With more than half of the 16 teams still mathematically alive to make the conference championship game, the Big 12 will command a lot of attention in the final week of the regular season. No. 14 Arizona State and No. 17 Iowa State would play for the Big 12 title and likely College Football Playoff spot on Dec. 7 if they both win Saturday and there's a four-way tie for first place. There are seven other teams that begin this week with hopes, slim in most cases, of getting into the game at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Last week it was No. 19 BYU and No. 23 Colorado that had the inside track to the championship game. Arizona State beat the Cougars and Kansas knocked off the Buffaloes, and here we are. "Everybody counted us out, I think, two weeks ago," Iowa State coach Matt Campbell said after his team beat Utah 31-28. "We didn't flinch. We didn't waver. And we just keep fighting." The Cyclones were national darlings the first half of the season as they won seven straight games to match the best start in program history. Back-to-back losses to Texas Tech and Kansas followed. Now they've won two straight heading into "Farmageddon," their rivalry game against Kansas State at home. "Right now they've got the pen and they continue to write the story," Campbell said of his players, "and I hope they will continue to write it the way they've got the ability to write it. Unwavering. Tough, mentally tough, physically tough. This group has stood for it every step of the way." Arizona State has been an even better story than the Cyclones. The Sun Devils have six more wins than they did last season, when they went 3-9. They were picked to finish last in their first year in the Big 12. They'll go for their fifth straight victory when they play at Arizona on Saturday. "These guys came off no momentum and everybody doubting them, and everybody is still doubting them. That's what makes this special," second-year coach Kenny Dillingham said. "Hopefully the expectations become higher. I don't know if there's a way we can exceed expectations more than we're exceeding them right now." Checking in on five of the Top 25: The Ducks were idle Saturday after clinching a spot in the Big Ten championship game with their win at Wisconsin on Nov. 16. Oregon can go 12-0 in the regular season for the first time since 2010 if it beats Washington at home this week. Oregon's only two losses last season came against the Huskies, both decided by three points. The first was a top-10 matchup in the regular season and the second was a top-five matchup in the Pac-12 championship game. The Ducks are 19 1/2-point favorites this time, according to BetMGM Sportsbook. The Buckeyes' showdown with upstart Indiana combined with Michigan's dropoff after winning the national championship have lowered the volume on this week's meeting with the Wolverines at the Horseshoe. If Michigan beats Ohio State a fourth straight time and it keeps the Buckeyes out of the Big Ten championship game and playoff ... well, there'll be lots of noise in Columbus then. The Lone Star Showdown returns to the gridiron for the first time since 2011, when Texas and Texas A&M were in the Big 12. The Longhorns head to No. 20 Texas A&M on a four-game win streak. The Aggies have lost two of three after Saturday's four-overtime loss at Auburn. The winner advances to the Southeastern Conference championship game against Georgia. The Broncos are tied with Notre Dame for the second-longest active win streak, at nine games, and they seem to have adopted a survive-and-advance mantra. They trailed 23-point underdog Wyoming in the fourth quarter before winning 17-13 and clinching a spot in the Mountain West championship game. They won their previous game, 42-21 against San Jose State, but didn't pull away until the fourth quarter. Two weeks ago they beat a three-win Nevada team 28-21. Just when you think Illinois is about to cash in for the season, they do what they did against Rutgers. The Illini were down 31-30 when they lined up for a 58-yard field goal with 14 seconds left. Ethan Moczulski missed. But wait. Rutgers called timeout before the snap, and Bret Bielema thought better of trying another kick and sent his offense back on the field. Luke Altmyer passed to Pat Bryant for the winning 40-yard touchdown. The Illini won't play for the Big Ten title, but they have a chance for nine wins and a nice