Sports briefs
Cincinnati cracks CFP top 4
Cincinnati moved into position to make the College Football Playoff on Tuesday night, climbing a spot to fourth behind Georgia, Ohio State and Alabama.
A team from outside the Power Five conferences has never been selected for the semifinals in the previous seven years of the College Football Playoff.
Heading into the final full weekend of games, one loaded with playoff and conference championship implications, Cincinnati (11-0) seems to have a realistic path to a playoff spot no matter what happens around the Bearcats.
Cincinnati plays at East Carolina on Friday and then meets Houston (10-1), ranked 24th by the committee, in the American Athletic Conference championship game on Dec. 4.
Before this season, no team from a so-called Group of Five conference had ever been ranked better than seventh by the CFP selection committee.
Michigan is fifth heading into its game against Ohio State that should produce the Big Ten’s best shot to make the playoff.
Notre Dame (10-1) is sixth. The Fighting Irish’s only loss is to Cincinnati.
NFL adjusts schedule
The NFL has filled the blanks for its previously scheduled Week 15 Saturday doubleheader by moving the Raiders at Browns and Patriots at Colts from Sunday.
Las Vegas will be at Cleveland at 4:30 p.m. EST on Dec. 18, followed by New England at Indianapolis at 8:20 p.m. Both games will be televised by NFL Network.
The three other games that potentially could have been moved will remain on Sunday, Dec. 19. They are the Jets at Miami, Washington at Philadelphia, and Carolina at Buffalo.
During Week 13, the NFL is flexing the Sunday night game for the first time this season. Denver at Kansas City will replace San Francisco at Seattle in prime time. The 49ers-Seahawks match moves to 4:25 p.m. EST.
Man arrested after tackling WWE wrestler
Spectators at a WWE event saw an unexpected bout when a man got past a metal barricade at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn and tackled wrestler Seth Rollins to the ground as he was walking away from the ring.
Video posted to social media from “Monday Night Raw” showed fans reacting in disbelief as the man rushed Rollins, bringing him to the ground and grappling with him before Rollins pushed him off and referees held him down.
The New York Police Department said the man was taken into custody at the scene and arrested. He faces charges including attempted assault.
In the NFL
In an effort to spark an anemic offense with the season teetering on the brink of fiasco, the New York Giants fired offensive coordinator Jason Garrett after a dreadful performance in a nationally televised game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Coach Joe Judge confirmed the dismissal of Garrett on Tuesday, noting the offense was not scoring enough points.
- The Tennessee Titans have waived 2012 NFL MVP Adrian Peterson after three games in a flurry of roster moves.
The Titans signed running back Dontrell Hilliard from the practice squad to replace Peterson. They also signed defensive back Buster Skrine and brought back outside linebacker John Simon.
Zach Wilson is back – and just in time for the New York Jets.
The No. 2 overall pick will return as the starting quarterback Sunday against the Texans in Houston, according to a person with direct knowledge of the decision. Wilson missed the past four games with a sprained posterior collateral ligament in his right knee.