Top of AP poll stays the same
Louisville and Kansas finally provided some consistency to what has been a volatile top-25 poll this season while perennial blue bloods Michigan State and North Carolina continued to tumble after another wave of defeats.
The Cardinals solidified their place at No. 1 in the AP top 25 after routing then-No. 4 Michigan in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge and breezing past Pittsburgh over the past week. The Jayhawks stayed at No. 2 after returning from their Maui Invitational title to thump former Big 12 member Colorado.
Ohio State jumped from sixth to third following its 7449 rout of then-No. 7 North Carolina and a rout of Penn State. Maryland dropped one spot to fourth despite continuing to pile up wins, while Michigan slid one spot after losing to Louisville to round out the top five.
Kings prospects Arthur Kaliyev and Alex Turcotte, and Ducks draft picks Trevor Zegras and Trevor Janicke were among 28 players named to the preliminary U.S. roster for the world junior championships. The annual tournament, a showcase of young talent, will take place from Dec. 26 through Jan. 5 in Ostrava and Trinec in the Czech Republic. — Helene Elliott
The NFL is investigating the New England Patriots for potentially filming the Bengals’ play calls during Cincinnati’s 27-19 loss against the Cleveland Browns on Sunday. The Patriots issued a statement accepting “full responsibility for the actions of our production crew at the Browns-Bengals game,” which inadvertently filmed the field from the press box for an online Patriots feature called “Do Your Job.” ... The NFC-leading 49ers lost center Weston Richburg to a season-ending knee injury and key defensive players Richard Sherman and Dee Ford for multiple games with injured hamstrings . ... Chicago Bears coach Matt Nagy said linebacker Roquan Smith suffered a torn pectoral muscle in their win over the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday and is done for the season . ... Indianapolis Colts kicker Adam Vinatieri will have season-ending knee surgery . ... Dallas waived kicker Brett Maher and replaced him with veteran Kai Forbath.
The Chicago Cubs hired former San Diego Padres manager Andy Green as bench coach. Green will join the staff of first-year manager David Ross.
LAFC will begin its first appearance in the 16-team CONCACAF Champions League at Mexico’s Club Leon in mid-February. The second leg of the two-game playoff will take place between Feb. 25 and Feb. 27 at Banc of California Stadium. — Kevin Baxter