Wayne Byers Show – Morning – Dec. 13

NFL..

— Aaron Rodgers threw for 341 yards and four touchdowns as the Packers rallied for a 45-30 win against Chicago. The Packers scored the first 24 points of the second half to erase a 27-21 deficit. Rodgers is 23-5 all-time against the Bears after helping Green Bay take a four-game lead over Minnesota atop the NFC North.

— The Broncos honored the memory of Demaryius Thomas with tributes, decals and a 38-10 walloping of the Lions. Running backs Javonte Williams and Melvin Gordon each scored a pair of touchdowns and Dre’Mont Jones had a monster game that included two sacks of Jared Goff. The 7-6 Broncos then recorded just their second opening-drive touchdown in 29 games under embattled offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur.

— Jimmy Garoppolo (gah-RAH’-pah-loh) threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to Brandon Aiyuk in overtime to send the 49ers past the Bengals, 26-23. Evan McPherson hit a 41-yard field goal in the opening possession of overtime to give the 7-6 Bengals a brief lead, their first of the day. Joe Burrow found Ja’Marr Chase for two fourth-quarter touchdowns to claw back from a 20-6 deficit and tie the game with 1:19 left.

UNDATED (AP) — Tom Brady’s milestone pass bailed out the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday.

Brady’s 700th career TD throw gave the Buccaneers a 33-27 overtime win over the Bills. He threw for 363 yards and two touchdowns, and scored on a quarterback sneak set up by his NFL-record 7,143rd completion.

Tampa Bay won it on Breshad Perriman’s 58-yard catch-and-run with 5:31 left in OT.

The Bucs improved to 10-3 with their fourth straight win despite blowing a 21-point lead in the fourth quarter.

Josh Allen shrugged off a slow start to throw for 308 yards and two touchdowns, but the Bills fell to 7-6 with their fifth loss in eight games.

In other NFL action:

— Patrick Mahomes threw his first two touchdown passes in nearly a month and Clyde Edwards-Helaire added two more scores as the Chiefs picked up their seventh straight win, a 48-9 shellacking of the Raiders. Derek Gore’s 51-yard TD run with 7:19 left in the fourth quarter allowed the 9-4 Chiefs to eclipse the largest margin of victory in a series that began in 1960. The onslaught occurred after Raiders players stomped on the Chiefs logo at midfield before the game.

— The Titans intercepted four passes and posted their first home shutout in more than two decades, a 20-0 win over the Jaguars. Rashaan Evans, Jayon Brown, Kristian Fulton and Buster Skrine picked off passes from rookie Trevor Lawrence, who hadn’t thrown multiple interceptions in a game since his NFL debut. Ryan Tannehill ran for a touchdown and threw for 191 yards without a turnover for the 9-4 Titans.

— The Browns are very much in the AFC North race after a 24-22 win over the Ravens. Baker Mayfield threw for two touchdowns and Myles Garrett returned a fumble for his first NFL touchdown. Garrett also recorded his 15th sack to set a team record as the Browns pulled into a second-place tie with Cincinnati in the AFC North, one game behind the Ravens.

— The Cowboys are 9-4 after building a 24-0 lead in a 27-20 victory over Washington. Micah Parsons sacked Taylor Heinicke twice and forced a fumble that was returned for a touchdown. Kyle Allen replaced Heinicke and led a 73-yard scoring drive, but Washington’s comeback bid came to an end when Allen fumbled with 2:24 remaining.

— Justin Herbert threw for three touchdowns and the Chargers improved to 8-5 with a 37-21 pounding of the Giants. The second-year signal caller went 16 of 22 for 204 yards and a touchdown as the Chargers took a 24-7 lead into halftime. Los Angeles has its first winning streak since October.

— The Falcons were 29-21 winners against the Panthers as Matt Ryan threw for 190 yards and a touchdown. Mykal Walker returned an interception of Cam Newton 66 yards for a touchdown. Newton ran for a 12-yard touchdown but turned over the ball twice and was benched midway through the fourth quarter for P.J. Walker.

— Alvin Kamara ran for 120 yards and a touchdown in his return from a four-game injury absence, fueling the Saints’ 30-9 rout of the Jets. Taysom Hill ran for two scores and shook off a banged-up finger on his throwing hand to pass for 175 yards in New Orleans’ first win in six games. Hill finished 15 of 21 passing and ran for 73 yards on 11 carries for the 6-7 Saints.

