AP Sportlight

Dec. 30

1956 - The New York Giants win the NFL title with a 47-7 rout of the Chicago Bears.

1962 - The Green Bay Packers beat the New York Giants 16-7 to win the NFL title for the second straight year.

1973 - The Minnesota Vikings beat the Dallas Cowboys 27-10 to win the NFC championship.

1973 - The Miami Dolphins, behind 266 yards rushing, beat the Oakland Raiders 27-10 for an unprecedented third straight AFC title.

1981 - In the 39th game of the season, Edmonton’s Wayne Gretzky scores five goals, including his 50th into an empty net, to lead the Oilers to a 7-5 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers. Gretzy betters the mark of of 50 goals in 50 games held by Maurice Richard and Mike Bossy.

1990 - Orlando point guard Scott Skiles dishes out an NBA-record 30 assists in a 155-116 victory against the Denver Nuggets. Skiles breaks the record of 29 assists set by the Nets’ Kevin Porter in 1978.

2002 - TCU sets an NCAA record for fewest points allowed when the Lady Frogs beat Texas Southern 76-16. The 16 points allowed breaks the Division I record for fewest points. Prairie View scored 19 points against Jackson State in 1983.

2010 - Top-ranked Connecticut’s record 90-game winning streak in women’s basketball ends when No. 9 Stanford outplays the Huskies from the start in a 71-59 victory at Maples Pavilion - where the Cardinal has their own streak going. Stanford hasn’t lost in 52 games at home. The Cardinal took an early 13-point lead, never trailed and didn’t let the mighty Huskies back in it.

2016 - Isaiah Thomas scores 29 of his career-high 52 points in the fourth quarter, setting a club record for points in a period and leading Boston to a 117-114 victory over the Miami Heat.

2018 - New England clinches its ninth straight first-round bye in the playoffs with a 38-3 victory over the New York Jets. The ninth straight playoff bye also extends a record; Dallas and San Francisco (1992-95) and Denver (2012-15) went four straight. They score more than 400 points (436) for the 12th straight season, extending their record. The ninth straight 11-win season is also a record; Indianapolis had seven from 2003-09. Coach Bill Belichick’s 16th 11-win season is the most in history (Don Shula had 13).

Dec. 31

1973 - Third-ranked Notre Dame edges top-ranked Alabama 24-23 in the Sugar Bowl. Second-ranked Oklahoma was sitting out the bowl season.

1974 - Catfish Hunter, baseball’s first free agent, signs with the New York Yankees. He signs a five-year contract for a record $3.75 million.

1982 - Jockey Pat Day edges Angel Cordero Jr. by two races to capture leading rider honors. Day rides Dana’s Woof and Miltons Magic to victory during the evening program at Delta Downs for 399 wins for the year.

1988 - A blinding fog rolls in during the second quarter of the Chicago Bears’ 20-12 NFC semifinal victory over the Philadelphia Eagles at Soldier Field in Chicago. The fog obscures the game from most of the 65,534 fans present and a national television audience that could watch only ground-level shots.

1988 - Mario Lemieux becomes the first NHL player to score goals in five ways during the same game. Lemieux scores at even strength, on the power play, shorthanded, on a penalty shot and into an empty net. The five goals carry the Pittsburgh Penguins to an 8-6 victory against the New Jersey Devils.

1989 - Jockey Kent Desormeaux sets the world record for most number of wins in a single season. His 598th win is aboard 2-year-old East Royalty in the Inner Harbor Stakes at Laurel Racecourse.

2005 - Harness drivers Catello Manzi and Brian Spears each set single-season records. Manzi, 55, becomes the oldest harness driver to lead North America in victories (727), even without a win on the last day. Sears becomes the first driver to surpass $15 million ($15,085,991) in pursue earnings.

2013 - Johnny Manziel lives up to his nickname “Johnny Football,” leading 20 Texas A&M to another comeback win, 52-48 over No. 22 Duke in the Chick-fil-A Bowl. The Aggies are down 38-17 at halftime but with Manziel at the helm they come back in the highest-scoring game in the bowl’s history. The 2012 Heisman trophy winner throws four touchdown passes, completes 30 of 38 passes for 382 yards and runs for 73 yards and a touchdown.

