2014 At A Glance

Jan. 1 — Tyler Bozak scored the winning shootout goal and Jonathan Bernier made two saves in the final moments, lifting the Toronto Maple Leafs to a 3-2 victory over Detroit at the snowy Winter Classic. The 105,591 at Ann Arbor was the largest crowd to watch a hockey game.

Jan. 1 — Central Florida pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the bowl season by outlasting No. 6 Baylor 52-42 in the Fiesta Bowl. The No. 15 Knights, a 17-point underdog, jumped out to an early 14-point and kept rolling. It was the highest-scoring game in Fiesta Bowl history and second-highest BCS bowl ever.

Jan. 2 — The Sugar Bowl's 80th edition marked the first in which both quarterbacks passed for 300-plus yards. Trevor Knight passed for 348 yards and four touchdowns and No. 11 Oklahoma took down third-ranked Alabama in the Sugar Bowl 45-31. AJ McCarron passed for 387 yards and two TDs, two interceptions, and his fumble, returned for a score in the final minute, sealed 'Bama's fate.

Jan. 2 — Top-ranked Arizona opened its Pac-12 basketball season with a 60-25 rout of Washington State, shattering the McKale Center record for fewest points by a team. The 25 points were the fewest for Washington State since the Cougars had that many at Idaho on Jan. 15, 1938.

Jan. 3 — Tajh Boyd threw for 378 yards and five touchdowns, Sammy Watkins had a record-setting night with 16 catches for 227 yards, and No. 12 Clemson rallied to beat No. 7 Ohio State 40-35 in the Orange Bowl.

Jan. 4 — Andrew Luck threw four second-half touchdown passes and scored 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. The Chiefs took a 38-10 lead early in the third quarter, but all they could muster after that was two field goals. It was the second time in playoff history a team rallied from a deficit of 28 or more points to win.

Jan. 5 — Corey Perry scored his NHL-leading eighth game-winning goal of the season with 1.3 seconds on the clock in overtime, giving Anaheim a come-from-behind 4-3 victory over Vancouver. The Ducks, off to a franchise-best 31-8-5 start and 17-0-2 at Honda Center, became the only team in the league without a regulation loss at home.

Jan. 6 — Patrick Maher of Division III Grinnell College broke the NCAA record with 37 assists in a 164-144 victory over College of Faith.

Jan. 6 — Jameis Winston threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to Kelvin Benjamin with 13 seconds left and No. 1 Florida State beat No. 2 Auburn 34-31 to win the last BCS national championship game.

Jan. 7 — Florida State was No. 1 in the final Associated Press college football poll, ending the Southeastern Conference's record streak of national championships. For the first time since Texas in 2005, the SEC was not on top of the final rankings.

Jan. 8 — Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and Frank Thomas were elected to baseball's Hall of Fame, while Craig Biggio fell two votes short.

Jan. 11 — LeGarrette Blount rushed for 166 yards and had four touchdown runs as the New England Patriots beat the Indianapolis Colts 43-22 to advance to their third consecutive AFC championship game.

Jan. 11 — Gracie Gold won her first U.S. figure skating title and 15-year-old Polina Edmunds was second, while 2010 Olympian Mirai Nagasu was third in a resurgent performance. Charlie White and Meryl Davis won a record sixth straight U.S. ice dance title.

Jan. 11 — Alex Rodriguez was dealt the most severe punishment in the history of baseball's drug agreement. Arbitrator Fredric Horowitz ruled the New York Yankees third baseman suspended for the entire 2014 season as a result of a drug investigation by Major League Baseball. The decision cut the suspension issued Aug. 5, 2013 by baseball Commissioner Bud Selig from 211 games to this year's entire 162-game regular-season schedule plus any postseason games.

Jan. 12 — Jeremy Abbott won his fourth U.S. figure skating title. Teenager Jason Brown was second and defending champion Max Aaron was third.

Jan. 15 — Clayton Kershaw agreed to a $215 million, seven-year contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers. The deal made the two-time Cy Young Award winner baseball's first player with a $30 million average salary.

Jan. 15 — Anaheim Ducks steamrolled Vancouver 9-1 for their 18th victory in 19 games. Anaheim joined the 1967-68 Montreal Canadiens as the only teams in league history to win 18 times in a 19-game span. Anaheim improved to 20-0-2 at home to match the NHL's longest season-opening home points streak in 34 years.

Jan. 16 — Major League Baseball approved a huge expansion of instant replay in hopes of eliminating blown calls.

Jan. 17 — Serena Williams became the winningest woman at the Australian Open, notching career win No. 61 as she advanced to the fourth round with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Daniela Hantuchova. Williams passed Margaret Court's Australian Open mark of 60 wins and matched Lindsay Davenport's record of 69 main-draw matches in the Open era.

Jan. 17 — The Chicago Blackhawks beat Anaheim 4-2 to end the Ducks' eight-game winning streak and hand them only their second loss in the past 20 games.

Jan. 17 — Kevin Durant scored a career-high 54 points to help the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Golden State Warriors 127-121.

Jan. 18 — The NBA fined Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban $100,000 for confronting referees and using inappropriate language toward them. Cuban went onto the court and yelled at the officials after the Mavericks blew a 17-point lead in the final 5 minutes of a 129-127 loss at the Los Angeles Clippers on Jan. 15.

Jan. 19 — Ana Ivanovic ended Serena Williams' bid for a sixth Australian and 18th Grand Slam title in a stunning fourth-round upset at the Australian Open. Ivanovic eliminated Williams with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 victory.

Jan. 19 — Peyton Manning threw for 400 yards and two touchdowns to lead Denver to a 26-16 victory over New England and send the Broncos to their first trip to the Super Bowl in 15 years.

