National Digest

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Gators win MIAMI (AP) — Tim Tebow gave Florida the jolt it needed, and the Gators toughed out a second BCS title in three years. Their 24-14 win over No. 2 Oklahoma in a choppy, sloppy affair Thursday night made them a national champion. But it might have done little to quiet fans of Southern California, Utah and Texas, all of whom already claimed the top spot. The high-scoring shootout between Heisman Trophy winners never materialized. Oklahoma’s Sam Bradford couldn’t score from in close and Tebow threw two interceptions, as many as he had all season. Tebow, however, shook off two miserable throws to rescue the top-ranked Gators (13-1). He drove them to the clinching score — a jump pass for a 4-yard touchdown to David Nelson with 3:07 to play that made it 24-14. Tebow was picked the game’s most outstanding player, running for 109 yards. Utes No. 2 MIAMI (AP) — Florida is No. 1 in the AP Top 25. Utah is perfect at No. 2, though not perfectly happy. Texas and Southern California also claimed to be the best — but media voters didn’t think so. The Gators received 48 first-place votes and 1,606 points in the poll released early today, after they beat Oklahoma 24-14 in the BCS national title game. Utah, the only team in major college football to go undefeated this season, got 16 first-place votes and 1,519 points. Florida won its third AP national championship and second in the last three seasons. Steve Spurrier and Heisman Trophy winner Danny Wuerffel led the Gators to the 1996 title. No. 3 USC received one first-place vote. Texas was No. 4 and will have to settle for finishing ahead of fifth-ranked Oklahoma. Iowa is ranked No. 20 on the final poll and Nebraska ends up unranked. Hawks lose IOWA CITY (AP) — Lawrence Westbrook and Travis Busch each scored 10 points and No. 22 Minnesota rallied from a 13-point deficit then hung on to beat host Iowa 52-49 on Thursday night. The Golden Gophers (14-1, 2-1 Big Ten) shot just 33.9 percent from the field and nearly let the game slip away in the closing seconds. Minnesota led 50-44 with 24.5 seconds left. Jake Kelly of Iowa (11-5, 1-2) scored and Al Nolen of Minnesota missed two free throws. Jeff Peterson buried an open 3 from the corner with 5.3 seconds left to make it a one-point game, but Westbrook hit two free throws. Kelly’s shot from just inside halfcourt bounced off the rim. Minnesota, which trailed 23-10, held Iowa to 23 points in the second half. Peterson had 16 points for Iowa, which played most of the game without forward Cyrus Tate, who sprained an ankle in the first half. BASEBALL ATLANTA (AP) — In a stunning end to one of baseball’s longest runs, John Smoltz reached a preliminary agreement on a $5.5 million, one-year contract with the Boston Red Sox after failing to work out a deal to return for his 22nd season with the Atlanta Braves. A person familiar with the negotiations, speaking on condition of anonymity because the Red Sox had yet to make an official announcement, said Smoltz can earn an additional $5 million in bonuses, some based on days on the active roster. The deal is a subject to a physical, which is scheduled for Monday. Smoltz, the only pitcher in baseball history with 200 wins and 150 saves, had pitched for the Braves since 1988. The 41-year-old is 210-147 with 154 saves and a 3.26 ERA, is the winningest pitcher in postseason history at 15-4 and won the NL Cy Young award in 1996. In addition, he became just the 16th pitcher to reach 3,000 strikeouts last April in one of his final appearances with the Braves. MILWAUKEE (AP) — The Brewers have landed career saves leader Trevor Hoffman. Hoffman’s agent, Rick Thurman, credited Milwaukee for being “diligent and aggressive” in its pursuit of Hoffman after Brewers players called to recruit him. Hoffman agreed to a one-year contract worth $6 million, a deal that hadn’t yet been announced. He can make an additional $1.5 million in performance bonuses, based on games finished. The 41-year-old right-hander had pitched for the San Diego Padres since 1993, becoming the face of the franchise after Tony Gwynn retired. Hoffman converted 30 of 34 chances last season, increasing his saves record to 554. PRO FOOTBALL BEREA, Ohio (AP) — Eric Mangini, who began his NFL career as a ballboy for the Browns, was introduced as Cleveland’s 12th full-time coach, less than two weeks after he was fired by the New York Jets. The 37-year-old signed a four-year deal and will try to rebuild the Browns following a 4-12 season that ended with the firings of coach Romeo Crennel and general manager Phil Savage. Mangini began shagging balls with the Browns in 1994 under then-coach Bill Belichick, who liked the kid’s work ethic and quickly promoted him to a public relations assistant before adding him to the scouting department. Now Mangini’s taking over the job from Crennel, one of his best friends in the game who may be on his staff in Cleveland. COLLEGE FOOTBALL COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ohio State tailback Chris “Beanie” Wells is giving up his final year of eligibility to enter the NFL draft. Wells, one of seven Ohio State juniors who were considering making the early jump, issued a statement saying the move is in the best interest of his family. Wells fought nagging injuries much of his career at Ohio State. He was considered a Heisman Trophy candidate before missing three full games this past season with a right foot injury, but still managed to run for 1,197 yards. He saw limited action in the second half of Monday’s Fiesta Bowl due to symptoms of a concussion, finishing with 106 yards on 16 carries in the Buckeyes’ 24-21 loss to Texas. In three seasons at Ohio State, Wells ran for 3,382 yards, fourth best in school history. He’s projected to be one of the first running backs selected in the draft. FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — With the Utah attorney general investigating the Bowl Championship Series for a possible antitrust violation, Atlantic Coast Conference commissioner and BCS coordinator John Swofford said the BCS has carefully considered the legality of its format. Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff announced his investigation Tuesday. Utah (13-0) was the only unbeaten school in major college football yet was left out of the BCS title game between Florida and Oklahoma, each entering with one loss. Florida won 24-14. Swofford reiterated that the majority of university presidents and athletic directors oppose an expansive NFL-style playoff for major college football. AUTO RACING CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Richard Petty’s famed No. 43 Dodge was rescued from near ruin when Gillett Evernham Motorsports agreed to merge with Petty’s slumping organization to create a new team. GEM had been in exclusive negotiations with Petty Enterprises to combine the two teams into one four-car organization, and an agreement in principle was announced. The deal is not expected to be closed until the end of the month. The team will be co-owned by Petty, Petty Holdings — which is owned by majority shareholder Boston Ventures — and Gillett Evernham Motorsports. Ray Evernham, who formed his team in 1999 but sold majority interest to businessman George Gillett Jr. in 2007, will be a minority owner in the venture. The name of the new team was not released, but it’s believed the parties are leaning toward re-branding the organization Richard Petty Motorsports to capitalize on the seven-time NASCAR champion’s name.