The Denver Nuggets snapped their three-game losing skid with a 113-110 win over the Toronto Raptors at Pepsi Center last night. The Nuggets led by 17 midway through the fourth quarter but saw the lead dwindle to just one before a Ty Lawson three-pointer pushed the advantage back to four points with two minutes to play. Toronto’s Demar Derozan missed a potential game-tying three at the buzzer. Corey Brewer led six Nuggets in double figures with 19 points off the bench. The Nuggets begin a five-game road trip on Wednesday night in Atlanta against the Hawks.

Major League Baseball’s Winter Meetings are underway in Nashville, Tennessee, and while the Colorado Rockies aren’t expected to make a major splash, they have come ready to make some moves and re-tool after the worst season in franchise history. Rockies director of Major League operations Bill Geivett told the Denver Post that his team is looking to add a late-inning reliever to complement current closer Rafael Betancourt. Center fielder Dexter Fowler is drawing interest from other teams in trade talks, though the Rockies’ asking price for their leadoff hitter is reportedly very high.

Nebraska’s Andre Almeida was named the Big Ten Men’s Basketball Player of the Week for his performance in last week’s Husker victory over Wake Forest. The senior center from Brazil posted his first career double-double, tying a career high with 20 points and hauling down 11 rebounds. He became the first Big Ten player to record at least 20 points and 10 boards while shooting 90% from the field in the same game since 2009. The award is the first of Almeida’s career.

Redskins looking to stay in playoff race

LANDOVER, Md. (AP) — Led by dynamic rookie quarterback Robert Griffin III, the Redskins will be trying to join the list of NFC playoff hopefuls at 6-6 with a win tonight over the visiting Giants. New York will be trying to stretch its East Division lead over second-place Dallas to two games. The Cowboys, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Minnesota Vikings are all 6-6.

The Giants won the first meeting between the two teams in mid-October, 27-23, on their home field and enter tonight’s contest with a 7-4 mark.

Washington is aiming for a fourth win over a division rival in as many weeks.

King James is SI’s choice

MIAMI (AP) — LeBron James is Sports Illustrated’s Sportsman of the Year. The Miami Heat star is the first NBA player to win the award since teammate Dwyane Wade in 2006.

Time Inc. Sports Group editor Paul Fichtenbaum says one thing separating James this year was that when Miami needed him most “he came up the biggest.”

Fichtenbaum says James was the choice not only for his play but also because of his charitable work, especially involving schoolchildren in his native Akron, Ohio.

Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski, who coached James and his U.S. teammates to gold at this year’s London Olympics and in 2008 in Beijing, shared the honor with Tennessee women’s basketball coach Pat Summit last year.

12 teams to see action tonight

UNDATED (AP) — There are a-half dozen games on the NBA’s Monday night schedule.

The Clippers and Warriors start play tied for the Pacific Division lead at 10-6. Los Angeles will be chasing a third straight win when it plays at Utah. The Jazz are 9-9 following back-to-back losses. Golden State brings a three-game winning streak into its home game against Orlando. The Magic stunned the Lakers 113-103 last night in L.A. for just their sixth win in 16 games.

Elsewhere on the pro hardwood, Charlotte will be out to end a three-game skid when it hosts Portland, Cleveland plays at Detroit, New Orleans entertains Milwaukee and Denver will be out to avoid a fourth straight loss when it hosts Toronto.

A-Rod needs hip surgery, will miss season’s start 

Three of eight division titles already settled

UNDATED (AP) — The Broncos, Patriots and Falcons clinched division titles on Sunday, and the Texans assured themselves of at least a wild-card berth in the playoffs.

Denver won the AFC West with 31-23 victory over Tampa Bay. A seventh straight win has the Broncos sitting at 9-3.

The loss by the Buccaneers gives Atlanta the NFC South championship. The Falcons improved to 11-1 with a win over New Orleans on Thursday night and they are tied with Houston for the best record in the NFL. The Texans haven’t secured the AFC South yet because they still have two games remaining with runner-up Indianapolis. The Colts are 8-4 after shocking Detroit 35-33 on the final play of their game.

New England won its fourth AFC East crown in a row as it downed Miami, 23-16. The Patriots also 9-3.

Elsewhere around the league, Seattle topped Chicago 23-17 in overtime, Green Bay got past Minnesota 23-14, St. Louis edged San Francisco 16-13 in OT, the New York Jets slipped past Arizona 7-6, Buffalo hammered Jacksonville 34-18, Cleveland beat Oakland 20-17, Cincinnati topped San Diego 20-13, Pittsburgh downed Baltimore 23-20, Dallas outscored Philadelphia 38-33 and Kansas City snapped an eight-game losing streak with a 27-21 victory over visiting Carolina.

