NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Myles Sansted kicked the extra point in overtime as Montana State won its first national championship since 1984, beating Illinois State 35-34 Monday night in the Football Championship Subdivision title game. The Bobcats found a way to top a season that featured two wins over in-state rival Montana over a four-week span. Montana State found a way to top that with a thrilling finish in the first overtime in the 48 years of this title game. Justin Lamson tied with a 14-yard touchdown pass to Taco Dowler on fourth-and-10. Hunter Parsons blocked the extra point attempt after Tommy Rittenhouse threw a 10-yard TD pass to Dylan Lord to give Illinois State its only lead at 34-28 to open overtime.
HENDERSON, Nev. (AP) — The Las Vegas Raiders fired coach Pete Carroll on Monday after just one year. The team went 3-14, ending with a win over Kansas City on Sunday. General manager John Spytek took responsibility for the poor season. Owner Mark Davis said in a statement that Spytek will work with minority owner Tom Brady to find a new coach. The Raiders have the first pick in this year's draft and significant cap space. Spytek sees this as a massive opportunity to set the franchise on a successful path. The team could seek an offensive-minded coach to work with a young quarterback.
The number of NFL head coach firings stands at six. The coaches fired on Black Monday are Jonathan Gannon of the Arizona Cardinals, Pete Carroll of the Las Vegas Raiders and Kevin Stefanski of the Cleveland Browns. Raheem Morris was fired by the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday night. Two other coaches were fired during the season. They were Brian Daboll of the New York Giants and Brian Callahan of the Tennessee Titans.
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Mississippi quarterback Trinidad Chambliss plans to return to school next season if the NCAA approves his request for an additional year of eligibility. Chambliss announced his decision three days before the Rebels play Miami in the Fiesta Bowl. Chambliss took a redshirt his first season at Ferris State and another due to medical reasons his second season there. Ole Miss filed a waiver request with the NCAA in November. Chambliss threw for over 3,600 yards and 21 touchdowns after taking over as the Rebel's starter the third game of the season. Ole Miss plays Miami in the Fiesta Bowl, which doubles as a College Football Playoff semifinal.
LONDON (AP) — Chelsea has confirmed hiring Liam Rosenior as the new manager. Rosenior left Strasbourg on Tuesday and has signed a contract to 2032. The attack-minded Rosenior becomes the second Black Chelsea coach after Ruud Gullit. He has been praised for transforming Strasbourg into a force in French soccer. Rosenior's previous roles include assistant coach at Derby under Wayne Rooney. This marks his first coaching job in the Premier League. Chelsea recently parted ways with Enzo Maresca after 18 months. Rosenior will face the challenge of bringing consistency to a talented but underperforming team. He sees this as a rare opportunity for a Black British coach in the Premier League.
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Now star speedskater Jordan Stolz can really turn all of his attention to being fully prepared to pursue four gold medals at the Milan Cortina Olympics. During the U.S. long track speedskating trials, Stolz didn’t actually need to perform well or produce good results. To earn his spots for the Feb. 6-22 Winter Games, the 21-year-old from Wisconsin simply needed to show up at the starting line for his quartet of events at the Pettit National Ice Center. He wrapped up the four-day trials Monday by winning the mass start. He also will compete in Italy in the 500, 1,000 and 1,500 meters, events in which he owns two world titles apiece.
HOUSTON (AP) — Houston’s Kevin Durant said hitting the game-winner Monday night against the Phoenix Suns meant more because it came against his former team that he felt kicked him out. Durant scored 26 points and his 3-pointer with 1.1 seconds to go lifted the Rockets to the 100-97 victory. Asked if it meant more because it came against the the Suns, the 15-time All-Star didn’t hold back. “Most definitely,” he said. “A place that I didn’t want to leave. My first time — I don’t want to sound too dramatic, but I will — to be kicked out of a place.”
Luge is a thrilling, feet-first sliding sport featured in the Winter Olympics. It includes men’s singles, women’s singles, men’s doubles, women’s doubles, and a team relay. Athletes push off handles and use gloves with tiny spikes to gain speed before settling on the sled. Germany has traditionally dominated, with stars like Max Langenhan and Julia Taubitz. However, Italy, Austria, and the U.S. are strong contenders this year. The competition is set for February 7-12 at the Cortina Sliding Center. Notably, women’s doubles is included for the first time this winter.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr was ejected in the fourth quarter of a 103-102 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers. Kerr was given back-to-back technical fouls after he was upset about John Collins of the Clippers not being called for goaltending. The 60-year-old coach crossed over the midcourt line on the sideline while yelling. An assistant and players Gary Payton II and Gio Santos tried to restrain him. It was the fifth ejection of Kerr's coaching career. He walked off to jeers from the Intuit Dome crowd. Rapper Snoop Dogg was doing commentary for streaming service Peacock and he joked that the “Arizona Wildcat” was coming out of Kerr, who played basketball for the university in the late 1980s.
Arizona holds onto the No. 1 spot in the AP Top 25 by a single point over Michigan. This marks one of the closest races in the poll's 78-year history. The Wildcats received 32 first-place votes, while the Wolverines got 29. The top six teams remain unchanged, with Iowa State, UConn, Purdue, and Duke following Michigan. Nebraska is in the top 10 for the first time since 1966, riding an 18-game winning streak. The Big 12 has seven ranked teams, including four in the top 10, while the Big Ten has six in the poll and three in the top 10.