Monday News and Sports

Commercial fishermen are having to take up to two additional days to reach the ocean through Beaufort Inlet, after this fall’s pair of nor’easters have made Oregon Inlet impassable to large vessels, according to The Coastland Times. The current dredging project of the inlet’s main channel is scheduled to be complete by next week, but it’s been over two months since large vessels have been able to pass through. Even charter boats have been having problems making it through Oregon Inlet because of severe shoaling caused by the storms.

New county commissioners will be sworn in across the state today and tonight, as the boards traditionally take office in the first week of December following the November general election. Currituck will see the largest new class of commissioners, as the board expands to seven, and four new leaders take their oaths of office.

The 2008 Atlantic hurricane season came to a close Sunday. Despite a busy year with sixteen named storms and eight hurricanes, North Carolina was spared from a land falling hurricane this year. However a pair of strong tropical storms, Cristobal in July and Hanna in September, made their way through the region.

The Georgia Sea Turtle Center is helping three sea turtles recover from being “cold-stunned” in the Pamlico Sound last month. The sudden drop in water and air temperatures earlier in the month resulted in as many as 40 sea turtles stranding along Hatteras Island, with around a dozen found alive along the shoreline according to the National Park Service.

A helicopter crew from Coast Guard Station Elizabeth City hoisted a man suffering health problems from a cruise ship 130-miles east of Cape Hatteras Saturday. The 61-year old man and his wife were taken to Albemarle Hospital after being airlifted from the “Explorer of the Seas”.

For the third time in four years, a North Carolina grown Fraser fir is the White House Christmas tree. The 20-foot tall tree from River Ridge Tree Farms in Ashe County arrived in Washington Sunday. 25 other smaller trees from the Creston farm will also be in the White House, including the Oval Office.

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SUNDAY
Ty Lawson scored 22 points to help No. 1 North Carolina beat North Carolina-Asheville 116-48 on Sunday despite playing without national player of the year Tyler Hansbrough. Danny Green scored 18 points for the Tar Heels , who had an easy time staying unbeaten heading into their matchup with No. 5 Michigan State this week in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. North Carolina shot 57 percent while Green hit his first six 3-point attempts of the second half to charge up a holiday weekend crowd. Hansbrough sat out as a precaution as he continues to recover from a preseason injury to his right shin.

L.D. Williams had 15 points and 10 rebounds, and Jeff Teague added 14 points, eight rebounds and eight assists to help No. 19 Wake Forest beat Baylor 87-74 on Sunday night in the 76 Classic championship game in Anaheim. James Johnson had 14 points, 14 rebounds and three blocks, and Al-Farouq Aminu had 13 points and 12 rebounds for the Demon Deacons .

Courtney Fells scored 22 points to lead North Carolina State past UNC Greensboro 79-52 on Sunday. Ben McCauley added 17 points and 15 rebounds for the Wolfpack , who pulled away with a 16-4 run near the end of the first half before opening the second half with another 16-4 spurt. Tracy Smith scored 14 points for N.C. State, which shot 47.2 percent from the floor.

(21) Georgetown 75 Maryland 48

MONDAY
ACC-Big Ten Challenge begins tonight, ACC has won the series all 10 times it’s been contested.
(25) Wisconsin at Virginia Tech, 7:00 PM

NFL
Sunday
DeAngelo Williams ran for four touchdowns, including the go-ahead score with 1:30 left in the game, as the Carolina Panthers upended the Green Bay Packers, 35-31. Williams had 21 carries for 72 yards for the Panthers (9-3), who kept pace with Tampa Bay for first place in the NFC South. The Bucs beat New Orleans, 23-20, on a late field goal Sunday. Jake Delhomme passed for 177 yards on 12-of-17 completions for Carolina, while Steve Smith caught four passes for 105 yards. Two of his grabs got the ball to the one-yard line to set up Williams touchdowns.

The New York Giants further dimmed the Washington Redskins' playoff chances with a solid 23-7 win on Sunday. New York is on very solid ground in regard to their quest for a fourth consecutive playoff appearance, but the Redskins' chances of a second straight postseason trip are more unsettled. The Giants are now 11-1 and are knocking on the door of winning the NFC East, but will have to wait until at least next week to clinch the division. Eli Manning threw for 305 yards, including a 40-yard touchdown to Amani Toomer, and Brandon Jacobs ran for another score in the win. Jim Zorn's debut season in Washington has the Redskins at 7-5 but losses in three of its last four games have the 'Skins postseason plans on thin ice. Jason Campbell was 23-of-38 passing for 232 yards and an interception, while Devin Thomas scored his first career NFL touchdown on a 29-yard run.


