Thousands of Penn Staters Gather for Rose Bowl Pep Rally

Penn State linebacker great Michael Mauti energizes the crowd at the Penn State Rose Bowl pep rally Sunday afternoon in downtown Los Angeles. Photo: Alex Bauer/Onward State More than 10,000 Nittany fans poured into the LA Live complex in downtown Los Angeles on Sunday afternoon for the official Penn State pep rally ahead of Monday’s Rose Bowl matchup with USC.

Ranking Mike Gundy’s Top 5 Bowl Games

Mike Gundy has only had one losing season in his head coaching career, his first in Stillwater. Since then, the Oklahoma State Cowboys have been to eleven consecutive post season battles, including this week’s match-up with Colorado.

Today in History: Dec. 29, 2016

On Dec. 29, 1916, James Joyce’s first novel, “A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man,” was first published in book form in New York after being serialized in London. In 1170, Thomas Becket, the Archbishop of Canterbury, was slain in Canterbury Cathedral by knights loyal to King Henry II.

Texans QB Tom Savage added to injury report

Quarterback Tom Savage has been added to the Texans’ injury report with a knee injury but participated fully in practice on Wednesday. Quarterback Tom Savage has been added to the Texans’ injury report with a knee injury but participated fully in practice on Wednesday.

Dez Bryant Tries to Attend Cowboys QB Meeting After TD Pass vs. Lions

After throwing a touchdown pass in Monday’s 42-21 win over the Detroit Lions , Dallas Cowboys star Dez Bryant is apparently ready to create a different kind of quarterback controversy for the team. According to Jon Machota of the Dallas Morning News , Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones said Bryant tried to attend the team’s quarterback meeting and is Bryant’s first career NFL pass was a 10-yard touchdown to tight end Jason Witten that gave the Cowboys a 35-21 lead over the Lions in the third quarter.

Erratic driver leads troopers on 2-state chase, gets away

Tear down Central High and replace it with “a nice strip mall”? The speculative suggestion by a city alderman on a local radio show prompted angry reactions among the school’s alumni… Point guard Isaiah Thomas scored a career-high 44 points to lead the Boston Celtics to a 112-109 victory in overtime against the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday night … (more)

Erratic driver leads troopers on 2-state chase, gets away

Tear down Central High and replace it with “a nice strip mall”? The speculative suggestion by a city alderman on a local radio show prompted angry reactions among the school’s alumni… Point guard Isaiah Thomas scored a career-high 44 points to lead the Boston Celtics to a 112-109 victory in overtime against the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday night … (more)

Pumphrey breaks NCAA record, SDSU wins Las Vegas Bowl

Donnel Pumphrey broke the NCAA career rushing record Saturday in his college finale, running for 115 yards and a touchdown in San Diego State’s 34-10 victory over Houston in the Las Vegas Bowl. Pumphrey passed former Wisconsin star Ron Dayne’s mark of 6,397 yards on a 15-yard run early in the fourth quarter, with teammates swarming him on the sideline, and wrapping up his sensational career in his Nevada hometown with 6,405 yards.

Top 25 Capsules

… left put the Bruins up 81-71 and stopped Ohio State (8-3) from mounting a late comeback in the first game of the CBS Sports Classic. Marc Loving scored 13 of his 19 points in the first half for the Buckeyes, who lost for the third time in five …