2017 - The Cleveland Browns complete the second 0-16 season in NFL history with a 28-24 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Browns join the 2008 Detroit Lions as the only teams in NFL history to go 0-16. Head coach Hue Jackson has a 1-31 record over two seasons.

2017 - The New England Patriots finish the regular season with to a 26-6 win over the New York Jets and clinch home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs. The win clinches the seventh 13-win season for the Patriots (13-3), second in NFL history to San Francisco’s nine seasons. It’s also Bill Belichick’s 250th career regular-season win, moving him into a tie with Tom Landry for third all-time among head coaches.

2017 - The Buffalo Bills snap the longest current non-playoff streak in North American pro sports with a 22-16 victory at Miami and Cincinnati’s victory at Baltimore. The Bills hadn’t made the postseason since 1999.

Jan. 1

1902 - Michigan beats Stanford 49-0 in the first Rose Bowl. Neil Snow scores four touchdowns in a game that ends with eight minutes to play. The Wolverines earned the nickname as the “Point a Minute” team, having scored 501 points in their ten games. The next Rose Bowl game does not occur until 1916.

1916 - Washington State beats Brown 14-0 in the return of the Rose Bowl. Brown halfback Fritz Pollard, the first African-American to play in the Rose Bowl, gains just 47 yards in the rain-soaked game. After a scoreless first half, Washington State scores on short runs by Ralph Boone and Carl Dietz.

1934 - Columbia upsets Stanford 7-0 in the Rose Bowl when Al Barabas scores in the third quarter on a 17-yard hidden-ball play.

1935 - Bucknell beats Miami 26-0 in the first Orange Bowl.

1935 - Tulane beats Temple 20-14 in the first Sugar Bowl. The Green Wave finishes a 14-0 comeback when Temple defender Horace Mowery tips a pass into the direction of Dick Hardy, who takes it in to the end zone.

1961 - The Houston Oilers beat the Los Angeles Chargers 24-16 to win the first AFL Championship.

1971 - Notre Dame ends Texas’ 30-game winning streak with a 24-11 win in the Cotton Bowl. The Irish keep the top-ranked Longhorns from winning a second straight national championship.

1991 - Georgia Tech routs Nebraska 45-21 in the Citrus Bowl to finish as college football’s only unbeaten team (11-0-1).

1992 - Miami beats Nebraska 22-0 in the Orange Bowl, the first shutout of the Cornhuskers since 1973, and finishes with a 12-0 record.

1992 - East Carolina beats N.C. State 37-34 in the Peach Bowl with its fifth fourth-quarter comeback of the season. Trailing 34-17, East Carolina quarterback Jeff Blake scored a touchdown on the ground and another in the air. Down 34-31, East Carolina got the ball back with 2:37 to go, and Blake connected on four-of-five passes, including the game-winner to Luke Fisher with 1:32 remaining.

1993 - No. 2 Alabama wins its first national championship in 13 years and deprives Miami of its fifth title as the Crimson Tide defense humbles the No. 1 Hurricanes 34-13 in the Sugar Bowl.

1993 - Florida State beats Nebraska 27-14 in the Orange Bowl to set an NCAA record by winning eight consecutive bowl games.

2000 - Georgia’s Hap Hines kicks a 21-yard field goal in overtime to complete the greatest comeback in bowl history. The Bulldogs pull out a 28-25 victory over Purdue after trailing 25-0 early in the second quarter in the Outback Bowl.

2007 - Bob Knight earns career victory No. 880 for the Division I men’s record he shared with former North Carolina coach Dean Smith. His Texas Tech Red Raiders blows a 20-point lead but withstands a 3-point miss at the buzzer to beat New Mexico 70-68.

2007 - Boise State, after tying the game with seven seconds to go in regulation, stuns No. 7 Oklahoma 43-42 in overtime to win the Fiesta Bowl. The No. 9 Broncos win on Ian Johnson’s 2-point conversion run after receiver Vinny Perretta throws a fourth-down touchdown pass to Derek Schouman.

