OTG Daily News

NEW ORLEANS Once he watches the game replay, Drew Brees will be hard on himself. The New Orleans Saints quarterback will bemoan throwing two uncharacteristic passes into double coverage that were intercepted. He will feel just as badly about trying to call consecutive timeouts late in the second quarter, which is a Football 101 rules violation. There were 16 incompletions and three second-half drives that ended without a first down or points to prolong what had the early makings of a blowout. But immediately after this magical Monday night in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome came to an end, Brees had every right to proclaim a 45-16 victory over Atlanta as “perfect,” even though he wasn’t. New Orleans (12-3) defeated its archrival to clinch the NFC South title and notch a seventh consecutive win. The Saints were outstanding on the ground with 164 yards against the NFL’s fourth-ranked run defense. They also stymied a Falcons offense that simply couldn’t keep pace. And in the proc...

EL SEGUNDO, CALIF. (AP) The Lakers traded forward Lamar Odom and a second-round draft pick to the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday night for a first-round pick and an $8.9 million trade exception, capping Los Angeles' stunning 72-hour breakup with last season's Sixth Man of the Year. Video: Lakers react to Odom trade The Lakers and Mavericks reached a swift deal after Odom learned Thursday that Los Angeles was attempting to trade him in a megadeal for New Orleans superstar Chris Paul . After the NBA blocked that trade, Odom declined to report to the Lakers' opening day of training camp on Friday. Odom then requested a trade in a meeting with general manager Mitch Kupchak, and the Lakers improbably swung a deal with the rival Mavericks, who swept Los Angeles out of the second round of last season's playoffs. ''Lamar was a fine player for us in his seven years with the Lakers and was a key to helping us win two championships,'' Kupchak said in a sta...

Updated Dec 12, 2011 11:58 AM ET The Kansas City Chiefs fired head coach Toddy Haley Monday. The announcement came on the heels of the Chiefs' 37-10 loss to the New York Jets Sunday, dropping the team's record to 5-8 on the season. "This was a difficult decision but one that we feel is best for the future of the Chiefs," Chairman and CEO Clark Hunt said in a statement. "Although there have been bright spots at different points this season, we have not made meaningful progress and we felt that it was necessary to make a change. "We appreciate Todd's contributions during his time with the club, and we wish him well in the future." Haley, who was in just his third season with the team, led the Chiefs to an AFC West division title in 2010. He amassed a 19-27 record during his brief tenure in Kansas City. foxsports

NEW YORK – Minutes before the 77th Heisman Trophy was awarded Saturday night, Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin III made a sartorial announcement of his own. He pulled up the bottom of his suit pants and revealed blue Superman socks, complete with an 'S' shield and a tiny flowing red cape. Griffin has an extensive collection of kooky socks — Cookie Monster , SpongeBob, Angry Birds , Scooby Doo, Elmo to name a few — but Saturday's choice fit perfectly. Griffin became the first Baylor player to win the Heisman Trophy, grabbing 405 first-place votes to finish a comfortable 280 points ahead of Stanford's Andrew Luck. Alabama's Trent Richardson was third, followed by Wisconsin's Montee Ball and LSU 's Tyrann Mathieu. "This is unbelievably believable," Griffin said when he accepted the award. "It's unbelievable because in the moment we're all amazed when great things happen. But it's believable because great things don't...

SAN FRANCISO (AP) Federal prosecutors have asked a judge to send former baseball slugger Barry Bonds to prison. In court documents filed late Thursday, prosecutors objected to a recommendation by a federal probation officer that Bonds get only probation when he's sentenced for obstruction of justice on Dec. 16. In the documents, prosecutors asked that Bonds be sentenced to 15 months in prison. Bonds, 47, was convicted in April of obstructing a grand jury's sports doping investigation with an evasive answer. Prosecutors dropped three other counts charging Bonds with making false statements after the jury deadlocked on those charges. They accused Bonds of lying to the grand jury when he denied knowingly taking performance-enhancing drugs and said he allowed only doctors to inject him. Federal sentencing guidelines for conviction on the obstruction charge recommend a prison sentence between 15 and 21 months. But Bonds' lawyers have cited an investigative report pre...

