BRIEFS

Saint receives academic honor

Limestone College's Dominic Casciato was named a National Soccer Coaches Association of America/adidas First Team Scholar All-American in the College Division. He posted a grade point average of 3.73 to earn the award.

Casciato, a junior defender, is a physical education major. He also garnered Scholar All-Region and NSCAA/adidas All-American honors earlier this fall.

"This is another tremendous honor for Dom and I couldn't be happier for him," Limestone coach Eric Alsop said. "As I've said before, Dom has to be one of the hardest working and most dedicated players that I've had the privilege of coaching, both on and off the field. This award only helps prove that statement. Not only is Dom one of the best defenders in the nation, he does it while maintaining an impressive 3.73 GPA. He is a great representative of the ideals of the Division II level; academic and athletic success."

Good seats available for playoff game

Plenty of good seats are still available for Minnesota's playoff game against Philadelphia.

The Vikings reported 8,000 tickets remaining at noon New Year's Day for Sunday's game against the Eagles. The NFL has granted an extension until 3:30 p.m. local time Friday to reach a virtual sellout, but the possibility of a local TV blackout looms.

The blackout would not only encompass the Twin Cities, but secondary markets in the region as well. It includes satellite, cable and over-the-air systems, so nobody in the area could watch the game unless they're in attendance at the Metrodome.

Vice president of sales and marketing Steve LaCroix said the team has hired extra holiday help to solicit potential buyers.

The Vikings haven't had a game blacked out since the 1997 season.

Trojans trounce Paterno, Penn St.

Overwhelming from the start, Southern California put on a championship performance. Too bad for the Trojans, they weren't playing for the national title.

Mark Sanchez passed for 413 yards and four touchdowns, USC dominated on defense and the fifth-ranked Trojans beat up No. 6 Penn State 38-24 Thursday in the Rose Bowl.

Georgia tops Spartans, 24-12

Matthew Stafford gave the type of performance in the Capital One Bowl that'd make a fitting finale to his excellent Georgia career.

Whether this was his last game with the Bulldogs, the junior quarterback hasn't decided.

Stafford threw three touchdown passes in the final 18 minutes against No. 19 Michigan State, hitting Knowshon Moreno for the clinching score in the 16th-ranked Bulldogs' 24-12 victory Thursday.

Hokies earn 10th victory

When the coaches met near midfield for the traditional postgame handshake, Virginia Tech's Frank Beamer threw both arms around Cincinnati's Brian Kelly. Seemed fitting — since the Hokies pretty much wrapped up the Bearcats throughout the Orange Bowl.

Darren Evans rushed for 153 yards and a touchdown, Virginia Tech's defense came up with four interceptions and the 21st-ranked Hokies beat the 12th-ranked Bearcats 20-7 on Thursday night to join Southern California and Texas as the only schools to win 10 games in each of the past five seasons.

"I think it's the best football team, maybe, we've ever had," Beamer said.