— The Seahawks have their first winning streak of the season after Russell Wilson threw for 260 yards and two touchdowns in their 33-13 victory over the Texans. Seattle coach Pete Carroll earned his 150th regular-season win. Lockett had 142 yards receiving and joined Steve Largent as the only Seahawks with three straight seasons of at least 1,000 yards.

NBA..

— The Timberwolves’ five-game slide is over after Karl-Anthony Towns had 23 points and 10 rebounds in their 116-111 decision over the Trail Blazers. Anthony Edwards had 24 points for Minnesota, which also sent Portland to its fifth consecutive loss.

NEW YORK (AP) — The Milwaukee Bucks continued their hot stretch by disposing of the New York Knicks.

The Bucks had seven players score in double-figures during a 112-97 rout of the Knicks. Khris Middleton led Milwaukee with 24 points and Giannis Antetokounmpo (YAH’-nihs an-teh-toh-KOON’-poh) had his first triple-double of the season, finishing with 20 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds. Bobby Portis chipped in 19 points as the Bucks won for the 10th time in 12 games.

One bright spot for the Knicks was Quentin Grimes, who scored 27 points in his first NBA. Grimes set a team rookie record by hitting seven 3-pointers.

Derrick Rose and Kevin Knox scored 18 points apiece for New York, losers in seven of its last 10.

Checking out Sunday’s other NBA action:

— Kevin Durant poured in an NBA season-high 51 points to carry the Nets to a 116-104 win over the Pistons. Patty Mills added 18 points for the Nets, who outscored Detroit 30-13 in the fourth quarter to send the Pistons to their 12th consecutive loss.

— The Lakers won for the fifth time in seven games as LeBron James furnished a triple-double with 30 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists in a 106-94 victory against the Magic. James had 14 points while Los Angeles outscored Orlando, 36-10, holding the Magic to 2 of 23 shooting in the period.

— Jalen Brunson had 18 points and nine rebounds while starting in place of injured star Luka Doncic (DAHN’-chihch), leading the Mavericks to a 103-84 rout of the Thunder. Maxi Kleber scored 16 points off the Mavericks’ bench and fellow reserve Moses Brown added 15 against his former team.

— Jakob Poeltl (PUL’-tul) had 24 points and 12 rebounds for the Spurs in a win over the Thunder, 112-97. Derrick White added 24 points and Dejaunte (deh-ZHAHN’-tay) Murray had a triple-double with 10 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists in the victory.

NBA-NEWS

Durant fined after swearing at Hawks fan

UNDATED (AP) — Brooklyn Nets forward Kevin Durant has been fined $25,000 by the NBA for directing obscene language toward a fan during a game in Atlanta.

The fine stems from an incident Friday night when a fan heckled Durant in the second quarter of the Nets’ 113-105 victory over Hawks. In video taken courtside that was posted on social media, an off-camera fan can be heard yelling, “Durant, stop crying!” before Durant responds using multiple expletives.

Elsewhere in the NBA:

— Bulls star Zach LaVine (lah-veen’) and backup forward Troy Brown Jr. have entered the NBA’s health and safety protocols. That gives Chicago nine players on the list and nine available players, one more than needed to play. The Bulls next play Tuesday against the Pistons.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL..

UNDATED (AP) — Baylor has put itself in position to be the No. 1 team when The Associated Press men’s basketball poll comes out on Monday.

James Akinjo had 16 points with seven rebounds as the second-ranked Bears stifled No. 6 Villanova, 57-36. Adam Flagler had 10 points as Baylor earned its 15th straight win dating to last season

The Bears never trailed in their first nonconference home game ever against a top-six opponent. Villanova shot only 22% and had several extended scoring droughts while being held to its fewest points in 689 games under coach Jay Wright, who is in his 21st season.

The current No. 1 team also won as Trevion Williams had a season-high 22 points to go with 12 rebounds and a career-best nine assists in Purdue’s 82-72 overtime win against North Carolina State. Jaden Ivey added 22 points for the Boilermakers, three days after they absorbed a loss at Rutgers.

— Donta Scott scored on a leaning shot in the post with 16.8 seconds left to give Maryland a 70-68 win over No. 20 Florida. Eric Ayala and Fatts Russell each scored 19 points for the 6-4 Terrapins, who shot 49% and hit 8 of 13 3-pointers to snap a three-game skid.

— Bryce Aiken scored 22 points and Jared Rhoden had 16 points and nine rebounds to lead No. 23 Seton Hall past Rutgers, 77-63. Kadary Richmond added 12 points for the 9-1 Pirates.

