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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: Syracuse is among a solid group of No. 1 seeds in our latest tournament projections, but the middle of the pack is much more murky.
Miami coach Al Golden says the worst is behind him, but his headaches figure to continue now that former booster Nevin Shapiro, now in jail, says his involvement with the Hurricanes program will result in stiff penalties.
Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods greeted their Sunday pairing at Pebble Beach with optimism. But the day would end happily only for one.
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.
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TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - A year ago, Mark Ingram was a freshman backup showing considerable power and potential and a knack for reaching the end zone.
Now, the Alabama tailback is reaching for something more substantial: becoming the first player in the top-ranked Crimson Tide's storied history to win the Heisman Trophy.
"It's just really humbling, overwhelming and exciting all at the same time," the sophomore tailback said of being a finalist. "You kind of dream about this growing up watching all the great players who won the Heisman Trophy."
There have been plenty of great ones who starred for Alabama but never snared college football's top award, ranging from Joe Namath to Ozzie Newsome to Shaun Alexander at the marquee offensive positions. It has almost become a badge of pride for a program that has collected six national championships and 22 Southeastern Conference titles.
It's about winning titles not awards, they said, sniffing at rival Auburn's two Heismans and one national title. Then again, that was before Ingram emerged as a legitimate candidate.
The offensive star for the nation's top-ranked team, he has a chance to finally add college football's top trophy to the Tide's collection.
The 5-foot-10, 212-pounder is one of five Heisman finalists, joining Stanford running back Toby Gerhart, Nebraska defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh and quarterbacks Colt McCoy of Texas and Tim Tebow of Florida.
Ingram has run for a school-record 1,542 yards and 15 touchdowns while catching 30 passes for 322 yards and three more TDs. A whopping 1,002 yards have come after contact.
Ingram was named SEC offensive player of the year by The Associated Press.
He showed flashes of that ability as a freshman, racking up 728 yards and a team-high 12 touchdowns as Glen Coffee's backup. Coffee then skipped his senior season to enter the NFL draft and is with the San Francisco 49ers.
He might have had a hard time holding onto his job at Alabama.
Ingram has thrived behind an offensive line that had to replace three starters, including All-Americans Andre Smith and Antoine Caldwell.
He seemed like a solid Heisman front-runner going into the Tide's regular-season finale at Auburn. Then, the seemingly unstoppable back got stopped.
Ingram managed just 30 yards on 16 carries against the nation's 88th-ranked run defense. Then the question became not would he win, but would he even make it to New York as a finalist.
"I wasn't too worried about it," Ingram said. "When you have a great game, everybody loves you. When you have a bad game, it's (treated like) the end of the world. We won the game, and that's what matters."
Ingram rebounded with a huge performance against Florida in the SEC championship game. He ran for 113 yards and three touchdowns and also took a screen pass 69 yards to carry the Tide into the BCS national title game against No. 2 Texas.
Heisman hype hasn't been the only potential distraction for Ingram this season. His father, former New York Giants wide receiver Mark Ingram, is serving a 92-month sentence on a federal money laundering and bank fraud conviction. Now, he's in a holding facility in New York awaiting a hearing, court-appointed attorney James Neville said, that could extend that sentence because he didn't report to a federal prison in Kentucky last December.
The elder Ingram wanted to stay at the holding so he could be sure to watch his son play in the SEC championship game on TV.
He was captured on Jan. 2 in a Michigan motel room hours before the Tide was set to play Utah in the Sugar Bowl.
"He's happy for me. He's real proud of me," said the Alabama star, who says little about his father publicly. "He's not really surprised because he always told me there was no other running back better than me. He always expected more of me than I expected of myself.
"I'm sure he's going through rough times, but I'm sure the fact that he has something to look forward to and be proud of has made his time a little easier."
Miami coach Al Golden says the worst is behind him, but his headaches figure to continue now that former booster Nevin Shapiro, now in jail, says his involvement with the Hurricanes program will result in stiff penalties.
CFT: Jordan Jefferson makes it clear he wasn't happy with LSU's game plan in the Tigers' BCS Championship Game loss to Alabama.
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Heisman special section In-depth look at Mark Ingram's victory for college football's top individual prize in the closest vote ever. NBCSports.com |
 | Video: Football from NBC Sports |
 Memphis fulfills BCS dream Tigers officials thrilled to announce that school has been accepted to join the Big East Conference in 2013. |
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 | NBCSports.com |
Heisman Trophy winners by school |
7: Notre Dame, Ohio State, Southern California |
Heisman Trophy |
Ingram barely beats Gerhart for Heisman |
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The Week in Sports Pictures The Giants on top of the football world, getting ready for the London Olympics and more. more photos |
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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The Red Wings have finally started to embrace a record they've been chasing.
