FRISCO, Texas (AP) — Cam Miller ran for two touchdowns and threw for two more in his 54th consecutive start as North Dakota State’s quarterback, and the Bison won their record 10th Football Championship Subdivision title, beating top-seeded and previously undefeated Montana State 35-32 on Monday night. North Dakota State (14-2) made the trip from Fargo to Frisco for the 11th time in 14 seasons. Its previous title there was three years ago, in a game that also had Miller and Montana State’s Tommy Mellott as the starting quarterbacks. Miller completed 19 of 22 passes for 199 yards and ran 18 times for 121 yards to win his 45th game (out of 56 starts) and his second national title.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Los Angeles Chargers are planning to sign running back Ezekiel Elliott to their practice squad pending a physical, two people familiar with the situation told The Associated Press on Monday night. The people spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the move had not been completed. The Chargers (11-6) are the No. 5 seed in the AFC and open the playoffs at Houston on Saturday in a wild-card round game. Elliott was released by the Dallas Cowboys on Dec. 31 so that he could possibly sign with a playoff team seeking a veteran running back. The same thing happened last season when Dalvin Cook was cut by the New York Jets and played for Baltimore in a divisional-round win over Houston. This season in 15 games, Elliott had just 74 carries for 226 yards with a 3.1-yard-per-carry average, all career lows. The two-time NFL rushing champion has 9,130 yards and 74 rushing touchdowns in nine seasons.
Best in the Eastern Conference. Best in the Western Conference. The best shooting team in the NBA vs. the best defensive team in the NBA. A matchup like only two others in league history. Clear the calendar for Wednesday night, when Oklahoma City goes to Cleveland. Technically, any game between an East team and a West team is a potential NBA Finals preview — but this one certainly deserves that billing. A Thunder team on a 15-game winning streak, taking on a Cavaliers team on a 10-game winning streak (after having its own 15-game streak earlier this season). “Every game is a challenge, and every game is an opportunity to get better,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. “There’s a different challenge every single night in the NBA season. Every game tests you in different ways.” He’s not wrong. But his team is 30-5. Cleveland is an NBA-best 31-4. Combined, that’s 61-9.
The Athletics have agreed to a $60 million, five-year contract with slugger Brent Rooker, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press on Monday night. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the agreement had not been announced. The deal includes a $22 million vesting option for the 2030 season and escalators that could increase the value to $92 million over six seasons. Rooker was set to swap proposed arbitration salaries with the A’s on Thursday. He also would have been eligible for arbitration after the 2025 and 2026 seasons, and could have become a free agent following the 2027 World Series. The new deal keeps Rooker signed through 2029, when the team is planning to be in Las Vegas. The A’s left Oakland after last season and are set to play the next three seasons in a minor league park in West Sacramento, California. The club says its new stadium in Las Vegas is expected to be ready in 2028.
MONDAY SCORES
NCAA MEN TOP 25
No. 12 Houston 65, TCU 46