FOOTBALL
Perez wins Hill Trophy
Texas A&M University-Commerce quarterback Luis Perez has won the Harlon Hill Trophy as Division II's player of the year. Perez has led his team into Saturday's national championship game against West Florida with a 13-1 record. His team defeated Harding University 31-17 in the semifinals. The senior from Chula Vista, Calif., received 198 total points in voting by Division II sports information directors announced Thursday at Florence, Ala. Gannon running back Marc Jones was second with 135 points while Slippery Rock defensive lineman Marcus Martin received 96 points for third place. It's the highest finish by a defensive lineman in the award's 32-year history. Perez is trying to become the sixth Harlon Hill winner to follow up the award with a national title in the same season. He leads the nation with 4,678 passing yards and 44 touchdowns while completing more than 70 percent of his attempts.
Frost coach of year
Scott Frost, who led Central Florida to a perfect regular season before taking the Nebraska job, has won the Eddie Robinson Award as the national coach of the year. The Football Writers Association of America and the Sugar Bowl announced the winner Thursday in Dallas. In his second season at UCF, Frost guided the Knights to a 12-0 record, the American Athletic Conference championship and a Peach Bowl bid. He is transitioning from UCF to Nebraska, where he will coach his alma mater. He still expects to coach UCF in its bowl game. The other finalists were Bill Clark of Alabama-Birmingham, Lane Kiffin of Florida Atlantic, Jeff Monken of Army, Lincoln Riley of Oklahoma, Kirby Smart of Georgia, Dabo Swinney of Clemson and Jeff Tedford of Fresno State.
Patrick charge dismissed
A misdemeanor marijuana possession charge against Georgia starting inside linebacker Natrez Patrick has been dismissed, apparently clearing the way for him to play in the Sugar Bowl semifinal game. The Athens Banner-Herald reported that the charge was dropped Thursday morning, according to a Barrow County probate court official. The newspaper also reported that backup receiver Jayson Stanley negotiated an agreement to plead guilty to possession of marijuana of less than an ounce and speeding. A DUI drug charge was dropped. Patrick was facing dismissal from the team under Georgia athletic rules for a third violation of the drug and alcohol policy. The school hasn't commented on his status for the College Football Playoff semifinal Jan. 1 against Oklahoma. Stanley is facing a mandatory one-game suspension as a first-time marijuana offender.
No charge for Sooner RB
Oklahoma running back Rodney Anderson will not be charged after a woman accused him of sexual assault, Cleveland County District Attorney Greg Mashburn said Thursday. The accusation stemmed from a petition for a protective order in which the woman said Anderson assaulted her in her apartment and that she feared for her safety. An attorney for Anderson called the accusations "patently false," saying the woman made them after Anderson declined her social invitations. Anderson has been one of Oklahoma's breakout stars after season-ending injuries the past two years. He leads the Sooners with 960 yards rushing and 11 touchdowns and has 283 yards and 5 touchdowns receiving. Oklahoma plays Georgia in a College Football Playoff semifinal Jan. 1 in the Rose Bowl.
Holtz sues Beast
Hall of Fame and former Arkansas Razorbacks football coach Lou Holtz is suing The Daily Beast over an article that claimed he called immigrants "deadbeats" at last year's Republican National Convention in Cleveland. The federal lawsuit, filed Wednesday in Orlando, Fla., where Holtz lives, claims an article published by the news website on July 19, 2016, defamed Holtz, causing him to lose paid speaking opportunities and suffer personal humiliation. He's seeking damages of more than $75,000. The article originally carried the headline "Lou Holtz at RNC Said Immigrants are Deadbeats Invading the US." The suit claims The Daily Beast took Holtz's comments out of context and that he never used the term "deadbeats." After complaints, the website updated its headline to "Holtz Goes on Immigrant-Bashing RNC Rant." A spokesman for The Daily Beast's parent company said it doesn't comment on pending litigation.
VOLLEYBALL
Huskers advance to title match
Mikaela Foecke had 19 kills, Annika Albrecht and Briana Holman had 13 apiece, and Nebraska fought off match point in the fourth set to beat Penn State in a five-set thriller in the NCAA volleyball semifinals on Thursday night at Kansas City, Mo. The fifth-seeded Huskers will play the winner of Stanford-Florida for the title Saturday night. The Huskers took advantage of a series of service mistakes by the top-seeded Nittany Lions to beat their Big Ten rivals for the seventh consecutive time. They also advanced to their eighth title match, where they will try to secure their fifth national championship. Nebraska won the opening set 25-18 before dropping the next two, and then rallied to win the fourth 28-26 and force a deciding set. The Huskers took it 15-11 to advance to the finals.
BASKETBALL
New All-Star Game format, dates announced
NEW YORK — Debuting a new NBA All-Star Game format in which players will pick teams in an effort to energize the event, the league has unveiled the voting schedule for its 2018 showcase.
The NBA had previously announced that the Eastern vs. Western Conference format would be scrapped for the first time, replaced by captains choosing sides in the latest effort to generate more enthusiasm and perhaps competitiveness for the game.
The West has won six of the last seven games, scoring nearly 200 points in the lackluster last two. Following last February’s 192-182 victory in New Orleans, players association President Chris Paul told Commissioner Adam Silver something had to be done to fix the game, and the league has responded with changes to the selection process.
The hope is that the changes will better balance the rosters after All-Stars such as Paul George, Carmelo Anthony and Jimmy Butler went from East to West over the summer, and trigger buzz about who wants to play with what players.
The players from each conference with the highest total of fan votes will serve as the captains. They will then pick from the eight remaining starters first, then choose from the pool of players voted as reserves. It could lead to some intriguing scenarios — would LeBron James pick Kyrie Irving if he’s a captain? Would Russell Westbrook choose Kevin Durant?
Unfortunately, the captains’ selections will be conducted before the full rosters are unveiled during a TNT program on Jan. 25.
The league announced Thursday that voting begins on NBA.com and the NBA app on Dec. 21. Voting through all other formats, such as Twitter and Facebook and including Amazon Alexa for the first time, starts on Christmas Day before the annual five-game slate.
There will also be five 2-for-1 days where ballots cast through the NBA app and NBA.com, along with Sina Weibo and Tencent in China, will count twice. Those days are Dec. 31, Jan. 4, Jan. 11, Jan. 12 and Jan. 15 — the day balloting ends.
Continuing a policy instituted last season, players and media will join fans in the voting process. The fan vote accounts for 50 percent, while players and a media panel each account for 25 percent.
Sports on 12/15/2017