SPORTS N STUFF

Sunday, Dec 28

ST. LOUIS (2-13) at ATLANTA (10-5)

1 p.m. EST, FOX

OPENING LINE – Falcons by 14 1/2.

RECORD VS. SPREAD – St. Louis 5-10, Atlanta 9-6.

SERIES RECORD – Rams lead 47-24-2.

LAST MEETING – Rams 28, Falcons 16, Dec. 16, 2007.

RAMS OFFENSE – OVERALL (27), RUSH (27), PASS (25)

RAMS DEFENSE – OVERALL (29), RUSH (28), PASS (23)

FALCONS OFFENSE – OVERALL (6), RUSH (5), PASS (14)

FALCONS DEFENSE – OVERALL (24), RUSH (21), PASS (22)

STREAKS, STATS AND NOTES – Rams have won eight of last nine regular-season games in series, including seven straight from 1999-2003. … Rams WR Donnie Avery ranks second among NFC rookie receivers with 48 catches and 634 yards receiving. … In three career starts against Atlanta, QB Marc Bulger has completed 70 of 100 passes for 936 yards with five TDs and four INTs. … Falcons rushed for 327 yards in 47-17 divisional playoff win over St. Louis at Georgia Dome on Jan. 15, 2005. … Falcons DE John Abraham has set franchise record with 16 1/2 sacks and has 26 1/2 sacks in his last 30 games. … Rookie QB Matt Ryan has completed 111 of 167 passes (66.5 percent) for 1,617 yards with five TDs and three INTs for 100.3 passer rating at home. … Falcons are 6-0 when Ryan has rating of 100.0 or better. … Falcons already own playoff berth. A win and a loss by Carolina at New Orleans gives Atlanta NFC South title and first-round bye.

Thrown out of work in Detroit, tailback Tatum Bell was studying cell phone rate plans rather than a play book.

After his unceremonious release by the Lions in September, Bell was hired as a manager to run a T-Mobile kiosk inside a Denver area mall. There, in a tiny booth located just across from the Disney Store, Bell waited for a second chance, not really expecting one anytime soon.

When the Denver Broncos called seven weeks ago after a barrage of injuries besieged their backfield, he shelved his cell phone career for carries. Now, he’s the only experienced tailback left on a team trying to capture the division crown Sunday night at San Diego.

He’s just thankful for another opportunity.

“I didn’t look at football like a privilege – I thought it was always going to be there,” said Bell, originally drafted by Denver and then dealt to Detroit before the ’07 season. “When I got released, it opened my eyes to the real world. I was just hoping for another chance.”

Not this soon, though. Not after what happened in Detroit.

Bell was captured on camera removing two Gucci bags belonging to Rudi Johnson – who was taking his place – soon after being waived by the Lions. He feared the embarrassing incident might haunt him.

But coach Mike Shanahan backed Bell, saying he’s “judging Tatum by how he handled himself when he was a Denver Bronco and my relationship with him over the time he’s been here, not (on) all the accusations … over there.”

For that, Bell is appreciative.

Still, the baggage incident tarnished his reputation, something he’s trying to repair.

“That was a bad part of my life, trying times,” he said. “I’ve moved on.”

So has Johnson, whose team is attempting to avoid a winless season this weekend at Green Bay.

“I got my stuff back,” said Johnson, who spoke with Bell after the situation and didn’t involve the police in the matter.

Bell expected the teasing in the locker room, and is constantly razzed by center Tom Nalen.

“Tom messes with me (when) he sees me, saying, ‘Put your stuff up, here comes Tatum,”‘ Bell said, able to smile now. “I just needed a second chance.”

After he was waived by the Lions, Bell went scrambling for work, not wanting to wallow around. He found a job listing for a sales position for Mobile Solutions, a company authorized to sell T-Mobile phones.

He zipped off an application.

Danny Perry, the market director for the company, originally thought it was a joke.

“Tatum Bell wants to sell cell phones?” Perry said. “We laughed at it.”

No joke, though.

Perry brought in Bell for an interview, even asking him about the baggage incident in Detroit.