Elsewhere in college basketball:

— Southern Cal was a 73-62 winner over Long Beach State as Isaiah Mobley had 21 points and 12 rebounds for the Trojans. Drew Peterson added 15 points in helping USC improve to 10-0 for the first time since the 2016-17 season.

— T.J. Otzelberger became the first Iowa State coach to win his first 10 games with the team, guiding the 17th-ranked Cyclones past Jackson State 47-37. Aljaz Kunc led the Cyclones with 12 points and Gabe Kalscheur added 11.

NHL…

— Mark Stone’s power-play goal broke a third-period tie before the Golden Knights completed a 6-4 win over the Wild. Vegas’ top line of Stone, Max Pacorietty (pash-uh-REH’-tee) and Chandler Stephenson combined for two goals and 10 points as the Knights won for the ninth time in 12 home games.

UNDATED (AP) — The Nashville Predators have completed a three-game sweep of their trek through the New York metropolitan area.

Saros made 32 saves for his second shutout of the season to guide the Predators to their fifth straight win, 1-0 over the Rangers. Rookie forward Philip Tomasino scored early in the second period for Nashville, which beat the Devils, Islanders and Blueshirts in a four-day stretch.

Alexandar Georgiev (GUR’-gee-ehv) had 23 saves for the Rangers, who lost for the second time in three games and just the third in the last 15.

Elsewhere on NHL ice:

— Andre Burakovsky (bur-ah-KAHV’-skee) notched his first career hat trick in leading the Avalanche to their fourth win in a row, 3-2 over the Panthers. Burakovsky got his three goals in a span of 12:05 from late in the second into the third.

— Thatcher Demko stopped 29 shots and the Canucks improved to 4-0 under new coach Bruce Boudreau by topping the Hurricanes, 2-1. Brock Boeser (BEH’-sur) and Elias Pettersson scored to put the Canucks ahead, 2-0.

— Troy Terry scored his second goal of the game on a penalty shot in overtime to give the Ducks a 3-2 win at St. Louis. Buddy Robinson also scored as Anaheim ended the Blues’ seven-game home winning streak.

ABU DHABI GRAND PRIX

Verstappen wins 1st F1 title with last lap pass of Hamilton

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Max Verstappen has won his first Formula One championship by passing Lewis Hamilton on the final lap of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Hamilton had the race well under control until a crash with five laps remaining changed the entire race. F1 set it up to allow one final lap of racing and Verstappen sailed past Hamilton in turn five then closed out his first world title.

Verstappen is the first ever Dutch champion. He won 10 races this year, matching the total he’d won in his entire career. The 24-year-old gave Red Bull its first title since 2013.

In world and national news…

Update…

MAYFIELD, Ky. (AP) — Dozens of people in five states have been killed by tornadoes that leveled entire communities on Friday night, but the toll at a Kentucky candle factory is not as devastating as initially feared. Officials initially said only 40 of 110 workers at Mayfield Consumer Products had been rescued. But spokesman Bob Ferguson now says eight people are confirmed dead, eight are missing and more than 90 people have been located. Authorities are still trying to determine the total number of dead amid confusion over how many were able to escape the factory and the difficulties of searching other hard-hit areas. Kentucky’s governor expects the statewide toll to reach at least 50, and at least 14 people are dead in four other states: Illinois, Tennessee, Arkansas and Missouri.

BEIJING (AP) — Global stock markets are mostly higher ahead of a Federal Reserve meeting this week that is expected to accelerate plans to wind down U.S. economic stimulus after November inflation hit a 39-year high. London, Shanghai and Tokyo advanced while Frankfurt opened lower. Oil prices rose by more than $1 per barrel. Fed officials said earlier they were ready to try to cool inflation by winding down bond purchases and other stimulus that is boosting stock markets. Chinese stocks rose after leaders promised tax cuts and other support to entrepreneurs to shore up economic growth.

(AP)  Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo is announcing 60 finalists for $1 billion in economic development grants tied to the Biden administration’s coronavirus relief package. The grants are aimed at improving job training and regional industry partnerships. There were 529 applicants for the grants. The government ultimately will choose 20 to 30 regional coalitions for up to $100 million in grants that could shape manufacturing, clean energy and life sciences hubs around the country. Twelve of the finalists announced Monday are from places tied to the coal industry. The finalists are often coalitions made up of government, academic and economic partnerships.