REGIONAL COLLEGE BASKETBALL WRAPUP
Drake Reed hit two free throws with 0.2 seconds left as Austin Peay State University rallied from a 12-point halftime deficit to defeat Belmont, 86-84. Wes Channels led the Govs with 25 points.  In other games:

Missouri 103 Chattanooga 75
Arkansas State 88 Lyon College 46
Loyola-Ill 74 Georgia 53
Miss State 78 Louisiana-Monroe 49
#12 Memphis 80, Massachusetts 58

WCBB
Virginia 83 Tennessee 82
Southern Mississippi 79, Tennessee State 57
Texas-Pan American 59, UT Martin 48
Louisville 72, Austin Peay 42

HOME OPENER FOR MURRAY WOMEN
Tonight, Murray State host Bethel in the Racers home opener. Murray is 0-1 after a seraon opening loss at Western Kentucky. Head Coach Rob Cross says the Wildcats will bring a tall and talented team to the RSEC. Kyle Rogers has the call tonight, beginning with the pre-game show at 6:45 on 1340 WNBS.

CATS VS HEELS MINUS TYLER H
North Carolina senior forward Tyler Hansbrough will miss a second straight game when the No. 1 Tar Heels take on Kentucky tonight. Hansbrough is out due to a stress reaction condition in his right shin. The reigning national player of the year missed Saturday's 86-71 season-opening victory over the Penn Quakers. Hansbrough had not missed a game during his three years at North Carolina prior to this season but has been sidelined since the last week of October with the injury. The Poplar Bluff, Missouri native averaged 22.6 points and 10.2 rebounds last year, leading the Tar Heels to a school-record 36 victories and a Final Four appearance. Hansbrough has played in 108 games over his first three seasons with the Tar Heels, who have a 90-18 record over that time period. Entering this season, Hansbrough is poised to become North Carolina's all-time leading scorer. He has 2,168 points, which is just behind Phil Ford's 2,290 The Cats are hoping to put Friday's disappointing home loss to VMI behind them.

RACERS QB STARTER IN QUESTION
The Racer football team will close out the season Saturday when they welcome Tennessee State to Stewart Stadiuim. The Racers are 4-7 after losing 34-7 at Eastern Kentucky. The Tigers were eliminated from the OVC title chase with a loss to Jacksonville State, but with a win over the Racers, their record of 9-3 would likely earn them an at-large bid to the FCS playoffs. Racers head coach Matt Griffin on Monday said he is still unsure who will get the start at quarterback on Saturday. Last time out, Jeff Ehrhardt was pulled following a slow start, and Chris Franklin finished the rest of the game. Griffin was scheduled to meet with Ehrhardt Monday to find out if there was a reason for his recent problems. Murray has not has a touchdown pass in four games. The Tennessee State-Murray State game kicks off at 1pm Saturday, with airtime at 12:30 on WNBS and Froggy.

TIGER BOOSTER MEETING
The Murray Tiger Booster Club will meet Wednesday, at 5:30 at Murray High School. All coaches, sports representatives, parents, and other interested individuals are encouraged to attend.

MEET THE LAKERS SATURDAY
The Calloway County Boys and Girls Backboard Club will host "Meet The Lakers" to kickoff the 2008-2009 basketball season on Saturday. Activities begin at 5:00 p.m. at the Calloway County High School Gym. Middle School and High School dance, cheer and basketball teams will be introduced along with recognition of the Calloway County wrestling, swim, golf and cross country teams. Season Passes, Chair Seats, Laker Spirit Wear and Concessions will be available for purchase. All Laker Fans and community members are invited. There is no admission charge.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL TONIGHT
Kentucky at North Carolina (ESPN, 8 p.m.)
Tennessee-Martin at Tennessee

MSU VOLLEYBALL TO BATTLE UT MARTIN
The Murray State volleyball team earned the No. 3 seed at the Ohio Valley Conference Championships hosted by Tennessee Tech. The Racers (16-12, 13-5 OVC) will first face No. 6 UT Martin in the quarterfinals Thursday at 5 p.m. A win would see MSU facing No. 2 Morehead State Friday at 5 p.m.

MSU CROSS COUNTRY FINISHED
The Murray State women’s cross country team finished 26th of 33 teams at the NCAA Southeast Regional hosted by Wake Forest, Saturday, Nov. 15. The Racers were one of three Ohio Valley Conference schools at the meet, and finished behind Eastern Kentucky and ahead of Morehead State in the standings. Sophomore Katelyn Jones was the top finisher for MSU. Jones took the 60th spot of 231 runners with a time of 22:25.1 in the 6k run. Junior Taylor Crawford was the next to cross the finish line for the Racers in a time of 23:11.2, good for 107th. Senior Alaina Zanin was the third finisher for MSU (24:03.6), with freshmen Karissa Magnuson (24:12.8) and Jami Kloenne (24:38.1) rounding out the participants for the Racers. Eastern Kentucky finished 21st overall, while Morehead State finished 33rd as the only other representatives from the OVC.

