Wayne Byers Show – Morning – Dec. 20

NFL

UNDATED (AP) — The Packers became the first team this season to clinch a division title, wrapping up the NFC North with a 31-30 win over Baltimore after the Ravens missed another big 2-point conversion in the final minute.

With Lamar Jackson out with a sprained ankle, Tyler Huntley nearly led Baltimore all the way back from a 31-17 deficit. His 8-yard touchdown run with 42 seconds left pulled the Ravens within one, but Huntley’s 2-point conversion pass was incomplete.

It was the third consecutive loss for Baltimore, which also lost to Pittsburgh two weekends ago on a missed 2-point conversion in the final seconds.

Aaron Rodgers threw three touchdown passes — tying Brett Favre on Green Bay’s career list with 442.

— The Cincinnati Bengals beat the Denver Broncos 15-10 Sunday in a showdown of teams fighting to stay in the logjammed AFC playoff chase. The Bengals didn’t get their usual offensive production, but the defense stepped up big and thwarted Denver’s great ground game. The Broncos lost starting quarterback Teddy Bridgewater to a head injury and he was carted off the field and hospitalized.

— New Orleans’ defense gave Tom Brady fits again, shutting down Tampa Bay’s high-powered offense as the Saints put the Buccaneers’ division title celebration plans on hold with a 9-0 victory. Despite playing without coach Sean Payton on the sideline, the Saints beat the Bucs for the seventh straight time during the regular season — fourth since Brady left New England for Tampa Bay in 2020. The victory gave New Orleans a sweep of the season series between the NFC South rivals and boosted the Saints into playoff position with three games remaining.

— Kyler Murray had a shaky performance and that helped the Detroit Lions stun the Arizona Cardinals 30-12. The Cardinals started the day tied for the NFL’s best record, but blew its chance to return to the playoffs for the first time since 2015. The Lions were mired at the bottom of the league standings before the first snap but improve to 2-11-1.

— Ben Roethlisberger ran for his first touchdown in three years and Chris Boswell kicked four field goals as the Pittsburgh Steelers kept their playoff hopes alive with a 19-13 win over Tennessee. The Steelers forced the Titans into four turnovers and needed every single one of them. Tennessee drove deep into Pittsburgh territory in the final moments but cornerback Joe Haden stuffed Titans receiver Nick Westbrook-Ikhine short of a first down at the Pittsburgh 10 in the final seconds.

— The NFL-East leading Dallas Cowboys inched closer to their first playoff berth since 2018, riding their defense to a 21-6 win over the error-plagued New York Giants. Defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence forced a fumble and made two other big plays that led to touchdowns. The defense forced four turnovers in all, including Trevon Diggs’ NFL-leading 10th interception.

— The Buffalo Bills beat the offensively challenged Carolina Panthers 31-14. Josh Allen threw three touchdown passes, but mostly stayed in the pocket because of a sprained left foot. Running back Devin Singletary kept Buffalo moving on the ground, running for a season-high 86 yards and a 16-yard TD run to open the scoring.

— The Miami Dolphins have pushed their winning streak to six games and the Jets are finishing last in the AFC East again. DeVante Parker caught an 11-yard pass from Tua Tagovailoa (tag-oh-vay-LOH’-ah) for the go-ahead score with 3:37 left as the Dolphins rallied to beat the Jets 31-24.

— Tremon Smith returned a kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown, and the Houston Texans beat woeful Jacksonville 30-16. Smith somehow escaped five defenders near the 30-yard line before coasting the rest of the way. It was Houston’s first kickoff return for a score since Oct. 4, 2009.

NFL-INJURIES

Broncos QB Bridgewater in hospital with head injury

UNDATED (AP) — Broncos quarterback Teddy Bridgewater was taken to a hospital for a head injury after he was carted off the field in the third quarter of Denver’s 15-10 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals.

Bridgewater was hurt in a scary collision that also sent Bengals linebacker Joe Bachie from the game with a leg injury. Bridgewater had movement in his extremities, and coach Vic Fangio said he’d be held overnight for observation but was expected to be OK.

Elsewhere:

New York Jets safety Elijah Riley was taken off the field on a backboard after being injured during the third quarter of a 31-24 loss to the Miami Dolphins. Riley injured his neck in a collision with teammate Kyle Phillips. He appeared to raise his right arm skyward as players from both the Jets and Dolphins went to his side to offer a kind word.

