In brief: Syracuse rallies past Georgetown
Men’s basketball: Kris Joseph scored 15 points, Wes Johnson added 14 and No. 4 Syracuse rallied from a big early deficit to beat seventh-ranked Georgetown 73-56 on Monday night in Syracuse, N.Y.
It was the 819th career win for Orange coach Jim Boeheim, breaking a tie with UConn’s Jim Calhoun for sixth in Division I. Boeheim also extended his Division I record for most 20-win seasons to 32 in his 34 years at his alma mater.
Austin Freeman led Georgetown with 23 points and Jason Clark had 15. Greg Monroe had eight points and only four rebounds before fouling out with 6:27 left. Chris Wright, averaging 15 points, finished with seven.
Syracuse trailed by 14 just 3 minutes into the game.
Cavaliers cool Heat in second half
NBA: LeBron James hit two free throws after a scary tumble with 4.1 seconds left for the winning points, and Dwyane Wade missed a jumper at the buzzer as the Eastern Conference-leading Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Heat 92-91 in Miami.
Wade finished with 32 points for Miami, all but two of them in what was an epic first half shootout between superstars. But he missed two big free throws with 41.2 seconds left, part of a 1-for-6 showing from the line by the Heat in the fourth quarter – and it cost Miami dearly.
•Crittenton pleads guilty to gun charge: Washington Wizards guard Javaris Crittenton pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor gun charge in Washington, explaining he had a pistol because he feared teammate Gilbert Arenas would shoot him or blow up his car after the two argued over a card game.
D.C. Superior Court Senior Judge Bruce Beaudin sentenced Crittenton, 22, to a year of unsupervised probation after Crittenton pleaded guilty to misdemeanor possession of an unregistered firearm. Beaudin ordered Crittenton to mentor young people in Washington and to help with relief efforts for Haiti.
•Hornets slip past Trail Blazers: Chris Paul made a 15-foot jumper with 3.8 seconds remaining, lifting the New Orleans Hornets to a 98-97 win over the Trail Blazers in Portland.
With the Hornets trailing by a point, Paul was left wide open at the free throw line when he caught a pass and buried the shot. Paul led all scorers with 24 points, and also had 12 assists.
Recalled Conner nets two in Pens’ win
NHL: Chris Conner, recalled from the minor leagues earlier in the day, netted two goals and the Pittsburgh Penguins scored twice one minute apart in the third period to beat the slumping Rangers 4-2 in New York.
After Artem Anisimov gave the Rangers their only lead 9:15 into the third period with his second goal of the night, Evgeni Malkin got Pittsburgh even at 9:46 – 16 seconds into a power play. Conner then fired in a rebound of Sidney Crosby’s shot one minute later to put the Penguins back in front.
Purdue upsets No. 4 Ohio State
Women’s basketball: Freshman guard K.K. Houser scored a career-high 18 points, and Purdue handed No. 4 Ohio State (20-2, 8-1 Big Ten) a 63-61 loss at West Lafayette, Ind.
Sam Ostarello, another freshman, added 14 points and seven rebounds for the Boilermakers (10-10, 5-4).
Non-BCS schools rake in money
College football: The five college football conferences that don’t get automatic bids to the Bowl Championship Series will receive a record $24 million from this year’s bowl games, according to BCS figures obtained by the Associated Press.
Despite the record amount that will go to the schools that don’t qualify automatically, it still represents a sum far less than that going to the half-dozen conferences that have guaranteed bids.
Of the $24 million, most will go to the two conferences that sent teams to BCS games this year: the Mountain West Conference, at $9.8 million, and the Western Athletic Conference, at $7.8 million. The three additional conferences that don’t receive automatic bids will divide the remainder the money.
Adjustments made to Pro Bowl lineup
NFL: Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo is going to his third Pro Bowl, while Dallas cornerback Mike Jenkins will go for the first time.
Romo replaces Minnesota’s Brett Favre, who pulled out of the Pro Bowl after hurting his ankle and taking numerous hard hits in the NFC championship game loss at New Orleans on Sunday.
Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb has earned his sixth trip to the Pro Bowl as a replacement for the Saints’ Drew Brees.
Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback David Garrard has been added to the AFC Pro Bowl roster to replace Indianapolis’ Peyton Manning.
New York Jets defensive end Shaun Ellis has been added to the AFC Pro Bowl roster, replacing the Indianapolis Colts’ Robert Mathis.
Washington Redskins middle linebacker London Fletcher has been promoted to the NFC roster, replacing the New Orleans Saints’ Jonathan Vilma.
Guard Chris Snee and tackle David Diehl of the New York Giants have been added to the NFC Pro Bowl team.
Kerrigan family suffers tragedy
Miscellany: Daniel Kerrigan, the father of former Olympic figure skater Nancy Kerrigan, died after what authorities said was a violent struggle with his son in their family home.
Mark Kerrigan, 45, pleaded not guilty to assaulting his 70-year-old father at the home in the Boston suburb of Stoneham where he had been living with his parents. He did not speak at his arraignment but at one point put his head in his hands and wept.
Family members said Daniel Kerrigan’s death was not related to the argument with his son early Sunday.
•Paraguay soccer star shot in head: Salvador Cabanas, the top player on Paraguay’s World Cup team, was shot in the head before dawn Monday in the bathroom of a bar in a well-off neighborhood in Mexico City.
The 29-year-old striker underwent surgery in which doctors failed to remove a bullet lodged in his skull. Dr. Ernesto Martinez, who was part of the surgical team, said “we cannot guarantee that his life is out of danger.” He called the player’s condition stable.
“Injuries like this are unpredictable,” Martinez added. “We don’t know what kind of aftereffects he might have – perhaps none, or perhaps there will be many. We don’t know right now.”