By Marie Torto, Boston.com Staff

One Oregon sports writer thinks he knows why Oregon coach Chip Kelly isn't taking a job in the NFL just yet.

According to John Canzano of The Oregonian, Kelly is holding out for something bigger than the Philadelphia Eagles or the Cleveland Browns: he wants Bill Belichick's job.

Canzano wrote, "I think the job Kelly absolutely wants is the [job] currently held by 60-year-old three-time Super Bowl champion head coach Bill Belichick, who is as close to Kelly in his monomaniacal drive and ultimate hands-on style as there is in sports.”

Kelly is the head coach for the Oregon Ducks, and as Canzano points out, "Belichick has unique control of Robert Kraft‘s franchise in the same way Kelly does at Oregon."

With Kelly as their head coach, the Ducks have gone 46-7 in the last four seasons and made four consecutive BCS Bowl games.

By Matt Pepin, Boston.com Staff

Can things get any weirder for Jets coach Rex Ryan?

Today the New York Daily News leads with the discovery that Ryan has a tattoo on his right arm of his wife wearing a green and white jersey with the number 6 on it. No. 6 happens to be the number of the Jets' quarterback, Mark Sanchez.

Some have speculated on social media and talk radio that the image shows Ryan's wife "Tebowing," the pose made famous by one of the Jets' backup quarterback, Tim Tebow.

Ryan was spotted in the Bahamas, where he is vacationing. According to the Daily News, Ryan was sunbathing near a pool, listening to music and reading. He declined to speak with the Daily News reporter and ran for cover.

It's the latest in a long line of Ryan "moments." Here's a look at his previous memorable moments and quotes.

Friday's New York Daily News was New York tabloid newspapering at its best. A look at the front page (above), as well as the clever headlines on the back page and story page (below).

South Carolina defensive lineman Jadeveon Clowney's hit on Michigan's Vincent Smith in Tuesday's Outback Bowl is sure to be the talk of the watercooler this week.

Clowney hammered Smith in the backfield before Smith could even start running, popping Smith's helmet off and the ball loose. Clowney recovered the ball.

Watch ESPN's video of the play above. (Note the scoreline on the video is not the final ... South Carolina won, 33-28)

By Marie Torto, Boston.com Staff

In September, 28-year-old Norway native Havard Rugland posted a 4-minute video entitled "Kickalicious" on YouTube. One and a half million hits later, Rugland is an internet sensation and was invited to practice with the New York Jets this past week.

The New York Times has an excellent look at who he is and how his one video became an Internet sensation.

By Matt Pepin, Boston.com Staff

The Marist College Center for Sports Communication has released the results of its annual best in sports poll for 2012.

Among the findings:

• Michael Phelps' Olympic medal record was the biggest accomplishment in sports in 2012, with the US women's gymnastics team winning Olympic gold second.


• The New York Giants' Super Bowl win was the best sports championship, with the San Francisco Giants' World Series championship second.


• The Jerry Sandusky scandal at Penn State was the most impactful story of 2012, with Lance Armstrong's doping case second.


• Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning was the player with the biggest impact on his sport, with LeBron James of the Miami Heat second.


• Jets backup quarterback Tim Tebow was the overwhelming choice for most overhyped athlete. Yankees third baseman Alex Rodroiguez was second.


• Sixty percent of adults nationwide consider themselves sports fans.

The complete results can be found at Marist's web site.

Lions receiver Calvin Johnson set the NFL record for receiving yards in a season on Saturday vs. the Falcons. Johnson passed Jerry Rice, who set the mark at 1,848 in 1995, and has 1,892 yards with one game to play.

Watch the highlights from Johnson's performance in the embedded video.

By Matt Pepin, Boston.com Staff

Texans running back Arian Foster put an interesting spin on the time-honored tradition of backfield stars gifting-up the workhorses who pave the way for them.

Foster, who is fourth in the NFL with 1,313 yards this season, gave each of his offensive linemen a Segway. Foster said the linemen had joked about Foster's use of the personal transporter, so he decided to get one for each of the players on the offensive line depth chart.

