Florida International's First Bowl Trip Is Suspenseful and Successful

Filed under: Florida International, Toledo, Bowl Games

DETROIT (AP) -- Jacob Younger caught the pass near midfield, flipped the ball to his team's top player and hoped for the best.

T.Y. Hilton took the lateral and dashed toward the sideline, trying to reach the first-down marker and keep Florida International's final drive alive.

"Obviously we thought he didn't get it," Toledo coach Tim Beckman said. "But it's not my call to make."

The officials ruled Hilton reached the marker before stepping out of bounds, giving FIU an improbable conversion on fourth-and-17. Moments later, Jack Griffin's 34-yard field goal as time ran out gave the Golden Panthers a delirious 34-32 victory Sunday night in the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl.

 

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NHL Year in Review: Ilya Kovalchuk for Person of the Year

Filed under: Devils, NHL Free Agency

There have been a lot of big stories in the NHL during 2010, but there isn't a person who has been talked about, tweeted about or written about as much as Ilya Kovalchuk of the New Jersey Devils. It was the year of Kovalchuk after his trade from Atlanta in February, through the summer of Kovalchuk and his seemingly never-ending quest for a free-agent contract, its subsequent rejection by the league, and now the hand wringing over what's gone wrong with the Devils this season and how much (or little) it has to do with him.

On February 4, Kovalchuk was traded to the New Jersey Devils; the beginning of a free-agency saga that would last long into the summer. Before he could hit free agency, there was still hockey to be played as the Devils won the Atlantic Division and earned the second seed in the Eastern Conference. Their playoff run would end with a thud though, as they were ousted in five games by the Philadelphia Flyers. Kovalchuk did have 27 points in 27 games down the stretch for the Devils including a 2-4-6 line during the post-season.

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More Nominees: Crosby | Toews | Wirtz

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Five-Step Drop: Boise's Costly Loss

by Mark Hasty

Filed under: Baylor, Boise State, Illinois, Southern Miss, Utah, Washington State, WAC, General CFB Insanity, Bowl Games, Sports Business and Media

FanHouse's college football staff provides you with a personal quarterback. We do the primary and secondary reads for you so you can properly start your day.

1. When Boise State lost to Nevada on Nov. 26, everyone knew the loss cost the Broncos and the WAC a large sum of money. The New York Times stopped to figure out how much: $8 million. "The Rose Bowl, like other Bowl Championship Series games, touts a per-team payout of $17 million," Times reporter John Branch writes. "For teams like Boise State and others in one of the five conferences without an automatic bid, the payout is $12 million, Benson said. Boise State figured to gain $3 million, the other WAC teams would have split $5 million, and the four other second-tier conferences would have split $4 million." Branch also notes that Boise State coach Chris Petersen would have earned a $125,000 bonus for making it to a BCS game. If you want to say kicker Kyle Brotzman lost the game for the Broncos, that's your prerogative, but I'd suggest you read this book, which will change your mind like it did mine when I read it years ago. And if you're too good to read a 22-year-old book, you deserve to think Brotzman lost the game for BSU.

2. Meanwhile Utah, Boise State's opponent in the MAACO Bowl, is considering a new social media policy after one of its players turned to Twitter to taunt the Broncos. Utes receiver DeVonte Christopher tweeted, "I can't wait to get out here wit these Boise State or should I say Girlse State they a bunch of cheerleaders...lol." Coach Kyle Whittingham said he and Christopher had had "several conversations" about Christopher's ill-considered tweet. "Girlse?" Seriously? Bet they've never heard that before.

 

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Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton's Holiday Party for disadvantaged youth

D.C. United spent the ninth day of the "10 Days of Giving" campaign by heading to Capitol Hill for Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton's Annual Holiday Party for disadvantaged youth. D.C. United staff and supporters entertained the guests, served lunch, and provided resources to make the party possible. This was the Black-and-Red's fifth consecutive year of participation in the event. Representatives from DC public schools and non-profit organizations were also in attendance.

