Fast Break

Super Bowl

Record numbers watch Giants win

The New York Giants’ thrilling 17-14 win over New England was the most-watched Super Bowl ever with 97.5 million viewers, a total that is second only to the “M*A*S*H” finale audience, Nielsen Media Research said Monday.

The game eclipsed the previous Super Bowl record of 94.08 million, set when Dallas defeated Pittsburgh in 1996. The final “M*A*S*H” episode, which drew 106 million viewers in 1983, is the only other show in American broadcast history watched by more people.

Giants quarterback Eli Manning also won bragging rights over his brother: Last year’s win by Peyton Manning’s Indianapolis Colts was seen by 93.2 million people, now the third most popular Super Bowl.

College basketball

UCLA forward out against WSU

UCLA forward Luc Richard Mbah a Moute will miss the next two Pac-10 road games because of a sprained left ankle.

The fifth-ranked Bruins visit No. 17 Washington State on Thursday and Washington on Saturday.

Mbah a Moute rolled his ankle in the second half of Saturday’s 82-60 victory over Arizona. He was examined by the team trainer Monday and will be sidelined at least a week.

NFL

Vick can keep most of bonus

Jailed quarterback Michael Vick can keep all but $3.75 million of the nearly $20 million in bonus money he received from the Atlanta Falcons following a ruling Monday by a federal judge.

The Falcons sought to recover the bonuses after Vick pleaded guilty to federal charges in a dogfighting operation.

A special master ruled in October the Falcons were entitled to recover the bonuses. But U.S. District Judge David Doty of Minneapolis ruled that recovery of most of the bonus money by the Falcons would violate the NFL collective bargaining agreement.

“It makes no sense that an individual who willfully violates his contract is entitled to be paid tens of millions of dollars even though he is in jail and providing no services whatsoever to his employer,” NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said in a statement.