“He told me what happened,” Perry said. “It was a believable story. I believed him. He said he had a huge chunk of humble pie. I was willing to give him a try.”

So he hired Bell not as a sales associate but a leader of his squad, thinking his experience in the NFL would make him a marvelous manager.

It didn’t take him long to earn respect, showing up for work 20 minutes early.

“He got everyone on the same page and made it a team immediately,” Perry said.

Bell proved to be a solid salesman, increasing sales in the 45 days he had the position. His salary would’ve been approximately $60,000, a far cry from what he is getting in the NFL, which is a prorated portion of his base salary that’s around $605,000.

“The pay checks are obviously different,” Bell said, grinning.

The toughest thing about hawking phones was learning the different plans. There were so many variations, just like an offense.

“That was challenging at first,” Bell said. “Once I got the plans down, my pitch wasn’t anything. I’m people friendly.”

So, how did he get customers to make the switch over to T-Mobile?

“I’d say, ‘Excuse me, sir, how are you doing? What kind of phone service are you carrying?”‘ Bell explained. “They’d be like, ‘Sprint.’ I’d say, ‘Why are you carrying Sprint? You’re paying too much.’ Once I got them over to the kiosk, I felt like I had them.”

He hasn’t taken long to grasp the Broncos play book. Then again, he had a base knowledge, spending his first three seasons with Denver.

Bell has been thrust into more of a role with every back that goes down. He can’t believe the amount of injuries that have struck the team. This week, Selvin Young and P.J. Pope became the sixth and seventh tailbacks to go on injured reserve.

The only other tailbacks the Broncos have available are Cory Boyd, just signed off the practice squad, and Alex Haynes, who was picked up earlier this week. Spencer Larsen, who’s played linebacker and fullback this season, could see some reps at running back.

“This is crazy,” Bell said of the injuries. “Everybody is shocked.”

Not anymore.

“You’re not surprised at this point,” quarterback Jay Cutler said. “It seems like we only get a running back in there for a few series, and then they’re out. We’ve still got Tatum.”

That’s a player the Chargers know well. Bell had a career-high three touchdowns against the Chargers on Dec. 31, 2005.

“They have a guy back there that we feel has some ability, some great abilities in Tatum Bell,” Chargers defensive lineman Luis Castillo said. “Denver has always found a way to run the ball, regardless of who’s back there.”

The top four teams in The Associated Press’ college basketball poll held their places from last week. The bottom of the Top 25, however, had three new teams.

North Carolina was again a unanimous No. 1 Monday as it has been since the preseason poll. Connecticut, Pittsburgh and Oklahoma stayed second through fourth.

Minnesota moved in at No. 23, the Gophers’ first appearance in the poll since 2002. No. 24 Michigan was ranked for the first time since 2006. No. 25 Missouri was in the Top 25 for the first time since 2003.

Davidson, Memphis and Marquette dropped out of the poll. They were ranked 22nd through 24th and all lost to another ranked team last week. Memphis had been ranked every week since the preseason poll of 2005-06.

Texas A&M point guard Donald Sloan can’t help but think about this time last year.

He’d loaded up on Aggies gear to bring home to his mother for Christmas.

Sandra died last March, in the midst of A&M’s postseason, after a lengthy, undisclosed illness.

“This year, I have that money, and nothing to do with it,” Sloan said. “I guess I’ll spoil my brother a little bit.”

Sloan said the loss made him grow up faster. Basketball, as always, has helped.

“Basketball has always been an outlet,” said Wendell Thornton, who was an assistant coach to Sloan at Seagoville, Texas, and who Sloan stays with when he returns to the Dallas area.

Thornton remembers when Sloan, who lived with an aunt much of the time growing up, unabashedly pinned a picture of Sandra on his backpack. Then there’s the “Momma’s Boy” tattoo.

Sloan (6-3, 205) is growing into his role as point guard. Texas A&M, 10-1, has won six straight but still struggles with inconsistency in coach Mark Turgeon’s second season.

When Sloan, who has started 46 straight games for A&M, discusses one of his least favorite subjects, distaste drips.