2010 - Florida State scores 20 straight points to knock off West Virginia 33-21 in the Gator Bowl. It’s the final game of Bobby Bowden’s storied 44-year career as a head coach. Bowden finishes with a 389-129-4 record and a 33rd consecutive winning season.

2012 - Backup quarterback Matt Flynn throws for a franchise-record six touchdowns to give Green Bay a 45-41 victory over the Detroit Lions. Flynn sets Packers records with 480 yards passing and the six TDs. Detroit’s Matthew Stafford throws for 520 yards with five touchdowns. Calvin Johnson has 11 catches for 244 yards and a touchdown for the Lions.

2015 - Marcus Mariota and Oregon roll past defending national champion Florida State 59-20 to turn the first College Football Playoff semifinal into a Rose Bowl rout.

2015 - Cardale Jones turns in another savvy performance in his second college start and Ezekiel Elliott runs for a Sugar Bowl-record 230 yards, leading Ohio State to a 42-35 upset of top-ranked Alabama in the second semifinal of the College Football Playoff.

2019 - Dwayne Haskins passed for 251 yards and three touchdowns, and Urban Meyer finished his coaching career at Ohio State with a 28-23 victory after the Buckeyes held off Washington’s thrilling fourth-quarter comeback in the 105th Rose Bowl.

Jan. 2

1961 - George Blanda passes for three touchdowns and kicks a field goal and the extra points to give the Houston Oilers a 24-16 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers in the first American Football League championship game.

1965 - The New York Jets sign Alabama quarterback Joe Namath for a reported $400,000, the most lucrative rookie contract in football history.

1966 - Jim Taylor and Paul Hornung gain 201 yards on four inches of snow at Lambeau Field to lead the Green Bay Packers to a 23-12 victory over the Cleveland Browns and their third championship in five years.

1977 - Atlanta Braves’ owner Ted Turner is suspended one year by Major League Baseball Commissioner Bowie Kuhn for tampering in the free-agent signing of Gary Matthews.

1980 - Gordie Howe, age 51, becomes the first NHL player to play in five decades when he takes the ice for the Hartford Whalers in a 3-3 tie against the Edmonton Oilers. The game comes more than 33 years after Howe’s first NHL game.

1982 - Rolf Benirschke’s 29-yard field goal at 13:52 of overtime ends one of the wildest and highest-scoring playoff games as the San Diego Chargers beat the Miami Dolphins 41-38. The Chargers blow a 24-0 first quarter lead as the Dolphins rally to tie the game 24-24 in the third quarter. The Dolphins take a 38-31 in the fourth quarter and the Chargers tie it to force overtime. San Diego’s Dan Fouts completes 33 of 53 passes for 433 yards and three TDs. Miami quarterback Don Strock completes 29 of 43 passes for 403 yards and four touchdowns. Kellen Winslow has 13 catches for 166 yards and a touchdown for the Chargers.

1984 - Miami defeats Nebraska 31-30 in the Orange Bowl to win the national championship.

1985 - Nevada-Las Vegas beats Utah State 142-140 in triple overtime as both teams set an NCAA record for total points. The Runnin’ Rebels score a record 93 points in the second half, and coach Jerry Tarkanian gets his 600th victory.

1986 - Mike Bossy of the New York Islanders becomes the 11th NHL player to score 500 goals. Bossy scores No. 500 on an empty netter with 17 seconds remaining to clinch a 7-5 victory against the Boston Bruins at Nassau Coliseum.

1987 - No. 2 Penn State beats No. 1 Miami 14-10 in the Fiesta Bowl for the national championship.

1989 - Notre Dame beats West Virginia 34-21 in the Fiesta Bowl to finish the season at 12-0.

1996 - No. 1 Nebraska demolishes No. 2 Florida 62-24 in the Fiesta Bowl, making them the first repeat champions in 16 years.

2002 - Carolina’s Ron Francis becomes the fifth player in NHL history to record 500 goals and 1,000 assists when he scores in the Hurricanes’ 6-3 loss to Boston.

2005 - The Pittsburgh Steelers win their 14th straight to match the record set by Miami in 1972 and become the fourth team in NFL history to finish 15-1.

2009 - Utah finishes 13-0 with a convincing 31-17 win over No. 4 Alabama in the Sugar Bowl. The Utes are the first team from a non-BCS conference to win two BCS bowls.

