Patriots linebacker Mayo picked top defensive rookie

Jerod Mayo wasted no time showing he could be an NFL star. Now he’s biding his time until he becomes the leader of the New England Patriots’ defense.

In between, there’s more he wants to accomplish: defensive player of the year and, more important, a Super Bowl championship.

But he certainly appreciates winning The Associated Press 2008 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year award. Now, about that NFL title.

“My main focus coming to here (was) I wanted to win the Super Bowl as a rookie,” he said after earning the award Wednesday. “I thank the AP for the award, but I would trade it in for a Super Bowl any day.”

New England isn’t going to the playoffs and is only the second team to miss out with an 11-5 record since the NFL went to a 16-game schedule in 1978.

Mayo led the Patriots in tackles and was at the top of the NFL rookie class, receiving 49 of 50 votes from a nationwide panel of sports writers and broadcasters who cover the league. Cincinnati linebacker Keith Rivers received the other one. Mayo is the sixth straight linebacker to win the award, following Patrick Willis of San Francisco in 2007.

•Singletary fires two assistants: Mike Singletary has made two more adjustments to his new coaching staff, firing quarterbacks coach Ted Tollner and running backs coach Tony Nathan. On Tuesday, Singletary fired offensive coordinator Mike Martz after one season with the 49ers.

•Cowboys fire special teams coach: The Dallas Cowboys have fired special teams coach Bruce Read, making him the first assistant ousted in the wake of a disappointing 9-7 season.

•Teams set, conduct interviews: The New York Jets have received permission to speak with Baltimore defensive coordinator Rex Ryan for their vacant coaching job, a source told The AP. … The Detroit Lions are interested in speaking to Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier for their vacant coaching job. … Cleveland Browns owner Randy Lerner interviewed Scott Pioli, New England’s vice president of player personnel, to be his new general manager. On Tuesday, Lerner met with fired Jets coach Eric Mangini in the New York about his coaching vacancy.

Baseball

Indians trade for DeRosa

The Cleveland Indians club acquired versatile infielder Mark DeRosa to play third base, trading three minor leaguers to the Chicago Cubs. They dealt pitchers Jeff Stevens, Chris Archer and John Gaub for DeRosa, who played six different positions for the N.L. Central champions. The 33-year-old DeRosa hit a career-high 21 homers and drove in 87 runs last season in 149 games.

Stevens was the only pitcher on Cleveland’s 40-man roster involved in the deal. The 25-year-old right-hander went 5-1 last season in 17 games for Double-A Akron and 0-3 with a 3.94 ERA with five saves in 19 games at Triple-A Buffalo.

•Cubs get Miles: The Cubs and infielder Aaron Miles agreed to a two-year, $4.9 million contract. The switch-hitting Miles batted .317 with four homers and 31 RBIs in 134 games for the St. Louis Cardinals last season.

•Former dump or dog track could be stadium: A greyhound racing track and a former landfill are among seven suggested sites for a new Tampa Bay Rays ballpark. Each possible location is on the St. Petersburg side of the Tampa Bay. The current Tropicana Field area made the list, as did Progress Energy Park, a downtown spring-training stadium the team had hoped to develop into a major league stadium.

College basketball

UNLV stuns Louisville

Oscar Bellfield hit an acrobatic layup with 16.1 seconds remaining to lift UNLV (12-2) to a 56-55 win over host No. 18 Louisville (8-3). Bellfield beat Louisville center Samardo Samuels to the basket and banked the ball over the outstretched hands of the 6-foot-9 Samuels to give the Runnin’ Rebels the lead. Louisville’s Terrence Williams missed a layup with 3 seconds remaining and UNLV grabbed the rebound to hold on.

•Wisconsin bounces back: Wisconsin’s hot shooting helped it avoid losing consecutive games for the first time in nearly two years. Marcus Landry and Trevon Hughes each scored 16 points and the Badgers beat No. 23 Michigan 73-61 in a Big Ten opener. Jon Leuer added 12 points for the Badgers (10-3), coming off a five-point loss to then-No. 9 Texas last week. Michigan is 10-3.

NBA

Short-handed Pistons win

Allen Iverson and Tayshaun Prince stepped up for the short-handed Detroit Pistons.

Iverson scored 19 points, and Prince added 16 to help the host Pistons win their fifth straight game, 83-75 over the New Jersey Nets.

Detroit played without Rip Hamilton (groin) and Antonio McDyess (ribs), and lost Rasheed Wallace to a first-half foot injury, but still held the Nets to a season low.

•Lewis leads Magic: Rashard Lewis set the tone by scoring 16 of his 21 points in the first half and the Orlando Magic rolled over the host Chicago Bulls 113-94 for their eighth win in nine games.

•Pietrus out with broken wrist: Orlando Magic guard Mickael Pietrus will be out indefinitely after breaking his right wrist on a dunk against Detroit on Monday. One of the Magic’s main 3-point threats, Pietrus is averaging 11.7 points.

Miscellany

Bowden to coach D-II

Former Auburn football coach Terry Bowden is returning to coaching at Division II North Alabama.

The 52-year-old Bowden, the son of Florida State coach Bobby Bowden, brings a 111-53-2 record to North Alabama, which finished the 2008 season 12-2 and reached the semifinals of the Division II playoffs. Bowden replaces Mark Hudspeth, who left to become an assistant coach at Mississippi State.

Bowden, who won his first 20 games at Auburn in 1993-94, has worked as an analyst on Westwood One’s college game of the week.

•SDSU adds Long, Borges: Rocky Long, the former coach at New Mexico, was hired as defensive coordinator by San Diego State. Long resigned at New Mexico on Nov. 17 after 11 seasons as the Lobos’ head coach.

New Aztecs coach Brady Hoke also hired Al Borges as offensive coordinator. Borges most recently helped lead Auburn to a 42-9 record and four bowl game appearances from 2004-07.

•Speedway sold: Speedway Motorsports Inc. purchased Kentucky Speedway in Sparta, Ky., clearing the way for SMI owner Bruton Smith to try and bring a coveted NASCAR Sprint Cup race to the 1.5-mile tri-oval in northern Kentucky.

The track joins a growing portfolio for SMI, which owns seven other NASCAR-sanctioned facilities, including Lowe’s Motor Speedway.