“I led the team in turnovers last year,” he said of his 82 miscues. “Mine were ridiculous.”

Not so this season. Sloan, a junior, has an assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.4-to-1 through 11 games – among the best in the Big 12. Heralded freshman point guard Dash Harris hasn’t progressed as quickly as Turgeon expected, making Sloan’s play even more crucial.

Sloan has always been able to score – he averages 12.4 points per game and can take over in stretches – but Turgeon looks at the whole stat sheet.

“He’s getting there,” Turgeon said. “He’s working so hard on turnovers. He’s been beat up so bad about his turnovers.

“I still think he could see the floor better and recognize situations better. … He’s got to hit guys when they’re open, so they’re not mad at him during the game. He’s doing a pretty good job.”

Turgeon pointed out a sequence just before halftime of the Aggies’ win last week over Florida A&M. The Rattlers switched from zone to man defense, but Sloan didn’t let his teammates get set and shot too quickly. He drew a foul and made the free throws, but Turgeon, “thought it could have been a little more intelligent.”

Sloan wants to be automatic from the free-throw line, and it’s been a focus since he went 4-of-11 from the line in the Aggies’ wild, five-overtime loss to Baylor last season.

He employs a routine that helps him – get a good grip, dribble three times, focus on the rim, think “finish high” – and, eventually, lets the ball go.

At times, he takes the full 10 seconds allowed, but he’s shooting 83 percent, up from 67 percent last year.

Sloan harps on his teammates about treating every game like it’s the game that will put them back in the NCAA Tournament. He said that comes from almost missing the tourney after a wooly Big 12 season last year.

“If we played every game with that intensity,” Sloan said, “then we could be a pretty good team.”

When he needs to remind himself, he knows where to find the motivation.

“Before every game, I look up at the ceiling and make it like she’s looking down on me,” Sloan said of his mother, and smiled. “Try to do the best that I can. Make sure I don’t do anything silly.”

Tubby Smith is used to coaching Top 25 teams. He’ll be doing it again in just his second season at Minnesota.

The Golden Gophers moved into The Associated Press’ college basketball poll Monday, their first appearance in the rankings since December 2002.

“It’s a good way to start the holiday season,” Smith said Monday. “I’m sure the kids are excited about it, you can tell in their disposition. We’ve got a great group of kids and this will help the school, help recruiting. At Kentucky, we were ranked year in and year out so this is a different dynamic for this program and how we handle it will be critical.”

The win that sent Minnesota (10-0) into the rankings had some Kentucky connections for Smith.

The Golden Gophers, off to their best start since opening 11-0 in 1976-77, beat Louisville 70-64 on Saturday in a game pitting Smith against Rick Pitino, his former boss at Kentucky. Smith succeeded Pitino at Kentucky.

“That was a good win over a solid ballclub but it’s always bittersweet going against a friend, but someone’s got to win and this program needed it more than Louisville,” said Smith, who like Pitino led Kentucky to a national title in his 10 seasons there.

Also moving into the poll for the first time this season were No. 24 Michigan (8-2) – last ranked in February 2006 – and No. 25 Missouri (9-1), which returned to the poll for the first time since December 2003.

The top four teams in the poll held their places from last week.

North Carolina (11-0) was again a unanimous No. 1 as it has been since the preseason poll, receiving all 71 first-place votes from the national media panel.

Connecticut (10-0), Pittsburgh (12-0) and Oklahoma (11-0) remained second through fourth. Then came the changes as four teams ranked in the top 10 last week – Texas, Xavier, Gonzaga and Louisville – lost.

Duke, which beat Xavier 82-64, moved up one place to fifth, while Wake Forest jumped from 10th to No. 6. Gonzaga moved up one spot to seventh despite its 88-83 overtime loss to Connecticut. Notre Dame moved up four spots to No. 8 and Texas, which lost 67-63 to Michigan State, fell from fifth to No. 9. Purdue rounded out the top 10.

Michigan State was 11th, followed by Georgetown, UCLA, Xavier, Ohio State, Tennessee, Syracuse, Villanova, Louisville and Arizona State.

