Packers beat Vikings to clinch the NFC North division

Aaron Jones rushed for 154 yards and two secondhalf touchdowns, Za’Darius Smith had five tackles for loss to lead a stifling performance by Green Bay’s defense, and the Packers became NFC North champions by beating the Minnesota Vikings 23-10 on Monday night.

The Packers (12-3) made Matt LaFleur the 10th rookie coach in NFL history to reach 12 victories, winning for the first time in four tries at Minnesota’s deafening U.S. Bank Stadium with a dominant finish after trailing 10-9 at halftime.

Green Bay stayed in position for a first-round bye in the playoffs. The top seed and home-field advantage until the Super Bowl is still in sight.

The Packers stormed back from three first-half turnovers, including a rare interception by Aaron Rodgers, to silence the crowd and seal the Vikings (105) into the sixth playoff seed. The green-and-goldclad fans in attendance squeezed some “Go, Pack, Go!” chants in during the ample down time as the Packers took control in the second half.

Kirk Cousins was sacked five times, with a whopping 3 ½ by Smith, and he threw an interception in the third quarter that set up the first score by Jones. Cousins fell to 0-9 in his career in Monday night games.

RAVENS TO REST QB JACKSON >> Having already accomplished all their goals for the regular season, the Baltimore Ravens will play the finale against Pittsburgh this Sunday without quarterback Lamar Jackson, eight-time Pro Bowl guard Marshal Yanda and several other key starters, including injured running back Mark Ingram.

The Ravens (13-2) extended their winning streak to 11 games and clinched the top seed in the AFC playoffs with a 31-15 win over Cleveland on Sunday. Ingram left in the fourth quarter with a calf injury, but should be ready when Baltimore opens the playoffs at home during the second weekend in January.

Ravens coach John Harbaugh said that Ingram has a “mild to moderate calf strain.”

“We’d be looking for him to be ready in two weeks,” Harbaugh said.

MLB

FLOOD SET OF FREE-AGENT REVOLUTION >> Curt Flood set off the free-agent revolution 50 years ago today with a 128-word letter to baseball Commissioner Bowie Kuhn, two paragraphs that pretty much ended the career of a World Series champion regarded as among the sport’s stars but united a union behind his cause.

St. Louis had traded the All-Star center fielder to Philadelphia just after the 1969 season. Flood broke with the sport’s culture of conformity and refused to accept the Cardinals’ right to deal him, becoming a pioneer and a pariah.

After weeks of discussions with the Major League Baseball Players Association, Flood began the union’s equivalent of Lexington and Concord, challenging the reserve clause in first shot of a labor war that would consume the sport for more than a quarter-century.

“After 12 years in the major leagues, I do not feel that I am a piece of property to be bought and sold irrespective of my wishes,” Flood wrote in his Dec. 24 missive. “I believe that any system which produces that result violates my basic rights as a citizen and is inconsistent with the laws of the United States and of the several states.

“It is my desire to play baseball in 1970 and I am capable of playing. I have received a contract offer from the Philadelphia club, but I believe I have the right to consider offers from other clubs before making any decisions. I, therefore, request that you make known to all the major league clubs my feelings in this matter, and advise them of my availability for the 1970 season.”

Flood and the union lost that fight in a lawsuit that went all the way the U.S. Supreme Court, but the union’s fight went on.

“If there had not been the person who was going to step out there and take the bullets, there wouldn’t have been anything,” Flood’s widow, the actress Judy Pace, said last weekend. “So he was the man who stepped out of the foxhole

to go and challenge.” ASTROS SIGN CATCHER MALDONADO >> The Houston Astros have signed catcher Martín Maldonado to a two-year, $7 million contract.

The 33-year-old Maldonado spent the second half of the last two seasons with the Astros after being traded in July in both 2018 and 2019. In 68 games with Maldonado behind the plate, Houston pitchers have compiled a 3.27 ERA.

Maldonado, who won a Gold Glove Award in 2017, hit .219 with 10 homers in the regular season with the Astros. He’s made 12 playoff starts for Houston, which is tied for third most at catcher in franchise history behind Brad Ausmus (30) and Brian McCann (19).

The nine-year veteran is a career ,219 hitter in 717 games with Milwaukee, the Los Angeles Angels, Kansas City, the Chicago Cubs and the Astros.

• Catcher Francisco Cervelli has agreed to terms on a $2 million, one-year contract with the Miami Marlins, where he’ll be reunited with his former New York Yankees teammate, Derek Jeter.

HILL, WIFE ARRESTED >> Free agent pitcher Rich Hill and his wife were arrested outside Saturday’s New England Patriots game after police said his wife attempted to enter the stadium with an oversized bag and he argued with officers.

Hill said in a statement that the incident was “overblown” and that his wife was carrying a “fanny pack.” The charges against the Hills were reduced to civil infractions after a court appearance on Monday.

Foxborough Police said that Caitlin Hill had been asked to leave Gillette Stadium after attempting to get into the game several times with the bag, but that she refused to leave.

Police said Rich Hill then argued with officers and refused to back away as his wife was placed under arrest and into a police vehicle.

The Milton, Massachusetts, couple was charged with disorderly conduct. Caitlin Hill was also charged with trespassing and Rich Hill was charged with resisting arrest, a felony.

The charges were ultimately reduced to civil, non-criminal infractions, and the couple was fined a total of $1,000 during an appearance Monday in Wrentham District Court, according to Norfolk District Attorney Michael Morrissey’s office.

Soccer

CHELSEA FAN ARRESTED FOR RACISM >> A Chelsea fan was arrested during Sunday’s Premier League game at Tottenham for allegedly racially abusing Son Heungmin.

It was the only arrest for racism made by the Metropolitan Police at the London derby where Chelsea defender Antonio Rüdiger reported being subjected to monkey chants.

Winter sports

WINDINGSTAD SLALOMS TO

FIRST CAREER WIN >> Norway’s Rasmus Windingstad won a men’s World Cup parallel giant slalom night race for his first career victory.

Windingstad defeated Stefan Luitz of Germany by 0.41 seconds in the final of the event, which sees two competitors race sideby-side on identical, shortened giant slalom courses, with run times just over 20 seconds.

It was his sixth top-10 result, and second podium finish, since taking second in a regular giant slalom last season.

NHL

ROENICK SUSPENDED BY NBC SPORTS >> Former NHL forward Jeremy Roenick was suspended indefinitely by NBC Sports for his inappropriate comments about coworkers.

Roenick made a series of questionable remarks about fellow hockey broadcasters Kathryn Tappen, Patrick Sharp and Anson Carter during a recent appearance on the Spittin’ Chiclets podcast. An NBC Sports spokesman said the suspension is without pay and the network would have no further comment.

MAPLE LEAFS TAKE WILD ONE >> Maple Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe considered going away from his new-look line of Mitch Marner, Auston Matthews and Zach Hyman during some second-period struggles against the Hurricanes.

He decided to stick with it, though, and it turned out to be the right call.

The Marner-MatthewsHyman line came through in a wild third period as Toronto rallied for an 8-6 victory.

“We just felt that there’s potential there, that something could spark itself and get going,” Keefe said.

Marner scored two goals and added an assist over a 59-second burst midway through the third.