bowl. Ohio State played in three of the five regular-season top-five matchups and won three of them. The Buckeyes lost to Oregon and beat Penn State and Indiana. ... Kansas' 37-21 win over Colorado made the Jayhawks the first FBS team with a losing record to beat three straight Top 25 opponents. The Jayhawks, who were 2-6 a month ago, will be bowl eligible if they win at Baylor. ... Nebraska ended the longest power conference bowl drought with its 44-25 win over Wisconsin. The Cornhuskers haven't played in a bowl since 2016. Subscribe to stay connected to Tucson. A subscription helps you access more of the local stories that keep you connected to the community. Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox!TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — Caleb McCullough was there for the dark times at Arizona State, when the losses piled up and the cloud of an NCAA investigation was hovering over the program. The senior linebacker opted to stick around, believing in coach Kenny Dillingham's vision for a better future. It came sooner than anyone outside the program expected. "I’m doing whatever I can to win,” McCullough said. “I’m not really a stat player. This is my last year of college and my main goal is just to win.” The Sun Devils are doing just that, becoming one of college football's biggest surprises along the way. Picked to finish last in its first Big 12 season, Arizona State (8-2, 5-2 Big 12) now controls its destiny for a spot in the conference title game. The 21st-ranked Sun Devils have already clinched their first bowl berth since 2021, the year they were last ranked in the AP Top 25 before this week. Arizona State has taken down two ranked teams this season, 27-19 over then-No. 16 Utah on Oct. 11 and 24-14 at then-No. 20 Kansas State last weekend. The Sun Devils will play their biggest home game in recent memory against No. 14 BYU on Saturday , the first home game between ranked teams in Tempe since 2014. Beat the Cougars and Arizona State can clinch a spot in the Big 12 Championship on Dec. 7 in Arlington, Texas, with a win over rival Arizona in the regular-season finale. “It means a lot to these guys to come in here with that chip on their shoulder and do something that really nobody thought we could do,” Dillingham said. Arizona State faced adversity on and off the field when Dillingham arrived in 2023. After winning eight games in 2021, the Sun Devils went 3-9 the following year while under investigation by the NCAA, a combination that led to the firing of Herm Edwards during his fifth season here. Dillingham had success as Oregon's offensive coordinator and brought the requisite enthusiasm of being a young — he was 32 at the time — first-time head coach returning to his alma mater. Despite rallying the community around the program, Dillingham fell into hard luck his first season in the desert. The Sun Devils were decimated by injuries, particularly at quarterback, and never recovered, finishing 3-9 for the second straight season. But Dillingham had the pieces in place. He proved to be adept at finding the right players through the transfer portal, landing former Sacramento State running back Cam Skattebo two years ago and former Michigan State quarterback Sam Leavitt prior to this season. The hard-running Skattebo has been one of the nation's best running backs and Leavitt has been a perfect fit for Arizona State's offense, making good decisions while extending plays with his legs. The portal success extends across Arizona State's roster and Dillingham has sprinkled in solid recruiting classes while convincing key players to remain, a combination that's meshed into a team that could crash the College Football Playoff if the pieces fall just right. “We were a three-win team twice,” Dillingham said. “We were under NCAA sanctions. Most head coaches, to be brutally honest, get fired if you take a job under sanctions. You don’t survive. You’re hired to be fired. That’s the nature of the beast and right now we’re sitting here at 8-2, and I couldn’t be prouder." Dillingham's vision for a better future, one the rest of the country didn't see coming, is here and now. AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-footballZuby Ejiofor delivered an early Christmas present to St. John's in the form of a buzzer-beating shot to keep the Red Storm's winning streak alive. St. John's (10-2) beat Providence at the horn back on Dec. 20 to win its fifth straight game and move to 2-0 in the Big East. Back on its campus in New York, St. John's will face Delaware on Saturday for one last tune-up before returning to conference action. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings. As property values continue to outpace inflation, property taxes are taking a bigger bite out of homeowners’ wallets. A new analysis from Construction Coverage breaks down property tax rates by state, county, and city to reveal where homeowners have the greatest burden. Click for more. Where Are U.S. Property Taxes Highest and Lowest? A State, County, and City Analysis