Baylor, Clemson and the three newcomers rounded out the Top 25.

Davidson, Memphis and Marquette, who were ranked 22nd through 24th and all lost to another ranked team last week, dropped out of the poll.

Memphis had been ranked every week since the preseason poll of 2005-06, including last season’s run where the Tigers never dropped below No. 3.

The loss to Minnesota saw Louisville (7-2) take the week’s biggest drop, falling 10 places to No. 19.

Michigan entered the poll on a three-game winning streak that began with a win over Duke, the Wolverines’ second win this season over a team ranked No. 4. They beat UCLA in November.

Missouri has won seven straight since its only loss to Xavier in the opening round of the Puerto Rico Tip-Off.

Davidson (8-2) dropped out from No. 22 after a 76-58 loss at Purdue, while Memphis (6-3) fell out from 23rd after a 72-65 home loss to Syracuse.

Marquette (9-2) was 24th last week, but the Golden Eagles lost 80-68 to Tennessee, ending the Big East’s three-week run of a record eight teams in the Top 25.

The Big East’s seven teams still lead among conferences while the addition of Minnesota and Michigan moved the Big Ten into second place with five, one more than the Atlantic Coast Conference and the Big 12.

A doctor recommended surgery for Los Angeles Lakers guard Jordan Farmar, who hurt his left knee last week against the Miami Heat.

Team doctor Steve Lombardo examined Farmar on Monday in Los Angeles and confirmed the guard has a torn lateral meniscus. The team said Farmar has not decided whether to have surgery, and it’s unclear how long he will be out.

“We’re not happy about it, obviously, but this is what we go through in an NBA season,” Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. “That’s why we have a roster. We have guys who can play, and backup people who can help. We hope we get guys to support us now that Jordan is gone and will be for a while.”

Farmar was hurt Friday in the fourth quarter of the Lakers’ 89-87 loss to the Heat. The former UCLA star was averaging 7.9 points and 2.4 assists in nearly 20 minutes backing up Derek Fisher.

Because Farmar could be out for 6-8 weeks, Jackson said the Lakers were considering acquiring a player with quickness and speed to help spell Fisher in his absence.

TORONTO 97, LA CLIPPERS 75

LOS ANGELES The Toronto Raptors snapped a five-game losing streak, defeating the Los Angeles Clippers, 97-75.

Chris Bosh led three players in double figures for the Raptors, pouring in 31 points. Jermaine ONeal had 23 and Anthony Parker added 12.

It was the Clippers who looked like they hadnt won in five games. The team came out listless and the Raptors took advantage of it.

Bosh and ONeal scored as many points (18) as the entire Clippers team did in the first quarter. Los Angeles shot 39 percent from the field in the opening quarter and trailed by as many as 15 points.

Los Angeles, which has not shot 50 percent or better from the field all season, were 12-of-39 (31 percent) in the first half. The Clips finished the game at 33 percent (25-of-76) from the floor.

The Raptors lead was as many as 21 points and it was the fourth time this season that the Clippers did not led at any point in a game.

DENVER 97, PORTLAND 89

DENVER Round One goes to the Denver Nuggets.

The Nuggets survived the absence of All-Star forward Carmelo Anthony to outlast the Portland Trail Blazers, 97-89, and snap a tie atop the Northwest Division. The game was the first half of a home-and-home series between the clubs that willconclude Tuesday in Portland.

Anthony was sidelined with a right elbow contusion, but the Nuggets survived thanks to 19 points apiece from Chauncey Billups and Nene. It was the role players who came up biggest as Denver snapped a three-game skid.

The Nuggets were nursing a two-point edge midway through the fourth quarter before reserve forward Linas Kleiza buried a 3-pointer. After LaMarcus Aldridge answered with a dunk on the other end, J.R. Smith buried back-to-back long jumpers to push Denvers advantage to 92-85.

The Blazers pulled back to within four late in the period, but Billups found Kleiza for a layup as the Nuggets held on.

Aldridge led Portland with 18 points, while All-Star guard Brandon Roy was held to just eight on 3-of-11 shooting.

