additions at this time despite its 2-9 record. He added the decision to pass on the former MVP had nothing to do with Iverson's ability to play or his character in the locker room.

Milwaukee Bucks center Andrew Bogut (BOH'-gut) will be out for two to four weeks with a left leg injury. General manager John Hammond said late Thursday that Bogut suffered a leg strain and contusion in Wednesday's 99-85 win against New Jersey. Bogut scored 21 points and 11 rebounds before leaving the game in late in the fourth quarter.

Jimmie Johnson, on the verge of a NASCAR record fourth consecutive championship, signed a contract extension Friday to drive for Hendrick Motorsports through the 2015 season.

An Illinois insurance executive accused of secretly making nude videos of ESPN reporter Erin Andrews is expected to make his first court appearance Friday. Michael Barrett was due in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles to face one count of interstate stalking. He is free on $4,500 bond and scheduled to be arraigned in the same courtroom on Monday.

Michelle Wie couldn't take the pain one week after taking the spotlight at Lorena Ochoa's tournament. Ochoa is back on center stage now, trying to steal the player of the year honor away from Jiyai Shin at the LPGA Tour Championship. Wie withdrew from the season-ending event Thursday because of a sprained left ankle, hours after Ochoa shot a 6-under 66 to take a one-shot lead over Reilley......