Ponipate Loganimasi [Source: World Rugby Sevens] It’s been quite a year for national rugby rep Ponipate Loganimasi after being named the Men’s Sevens Dream Team of the Year at the World Rugby Awards today. Loganimasi won a silver medal with the Fiji 7s side in Paris before making his Flying Fijians debut at the Pacific Nations Cup in Japan this year. He later signed a contract with the Fijian Drua for Super Rugby Pacific. Other players that made the World Rugby 7s Dream Team of the Year are Selvyn Davids from South Africa, Antoine Dupont and Aaron Grandidier Nkanang of France, Ireland’s Terry Kennedy, Nathan Lawson of Australia and Matías Osadczuk from Argentina. Meanwhile, Dupont also won the World Rugby Men’s 7s Player of the Year award while South Africa’s Pieter-Steph du Toit is the 15s Player of the Year. World Rugby Women’s 15s Player of the Year is Ellie Kildunne of England. Australia’s Maddison Levi won the Women’s Sevens Player of the Year award and All Blacks rookie Wallace Sititi is the Men’s 15s Breakthrough Player of the Year. World Rugby Women’s 15s Breakthrough Player of the Year is Erin King from Ireland.An online debate over foreign workers in tech shows tensions in Trump’s political coalitionA federal appeals court panel unanimously upheld a law Friday that could lead to a ban on TikTok in a few short weeks, handing a resounding defeat to the popular social media platform as it fights for its survival in the U.S. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit denied TikTok’s petition to overturn the law — which requires TikTok to break ties with its China-based parent company, ByteDance, or be banned by mid-January — and rebuffed the company’s challenge of the statute, which it argued ran afoul of the First Amendment. “The First Amendment exists to protect free speech in the United States,” said the court’s opinion, which was written by Judge Douglas Ginsburg. “Here the Government acted solely to protect that freedom from a foreign adversary nation and to limit that adversary’s ability to gather data on people in the United States.” TikTok and ByteDance — another plaintiff in the lawsuit — are expected to appeal to the Supreme Court, though it’s unclear whether the court will take up the case. “The Supreme Court has an established historical record of protecting Americans’ right to free speech, and we expect they will do just that on this important constitutional issue,” TikTok spokesperson Michael Hughes said in a statement. Though the case is squarely in the court system, it’s also possible the two companies might be thrown some sort of a lifeline by President-elect Donald Trump, who tried to ban TikTok during his first term but said during the presidential campaign that he is now against such action. The law, signed by President Joe Biden in April, was the culmination of a yearslong saga in Washington over the short-form video-sharing app, which the government sees as a national security threat due to its connections to China. The U.S. says it’s concerned about TikTok collecting vast swaths of user data that could fall into the hands of the Chinese government through coercion. Officials also warned the proprietary algorithm that fuels what users see on the app is vulnerable to manipulation by Chinese authorities, who can use it to shape content on the platform in a way that’s difficult to detect. TikTok, which sued the government over the law in May, has long denied it could be used by Beijing to spy on or manipulate Americans. Its attorneys have accurately pointed out that the U.S. hasn’t provided evidence to show that the company handed over user data to the Chinese government, or manipulated content for Beijing’s benefit in the U.S. Get local news delivered to your inbox!