KHSAA PLAYOFFS FRIDAY (LOCAL TEAMS)

CLASS A
Ballard Memorial at Crittenden County, 7:30 p.m.
Mayfield at Louisville Holy Cross, 6:30 p.m.

CLASS 2A
Owensboro Catholic at Trigg County, 7:30 p.m.
Murray at Fort Campbell, 7:30 p.m.

CLASS 3A
Butler County at Union County, 7:30 p.m.
Edmonson County at Russellville, 7 p.m.

CLASS 4A
Franklin-Simpson at Calloway County, 7:30 p.m.
Lone Oak at Allen County, 7:30 p.m.

CLASS 5A
Hopkinsville vs. Christian County, 7:30 p.m.
Owensboro at Bowling Green, 7 p.m.

DAVID THORNTON WIN PAYTON AWARD
The Titans announced Monday that linebacker David Thornton has been named the 2008 Titans Walter Payton Man of the Year Award winner. Thornton has been a Man of the Year nominee six during his career and this is Thornton's second year to garner the award as he was named the Indianapolis Colts 2003 Man of the Year. Thornton was selected by a majority vote from his teammates, Titans staff, members of the news media and local non-profit and community executives for his dedicated community service. Thornton is now a finalist for the league-wide 2008 Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award that will be awarded during Super Bowl week in Tampa. In one of the closest votes ever, Thornton was selected from a group of eligible finalists that included Rob Bironas, Keith Bulluck, Albert Haynesworth, Chris Hope, Jevon Kearse, Kevin Mawae and Kyle Vanden Bosch. These finalists were named Titans 2008 Community All-Stars for their significant community service contributions.

OVC PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

OFFENSIVE
C.J. Walker, RB • Jr., 5-9, 189 • Altamonte Springs, Fla. • Eastern Kentucky
Colonels kept their OVC title hopes alive. The 229 yards was the most by an OVC player this season. Walker had touchdown runs of 16, 51, and 60 yards for EKU, with the 60-yarder being the longest run from scrimmage for the Colonels this season. He scored his first two touchdowns in the first quarter and his third touchdown in the second quarter, a score that put his team up 28-0. In total Walker had 25 carries and averaged 9.2 yards per carry.

DEFENSIVE
Andrew Ridgeway, LB • Jr., 6-2, 230 • Fort Payne, Ala. • Jacksonville State
Ridgeway recorded a career-high 11 tackles (8 solo) and returned a blocked field goal 72 yards for a touchdown in Jacksonville State’s 26-21 victory over No. 16 Tennessee State on Saturday. With the Gamecocks trailing by seven in the first quarter and TSU attempting a 30-yard field goal, Ridgeway scooped up the blocked kick and raced for his first career touchdown to tie the game. He also added a pass break-up and a quarterback hurry.

SPECIALIST
Gavin Hallford, K • Sr., 5-10, 180 • Phenix City, Ala. • Jacksonville State
Hallford kicked a pair of field goals which proved to be the difference in Jacksonville State’s 26-21 win over No. 16 Tennessee State. He kicked a career-long 48 yarder on the final play of the first half to give the Gamecocks a 17-14 halftime advantage. Hallford would add a 36-yard field goal in the third quarter. He finished the day with eight points, pushing his career total to 311 and moving him into second place on the OVC all-time scoring list. Hallford has been named OVC Specialist of the Week twice this season.

NEWCOMER
Ryan White, RB • R-Fr., 5-8, 195 • Nashville, Tenn. • Austin Peay
White carried the ball 23 times for 124 yards and a touchdown in the Governors 15-13 road victory over Eastern Illinois. His touchdown run, a 45-yard burst, came with 8:17 left in the game and proved to be the game-winner. It marked the third straight 100-yard rushing performance for White, who has racked up 425 total yards in those three contests. It marks the second time this season White has been named Newcomer of the Week (Oct. 26 was the other).

 NATIONAL SPORTS REPORT

NBA

Dallas Mavericks billionaire owner Mark Cuban has been charged with insider trading by the Securities and Exchange Commission in a civil suit filed Monday. The outspoken and controversial Cuban, who made his fortune as an Internet entrepreneur, is being targeted for illegal trading of Mamma.com stock. According to the complaint, the SEC has alleged Cuban was aware of a public announcement for a financing plan and that his shares would be sold below market price, therefore ordered his broker to sell all shares in the search engine company. By selling his stake before the public announcement, the SEC said Cuban avoided more than $750,000 in losses. The 50-year-old Cuban owns the Mavericks, HDNet, a national high-definition television network, and Landmark Theaters. He has also been rumored to be interested in purchasing a stake in Major League Baseball's Chicago Cubs.

The Golden State Warriors have signed guard/forward Stephen Jackson to a multi-year contract extension, the team announced Monday. Per team policy, terms of the agreement were not disclosed. Jackson, 30, is averaging 22.1 points (12th in NBA), 6.4 assists (11th in NBA) and 3.9 rebounds over 43.4 minutes per game (1st in NBA) this season through the first 10 games. The ninth-year pro is coming off his most productive campaign in the league this past season for Golden State, when he posted career-highs in points (20.1), assists (4.1), three-point field goals (182) and free throw percentage (.832) to go along with 4.4 rebounds and 1.26 steals in 73 games.

