Ravens’ Peters fined for spitting

Ravens cornerback Marcus Peters can deny it all he wants, but the NFL thought he spit at Browns wide receiver Jarvis Landry.

The league fined Peters $12, 500 on Dec. 19 for his actions, which were followed by a back-and-forth verbal battle between the players this week.

Peters was fined for unsportsmanlike conduct despite not being penalized during Baltimore’s 47-42 win over Cleveland.

TV footage caught Peters spitting in Landry’s direction at the end of the first quarter. Landry had his back turned and didn’t know what Peters had done until after the game.

BILLS WIN AFC EAST » The Bills captured their first AFC East title in a quartercentury when 24-year-old QB Josh Allen threw for two touchdowns and ran for two more in a 48-19 rout of the Broncos. The Bills (11-3) scored twice in a 17-second span in the third quarter to ice their fourth straight victory that officially ended the Patriots’ 11-year reign atop the division.

College football

ROSE BOWL ON THE MOVE » The Rose Bowl was denied a special exemption from the state of California to allow a few hundred fans to attend the College Football Playoff semifinal Jan. 1. A person involved with organizing the game said the request was denied earlier this week. As a result, the game is moving to AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

Golf

WOODS TEAMS UP WITH SON » Charlie Woods, the 11-year-old son of 15-time major champion Tiger Woods, made his national TV debut in the PNC Championship. They finished the scramble format at 10-under 62, four shots behind Matt Kuchar and son Cameron.

MLB

PAYROLLS DROP » Payrolls plunged to $1.75 billion during the pandemic-shortened season from $4.22 billion, and the World Series champion Dodgers led with $98.6 million — the smallest for the top spender in 20 years. Base wages for 40-man rosters tumbled to $1.54 billion, according to information sent from MLB to teams on Dec. 18 and obtained by The Associated Press. That was down from $3.99 billion in 2019.

College basketball

VIKINGS EARN FIRST WIN » Tre Gomillion posted 16 points as Cleveland State narrowly defeated Purdue Fort Wayne, 63-61. Deante Johnson added 13 points and seven rebounds for the Vikings, and Torrey Patton chipped in 13 points. Patton had seven turnovers but only two assists. D’Moi Hodge had five steals for Cleveland State (1-3, 1-0 Horizon League).