SPORTS

The ultimate underdogs, they ain’t. Not anymore. The Saints are Super Bowl champions now. Who Dat? Try Drew Brees, Sean Payton and a team that has reversed its embarrassing past, carrying an entire city to the top with it. Put away those paper bags forever.

Brees and the Saints rallied to upset Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts 31-17 Sunday night in one of pro football’s most thrilling title games.

“We just believed in ourselves and we knew that we had an entire city and maybe an entire country behind us,” said Brees, the game’s MVP. “What can I say? I tried to imagine what this moment would be like for a long time, and it’s better than expected.” (more…)

John Tyler Offensive Tackle Gerron Anthony and Robert E. Lee Punter Brady Jones earned first-team all-state honors as the 58th Annual Collin Street Bakery/Texas Sports Writers Association all-state football team was announced Saturday in Bryan.

Anthony (6-4, 315) was All-East Texas first-teamer and signed a letter of intent to attend Oklahoma State this past Wednesday. He was the top lineman on an offense that averaged 43 points and 443 yards per game.

Jones was also an All-East Texas first team member. He averaged 42.4 per punt and pinned teams inside the 20 yard line 13 times. He had a 60-yard punt as well. (more…)

Dallas Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones didn’t sound eager to speak with starting fullback Deon Anderson regarding his misdemeanor charge of deadly conduct, after the player allegedly threatened a restaurant employee with a gun during a dispute early Tuesday.

Jones, attending the Pro Football Hall of Fame ceremonies Saturday in which former Cowboys running back Emmitt Smith was selected for induction, said he’s still looking into the incident.

“Again, I’m still getting the information,” Jones said. “I hadn’t thought about that type of meeting. I’m very sure I understand the circumstances behind it, but I hadn’t gone beyond that in my thinking.” (more…)

The UT Tyler Patriots finished off a season sweep of the LeTourneau Yellow Jackets on Saturday night at Solheim Arena in Longview, using senior forward Hakeem Kareem’s third 20-point effort in the last four games and two clutch 3-pointers from Neal Welch down the stretch to earn a hard-fought, 71-66 victory.

In a game that featured 12 ties and 11 lead changes, it was Welch’s 3-pointer off a Travan Porchia assist with 3:57 left in regulation that broke a 58-58 tie and put the Patriots ahead for good. Welch had been 0-for-5 from beyond the arc up until that point, but connected on his final two attempts that allowed UT Tyler to pull out a huge road win.

UT Tyler (12-9, 8-8 ASC) led by as many as nine in the opening half, 23-14, but saw its lead evaporate minutes later when the host YellowJackets closed the half on a 15-5 run to take a one-point lead at intermission, 29-28. (more…)

Freshman Paige Parrish pumped in a game-high 26 points and the UT Tyler Lady Patriots rallied during the final minutes to claim a 66-51 win over LeTourneau on Saturday afternoon at Solheim Arena in Longview.

Trailing 29-28 at the half, the Patriots (10-11, 8-8) turned to Parrish who went 8-for-10 in the second half and made six free-throws for 20 of her 26 points.

Lauren Glasco, who finished the afternoon with 13 points for UT Tyler, hit a jumper at 19:44 to begin the second half, giving the Patriots a lead they would maintain for almost ten minutes until 10:58 when Colleen Redmond sank a 3-pointer to put LeTourneau (4-17, 4-12) up by one at 41-40. (more…)

Stephen F. Austin got two looks at a game-tying 3-pointer on its final possession, but neither fell as Lamar held on for a 49-46 win Saturday in the Montagne Center in Beaumont. The three-point loss snaps SFA’s five-game win streak.

SFA falls to 16-6 on the season and 6-3 in Southland play, while Lamar improves to 13-11 overall and 5-4 against league competition.

In a game that went back-and-forth throughout, SFA led from the 7:21 mark until Anthony Miles hit a jumper with 42 seconds left to give Lamar a 47-46 lead. After a missed jumper at the other end, the Lumberjacks fouled Justin Nabors, who hit both free throws with 24 seconds to play, putting Lamar ahead by three to match the Cardinals’ biggest lead of the contest. (more…)

John Roberson scored a season-high 28 points to lead Texas Tech past Oklahoma State 81-74 on Saturday.

The win halted a two-game skid for the Red Raiders (15-7, 3-5 Big 12) and extended the Cowboys’ losing streak to three.

The Red Raiders started the second half with a 13-4 run to go up 48-30 with about 15 minutes remaining. They had no turnovers in the first 10 minutes. (more…)