North Dakota State caps 16-win season with eighth FCS title
Now this was a perfect ending for North Dakota State, with its redshirt freshman quarterback and the senior safety in his final game after first wanting to be a Bison quarterback.
Trey Lance ran for 166 yards, with a clutch 44yard touchdown in the fourth quarter, and James Hendricks had a gameclinching interception after an earlier TD run on a fake field goal as the Bison beat James Madison 2820 on Saturday in Frisco, Texas, for their eighth FCS national championship, and the first 16-win season in any division since Yale in 1894.
“To go out on top as a senior is an incredible feeling,” said Hendricks, who was a third-string quarterback before moving to defense a sophomore in 2017. “That’s what I’ll remember. ... I just feel so fortunate.
The Bison (16-0) stretched their Fcs-record winning streak to 37 in a row while winning their record eighth championship in the division — all in the past nine seasons. They also won five NCAA Division II titles from 1983-90.
After stopping Lance short on a fourth-and-2 at its 36 with 2:51 left, James Madison (14-2) drove to the 3 before Hendricks picked off the pass by Ben Dinucci at the goal line.
GEORGIA ADDS QB >> With Jake Fromm heading to the NFL, quarterback Jamie Newman announced he will transfer to Georgia from Wake Forest for his final college season.
Newman is coming off his first full year as the Demon Deacons’ starter. He completed 60.9% of his passes for 2,868 yards, with 26 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. He also rushed for 574 yards and six TDS.
Newman gives Georgia a quarterback with significant college experience. Former walk-on Stetson Bennett, who was Fromm’s backup in 2019, played just four games in a mop-up role.
Baseball
BUMGARNERS’ FORMER HOUSEKEEPER PLEADS GUILTY >> A former housekeeper for former Giants ace Madison Bumgarner pleaded guilty in a North Carolina courtroom to stealing a $45,000 pair of diamond earrings from his and his wife’s home.
Amanda Ashton Mundy pleaded guilty in Caldwell County Superior Court to the felony charge of obtaining property by false pretense this week, court records show. The 29-yearold Lenoir woman was sentenced to 100 hours of community service and 30 months of probation, according to court documents.
Bumgarner, who signed as a free agent with the Arizona Diamondbacks this winter, and his wife, Alexandra, reported the theft of the two heart-shaped diamond earrings in February 2018, the Hickory Daily Record reported. Mundy was arrested after she sold one of the earrings to a jeweler in neighboring Granite Falls in January 2019, according to the newspaper. YANKEES RE-SIGN GARDNER >> The New York Yankees officially re-signed veteran outfielder Brett Gardner to a one-year deal for the 2020 season with a team option for 2021.
The Yankees did not announce the contract value, but NBC New York reported on Saturday that it is worth $12.5 million.
Gardner, 36, batted .251 and set career highs in home runs (28) and RBIS (74) in 141 games in 2019, his 12th season in the Bronx. He also scored 86 runs, joining Mike Trout of the Los Angeles Angels as the only two players to accomplish that in each of the past seven seasons. The left-handed hitter has played in 1,499 career games, batting .260 with 124 homers, 524 RBIS and 267 steals. His next appearance will make him the 18th player to play in 1,500 games for the Yankees.
Tennis
ANDREESCU TO SKIP AUSSIE OPEN >> Australian Open organizers said Saturday that U.S. Open champion Bianca Andreescu, Juan Martin del Potro and Richard Gasquet have withdrawn due to knee injuries.
The Australian Open, the first Grand Slam of the season, starts Jan. 20 in Melbourne. Tournament officials said on Twitter that Gasquet had withdrawn with a knee injury while del Potro was also recovering from a knee ailment.
The 19-year-old Andreescu, Canada’s first winner of a Grand Slam singles tournament, hasn’t played since suffering the injury at the WTA Finals in October in China. A shoulder injury last March kept her out of all but one match from April through July. She retired after one match at last year’s French Open, didn’t play at Wimbledon in 2019, before going on to win the U.S. Open.
Soccer
SURGERY FOR BARCELONA’S SUÁREZ >> Barcelona says Uruguay striker Luis Suárez will have surgery on Sunday for a right knee injury.
The Spanish club made the announcement on Saturday - two days after Suárez played the complete 90 minutes in a 3-2 loss to Atlético Madrid in the semifinals of the Spanish Super Cup being held in Saudi Arabia.
The 32-year-old Suárez is the club’s fourth all-time leading scorer with 191 goals in 270 matches. He has helped Barcelona win one Champions League, four Spanish league and four Copa del Rey titles.
Barcelona did not say how long it expects to be without its second-leading scorer this season after Lionel Messi. Suarez has 14 goals so far.
MIURA ON BOARD FOR 35TH J-LEAGUE SEASON >> One of the longest careers in soccer has been extended after 52-year-old striker Kazuyoshi Miura signed a contract with J-league club Yokohama FC on Saturday.
Miura, who will turn 53 on Feb. 26, will enter his 35th season this year. Miura played in just three matches last year and did not score any goals but extended his record as the oldest player in the Jleague.
Miura joined Yokohama FC in 2005 and in March of 2017 became the oldest player to appear in a professional match at the age of 50 years and seven days, catching global media attention by surpassing England legend Stanley Matthews’ longevity record.
Nicknamed “King Kazu,” Miura played for Brazilian club Santos and in Italy with Genoa earlier in his career, and represented Japan’s national team 89 times, scoring 55 goals.
Skiing
SUTER FINALLY BREAKS THROUGH >> Corinne Suter’s consistent year in downhill racing finally earned her a first World Cup win on Saturday. Suter defied poor visibility in a race twice delayed to finish 0.29 seconds ahead of Nicol Delago. Suter’s Swiss teammate, Michelle Gisin, was third, 0.98 back. Mikaela Shiffrin, the overall World Cup standings leader, skipped the race.