SPORTS HEADLINES

Oregon tops Week 2 College Football Playoff rankings and Georgia drops out of the bracket

Oregon stayed on top in the second batch of College Football Playoff rankings, while the new poll shoved Georgia completely out of the bracket after its lopsided loss to Mississippi. Led by the Ducks, then Ohio State, the Big Ten captured four of the top five spots. The string was interrupted only by Texas of the Southeastern Conference, which was slotted in at No. 3. Georgia’s loss to Ole Miss dropped the Bulldogs from third to all the way to 12th, but they would be the first team out because No. 13 Boise State of the Mountain West would receive an automatic bid and the 12th seed as the fifth-best conference champion.

Spoelstra laments ‘horrendous mistake’ after calling timeout Heat didn’t have in OT loss to Pistons

DETROIT (AP) — Erik Spoelstra is blaming himself for a “horrendous mistake” after calling a timeout the Miami Heat didn’t have with 1.1 seconds left in overtime. The resulting technical foul gave the Detroit Pistons the tiebreaking free throw. Malik Beasley made it and the Pistons went on to beat the Heat 123-121 on Tuesday night on the opening night of NBA Cup play. The Heat had a 121-119 lead after Tyler Herro’s basket with 1.8 seconds remaining. But after a timeout, the Pistons ran a well-executed inbounds play, with Cade Cunningham throwing a lob pass that Jalen Duren slammed down. Spoelstra quickly and angrily stormed onto the court and motioned for a timeout.

Bill Self brushes off becoming winningest coach in Kansas history, passing Phog Allen

ATLANTA (AP) — Bill Self brushed off becoming the winningest coach in Kansas basketball history, even as he surpassed the guy whose name is on the arena. The 61-year-old Self says it just means he’s old. Of course, he’s much more than that. Self claimed the top spot at one of college basketball’s most storied programs when No. 1 Kansas held off Michigan State 77-69 at the Champions Classic in Atlanta. Self improved to 591-143 in his 22nd season coaching the Jayhawks, pushing beyond Phog Allen’s mark of 590-219 in 39 seasons on the Kansas sideline. The Jayhawks, of course, play at Allen Fieldhouse — named in honor of the Hall of Fame coach whose brilliant career spanned most of first half of the 20th century.

Atlanta Dream hire longtime Florida Gulf Coast coach Karl Smesko to lead team

The Atlanta Dream have hired longtime Florida Gulf Coast coach Karl Smesko to lead the team. Smesko built Florida Gulf Coast into a perennial NCAA Tournament team and has the third highest winning percentage in women’s college basketball. The Eagles have been one of the top 3-point shooting teams in the country. They knocked down 300 or more 3-pointers in 15 straight seasons, including setting the NCAA record with 431 in 2018. Atlanta went 15-25 this year and qualified for the playoffs. The team has a strong young nucleus with Rhyne Howard and Allisha Gray leading the way along with veteran center Tina Charles.

Women’s baseball players could soon have a league of their own again

Seventy years since the last professional women’s baseball league, another one hopes to give women a chance to shine in baseball. The Women’s Professional Baseball League (WPBL) is set to launch in 2026, the first professional women’s baseball league since the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League dissolved in 1954. Heightened interest in women’s sports in recent years made this an ideal time to make it happen, and the hope is to establish a solid women’s baseball culture in the U.S. to create more playing opportunities for girls in the future.

Double-digit deficits are barely a speed bump for Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs

Falling behind by a double-digit deficit is typically a death knell for most NFL teams. For Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs, that’s the situation that makes them thrive. Mahomes and the Chiefs rallied from 14-3 down to beat the Denver Broncos 16-14 on Sunday. Kansas City improved to 19-14 with Mahomes at quarterback after falling behind by double digits in the regular season or playoffs for a staggering .576 win percentage in those typically dire situations, compared with the .139 mark in NFL history and the .160 mark since Mahomes entered the NFL in 2017.

Perfect season has done the unthinkable — turned Indiana into the toast of college football

The signs of success can be found all around Indiana’s campus these days. Three straight home football sellouts. Fans are spinning towels inside Memorial Stadium as voices reach a crescendo. Candy-striped basketball pants are being replaced by the more suddenly preferred candy-striped overalls. Even the start of basketball season at one of the sport’s true blueblood programs cannot diminish the excitement of college football’s biggest surprise and best story. Yes, the FBS program with the most all-time losses, 713, suddenly finds itself in the Top 5 and perhaps on the cusp of earning a playoff spot.

Oweh’s big plays give Mark Pope his first big win for No. 19 Kentucky, beating No. 6 Duke 77-72

ATLANTA (AP) — Otega Oweh knocked down four free throws in the final 10.3 seconds and No. 19 Kentucky claimed the first big win of Mark Pope’s coaching tenure, knocking off No. 6 Duke 77-72 at the Champions Classic in Atlanta. In the frenetic closing seconds, Duke tied the game at 72 on Cooper Flagg’s lay-in with 1:14 remaining but never got off another shot. Flagg ruined a 26-point night by turning it over twice in the final minute to hand the victory to the Wildcats, who improved to 3-0, Duke dropped to 2-1. Andrew Carr paced Kentucky with 17 points, while Oweh added 15.

NBA Cup: How to watch, betting odds and more about the league’s in-season tournament

The NBA Cup is back for a second season, starting Tuesday night and running through Dec. 17. It was called the In-Season Tournament last year when it debuted, after years and years of Commissioner Adam Silver wanting to add something extra to the regular season. All 30 teams take part and will play four group-stage games. From there, eight teams move to the quarterfinals and the winners of those games will head to Las Vegas for the semifinals on Dec. 14.

Jerry Jones says Cowboys QB Dak Prescott will have season-ending surgery on torn hamstring

FRISCO, Texas (AP) — Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott has decided on season-ending surgery for his torn hamstring. Owner Jerry Jones says Prescott will have the surgery Wednesday in New York. The decision comes with the playoff hopes already fading fast for a team that has reached the postseason the past three seasons. Prescott was injured in a 27-21 loss at Atlanta on Nov. 3. He was on the sideline a week later for the 34-6 loss at home to Philadelphia. The Cowboys have lost four consecutive games and are 0-4 at home. Cooper Rush struggled filling in for Prescott against the Eagles.