DALLAS Are you sitting down? The Los Angeles Angels shocked the baseball world Thursday morning, reaching an agreement with free-agent first baseman Albert Pujols on a 10-year contract that will be worth $254 million. The deal is the second highest in baseball history, behind Alex Rodriguez’s 10-year, $275 million deal. ''This is a monumental day for Angel fans and I could not be more excited,'' Angels owner Arte Moreno said. And the Angels didn't stop there. C.J. Wilson agreed to a five-year, $77.5 million contract with the Angels later Thursday, a major-league source told FOXSports.com, joining the organization on the same morning the Pujols signing rocked baseball. The Cardinals and a third, unspecified club also bid for Pujols. The Angels did not enter the sweepstakes until late Tuesday night. Approximately 36 hours later, they signed one of the great hitters in major league history. Pujols, 31, will receive a full no-trade clause — somethi...

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) Syracuse University fired associate head basketball coach Bernie Fine on Sunday in the wake of an investigation of child molestation allegations against him. ''At the direction of Chancellor Nancy Cantor, Bernie Fine's employment with Syracuse University has been terminated, effective immediately,'' Kevin Quinn, the school's senior vice president for public affairs, said in a statement. The 65-year-old Fine was in his 36th season at his alma mater. He had the longest active streak of consecutive seasons at one school among assistant coaches in Division I. Fine's firing comes in the wake of new revelations Sunday, including a third accuser. Syracuse had placed Fine on paid administrative leave when accusations first surfaced. Two former Syracuse ball boys were the first to accuse Fine, who has called the allegations ''patently false.'' Zach Tomaselli, 23, of Lewiston, Maine , said Sunday that he told police tha...

Legendary Russian weightlifter Vasily Alekseyev -- who became a Soviet-era Cold War icon, as well as a household name in the US thanks to his frequent appearances on "Wide World of Sports" in the 1970s -- has died at the age of 69. Alekseyev, who won two Olympic and eight world super heavyweight titles in addition to setting 80 world records throughout his distinguished career, passed away in a German clinic Friday, Ria Novosti reported. He had long suffered heart problems and was sent to the clinic after his health deteriorated. The burly, big-bellied Alekseyev was born in Shakhty, southern Russia, in 1942. He set his first world record in January 1970 and captured the world title later that year, a crown he held for seven years. He was the first man to total more than 600 kilograms (1,323 pounds) in the triple event, winning Olympic gold medals at the 1972 Games in Munich and the 1976 Games in Montreal. His accomplishments were always prominent propaganda tools fo...

With handshakes, sighs and weary smiles, the N.B.A. and its players resolved a crippling labor dispute early Saturday, allowing them to reopen their $4-billion-a-year business. A 66-game season would start on Christmas Day, ending the second-longest lockout in league history. On nearly every count, the deal favors the owners, who all along had sought an overhaul. The players made significant concessions, including a reduction of up to $300 million year in salaries, $3 billion over the life of the agreement. Based on tentative agreements reached earlier, the deal is expected to be for 10 years, the longest such contract in the history of the National Basketball Association, with an option for either side to terminate it after six years. It includes a significant pay cut for players, along with shorter contracts, smaller raises and a more punitive tax system to rein in the top-spending teams. The deal was reached about 3 a.m. Saturday, on the 149th day of the lockout, after a fina...

DETROIT (AP) Ndamukong Suh 's stomp in Thursday's game that led to the Detroit defensive lineman's ejection will be reviewed by the league next week. An NFL spokesman says plays from Week 12 that would be reviewed for potential discipline will be done under normal circumstances, after all games are completed. That means it could be a few days before Suh and the Lions find out exactly what the All-Pro will face after he stepped down with his right foot and appeared to make contact with the right arm of Green Bay offensive lineman Evan Dietrich-Smith . Suh was ejected in the third quarter of Detroit's 27-15 loss to the Packers . Suh met with Commissioner Roger Goodell at the beginning of this month to discuss several penalties Suh received for a variety of hits.