Defending champion Tampa Bay lost several key players to injuries in a 9-0 loss to New Orleans. The list included wide receivers Chris Godwin and Mike Evans, running back Leonard Fournette and linebacker Lavonte David.

Jacksonville Jaguars safety Rayshawn Jenkins broke his right ankle trying to make a tackle on Tremon Smith’s 98-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in a 30-16 loss to the Tennessee Titans. Jenkins was placed in an air cast and carted off the field in the first quarter. His season is likely done.

New York Giants wide receiver Sterling Shepard is done for the season after tearing his left Achilles tendon late in a 21-6 loss to the Dallas Cowboys.

NBA….

— The Minnesota Timberwolves beat the Dallas Mavericks 111-105 in another matchup between short-handed teams dealing with recent COVID-19 issues. Karl-Anthony Towns scored 24 points, D’Angelo Russell added 22 for Minnesota, who now have three players in the NBA health and safety protocols. Dallas, already without star guard Luka Doncic, placed two players in the protocols the past two days.

UNDATED (AP) — The NBA-leading Suns set a season-scoring high in a 137-106 victory over the Charlotte Hornets.

The Suns improved to 24-5 and had nine players score in double figures. Javale McGee had 19 points in 16 minutes off the bench.

After missing seven games because of a hamstring injury, Devin Booker returned to Phoenix’s lineup, scoring 16 points in 26 minutes of playing time.

Phoenix was 20 of 41 on 3-pointers and shot 56.8% overall.

Elsewhere in the NBA:

— DeMar DeRozan scored 38 points after missing two weeks in the NBA’s health and safety protocols to lead the Chicago Bulls to a 115-110 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers. It was Chicago’s first game since Dec. 11 after having two postponed last week because of a COVID-19 outbreak that put 10 players in the health and safety protocols.

— The Detroit Pistons managed to snap their franchise record-tying, 14-game losing streak with a 100-90 victory over the Miami Heat. Saddiq Bey scored 26 points while Hamidou Diallo had 15 points and seven rebounds for Detroit, which recorded its first victory since Nov. 17.

— The Portland Trail Blazers beat Memphis 105-100, snapping the Grizzlies’ five-game winning streak. Dillon Brooks scored a career-high 37 points for Memphis, but it wasn’t enough as Damian Lillard scored 32 points and Norman Powell added 28 for Portland.

— Buddy Hield scored 18 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter and made seven 3-pointers to help the Sacramento Kings beat the San Antonio Spurs 121-114. Tyrese Haliburton added 27 points and matched his career high with 11 assists.

NHL..

UNDATED (AP) — Shea Theodore scored twice and added another in the shootout as the Vegas Golden Knights beat New York 4-3 for their fifth straight victory.

Theodore scored his second goal of the game in the final minute, after Vegas pulled goaltender Robin Lehner for an extra skater. His tying goal came after Jean-Gabriel Pageau (pa-ZHOH’) put the Islanders ahead 3-2 with 2:20 left in the third.

Nicholas Roy also scored for Vegas in the shootout, while Lehner made 29 saves for the Golden Knights, including both Islanders attempts in the shootout.

— The Winnipeg Jets beat the St. Louis Blues 4-2, giving interim head coach Dave Lowry his first victory. Linemates Nikolaj Ehlers, Mark Scheifele (SHY’-fleez) and Paul Stastny (STAS’-nee) accounted for all four goals.

— The Pittsburgh Penguins ran their win streak to seven, with a 3-2 win over the Devils. Danton Heinen, Teddy Blueger and Mike Matheson scored the goals, while Tristan Jarry had to make just 17 saves to secure Pittsburgh’s win.

— Adrian Kempe scored the tiebreaking goal midway through the third period to give the Los Angeles Kings a 3-2 win over the undermanned Washington Capitals. Washington was missing forwards Nicklas Backstrom, Evgeny Kuznetsov, T.J. Oshie and Michael Sgarbossa, all on the COVID-19 list.

T25 MEN’S BASKETBALL

— Andrew Jones scored 13 points and No. 17 Texas beat Stanford 60-53 in the Pac 12 Coast-to-Coast Challenge. The Longhorns used a 13-0 second-half run to seize control and pull away for their seventh victory in eight games

UNDATED (AP) — No. 11 Iowa State pulled away from Southeastern Louisiana for a 77-54 victory to remain unbeaten.

