BRIEFS

Sidney Rice Anglels withdraw offer to slugger

The Los Angeles Angels have pulled their eight-year offer to Mark Teixeira and will no longer go after the first baseman.

Team spokesman Tim Mead confirmed Sunday the Angels have withdrawn their offer and are "out of the Mark Teixeira derby." The team made its offer, reportedly worth about $160 million, during the winter meetings in Las Vegas earlier this month.

The Red Sox said last week that they "are not going to be a factor" in signing the 28-year-old Maryland native. Washington and Baltimore have expressed interest in Teixeira.

The Angels obtained Teixeira from the Atlanta Braves in late July. Playing in a combined 157 games with the Angels and Braves, Teixeira had 33 homers and 121 RBIs along with a careerbest .308 average.

Rice has no catches in Vikes' loss

Former Gaffney star wide receiver Sidney Rice had no receptions in the Minnesota Vikings' loss to the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday.

Washington Redskin linebacker and and former Gaffney High star Rocky McIntosh had one tackle and two assists in Washington's win over the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday.

Rocky McIntosh Southern Miss topples Troy

It only seemed fitting that Larry Fedora's first bowl game as Southern Mississippi's head coach would feature a stirring comeback and dramatic overtime finish.

The Golden Eagles overcame a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit with the help of a fourth-down touchdown pass, and Michael McGee blocked a field goal in overtime for a 30-27 victory over Troy in the New Orleans Bowl on Sunday night.

The victory was the fifth straight for Southern Miss (7-6), which needed the first four to qualify for a bowl and the last one to extend the school's streak of consecutive winning seasons to 15.

"I just can't say how proud I am of this whole football team," Fedora said, reflecting on when his squad was mired in a fivegame losing skid that dropped Southern Miss to 2-6.

"They were probably the only ones out there that really believed we would get it done. They never gave up, they believed in the coaches."

Singh wins FedEx Cup

Vijay Singh rarely shows up at a golf tournament not knowing what to expect.

Then again, he has never gone an entire month without so much as lifting a club.

In his first conventional tournament since capturing the FedEx Cup on Sept. 28, even the 45- year-old Singh was surprised by what transpired over the weekend at the Chevron World Challenge.

He kept the ball in play with a new driver.

He piled up birdies on the par 5s. He moved up the leaderboard with three straight birdies early on the back nine Sunday.

And he finished the most lucrative season of his career with a 10-foot birdie on the final hole for a 5-under 67 and a one-shot victory over Steve Stricker.