COLLEGE BASKETBALL

WISCONSIN GRABS TOP SPOT, READIES FOR OHIO STATE

Get ready for another 1 vs. 2 showdown in the Big Ten — this time on the hardwood.

Wisconsin was the new no. 1 in the Associated Press Top 25 poll yesterday and Big Ten rival Ohio State was not far behind at no. 2.

The Badgers (26–2, 12–1), on top of the poll for the first time in school history, play the Buckeyes (24–3, 12–1) in Columbus on Sunday — just a bit more than three months after Ohio State and Michigan played a muchhyped 1 vs. 2 football game in Ohio.

FOOTBALL

RIVERA OUT AS BEARS DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR

Chicago defensive coordinator Ron Rivera has gone from head coaching candidate to out of a job — a little more than two weeks after Bears were in the Super Bowl.

Rivera, who has talked with eight different NFL teams about their head coaching positions over the last two seasons, had a three-year contract with the Bears that was set to expire next week. The NFC champions announced yesterday he will not be back.

Head coach Lovie Smith had been pushing Rivera for head coaching jobs, now he’s pushed him off his staff.

COLTS PUT FRANCHISE TAG ON DWIGHT FREENEY

The Indianapolis Colts made defensive end Dwight Freeney their franchise player yesterday, keeping him with the Super Bowl champions for at least one more season while they work on a longterm contract.

Freeney, a first-round draft pick in 2002, missed the Pro Bowl this year for the first time since his rookie season. He was held to a career-low 5 1/2 sacks while fighting shoulder and leg injuries.

Still, the Colts were not going to let him get away.

“He wasn’t going to go anywhere,” the team president, Bill Polian, said.