Irish reliving glory years

UNDATED (AP) — Notre Dame ends the regular season as the No. 1 team in the AP college football poll. It’s the first time the Fighting Irish have done that since their national championship season in 1988.

Notre Dame finished up a perfect 12-0 regular season last week and will play Alabama in the BCS championship game in Miami on Jan. 7.

The one-loss Crimson Tide remains No. 2 after slipping past Georgia in Saturday’s SEC championship game.

Undefeated Ohio State, which is banned from the postseason because of NCAA sanctions, moves up a spot to No. 3. Florida is No. 4, Oregon is fifth and Georgia falls to sixth.

The rest of the top 10 remains the same with Kansas State, Stanford, LSU and Texas A&M at seven through 10.

Northern Illinois busts the BCS, going to Orange Bowl

MIAMI (AP) — Northern Illinois out of the Mid-American Conference has busted the BCS, and is heading to the Orange Bowl to play ACC champion Florida State.

Northern Illinois actually finished ahead of two conference titlists, Big East winner Louisville and Big Ten champion Wisconsin, in the final BCS standings.

Dave Doeren will not coach the Huskies in the Orange Bowl. He was hired Saturday as the new coach at North Carolina State.

There’s no place like home for Knicks…Lakers fall to Magic

UNDATED (AP) — The New York Knicks protected their unblemished home record by beating Phoenix 106-99. They are 7-0 at Madison Square Garden, and their 12-4 overall mark is just a half-game behind Miami for best record in the NBA’s Eastern Conference.

Carmelo Anthony was high man for the Knicks with 34 points. Raymond Felton contributed 23 points and seven assists to the winning effort and teammate Tyson Chandler finished with 15 points and 13 rebounds.

In the only other game on the pro hoops schedule, the L.A. Lakers fell to Orlando 113-103. They are 3-4 since Mike D’Antoni took over as coach.

Arron Afflalo scored 30 points and Glen Davis added 23 points and 12 rebounds for the Magic. Dwight Howard had 21 points and 15 rebounds against his former team. But the rebuilding Magic rallied impressively with a 40-point fourth quarter for just their fourth win in 14 games, snapping a three-game skid.

Kobe Bryant scored 34 points for the Lakers.

The Huskers are headed back to Orlando. After an embarrassing one-sided loss in the Big Ten Championship Game on Saturday, Nebraska accepted an invite to play in the Capital One Bowl for the second consecutive season. Waiting for them will be the Georgia Bulldogs, who came within one play of winning the SEC Championship and playing for a national title. Nebraska will enter the game ranked 23^rd in the AP Poll and 21^st in the USA Today Coaches Poll, while Georgia is ranked sixth and fifth in those polls respectively. The Huskers were beaten by South Carolina in last year’s Capital One Bowl. They’ll be taking on Georgia for only the second time ever. Their previous meeting was in the 1969 Sun Bowl, when the Huskers, led by then first-year offensive coordinator Tom Osborne, routed the Bulldogs 45-6. The Capital One Bowl kicks off on New Years Day at 1 PM.

Make it seven wins in a row and an AFC West Championship for the Denver Broncos. Peyton Manning threw three touchdown passes as the Broncos defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 31-23 at Sports Authority Field. Manning connected with defensive lineman Mitch Unrein for the game’s first touchdown and then found Demaryius Thomas for two scores in the third quarter as the Broncos came back from a 10-7 halftime deficit. He has now thrown 29 touchdown passes on the season, a new single-season franchise record. The Broncos defense also came up big, limiting Tampa Bay’s star rookie Doug Martin to just 56 yards rushing on 18 carries. They also produced the game-sealing score, as Von Miller’s pick-six in the third gave the Broncos a commanding 28-10 advantage. The Broncos wrapped up their second straight division title with the win. They play at Oakland this Thursday night.

Nebraska men’s basketball returns to the hardwood tonight to take on USC at the Devaney Center. The Huskers are off to their best start in the last five seasons, moving to 5-1 after their blowout win over Wake Forest last Tuesday night. The visiting Trojans are 3-3. Nebraska has won three consecutive meetings against USC, including a 64-61 double overtime triumph in Los Angeles last season. Tipoff in Lincoln tonight is scheduled for 7:06 PM.

The Denver Nuggets hope to end a three-game losing streak tonight at the Pepsi Center as the lowly Toronto Raptors come calling. Denver dropped three straight road contests last week, including back-to-backs at Golden State and the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday and Friday. But the Nuggets are 4-1 at home this year and have won eight straight games against the Raptors in Denver. The Nuggets are 8-9 on the season, while the Raptors are 4-13. Tipoff tonight is set for 8 PM.