Jan. 19 — Russell Wilson threw a 35-yard touchdown pass on fourth down and Seattle's top-ranked defense forced two late turnovers, lifting the Seahawks into their second Super Bowl with a 23-17 victory over the San Francisco 49ers for the NFC championship.

Jan. 20 — The NHL suspended Vancouver coach John Tortorella 15 days for his conduct after a brawl between the Canucks and the Calgary Flames. Tortorella went to Calgary's locker room at intermission following the first period on Jan. 19, which began with several fights and four game misconducts per team.

Jan. 21 — Three-time defending champion Novak Djokovic was upset in a dramatic five-setter against Stan Wawrinka in the Australian Open quarterfinals, ending his 25-match winning streak at Melbourne Park.

Jan. 24 — Carmelo Anthony scored a career-high and franchise-record 62 points, most at the current Madison Square Garden, and the New York Knicks beat the Charlotte Bobcats 125-96. Anthony had 56 after three quarters and stayed in for the first few minutes of the fourth to break Bernard King's Knicks record of 60 points and Kobe Bryant's arena record of 61, set five years ago.

Jan. 25 — Li Na beat Dominika Cibulkova 7-6 (3), 6-0 in the Australian Open final to become the oldest woman to clinch the title here in the Open era. Li, who turns 32 next month, lost Australian Open finals to Kim Clijsters in 2011 and Victoria Azarenka last year.

Jan. 25 — Steven Holcomb of the United States won his second World Cup overall two-man bobsled championship. His seventh-place finish with Curt Tomasevicz in the season finale at Konigssee, Germany, was more than enough for Holcomb to clinch the two-man title for the first time since 2006-07.

Jan. 25 — Kate Hansen became the first American in nearly 17 years to win a World Cup singles luge race, prevailing at the season finale in Sigulda, Latvia. She was the first World Cup winner for USA Luge since Cameron Myler won in 1997, also at Sigulda.

Jan. 25 — Bentley coach Barbara Stevens became the sixth coach in women's college basketball history to reach 900 victories. Stevens reached the milestone when her undefeated Falcons beat Saint Anselm 98-82 in a Northeast-10 Conference game.

Jan. 25 — Tiger Woods shot a 79 at Torrey Pines to match his worst score on American soil. Woods missed the 54-hole cut for the first time in his career at the Farmers Insurance Open. Woods, an eight-time winner at Torrey Pines, also shot 79 at the Memorial last year and at Quail Hollow in 2010.

Jan. 25 — Jamal Crawford had a season-high 37 points and 11 assists, and the Los Angeles Clippers overcame Terrence Ross' 51 points to beat the Toronto Raptors 126-118.

Jan. 25 — Corey Perry and Matt Beleskey scored first-period goals, and the Anaheim Ducks beat the Los Angeles Kings 3-0 at Dodger Stadium in the NHL's first warm-weather outdoor game.

Jan. 25 — Duke beat Florida State 78-56 to give Mike Krzyzewski his 900th victory at the school. Krzyzewski, the all-time leader in career victories in men's Division I with 973, joined Syracuse's Jim Boeheim as the only coaches with at least 900 wins at one program.

Jan. 26 — Stan Wawrinka held off an injured Rafael Nadal to win his first Grand Slam title with a 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 victory in the Australian Open final.

Jan. 26 — DeMarco Murray caught a 20-yard pass for a touchdown and Mike Tolbert plunged into the end zone for a 2-point conversion with less than 1 minute to give Jerry Rice team a 22-21 win over Deion Sanders team in the first schoolyard-style Pro Bowl.

Jan. 26 — After sun reflecting off the ice delayed the first hockey game at Yankee Stadium, the New York Rangers and pinstriped goalie Henrik Lundqvist beat the New Jersey Devils 7-3 in snow and cold.

Jan. 28 — Calling the NCAA a dictatorship, Northwestern quarterback Kain Colter and the United Steelworkers announced plans to form the first labor union for college athletes. Colter detailed the College Athletes Players Association at a news conference in Chicago, flanked by leaders of Steelworkers union that agreed to pay legal bills.

Jan. 29 — Ben Scrivens set an NHL record for saves in a regular-season shutout with 59 in a spectacular performance that helped the Edmonton Oilers beat the San Jose Sharks 3-0.

Jan. 29 — No. 2 Syracuse (20-0) matched the best start in program history, pulling away to beat Wake Forest 67-57. The win also gave coach Jim Boeheim his 36th season with 20 or more victories.

Jan. 29 — Kevin Durant scored 33 points, Serge Ibaka added 22 and the Oklahoma City Thunder erased an 18-point early deficit on the way to overwhelming the Miami Heat 112-95. Durant scored at least 30 points for the 12th straight game, matching the league's longest such streak since Tracy McGrady did it in 14 consecutive outings in the 2002-03 season.

Jan. 31 — Kevin Durant's 30-point streak ended at 12 games when he scored 26 in just 30 minutes, and the Oklahoma City Thunder won their 10th in a row with a 120-95 victory over the Brooklyn Nets.

Feb. 1 — Ray Guy became the first punter elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Joining the long-time Oakland Raider were two first-time eligible players, linebacker Derrick Brooks and offensive tackle Walter Jones. The class of 2014 also included defensive end Michael Strahan, receiver Andre Reed, defensive back Aeneas Williams and defensive end Claude Humphrey, who like Guy was a senior selection.

Feb. 1 — Peyton Manning won his fifth Associated Press NFL Most Valuable Player award in a landslide. Manning, who threw for 55 touchdowns and 5,477 yards in leading the Denver Broncos to the AFC's best record, earned 49 of 50 votes. New England quarterback Tom Brady got the other vote.

MORE

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Related topics