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Taking advantage of an obscure rule, Chargers’ Dicker makes NFL’s first fair-catch kick in 48 years

INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Cameron Dicker of the Los Angeles Chargers made the first successful fair-catch kick in the NFL since 1976 on Thursday night. He connected from 57 yards right before halftime against the Denver Broncos. Dicker and the Chargers took advantage of a seldom-used football play called the fair-catch kick, which allows a team that has just made a fair catch to try a free kick for three points. Only five NFL teams had previously tried the kick in the 21st century, and nobody had successfully executed it since Ray Wersching did it for the San Diego Chargers 48 years ago.

Justin Herbert passes for 2 touchdowns, Chargers score on free kick and rally past Broncos 34-27

INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Justin Herbert passed for 284 yards and two touchdowns, including a go-ahead 19-yarder to Derius Davis early in the fourth quarter, and the Los Angeles Chargers got closer to wrapping up a playoff spot by rallying past the Denver Broncos 34-27 on Thursday night. The Chargers’ comeback also included Cameron Dicker making the first successful fair-catch kick in the NFL in 48 years. He was good from 57 yards on the final play of the first half to pull the Chargers within 21-13. Los Angeles needs losses by Indianapolis and Miami on Sunday to make the playoffs. Denver failed to clinch a playoff berth and had its four-game winning streak snapped.

Sammy Sosa appears to acknowledge PED use, apologizes; Cubs welcome him back into fold

CHICAGO (AP) — Sammy Sosa appeared to acknowledge using performance enhancing drugs during a career in which he hit more than 600 home runs, and the Chicago Cubs said they were ready to welcome him back. Sosa says in a statement “there were times I did whatever I could to recover from injuries in an effort to keep my strength up to perform over 162 games.” He adds: “I never broke any laws. But in hindsight, I made mistakes and I apologize.” Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts said the team plans to invite Sosa to the annual fan convention Jan. 17-19 in Chicago.

12-team college football playoff arrives after 100 years, a few billion dollars and many detours

It took more than 100 years, a few billion dollars and the cold, hard realization that you can’t fight progress forever. And now, finally, college football has what the rest of sports have: a legitimate postseason tournament. The first-of-its-kind 12-team College Football Playoff kicks off Friday and Saturday with four first-round games on campuses steeped in gridiron tradition: Texas, Penn State, Notre Dame and Ohio State. Winners advance to play over the New Year’s holiday, and the tournament concludes Jan. 20 with the national title game.

Lindsey Vonn’s coach suggests she’ll be competitive in her return to World Cup skiing at age 40

ST. MORITZ, Switzerland (AP) — How fast can she go? And how competitive will she be? Those are the big questions surrounding Lindsey Vonn’s comeback to World Cup ski racing this weekend at age 40 after nearly six years of retirement and with a titanium knee. Vonn’s personal coach Chris Knight says “it’s a question that’s been going through my head a lot over the last week.” He adds that “she’s not far away.” Vonn is slated to race super-Gs on Saturday and Sunday in St. Moritz. Vonn has won a record 28 World Cup super-Gs including three at the Swiss resort. But calculating her current potential is not an exact science.

‘Front-row seats to something amazing’: In 2024, the sports world, again, had unforgettable moments

Patrick Mahomes threw a walk-off pass to win the Super Bowl. Freddie Freeman hit a walk-off grand slam to win a World Series game. Stephen Curry said “nuit, nuit” to win an Olympic basketball title in Paris, Noah Lyles won 100-meter gold by about the smallest margin possible, and Sabrina Ionescu won a WNBA Finals game with a 30-foot heave. Sports is a collection of moments. This year, many moments were — once again — spectacular.

Don’t write off Kirk Cousins just yet despite his benching: Analysis

Kirk Cousins didn’t forget how to play quarterback. He just didn’t do it well enough often enough to keep his job in Atlanta. Don’t write off the veteran quarterback just yet. There’s no sugarcoating the way Cousins played over the past five games. He struggled mightily, tossing just one touchdown pass and nine interceptions in that span. But this was the same guy who had 117.2 passer rating and led the Falcons to a comeback win on the final drive in Week 2 in Philadelphia in just his second start coming back from surgery for a torn Achilles tendon.

Penn State rallies from 2-set deficit to beat Nebraska in NCAA volleyball, faces Louisville in Final

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Jess Mruzik had 26 kills, Caroline Jurevicius had 20 and Penn State rallied from an 0-2 semifinal hole for a five-set victory over Nebraska to reach the NCAA championship. Penn State will face host Louisville, which eliminated No. 1 overall seed Pitt 3-1 in the first semifinal, and set up a historic NCAA final between two female coaches. Katie Schumacher-Cawley guides the Lions, while Dani Busboom-Kelly leads the Cardinals. The Nittany Lions dropped the first two sets 25-23 and 25-18 before winning the next two 25-23 and 28-26 and 15-13 in the tiebreaker.

‘Raygun: The Musical’ won’t use the name of the notorious Australian breaker

BRISBANE, Australia (AP) — Australian breaker Rachael “Raygun” Gunn has tried to be a good sport about the jokes and criticism that poured in from around the globe after her controversial performance at the Paris Olympics. But maybe “Raygun: the Musical” was a bridge too far. Comedian Stephanie Broadbridge called off the show just hours before it was set to premiere in Sydney, after Gunn’s lawyers contacted its comedy club venue and threatened legal action. On Thursday, Broadbridge said the musical had been rebranded as “Breaking: The Musical,” “A completely legal parody musical.” Gunn said in a video posted to social media that decision to demand her name be removed from the musical was not about not “being able to take a joke.”

Towns relishes an enjoyable return to Minnesota, from the roar of the crowd to a blowout win

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Karl-Anthony Towns needed some extra time to prepare for playing against the team he always figured he’d be with his whole career. The surreal experience of returning to Minnesota was enjoyable from start to finish for Towns. He had 32 points and 20 rebounds for the New York Knicks in a 133-107 victory over the Timberwolves. There was no sense in trying to downplay the significance of this reunion. Minnesota still means a lot to Towns. He also made a major impact on the organization and the community despite some difficult years.