2011 - Seattle becomes the first sub-.500 division champ in league history with a 16-6 win over St. Louis. The Seahawks finish as champs of the NFC West at 7-9, the first playoff team with a losing record - sans the 1982 strike-shortened season - since the merger in 1970.

2015 - Greg Ward throws three touchdowns in the final 3:41 of the Armed Forces Bowl, two after Houston recover onside kicks, and completes a game-winning 2-point conversion as the Cougars beat Pittsburgh 35-34 with an improbable comeback. Pitt led 31-6 with 14 minutes left in the game when Houston goes on to the biggest comeback in an FBS game this season, and the third-largest in a bowl game.

2016 - Bram Kohlhausen’s 8-yard touchdown run in the third overtime carries No. 11 TCU to a wild 47-41 victory over No. 15 Oregon in the Alamo Bowl as the Horned Frogs storm back from a 31-0 halftime deficit behind a backup quarterback. The 31-point comeback to win ties the record for a bowl game, matching Texas Tech in the 2006 Insight Bowl against Minnesota.

2017 - Matt Boermeester kicks a 46-yard field goal as time expired, and No. 9 Southern California rallies from a 14-point deficit in the fourth quarter for a 52-49 victory over No. 5 Penn State, in the highest-scoring Rose Bowl ever played.

Jan. 3

1920 - Boston Red Sox owner Harry Frazee sells pitcher-outfielder Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees for $125,000 plus a $350,000 loan.

1931 - Nels Stewart of the Montreal Maroons scores two goals four seconds apart in the third period of a 5-3 victory over the Boston Bruins.

1946 - George Woolf falls off head first from his mount, Please Me, as he rounds the clubhouse turn in the fourth race at Santa Anita Park. Suffering from a concussion, the 35-year-old jockey, is taken to the hospital where he dies the following day. Woolf, known as “The Iceman” for his coolness in the saddle, has 3,784 mounts, 721 wins, 589 seconds and 468 thirds, with earnings of $2,856,125 in his 18-year career.

1973 - A 12-member group headed by George Steinbrenner buys the New York Yankees from the Columbia Broadcasting System for $10 million.

1991 - Wayne Gretzky scores three goals, including his 700th, as the Los Angeles Kings beat the New York Islanders 6-3.

1993 - The Buffalo Bills stage pro football’s biggest comeback to beat the Houston Oilers 41-38 in overtime in the first round of the NFL playoffs. The Oilers take a 35-3 lead 1:41 into the third quarter on Bubba McDowell’s 58-yard interception return. Kenneth Davis starts the Bills’ rally with a 1-yard touchdown run. Quarterback Frank Reich throws four touchdown passes to give Buffalo its first lead of the game 38-35. Al Del Grecco’s 26-yard field goal ties the game. Steve Christie kicks the game-winning 32-yard field goal in overtime.

1995 - Nebraska, the fourth team to finish 13-0 in Division I-A football history, wins its first national football title since 1971 as the Cornhuskers are the overwhelming choice in The Associated Press poll.

1998 - Michigan wins its first national championship since 1948 as the Wolverines are officially declared No. 1 in the final Associated Press poll. The coaches poll jumps Nebraska to the No. 1 spot, creating a split national championship for the third time in the 1990s.

2003 - Ohio State completes an unlikely, unbeaten run to their first national title in 34 years with a 31-24 double-overtime win over Miami at the Fiesta Bowl. The Buckeyes’ upset ends the Hurricanes’ bid for a second straight title and their winning streak at 34.

2010 - Jamaal Charles rushes for a Chiefs-record 259 yards in Kansas City’s 44-24 win over Denver. The Broncos join the 1978 Redskins and ’03 Vikings as the only teams since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger to miss the playoffs after a 6-0 start.

2011 - Connecticut’s nearly three-year hold on the top ranking ends when they were overtaken by Baylor and drop to No. 2 in The Associated Press women’s basketball poll. Connecticut, which had it’s 90-game win streak snapped by Stanford on Dec. 30, had been the top team for a record 51 straight weeks, beginning Feb. 18, 2008.