An online debate over foreign workers in tech shows tensions in Trump’s political coalitionCHICAGO (AP) — Sam Darnold threw for 90 of his 330 yards in overtime to set up Parker Romo's game-ending 29-yard field goal, and the Minnesota Vikings outlasted the Chicago Bears 30-27 on Sunday after giving up 11 points in the final 22 seconds of regulation. Read this article for free: Already have an account? To continue reading, please subscribe: * CHICAGO (AP) — Sam Darnold threw for 90 of his 330 yards in overtime to set up Parker Romo's game-ending 29-yard field goal, and the Minnesota Vikings outlasted the Chicago Bears 30-27 on Sunday after giving up 11 points in the final 22 seconds of regulation. Read unlimited articles for free today: Already have an account? CHICAGO (AP) — Sam Darnold threw for 90 of his 330 yards in overtime to set up Parker Romo’s game-ending 29-yard field goal, and the Minnesota Vikings outlasted the Chicago Bears 30-27 on Sunday after giving up 11 points in the final 22 seconds of regulation. Darnold threw two touchdown passes, Jordan Addison caught eight passes for a career-high 162 yards and a touchdown, and T.J. Hockenson had 114 yards receiving for the Vikings (9-2), who remained one game behind Detroit in the rugged NFC North. Caleb Williams threw for 340 yards and two touchdowns for the Bears (4-7), who lost their fifth straight. Minnesota appeared to have the game in hand, leading 27-16 with 1:56 left after Romo kicked a 26-yard field goal. But the Bears weren’t finished. Deandre Carter made up for a muffed punt that led to a touchdown in the third quarter with a 55-yard kickoff return to the 40. Williams took it from there, capping an eight-play drive with a 1-yard touchdown pass to Keenan Allen. A 2-point conversion pass to DJ Moore made it 27-24 with 22 seconds remaining. The Bears recovered the onside kick and Williams hit Moore over the middle for a 27-yard gain to the 30 before spiking the ball. Cairo Santos made a 48-yard field goal as time expired. Chicago won the coin toss, but Williams was sacked for a 12-yard loss on second down, leading to a three-and-out. The Vikings took over at the 21, and Darnold led a 10-play drive, overcoming a sack and two penalties. Darnold connected with Hockenson for a 29-yard completion that put the ball on the 9. He took a knee and then Romo nailed the winner. Winnipeg Jets Game Days On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop. ___ AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL Advertisement Advertisement

Global food yields have grown steadily during last six decades, study findsThe vote followed a decision earlier this week by the Pinellas County Commission to delay until December a vote on revenue bonds needed to finance a new, $1.3 billion Rays ballpark, a project that is in serious jeopardy according to Rays executives. “I can't say I'm confident about anything,” Rays co-president Brian Auld told the council members, who were scheduled later Thursday to vote on their own bonds to pay their share of the new stadium. The Trop's translucent fiberglass roof was ripped to pieces on Oct. 9 when Hurricane Milton swept ashore just south of Tampa Bay. There was also significant water damage inside the ballpark, with a city estimate of the total repair costs pegged at $55.7 million. The extensive repairs cannot be finished before the 2026 season, city documents show. The Rays made a deal with the Yankees to play next season at 11,000-seat Steinbrenner Field, New York's spring training home across the bay in Tampa. Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred said MLB wants to give the Rays and Tampa-area politicians time to figure out a path forward given the disruption caused by the hurricane. Assuming Tropicana Field is repaired, the Rays are obligated to play there for three more seasons. “We’re committed to the fans in Tampa Bay,” Manfred said at an owners meeting. “Given all that’s happened in that market, we’re focused on our franchise in Tampa Bay right now.” The vote Thursday was to get moving on the roof portion of the repair. Once that's done, crews could begin working on laying down a new baseball field, fixing damaged seating and office areas and a variety of electronic systems — which would require another vote to approve money for the remaining restoration. The city previously voted to spend $6.5 million to prevent further damage to the unroofed Trop. Several council members said before the vote on the $23.7 million to fix the roof that the city is contractually obligated to do so. “I don’t see a way out of it. We have a contract that’s in place,” council member Gina Driscoll said. “We’re obligated to do it. We are going to fix the roof.” The council voted 4-3 to approve the roof repair. Members who opposed it said there wasn't enough clarify on numerous issues, including how much would be covered by the ballpark's insurance and what amount might be provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. They also noted that city residents who are struggling to repair their homes and businesses damaged by hurricanes Helene and Milton are dismayed when they see so many taxpayer dollars going to baseball. “Why are we looking to expend so much money right away when there is so much uncertainty?” council member Richie Floyd said. The new Rays ballpark — now likely to open in 2029, if at all — is part of a larger urban renovation project known as the Historic Gas Plant District, which refers to a predominantly Black neighborhood that was forced out to make way for construction of Tropicana Field and an interstate highway spur. The broader $6.5 billion project would transform an 86-acre (34-hectare) tract in the city’s downtown, with plans in the coming years for a Black history museum, affordable housing, a hotel, green space, entertainment venues, and office and retail space. There’s the promise of thousands of jobs as well. St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch, a prime mover behind the overall project, said it's not time to give up. “We believe there is a path forward to success,” the mayor said. AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

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