CAA trio named AP All-Americans

New Hampshire tight end Scott Sicko, Maine defensive lineman Jovan Belcher, and Massachusetts punter Brett Arnold were named to the Associated Press Football Championship Subdivision All-America team yesterday. Sicko had 50 catches for 660 yards and seven touchdowns this season, averaging 13.2 yards per catch. Belcher was a Buchanan finalist and the Colonial Athletic Association's Defensive Player of the Year. Arnold averaged 45.2 yards a punt . . . Holy Cross senior quarterback Dominic Randolph won the George "Bulger" Lowe Award as the Division 1 Player of the Year in New England. The Patriot League Offensive Player of the Year set Crusader season records for passing yards (3,838), total offense (3,917 yards), completions (340), and attempts (520) while tying the record for TD passes (34) . . . Oklahoma defensive tackle DeMarcus Granger underwent back surgery and will not play in the Bowl Championship Series national title game against Florida.

Weyinmi Efejuku had 18 points to lead six Providence players in double figures as the host Friars (7-3) beat Jackson State, 85-71 . . . James Feldeine scored 29 points and got a key steal in the final minute to lead Quinnipiac (6-3) to a 76-74 victory over Dartmouth (2-6) in Hanover, N.H. . . . Rodney Foster scored 18 points, including 7 in the final 40 seconds, to rally Rice (4-5) to a 67-63 win over Harvard (4-5) in Houston . . . DeJuan Blair took control inside with 21 points and 16 rebounds as No. 3 Pittsburgh (11-0) stayed undefeated with a 79-66 victory over visiting Siena (5-4) . . . Gerald Henderson and Kyle Singler scored 14 points each as No. 6 Duke (9-1) routed North Carolina-Asheville (4-6), 99-56, in Durham, N.C. . . . Rick Jackson scored 14 points as No. 11 Syracuse (10-1) beat visiting Canisius, 82-60 . . . David Lighty had 21 points to lead No. 17 Ohio State (7-0) to an 81-68 victory over Jacksonville (2-6) in Columbus, Ohio . . . Raymar Morgan had 26 points and 10 rebounds and No. 19 Michigan State (7-2) survived a 3-point barrage in a 79-65 victory over The Citadel (5-6) in East Lansing, Mich. . . . Robert Dozier scored 15 points as No. 23 Memphis (6-2) weathered a late rally to hold on for a 59-51 win over Arkansas-Little Rock (7-3) in Memphis . . . Niki Finelli had 13 points and the Harvard women (7-4) rallied from a 7-point deficit in the final two minutes to defeat host UC Santa Barbara, 61-59 . . . Sarah Vaillancourt collected the 200th point of her career on a first-period goal to help the Harvard women's hockey team (5-5-3, 5-2-2 ECAC) to a 3-2 victory over host No. 3 Dartmouth (7-4-1, 6-2-1).

Gillett Evernham Motorsports will lay off about 65 employees as part of scaling back its Nationwide Series program next season. The No. 9 Dodge will run a partial schedule in the second-tier NASCAR series in 2009. The team will continue to field at least three Sprint Cup Series teams - for Kasey Kahne, Elliott Sadler, and Reed Sorenson - and is in talks with Petty Enterprises to merge with that organization and house its famed No. 43. "We are a Sprint Cup team first and foremost, and winning in that series needs to be our primary focus," CEO Tom Reddin said . . . Matt Kenseth will have a new crew chief in 2009, as Drew Blickensderfer will try to return the 2003 NASCAR champion to Victory Lane. Kenseth's 2008 crew chief, Chip Bolin, will return to his role as team engineer after one winless season . . . Formula One's McLaren agreed to a sponsorship deal with computer firm Lenovo for 2009.

The Breeders' Cup reversed its decision to cut financial support for certain stakes races at about 40 North American tracks after getting a barrage of complaints from the industry. While the organization is making no long-term commitment to the stakes program, which currently affects 121 races, it announced it would continue at least for one more year. Breeders' Cup chairman William S. Farish Jr. said the organization would tap into its reserve funds to contribute the $4.5 million it announced last week would be cut from the program because of budget concerns . . . Standout trotter Deweycheatumnhowe and trainer and co-owner Ray Schnittker were unhurt when their pickup and trailer flipped on an icy road in north-central Pennsylvania and slid about 30 feet down an embankment.

Pittsburgh goalie Marc-Andre Fleury will start tonight in Atlanta, the first time he has played since injuring his groin Nov. 15 . . . St. Louis Blues defenseman Jay McKee will be sidelined indefinitely with a fractured left ring finger . . . Heather O'Reilly scored off a rebound in the 34th minute, helping the US women's soccer team beat China, 1-0, in Detroit. The US is 33-1-2 for 2008, extending its mark for wins in a calendar year . . . The city of Birmingham, Ala., will host the 2009 first-round Davis Cup matches between the United States and Switzerland March 6-8 . . . Lindsay Davenport pulled out of the Australian Open because she is pregnant.