“I can’t do anything without them,” Foster said. “If there’s no them, there’s no me. That’s what a team’s all about. It’s just my way of giving back to the big fellas up front.”

The linemen were pretty happy with the gifts.

"I think he's going to have a big day on Sunday," tackle Duane Brown said.

On Wednesday's Boston Sports Live, Chris Gasper and Chad Finn tossed around the question of which sports figure would be Boston's sportsman of the year, similar to the annual Sports Illustrated honor that went to LeBron James for 2012.

Watch the video above to see their choices, then cast your vote below (or write in a candidate).

East Boston High posted a dramatic victory over Madison Park on Tuesday, with Pat Santos hitting a full-court buzzer-beater.

The play was No. 1 on ESPN's Top Plays on SportsCenter on Wednesday. Video was captured by the Boston Herald. The shot comes at the 38-second mark as the video timer counts down.

By Matt Pepin, Boston.com Staff

All 126 top-level NCAA football schools, including Boston College, are eligible for the cover of the next edition of EA Sports' popular NCAA Football video game thanks to a fan vote.

The first round of voting, designed to whittle down the field to 32, is now open on Facebook. Schools are listed alphabetically in two lists: Air Force to Missouri and Navy to Wyoming.

First-round voting closes Dec. 31.

Fans are also invited to download special images customized for their favorite team for use on Facebook and other social media.

By Gary Dzen, Boston.com Staff

Former Red Sox infielder Kevin Youkilis has agreed to a one-year, $12 million deal with the New York Yankees, according to Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports. According to the report, the deal is done pending a physical.

Youkilis played for the Red Sox from 2004 until last season. On June 24, the Red Sox traded Youkilis to the White Sox for righthanded pitcher Zach Stewart and utilityman Brent Lillibridge. Neither player is with the Red Sox organization.

Youkilis hit .235 with 19 home runs in 122 games between Chicago and Boston last season. He is expected to see time at third base in New York while Alex Rodriguez recovers from an injury.

Businessman Donald Trump created a bit of a stir with a tweet sent a few hours before kickoff of the Monday Night Football game between the Patriots and Texans.

Good Luck to Bob Kraft, Tom Brady and Coach Bob Belichick tonight.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 10, 2012

Naturally, the gaffe prompted a range of responses.

We can only imagine how Patriots coach Bill Belichick would respond if he were on Twitter. Got any suggestions? Feel free to post them in the comments.

The boxing card scheduled for next week at TD Garden has been postponed because one of the fighters in the main event, Danny O'Connor, was injured while sparring.

TD Garden Night at the Fights was rescheduled for Jan. 26. Tickets will be valid for the new date, or fans can obtain a refund from the place they bought tickets. Refund requests must be made by Jan. 15.

By The Associated Press

A 25-year-old Kansas City Chiefs player fatally shot his girlfriend early Saturday, then drove to Arrowhead Stadium and committed suicide in front of two team officials, police said.

Police spokesman Darin Snapp said the player killed his girlfriend and then went to the team practice facility, where he shot himself. He did not identify either the player or his victim. Multiple reports have identified the player as Jovan Belcher, a fourth-year linebacker who played college football at the University of Maine.

Before turning the gun on himself, the player thanked Chiefs general manager Scott Pioli and Romeo Crennel for all they had done for him, Snapp said.

Authorities received a call Saturday morning from a woman who said her daughter had been shot multiple times at a residence about five miles away from the Arrowhead complex. Snapp said a call was then received from the Chiefs’ facility.

Upon arriving, Snapp said that police witnessed a black male in a car with a handgun to his head talking to two Chiefs officials. That’s when police heard a gunshot. Arrowhead Stadium has been lockdown since about 8 a.m.

‘‘We can confirm that there was an incident at Arrowhead earlier this morning,’’ the Chiefs said in a statement. ‘‘We are cooperating with authorities in their investigation.’’

Kansas City is scheduled to host the Carolina Panthers on Sunday. The league has informed the Panthers to travel as scheduled because the game is going on as scheduled.
The season has been a massive disappointment for the Chiefs, who were expected to contend for the AFC West title.