Caleb Grill and Izaiah Brockington combined for 37 points.

Southeastern shot just 37% for the game, including eight of 29 from 3-point range.

GOLF-PNC CHAMPIONSHIP

Tiger & son’s 11 straight birdies fall short of Daly duo

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — John Daly and his college son won the PNC Championship. But Tiger Woods and his 12-year-old son made them work for it.

Woods and son Charlie set a tournament record with 11 straight birdies and were tied for the lead on the back nine. But they couldn’t birdie the par-5 closing hole.

John Daly II is a freshman at Arkansas. He joined his father in making a key birdie at the 16th to regain the lead.

In world and nationals news…

Updates on last week tornado recovery

MAYFIELD, Ky. (AP) — Eight people are confirmed dead at a Kentucky candle factory that was hit by a tornado and another eight remain missing, but dozens more have been accounted for, a company spokesman said Sunday, raising hope that the toll from a Midwest twister outbreak won’t be as high as first feared. While officials initially said 40 of 110 workers at Mayfield Consumer Products had been rescued, spokesman Bob Ferguson said more than 90 people had now been located. While eight remained missing, there was hope they might be OK. He said many of the employees were gathered in the tornado shelter and after the storm was over they left the plant and went home.

MAYFIELD, Ky. (AP) — The Mayfield Consumer Products factory was the third-biggest employer in this corner of western Kentucky, an important economic engine that churned out candles that lined the shelves of malls around the U.S. But why its Friday night-shift workers kept making candles as a ferocious tornado bore down on the region remains unknown as rescuers continue scouring the wreckage of the plant for signs of life. Kentucky’s governor said Sunday the ferocity of the storm was so great that there was nowhere safe to hide inside the plant.

MAYFIELD, Ky. (AP) — Autumn Kirks and her boyfriend, Lannis Ward, were both working the night shift at a candle factory in Mayfield, Kentucky, when a massive tornado struck. Now her boyfriend is missing — and all she can do is wait. On Sunday, Kirks stood outside His House Ministries in Mayfield, where people have been told to go to wait for word about the missing. In the aftermath of the tornado that roared through the western Kentucky darkness early Saturday morning, the chances for good news seem to diminish by the hour. Dozens of people across five states were killed, and the death toll is expected to go higher.

(AP)  A photo from a tornado-damaged home in Kentucky landed almost 130 miles away in Indiana. Katie Posten lives in New Albany, Indiana. She found the photo Saturday morning stuck to her car’s windshield. The black and white photo shows a woman holding a little boy in her lap. On the back, written in cursive, it says, “Gertie Swatzell & J.D. Swatzell 1942.” Posten posted an image of the photo on social media and eventually was contacted by a man who says the photo belongs to his relatives in Dawson Springs, Kentucky. That area was hit hard Friday night by tornadoes that roared through the middle of the U.S.

CHICAGO (AP) — Search efforts at an Amazon facility in Illinois where at least six people were killed in a tornado are expected to take several days. But authorities don’t expect to find more survivors and the local coroner says there are no pending reports of missing people related to the building collapse. The company has not said how many people were in the building not far from St. Louis when the tornado hit at 8:35 p.m. Friday. Both sides of the warehouse used to prepare orders for delivery collapsed inward and the roof caved. Edwardsville Fire Chief James Whiteford says police helped pull people from the rubble.

CALIFORNIA STORM

The Western U.S. is bracing for the brunt of a major winter storm expected to hit Monday, bringing travel headaches, the threat of localized flooding and some relief in an abnormally warm fall. Lighter rain and snow fell in Northern California on Sunday, giving residents a taste of what’s to come. Feet of snow are expected on the highest peaks while rain will drench other parts of California. The storm will push south and east before moving out midweek. Another storm will quickly follow on its heels. Forecasters warned people in the Sierra Nevada to prepare for days of snowfall.

LONDON (AP) — Prime Minister Boris Johnson says that Britain faces a “tidal wave” of infections from the omicron coronavirus variant and he has announced a huge increase in booster vaccinations to strengthen defenses against it. Johnson said in a televised statement Sunday that everyone age 18 and older will be offered a third shot of vaccine by the end of this month. The previous target was the end of January. He said cases of the highly transmissible variant are doubling every two to three days and “there is a tidal wave of omicron coming.” Johnson announced a “national mission” to deliver booster vaccines at with pop-up vaccination centers and 7-day-a-week clinics.