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The Detroit Red Wings equaled an NHL record with their 20th straight win at home, beating the Philadelphia Flyers 4-3 Sunday night on the strength of Johan Franzen's tiebreaking goal early in the third period.
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Arc's five up, five down: After No. 11 Michigan State's 58-48 upset of No. 3 Ohio State, you'd be a fool to discount the Spartans' national title chances now.
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The United States completed a 5-0 rout of Switzerland in the Davis Cup on Sunday, with 19-year-old Ryan Harrison and John Isner winning closing singles matches.
Zambia has won the African Cup of Nations, beating pre-tournament favorite Ivory Coast 8-7 on penalties in a dramatic final at Stade de l'Amitie.
Tessa Worley of France fought off gusting winds to win a second consecutive World Cup giant slalom Sunday in the Andorran Pyrenees. Overall leader Lindsey Vonn was more than a second behind and finished eighth.
Robins: It’s the Year of the Dragon on the Lunar calendar, and this Chinese influence could extend to it also being the year of the Pekingese on the green carpet at the 136th Westminster Dog Show on Tuesday.
SOUTH BEND, Ind. - An NCAA committee has proposed rolling back some football rules that were enacted last season to shorten games after coaches complained the changes were unfair.
The NCAA football rules committee, meeting Wednesday in Albuquerque, N.M., recommended going back to starting the clock on the snap after a change of possession instead of when the referee signals the ball ready for play.
It also suggested starting the clock on kickoffs after the ball is touched by the receiving team rather than when it is kicked.
“We feel the changes in 2007 are going to restore plays and are going to provide action for the players and fans, but at the same time we’re going to diminish the dead time involved in the management of games,” said Michael Clark, chair of the committee and head coach at Bridgewater College in Virginia.
Last season, the average Division I-A game lasted 3 hours, 7 minutes — 14 minutes shorter than in 2005. In 2006, games averaged 127.5 plays, 14 fewer than a year earlier.
Coaches complained about the rule changes last season, particularly the rule starting the clock when the referee signaled.
“Most of the coaches were against the rules, felt it was unfair,” said Oregon coach Mike Bellotti, a committee member. “All levels of football, when coaches were surveyed, were against that rule.”
To make up for the time being added back, the committee proposed the following changes:
—Using a 15-second play clock immediately after timeouts instead of a 25-second clock;
—Reducing timeouts from 65 seconds to 30 seconds;
—Kicking off from the 30-yard line instead of the 35 to cut down on touchbacks;
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Bellotti said he doesn’t think most coaches will be bothered by the shorter timeouts.
“The majority of timeouts are taken because of the wrong formation, wrong personnel and you want to stop the clock,” he said.
He also said he thinks moving kickoffs back 5 yards will be popular.
“We anticipate more returns and it’s going to put a lot of pressure on defense because by more returns you are probably going to create better field position,” he said.
The rule changes need to be approved by the NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel on March 12.
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Zambia has won the African Cup of Nations, beating pre-tournament favorite Ivory Coast 8-7 on penalties in a dramatic final at Stade de l'Amitie.
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