They’re just 1-10 and mired in an eight-game losing streak that has been marked by devastating injuries and fan upheaval, with constant calls the past few weeks for Pioli and Crennel to be fired. Things have been so bad this season that Crennel fired himself as defensive coordinator.

The Chiefs have been ravaged by injuries, led the league in turnovers, can’t settle on a quarterback and are dealing with a full-fledged fan rebellion. The Twitter account for a fan group known as ‘‘Save Our Chiefs’’ recently surpassed 80,000 followers, about 17,000 more than the announced crowd at a recent game.

Former Patriots lineman Joe Andruzzi, who is hosting his annual "Tackle Cancer Gala" on Monday at Gillette Stadium, joined Boston.com readers to talk some football on Wednesday.

Review the discussion below.

By Steve Silva, Boston.com Staff

Looks like "Yo Soy Fiesta" will be taking the party to sunny Florida.

Patriots star tight end Rob Gronkowski will spend his autumns in New England for the foreseeable future, but it looks like he'll be living large in Florida when the football season is over.

Gronkowski, currently recovering from a broken left forearm, recently closed on a deal to purchase a 4,781-square-foot mansion in Tampa for $1.6 million according to a report from TMZ.

The new House of Gronk reportedly has 4 bedrooms, 5 bathrooms, built-in fish tanks, a premium surround sound system, three outdoor entertainment areas, an infinity pool, spa, and ocean views. See photos on TMZ's site.

Gronkowski signed a six-year, $54 million contract extension with the Patriots in June. He was injured on an extra-point play against the Colts in Foxborough two weeks ago. Gronkowski had scored 10 touchdowns to go along with 53 receptions and 748 yards on the season before the arm injury.

And don't worry about Gronk jumping ship to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers anytime soon. The big tight end might not see free agency until 2020, when he would be 31.

By Matt Pepin, Boston.com Staff

"Fireman Ed" will still go to Jets games, but he'll just be Ed Anzalone from now on.

The Jets' superfan, known for wearing his fireman's helmet and leading the J-E-T-S Jets! Jets! Jets! chant, says he'll just be an ordinary fan to avoid confrontations at MetLife Stadium.

"Whether it’s in the stands, the bathroom or the parking lot, these confrontations are happening on a consistent basis," Anzalone wrote in a story for Metro in New York. "Although I can 'hold my own,' I do not want to lose my temper and make a stupid mistake. I have a responsibility to the families and kids that enjoy the game and Fireman Ed."

In the video clip above, more than 150 children at the Grace Care Orphanage in Kenya re-enact Larry Bird's legendary steal and game-winning assist from the 1987 Eastern Conference Finals vs. the Pistons. The goal of the video is to raise money for charity. Click here to learn more about the "Lift the Children" humanitarian effort.

This summer, children from the orphanage re-enacted another famous Boston play, the Bill Buckner error in the 1986 World Series.

Jimmy Junior, the world's first football-predicting wild turkey, has predicted that the New England Patriots will defeat the New York Jets on Thanksgiving night.

In a promotion for Wild Turkey bourbon, Jimmy Junior chose a plate of feed on top of a Patriots helmet over the feed atop a Jets helmet. Little Jimmy follows in the footsteps of great animal prognosticators Paul the Octopus and Punxsutawney Phil.

Of course, Jimmy Junior also chose the Lions over Houston, so his reliability is suspect. Former NFL quarterback Vinny Testaverde, who trained the bird, according to the press release, said, "I was a little disappointed in the last pick, where he picked New England over the Jets, but other than that I thought he did well."

Watch the video clip above to see all the action.

Watch highlights from Grinnell College basketball player Jack Taylor's NCAA-record 138-point performance in a Division 3 basketball game vs. Faith Baptist on Tuesday. Taylor wears No. 3.

Taylor's stat report for the game:
FGM-FGA: 52-108
3FGM-3FGA: 27-71
Total points: 138
Assists: 0
Minutes: 36

See the full box score here.