HOUSTON 114, NEW JERSEY 91

EAST RUTHERFORD, New Jersey It isnt often that a team can shut down both Devin Harris and Vince Carter on the same night. The Houston Rockets were up to the task on Monday.

The Rockets stifling defense limited the New Jersey Nets star backcourt combo to just 20 points on 7-of-24 shooting en route to a 114-91 rout.

Yao Ming took advantage of New Jerseys soft frontcourt, posting 24 points and 16 boards as Houston won its fourth straight. The Rockets took control early, racing to a 16-point lead after one quarter, and the Nets could never recover as their struggles at home continued. They fell to just 5-10 at the IZOD Center.

Second-year point guard Aaron Brooks provided a spark for Houston, scoring 11 of his 22 points in the opening quarter – including a four-point play midway through.

Keyon Dooling scored 17 points to lead the Nets.

LA LAKERS 105, MEMPHIS 96

MEMPHIS, Tennessee Kobe Bryant poured in a game-high 36 points, including the go-ahead 3-pointer with 34 seconds remaining, to help the Los Angeles Lakers snap a season-long two-game losing streak with a 105-96 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies.

With the game knotted, 96-96, Bryant knocked down a 3-pointer from the top of the key following a Pau Gasol offensive rebound and assist to put the visiting Lakers ahead to stay.

Gasol, appearing in his first game in Memphis since being traded to Los Angeles last February, finished with 15 points, seven rebounds and six assists.

Rudy Gays 23 points led Memphis, which had led, 91-85, with 4:01 left in the fourth.

ORLANDO 113, GOLDEN STATE 81

ORLANDO, Florida The Golden State Warriors were outmatched from the start as the Orlando Magic rolled to their fifth consecutive victory, 113-81.

Jameer Nelson led the Magic with 22 points and seven assists, while Orlando quieted Jamal Crawford in his first game since scoring 50 against Charlotte Monday, holding the Golden State newcomer to 18 points of 7-of-21 shooting.

Nelson shot a perfect 9-for-9 from the field – including four 3-pointers – to put up another stellar performance after recently being named the Eastern Conference player of the week.

Meanwhile, Golden State shot just 32 percent (29-of-91) from the field and did not hold a lead once the entire night.

SAN ANTONIO 101, SACRAMENTO 85

SAN ANTONIO It was business as usual for the San Antonio Spurs. Thanks to another stingy defensive effort, the Spurs cruised past the Sacramento Kings for a 101-85triumph.

Tony Parker collected 18 points and six assists to lead five players in double figures as San Antonio won its second straight following a rare two-game skid.

The Kings held strong early on, but that only lasted for about nine minutes. The Spurs closed the first quarter with an 8-0 run to take an 11-point lead into the second and continued to pile on from there. Sacramento pulled to as close as six on Bobby Browns 3-pointer that cut the deficit to 38-32 three minutes into the second, but Tim Duncans layup on the other end spurred another 8-0 spurt.

The All-Star forward took just five shots – but that was more than enough. His teammates did the rest of the heavy lifting, as the San Antonio bench accounted for 44 of the teams 101 points.

Dirk Nowitzki is keeping all his options open for his future, including the possibility of taking less money in 2010 to facilitate the Mavericks acquiring a marquee player or players in that summer’s bountiful free-agent market.

While adamant that he will not allow himself or the Mavericks to give up on the next two seasons, Nowitzki said he’s aware of how brim-full the free-agent pool will be in 2010.

“Every team is trying to be a player in 2010,” he said. “Every team is trying to clear money under the cap so they can make a move.

“I’m very fortunate that I’ve made a lot of money in this league, even though I’ve never really played for money. I love the sport. I love this organization. Obviously, I want to win. I won the MVP, and individually, there’s nothing really left but winning a championship.

“If that means I have to play for less money, it’s all possible. It’s all open.”

During a heartfelt interview on the Mavericks’ just-completed road trip, Nowitzki said he believes the Mavericks have the potential to be an elite team this season. He also realizes that the organization and its fans have to keep an eye on the future. LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Amare Stoudemire, Shaquille O’Neal, Joe Johnson, Nowitzki and many others are on that 2010 free agent list.

