Wizards routed, 122-88; Celtics' streak hits 13
nba
Ray Allen and Paul Pierce scored 22 points apiece and the Boston Celtics beat the host Washington Wizards, 122-88, last night for a 13th straight win and the best start in the history of the storied franchise at 21-2. The Celtics also own their longest winning streak since a 14-game run in 1985-86. Caron Butler scored 19 for the Wizards, who matched their franchise's slowest start, dropping to 4-16 for the first time since the 1966-67 Baltimore Bullets.
Mavericks 95, Bobcats 90: : Dirk Nowitzki (23 points) hit a key three-pointer with 28.3 seconds left to help host Dallas improve to 10-0 against Charlotte.
Et cetera: : Knicks guard Cuttino Mobley retired after 11 years because of heart disease that he said has gotten worse and would put him at significant risk if he kept playing. In a news conference, Mobley, 33, confirmed he has hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, which causes the heart muscle to thicken, making it harder to pump blood. ... Thunder forward Chris Wilcox (Maryland) is expected to miss 10 to 14 days after dislocating his left ring finger.
Cubs drop interest in Padres starter Peavy
baseball
Jake Peavy appears to be staying put with the San Diego Padres - for now. General manager Kevin Towers said yesterday that Cubs GM Jim Hendry told him Chicago was ceasing its pursuit of the 2007 National League Cy Young Award winner. Towers said Monday that the Cubs were the only team in the running at that point.
Yankees: : New York has offered free-agent pitcher A.J. Burnett, a Monkton resident, a guaranteed five-year, $85 million contract, an industry source told ESPN.com.
Indians: : Kerry Wood took a physical and the team is awaiting the test results before completing a contract with the free-agent right-hander. Cleveland reached a preliminary agreement on a two-year, $20 million deal with Wood during the winter meetings in Las Vegas.
Royals: : Relief pitcher Kyle Farnsworth reached a preliminary agreement on a two-year, $9.25 million contract. The deal is pending a physical, a person familiar with the negotiations told the Associated Press.
'Skins win 9 of 19 spots in fan Pro Bowl voting
nfl
The Washington Redskins won the fan Pro Bowl voting in nine of 19 positions for the NFC, the result of an aggressive marketing campaign. Tallies released by the NFL show the Redskins on top where serious Pro Bowl consideration is deserved (middle linebacker London Fletcher) and where it's not (kicker Shaun Suisham, who leads the NFL in missed field-goal tries). Other Redskins who finished first at their position were running back Clinton Portis, fullback Mike Sellers, offensive tackle Chris Samuels, defensive tackle Cornelius Griffin, strong safety Chris Horton, free safety LaRon Landry and special teams player Khary Campbell. Fan balloting counts for one-third of the total Pro Bowl voting. Coaches and players, who have yet to be polled, each count for one-third.
Bears 27, Saints 24, OT: : Robbie Gould kicked the tying field goal at the end of regulation and booted a 35-yarder in overtime to lift host Chicago (8-6) to victory in a game both NFC teams needed to boost their playoff hopes. Drew Brees hit Marques Colston for an 11-yard touchdown pass with just more than three minutes left in regulation to give New Orleans (7-7) its first lead at 24-21.
Et cetera: : A federal judge in Minneapolis has extended his preliminary injunction against the NFL's suspension of five players for violating the league's anti-doping policy, allowing Kevin Williams and Pat Williams of the Vikings and Charles Grant, Deuce McAllister and Will Smith of the Saints to play at least for the next two weeks. ... Patriots quarterback Matt Cassel returned to practice after missing Wednesday's workouts because of his father's death. He is likely to start Sunday against the Raiders. ... Jaguars running back Fred Taylor will miss the rest of the season because of a thumb injury. ... Bills defensive end Aaron Schobel was placed on injured reserve because of a nagging left foot injury.
Russell, Dorin-Ballard PBA qualifying leaders
et cetera
Ronnie Russell and Carolyn Dorin-Ballard each bowled well in the second block of qualifying to finish atop the field in the PBA Tour's Lumber Liquidators Shark Championship at Country Club Lanes. Russell, of Indianapolis, was 11th after the first seven-game block with 1,578 pins, and he compiled 1,681 pins in the second block for a total score of 3,259, edging Wes Malott of Argyle, Texas, by 27 pins. Dorin-Ballard, of North Richland Hills, Texas, expanded a 31-pin lead after the first block to 98 ahead of Clara Guerrero after the second. Dorin-Ballard finished with 3,045 pins.
College football: : Florida quarterback Tim Tebow won the Maxwell Award for the second year, edging Texas QB Colt McCoy and Texas Tech QB Graham Harrell for the honor given to the best all-around player at the college football awards in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. ... Doug Marrone, the New Orleans Saints' offensive coordinator, has agreed to become Syracuse's coach, ESPN.com reported, citing multiple sources.
College basketball: : Scottie Reynolds (18 points) made the winning free throws with 4.8 seconds left to lift No. 15 Villanova (9-1) to a 59-56 win over visiting Saint Joseph's (4-5) . ... Shekinna Stricklen scored a career-high 20 as the No. 7 Tennessee women (7-1) beat visiting Middle Tennessee, 81-52. ... Epiphanny Prince's go-ahead basket with 35 seconds left lifted the No. 14 Rutgers women (5-2) over Prairie View, 58-56. ... Goucher lost to host Swarthmore, 75-62, despite Amber Smith's 15 points for the Gophers (3-4).
Auto racing: : Petty Enterprises has announced merger talks with Gillett Evernham Motorsports. Petty also parted ways with former champion Bobby Labonte.
BLAST TONIGHT
Massachusetts Twisters (0-2)
at Blast (2-0)
Site: 1st Mariner Arena
Time: 7:35
Radio: WCBM (680 AM)
Outlook: For the first time, the Blast encounters the newest NISL entry. Massachusetts' beleaguered goalkeeper, Paul Dellistritto, has allowed 52 points in two routs administered by the Philadelphia KiXX. Meanwhile, Sagu has allowed three goals in two Blast victories over Rockford (Ill.).
Kent Baker