MLB

St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols has been named the National League's Most Valuable Player, as voted by the Baseball Writers' Association of America. Pujols, who won this award in 2005 and is a four-time runner-up, garnered 369 points to outdistance Philadelphia first baseman Ryan Howard by 61 points. Pujols placed first on 18 of the 32 ballots cast by two writers from each NL city, second on 10 others, third on two, fourth on one and seventh on another. Howard, the 2006 NL MVP, picked up 12 first-place votes, eight second-place tallies, six third, one fifth, one sixth and two seventh- place votes for a total of 308, based on a tabulation system that rewards 14 points for first place, nine for second, eight for third on down to one for 10th. Milwaukee's Ryan Braun finished third with 139 points in the voting.

NFL

Phil Dawson's 56-yard field goal gave the Browns the lead with 1:39 to play, and Rian Lindell pushed his 47-yard attempt wide right in the final minute of a frenetic fourth quarter as the Cleveland Browns held on for a 29-27 win over the slumping Buffalo Bills. Dawson made all five field goals he attempted for the Browns (4-6), who had lost two straight and three of four. Braylon Edwards had eight catches for 104 yards, and Brady Quinn completed 14-of-36 passes for 185 yards and picked up his first career win in his second NFL start. Marshawn Lynch powered the Bills offense, as he rushed for 119 yards on 23 carries and had a career-high 10 catches for 58 yards and a touchdown. Trent Edwards was erratic, throwing three interceptions in the first quarter for the Bills (5-5), who lost their fourth straight after a 5-1 start.

Pro Bowl safety John Lynch announced his retirement at a news conference Monday afternoon. Lynch was selected to nine Pro Bowls at the safety position during his 15-year career with Tampa Bay and Denver. That's the second-most at the position in league history, trailing only Pro Football Hall of Famer Ken Houston (10). A third-round draft pick by the Buccaneers in 1993, Lynch was a key member of Tampa Bay's defense, helping the 2002 team to a Super Bowl championship. He earned a reputation as one of the league's hardest-hitting safeties during his tenure with the Bucs. After playing his first 11 NFL seasons with the Bucs, Lynch joined the Broncos in 2004. He played the last four seasons with Denver, earning Pro Bowl berths each year. Earlier this year, however, the Broncos parted ways with the 37-year-old Lynch because he was in line to see a reduction in playing time due to the emergence of Marlon McCree. The Stanford product signed with New England in August but was released before the start of the regular season. He will retire with 26 interceptions, 13 sacks and 1,277 tackles in 224 regular season games.

The St. Louis Rams will be without running back Steven Jackson and offensive tackle Orlando Pace for next Sunday's game against the Chicago Bears. Jackson continues to miss time with a thigh injury, while Pace will be out 2-to-4 weeks with a knee injury. Jackson has missed the last two games and will miss his fourth game in five weeks. Rams head coach Jim Haslett said the running back just needs time to rest. Jackson was hurt during the October 19 game against Dallas, despite rushing for 160 yards and three touchdowns. Pace, the top overall pick of the 1997 draft, suffered an MCL injury that will keep him sidelined for the next few weeks and possibly for the rest of the season.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Jon Gruden said in a Monday press conference that running back Earnest Graham is likely done for the season with a right ankle injury. The five-year veteran was hurt in Sunday's 19-13 win over the Minnesota Vikings on his first carry of the game and had to be helped to the sideline. The injury means former first-round draft pick Carnell "Cadillac" Williams, who was activated off the physically unable to perform list early last week, will most likely see extended time at the running back position. Williams has not played an NFL game since September 30, 2007 when he suffered a torn patellar tendon in a contest against Carolina.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

College basketball hall of fame member Pete Newell, the head coach of an NIT champion, NCAA champion and Olympic champion, passed away Monday at the age of 93. The University of California, the program Newell led to the national title in 1959, announced his death. He had undergone a serious lung operation in 2005. Newell coached for 15 years at San Francisco, Michigan State and California before coaching in the 1960 Olympics, when he coached Oscar Robertson, Jerry West and Jerry Lucas to a gold medal in Rome. Newell won the 1949 NIT championship while at San Francisco and captured the 1959 NCAA crown with the Cal Bears. He won four straight Pac 8 titles from 1957-1960 and was named the National Coach of the Year in 1960.

North Carolina remained a unanimous pick as the top-ranked college basketball team in the country, according to the latest Associated Press poll released Monday. The Tar Heels (1-0), who opened their season with an 86-71 victory over Penn on Saturday, received all 72 first-place votes and a total of 1,800 points from a nationwide media panel. Roy Williams' team played Saturday without injured stars Tyler Hansbrough and Marcus Ginyard. There were only minor changes from the preseason poll after the first week of games. Connecticut, Louisville and UCLA each kept their spots from two through four, but Michigan State moved up one spot into fifth and Pittsburgh dropped one place to sixth. Texas, Notre Dame, Gonzaga and Duke round out this week's top 10. Duke fell two spots from eighth after struggling to an 82-79 victory over Rhode Island on Sunday.