The Pittsburgh Steelers made the defending AFC champions look rather average during their visit to Foxborough. Ben Roethlisberger threw two touchdown passes during a string of 30 unanswered points as the Steelers humbled the New England Patriots 33-10. Jeff Reed added four field goals for Pittsburgh, which at 9-3, maintains a 1-game lead over Baltimore atop the AFC North. The Patriots fall to 7-5 and into a second-place tie with Miami in the AFC East. The Patriots could manage only 267 yards against the NFL's top defense. Matt Cassel (KA'-sihl) lost two fumbles and was picked off twice in the second half.
The Steelers have held all 12 opponents to under 300 yards.

Adrian Peterson ran for 131 yards and the Minnesota Vikings scored 17 unanswered points in the second quarter to beat Chicago 34-14 with their most lopsided win of the season. The Vikes take a 1-game lead over the Bears in the NFC North with four games left. Gus Frerotte (fur-RAHT') and Bernard Berrian tied an NFL record and set a Vikings record with a 99-yard touchdown pass late in the second quarter.

Baltimore kept pace with the Steelers by routing Cincinnati 34-3. Mark Clayton caught a 70-yard touchdown pass and threw a 32-yard scoring strike to Derrick Mason on an end-around as the Ravens won for the sixth time in seven games.

Dan Carpenter booted three field goals and Ronnie Brown had a three-yard TD run as the Miami Dolphins held off the St. Louis Rams 16-12. The Dolphins picked off Marc Bulger (BUHL'-jur) three times in the second half.

A week after losing at home to Oakland, the Denver Broncos forced four turnovers in a 34-17 thrashing of the Jets. Vernon Fox returned a fumble 23 yards for a touchdown and Jay Cutler threw for 357 yards and two scores as the Broncos improved to 8-4.

Tampa Bay is also 9-3 after rallying past New Orleans 23-20. Jermaine Phillips and Phillip Buchanon picked off Drew Brees (breez) in the closing minutes and Matt Bryant kicked the go-ahead field goal with 1:55 remaining.

Rookie Matt Ryan threw a pair of touchdown passes as the 8-4 Atlanta Falcons dumped the Chargers 22-16. Michael Turner, who backed up LaDainian Tomlinson for four years in San Diego, ran for 120 yards against his former team. The Chargers lose for the fifth time in six games and are 4-8.

Shaun Hill fired a 12-yard touchdown pass to Isaac Bruce and the 49ers turned back Buffalo 10-3 in Orchard Park.

Robert Mathis picked up a Derek Anderson fumble and returned it 37 yards for a touchdown as the Indianapolis Colts rallied past the Cleveland Browns 10-6.

The Chiefs snapped a 7-game losing streak with a 20-13 win at Oakland. Maurice Leggett recovered Shane Lechler's fumble on a botched fake field goal attempt and raced 67 yards for a Chiefs' TD.

The first Monday Night Football game in the history of the Houston Texans will be the feature attraction at Reliant Stadium, as the NFL's newest franchise plays host to the Jacksonville Jaguars

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Alabama and Florida will head into Saturday's SEC championship game ranked one and two, respectively. The top-ranked Crimson Tide and second-ranked Gators held their spots in this week's AP Top 25, setting up the 41st game matching the highest ranked teams in the AP poll. The winner of Saturday's game is virtually guaranteed a spot in the BCS national championship game in Miami on Jan. 8.

Oklahoma has jumped over Texas in the BCS standings and is headed to the Big 12 championship game with an inside track to the national title. A three-way tie between Oklahoma, Texas and Texas Tech atop the Big 12 South standings forced the league to use its fifth tiebreaker, best BCS rating, to determine which team will play Missouri on Saturday in Kansas City. The Sooners lost to Texas in October, but edged out the Longhorns in the BCS standings by a hair. Alabama is first in the BCS. Florida is fourth and USC is fifth.