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Seahawks-Rams Game Flexed to Sunday Night on NBC

by Milton Kent

Filed under: Chicago Bears, Buccaneers, Colts, Cowboys, Eagles, Jaguars, Giants, Packers, Rams, Redskins, Texans, Titans, AFC South, NFC East, Sports Business and Media

The Seattle-St. Louis game, which will decide the NFC West division title, has been moved into the "Sunday Night Football" window as the final regular season game of the NFL schedule.

The league announced late Sunday that the Seahawks-Rams contest will be flexed into the 8:15 p.m. ET window for NBC. Though no rationale was announced for the move, given that both teams are sub-.500, the fact that the winner will advance to the playoffs and the loser will go home likely added an element of drama that made it attractive.

In addition, a handful of games -- all with playoff implications -- have been moved into the late afternoon window for Week 17. FOX will carry the Chicago-Green Bay, Dallas-Philadelphia and New York Giants-Washington games at 4:15 p.m. ET. Meanwhile, CBS will air the Tennessee-Indianapolis and Jacksonville-Houston contests, with the AFC South title still in the balance. Those games will also start at 4:15 p.m.

 

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Saints vs. Falcons: Drew Brees Steals Matt Ryan's Georgia Dome Thunder

Filed under: Atlanta Falcons, Saints, NFC South

ATLANTA -- The New Orleans Saints were not going to give up their NFC South crown without a fight. The Saints (11-4) came into the Georgia Dome on Monday night, where the Atlanta Falcons have managed to pull out one close win after another, and beat the Falcons 17-14.

Atlanta (12-3) is in the playoffs, but the Falcons will have to wait until next week's game with the Carolina Panthers to win and claim the division title. New Orleans (11-4) secured a wild card berth with the victory and they did it with a defense that stymied the Falcons attack in the second half.

Saints quarterback Drew Brees took his team 90 yards in 13 plays for the go-ahead touchdown, a 6-yard pass to tight end Jimmy Graham with 3:24 to play.

It was just the second home loss for Atlanta quarterback Matt Ryan in three seasons.

Early, there was a nasty culture to the game, which was expected given the comments from Atlanta receiver Roddy White during the week. He called the Saints the "Aints" and it caused a storm.

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More: Recap | Check Box Score

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Christian Bale Talks About Role as Boxer-Turned-Drug Addict in 'The Fighter'

by Lem Satterfield

Filed under: FanHouse Exclusive, Sports Business and Media

English-born actor Christian Bale (pictured above, wearing cap), has played a wide range of characters, first catching the public eye as a 13-year-old boy in a Japanese internment camp in Steven Spielberg's World War II-based Empire of the Sun. The 36-year-old Bale has since demonstrated his abilities in diverse roles, including the leads in American Psycho, Batman Begins, Terminator Salvation and The Dark Knight.

But Bale's latest venture, as former boxer-turned-drug addict Dickie Eklund in The Fighter, may be Oscar-worthy. Bale stars as the older half-brother of professional boxer "Irish" Micky Ward (38-13-1, 27 knockouts) played by Mark Wahlberg (pictured above, at right) in the film, an inspirational tale based on a true story that was released Friday in New York, Los Angeles, Boston and other selected areas, and which will be shown nationwide on Dec. 17.

Although Ward is best-known for his three-fight trilogy with the late Arturo Gatti, whom he defeated once before losing twice, The Fighter, is focused on Ward's life in the blue-collar streets of Lowell, Mass., from which he successfully rises to become a fringe world titlist even as he is one of nine adult children in a dysfunctional family run by their hard-scrabble mother.

Formerly known as "The Pride of Lowell," Eklund retired in 1985 with a modest welterweight (147 pounds) record of 19-10 with just four knockouts. The highlight of Eklund's career was a 10-round, route-going effort in July 1978 against Sugar Ray Leonard.

Down three times against Leonard, Eklund claims to have also floored the future multi-world champion, although historians widely dispute Eklund's assertion, saying that Leonard's fall was more of a slip. Bale spoke to FanHouse concerning his role as Eklund, whose quest to live vicariously through his younger brother while simultaneously trying to overcome his crack habit is central to the film's storyline.

 

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