Alabama vs. Auburn. Michigan vs. Ohio State. UCLA vs. USC. Many bitter rivals hit the gridiron this weekend. This year, a lot more than pride is at stake . Rivalry Week can be a funny thing. On the one hand, it’s one of the things that makes college football what it is, that makes it different from all other sports. But on the other, it also highlights the sport’s inherent regionalism: Auburn-Alabama might well be college football’s biggest rivalry, but more seasons than not, it doesn’t matter all that much to anyone outside the state. This season is different. This season, there’s a whole lot more than just pride at stake when these traditional rivals clash. Texas at Texas A&M If this game was any indication, we are in for a monster weekend. Playing for pride and a secondary bowl berth, these two played for perhaps the last time on Thursday to kick off Rivalry Week. The Aggies’ impending move to the SEC has put the future of this longstanding rivalry in doubt, meaning the win...

It won't fix everything that ails them, but the Kansas City Chiefs team that appeared to be very much on life support when they were hammered 34-3 by the New England Patriots on Monday night got a little breath of life on Wednesday by making a waiver claim for recently released former Denver Broncos quarterback Kyle Orton (notes) . According to reports, the Chicago Bears and Dallas Cowboys also put in waiver claims, but the Chiefs had the upper hand as the team with the lowest current number of wins. At 4-6, the Chiefs are tied with the San Diego Chargers for the worst record in the AFC West, but they're far from out of it if they can turn things around — they're just two games behind the Oakland Raiders and one behind the Broncos. [ Related: If Elway still isn't sold on Tebow, why did Broncos let Orton go? ] It was thought by most that Orton would return to Chicago, where he spent the first four years of his career and helped the Bears attain a 21-12 reco...

Ex-Penn State and Pittsburgh Steelers star Franco Harris sticks up for his old coach and loses a job. If you're hiring a spokesman for your business in greater Pittsburgh , it's hard to go wrong with Franco Harris: Super Bowl MVP, Hall of Famer, businessman and all-around ambassador for the city . At least, that's what the Meadows Racetrack and Casino was betting on — no pun intended — when it hired Harris and former Pittsburgh Steelers teammate Rocky Bleier last month to "assist the entertainment facility with various outreach activities, charitable events and public appearances," as well as appear in television spots. It's a safe assumption that it was not betting on the new face of the business publicly sticking up for his old college coach in the wake of the child sex scandal that just rocked his alma mater. From the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: Steelers legend and Penn State great Franco Harris blasted Penn State's Board of Trustees for firi...

Ask any recently engaged couple what the hardest part about planning a wedding is, and they won’t tell you it’s the flowers, picking the band or trying to get one of those cutesy write-ups in the New York Times’ “Weddings and Celebrations” section. It’s the unavoidable “cut line” of their wedding invite list. You can’t invite everybody, and Aunt Bernice assumes she’s a shoo-in because of the cookies she baked for you on your 13th birthday, and there’s only so many distant cousins, friends from summer camp and colleagues from work who can be invited to your big day. As I do for any young couple with the unenviable task of deciding who’s in and who’s out just months before they exchange vows, I sympathize with the Heisman Trust this week. A minimum of three and a maximum of five players can be invited to New York City for the Heisman ceremony in December, and here we are, just three weeks from the big day, and there are more than 10 young men worthy of those five spots. Think there...

Professional Footballers' Association chief Gordon Taylor says Sepp Blatter should resign as Fifa president over his comments on racism. Blatter claimed that football does not have on-field problems with racism. However Taylor told BBC Radio 4's Today Programme: "When you see the corruption they've had at Fifa, I just feel it's the straw that broke the camel's back. "The comments he made about homosexuals not going to Qatar ; it's time to move over for [Uefa chief] Michel Platini." Taylor was reacting to comments made by Blatter in two separate television interviews when the Swiss leader of football's world governing body was asked whether he thought racism on the pitch was a problem in the modern-day game. "I would deny it. There is no racism," said Blatter. Blatter's comments are the latest controversy to hit Fifa, which has been led by the 75-year-old since 1998. Former Fifa presidential candidate Mohamed Bin Ham...