2016 - Alex Smith throws two touchdown passes, the Chiefs sack Raiders quarterback Derek Carr six times, and Kansas City holds on for a 23-17 home win over Oakland. The Chiefs (11-5) make the playoffs after a 1-5 start and is the only team in NFL history to win 10 consecutive following a losing streak of five or more games.

Jan. 4

1970 - The Minnesota Vikings become the first expansion team to win the NFL title by beating the Cleveland Browns 27-7 in 8-degree temperatures in Bloomington, Minn.

1970 - Kansas City’s defense, highlighted by four interceptions, three in the final quarter, carries the Chiefs to a 17-7 victory over Oakland Raiders in the last AFL title game.

1976 - The Dallas Cowboys become the first wild-card team to make it to the Super Bowl with a 37-7 rout of the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC title game.

1986 - Eric Dickerson shatters the NFL playoff record with a 248-yard rushing performance and two touchdowns to lead the Los Angeles Rams to a 20-0 win over the Dallas Cowboys.

1992 - Mike Gartner of the New York Rangers scores his 1,000th NHL point with a power-play goal in the third period of a 6-4 loss to the New Jersey Devils.

1997 - The Jacksonville Jaguars, in their second year, beat the Broncos in Denver to advance to the AFC Championship game.

2000 - Top-ranked Florida State, the preseason No. 1, holds off Virginia Tech 46-29 in the Sugar Bowl to finish 12-0 and win the national championship. Florida State is the first team to go wire-to-wire in The Associated Press’ poll since preseason rankings began in 1950.

2002 - Michael Jordan becomes the fourth player in NBA history to score 30,000 points, reaching the milestone for the Washington Wizards in an 89-83 win over his old team, the Chicago Bulls.

2003 - Bode Miller wins his second straight World Cup giant slalom in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia to move into first place in the World Cup overall standings. It’s the first time an American man has held the overall lead since Phil Mahre in 1983.

2005 - Matt Leinart throws five touchdown passes and Southern California overwhelms Oklahoma 55-19 in the Orange Bowl. USC (13-0) is the first team to repeat as AP national champions since Nebraska in 1994-95 and joins Florida State in 1999 as the only teams to go wire-to-wire - from preseason to post bowls - as No. 1.

2006 - Second-ranked Texas ends Southern California’s 34-game winning streak, beating the two-time defending national champion 41-38 in the Rose Bowl. The Longhorns also snap USC’s record string of 33 consecutive weeks as the No. 1 team in The Associated Press Top 25. The Longhorns, a unanimous choice, wins a national championship for the first time since 1969.

2012 - Geno Smith ties a record for any bowl game with six touchdown passes, including four to Tavon Austin, and West Virginia sets a bowl scoring record by beating Clemson 70-33 in the Orange Bowl.

2013 - Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel runs for two touchdowns, passes for two more and has a Cotton Bowl-record 516 total yards as Texas A&M wraps up its first SEC season with a 41-13 win over Oklahoma. Manziel sets an FBS bowl record with his 229 yards rushing on 17 carries, and completes 22 of 34 passes for 287 yards.

2013 - Mikaela Shiffrin becomes the first American woman to win two World Cup races before turning 18. The 17-year-old captures the slalom in Zagreb, Croatia by a massive 1.19-second margin. Her first victory came last month in Sweden.

2014 - Andrew Luck throws four second-half touchdown passes and scores on a fumble recovery, leading the Indianapolis Colts from a four-TD deficit to an historic 45-44 comeback victory over the Kansas City Chiefs in a wild-card game. It was the second time in playoff history a team rallied from a deficit of 28 or more points to win.

2016 - Perry Ellis has 27 points and 13 rebounds, Devonte Graham hits the go-ahead free throw in the third overtime and top-ranked Kansas outlasts Buddy Hield and second-ranked Oklahoma 109-106. Hield has a career-high 46 points for Oklahoma, but makes two crucial turnovers in the final extra session, then misses a potential tying 3-pointer at the buzzer.

2016 - Colorado’s Jarome Iginla becomes the 19th member of the 600-goal club, scoring a power-play goal in the third period, and the Avalanche beat Los Angeles 4-1.