Some, like Nowitzki, can exercise an option they have after the 2009-10 season. In Nowitzki’s case, he can earn $21.5 million in the 2010-11 season. Or he can opt-out and be an unrestricted free agent. A more appealing option for the Mavericks is to extend Nowitzki’s contract and reducing the 2010-11 salary considerably, but adding many years onto the deal to help make the deal fair to Nowitzki.

With that sort of deal, the Mavericks could be well under the salary cap and be a major player in the 2010 free-agent frenzy.

“That’s still a long time away,” Nowitzki said. “Nobody’s talked to me about extending or anything like that. I never really thought about it because we’re in the midst of figuring this thing out.

“I’ve got two years and I don’t want to throw these next two years away and say basically we’re waiting on 2010 to get another player in. That’s not how I want to look at these next two years. I still feel I’m in my prime and I don’t want to just throw these next two years away.”

Mavericks’ owner Mark Cuban was not surprised to hear that Nowitzki would be open to a reduced salary if it mean getting a marquee player alongside him.

“Dirk is Dirk,” Cuban said. “He’s a team player all the way and wants to in. He’s a first-class guy and we’ve grown up together in this organization. So I think we’ve always tried to be on the same page.”

In this NBA era, most salary-related headlines are made by players like Stephon Marbury, who refuse to allow their team to buy out their contract for anything less than its full value.

There have been numerous instances, however, of top-tier players surrendering salary so the team could sign certain players. Michael Jordan was consistently underpaid so that the Chicago Bulls could add key personnel during their championship seasons in the ’90s.

Charles Barkley signed for a paltry-even-in-the-’90s $1 million in Houston to facilitate the signing of free-agent Scottie Pippen.

Nowitzki’s openness to working with the Mavericks financially doesn’t mask the fact that the Mavericks still don’t know how good this year’s team could be. The possibility of trading for a big man who can score or a perimeter ballhandler remains, although the Mavericks apparently have nothing serious in the works.

The trading deadline isn’t until Feb. 19.

The San Antonio Spurs signed guard-forward Malik Hairston from their NBA Development League team Monday.

Hairston has played 11 games with the Austin Toros, averaging 19.5 points, 5.9 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game.

The former Oregon player was cut at the end of Spurs training camp in October. He was the 48th pick in this year’s draft by Phoenix, which sent him to San Antonio in exchange for the draft rights to Goran Dragic.

Boston Bruins forward Patrice Bergeron, who missed most of last season with a concussion, was released from the hospital Sunday after being diagnosed with another concussion.

Bergeron spent the night at Massachusetts General Hospital and underwent extensive testing, Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli said in a statement. Bergeron was placed on injured reserve, meaning he is out of action for a minimum of one week.

“When examined this morning, his condition had improved greatly over last night, and he was released from the hospital,” the statement said. “There is no timetable for his return to the ice.”

Bergeron was injured in Saturday’s game against the Carolina Hurricanes.

Bergeron collided near center ice with Carolina’s Dennis Seidenberg and went to the ice, face-first. He remained down for several minutes while he was cared for by doctors and looked wobbly when he got to his skates and was helped to the locker room.

“He got dinged pretty good,” said Bruins coach Claude Julien, who spoke to Bergeron after the second period. “He was speaking to me and then I took off and coached the third period.”

Bergeron’s 2007-08 season ended after 10 games following a hit from behind into the boards by Philadelphia’s Randy Jones. He was close to returning during the playoffs, but the Bruins were eliminated in seven games in the first round by the Montreal Canadiens.

Bergeron returned for training camp and played in 30 of Boston’s first 31 games. But he had yet to regain his scoring touch, totaling four goals – one in his last 19 games.

His teammates went to St. Louis to play the Blues on Sunday night, but their thoughts were with Bergeron.

“We know what’s at stake and our prayers are with him, that’s for sure,” goalie Manny Fernandez said Saturday. “We hate to see a guy like that go down again.”