COLLEGE FOOTBALL

CLEMSON TOPS COLORADO IN CHAMPS SPORTS BOWL James Davis ran for 150 yards and a touchdown, Charlie Whitehurst scrambled for a score, and no.23 Clemson beat Colorado 19-10 in the Champs Sports Bowl yesterday, handing the Buffaloes their fourth consecutive loss. Davis’s 6-yard TD run with 1:38 remaining sealed a fourth straight victory for Clemson (8-4) and capped a disappointing season for Colorado (7-6).

The Buffaloes made it close, though, something they didn’t do in their previous two games – losses to Nebraska and Texas by a combined score of 100-6. Backup quarterback Brian White replaced starter James Cox midway through the fourth quarter and led Colorado on a 69-yard scoring drive that made it 13-10. His 2-yard TD pass to Quinn Sypniewski ended a streak of 14 quarters without a touchdown. But Davis and Whitehurst answered, moving the Tigers 61 yards in 4:07 to put the game away.

LSU’S RUSSELL TO MISS PEACH BOWL LSU quarterback JaMarcus Russell did not travel with the team for Friday’s Peach Bowl against Miami, and will miss the game with an injured shoulder. Instead, no. 10 LSU is left with sophomore Matt Flynn, who has appeared in 24 games but will be making his first start.

Russell, who throws with his right hand, separated his left shoulder when he was sacked in LSU’s loss to Georgia in the December 3 SEC championship game.

PRO FOOTBALL

GIANTS PLACE EMMONS ON INJURED RESERVE The Giants continued to shuffle their injury-depleted linebacker corps yesterday, placing Carlos Emmons in injured reserve and signing Jay Foreman, the second player picked up at that position in two days. Emmons, who has a strained right pectoral muscle, was placed on IR the day after the team did the same with rookie middle linebacker Chase Blackburn, who sprained his neck last week in Washington after returning an interception for a touchdown against the Redskins. Antonio Pierce, the starter at middle linebacker, has been out since December 11 with a high ankle sprain. The team decided to put Emmons on IR rather than Pierce because they believe Pierce, the team’s leading tackler, can recover in time to help the team in the playoffs.

BASEBALL

MATSUI TO SKIP WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC Yankees outfielder Hideki Matsui has decided against joining Japan’s squad at the 16-nation World Baseball Classic next March, a Japanese baseball official said yesterday.

Kyodo News agency quoted the slugger as saying he wanted to concentrate on his role with the Yankees. “The reason I decided to go to the United States was to try and become a world champion with the Yankees, and I fear that chasing two goals might get in the way of that dream,” Kyodo quoted Matsui as saying in a statement.

In a country that places a premium on duty, there has been tremendous pressure on Matsui to represent Japan at the World Cup-style tournament. Japan will be home for the first round of the tournament, March 3-5 at the Tokyo Dome.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

MEMPHIS DOWNS GONZAGA IN BATTLE OF TOP 10 TEAMS Darius Washington scored 22 points and had 10 assists to help fourth-ranked Memphis hold off no. 8 Gonzaga 83-72 last night. Memphis (10-1) continued its best start since 1985-86, winning its seventh straight game. Adam Morrison, the nation’s top scorer, did his best to try and lead Gonzaga (9-3), finishing with 34 points, including a perfect 12-of-12 at the free throw line. But the Tigers snapped Gonzaga’s five-game winning streak when the preseason All-American went cold at the wrong time. His basket put Gonzaga up 62-59 with 9:31 left, but he didn’t score again.

– Associated Press