Miami running back Frank Gore is skipping his senior season and will enter the NFL draft, becoming the second Hurricane in as many days to make that jump.

“I think it’s time to move on,” Gore said Friday.

He has already signed with agent David Levine.

Miami coach Larry Coker was among those who said Gore’s stock would considerably rise if he stayed for 2005. Gore had two major knee injuries in college, and was occasionally slowed by knee trouble this season. He still had a team-best 945 yards, capping a career in which he ran for 1,975-yards and 17 touchdowns.

Gore has a 2-year-old son and a mother who is seriously ill with kidney disease, and he wants to begin providing for them. He knows a strong 2005 season would likely translate into a more lucrative NFL contract, while another knee injury would probably end his pro plans.

Ultimately, Gore — who missed the 2002 season with torn right knee ligaments, then most of the 2003 campaign with a similar injury to his left knee — opted against taking a risk.

“Me and my mom talked (Thursday) night, and then I just sat down and made my decision,” said Gore, who acknowledged that his mother’s wish for him to leave school early played a huge role in his choice.

Gore also thanked Coker and other Miami coaches for “not forgetting about me when I got hurt,” and said he believed they had his best interests in mind when advising him to stay for the 2005 season.

Gore becomes the 10th Miami player to leave school early for the draft in the last four seasons.

Miami has produced 40 first-round draft selections since 1987, the most of any school. There were a record six Hurricanes chosen in the opening round of last year’s draft.

Matt Leinart and his Southern California teammates bounced around the end zone, then broke into a victory dance. The celebration was on — and it was only halftime.

Playing to perfection, the Heisman Trophy winner threw a record five touchdown passes and the Trojans overwhelmed Oklahoma 55-19 Tuesday night in the Orange Bowl, ending the season just as they started: No. 1.

“I think we proved tonight that we are the No. 1 team in the country without a doubt,” Leinart said. “No doubt.”

Even better, there’s no one they have to share it with.

The much-anticipated battle of unbeatens, No. 1 vs. No. 2, turned into a coronation for USC, which had to settle for a share of the national championship last year after being left out of the Bowl Championship Series title game.

“We didn’t expect it to be this easy, but the game went our way from the beginning,” USC coach Pete Carroll said. “I was a little surprised.”

That was no consolation for unbeaten Auburn, the odd team out of the BCS title game this season.

The Tigers (13-0) stated their case with a 16-13 victory over Virginia Tech in the Sugar Bowl on Monday night and could have done no worse than Oklahoma against Southern Cal. But they finished second in the final Associated Press poll.

Cleveland Cavaliers’s LeBron James wears a mask to protect his broken left cheek during a game against the Charlotte Bobcats’, Monday, Jan. 3, 2005, in Charlotte, N.C. James was injured by Houston center Dikembe Mutombo’s elbow during a game Wednesday, Dec. 29. He’ll be required to wear the mask until the facial fracture heals, and doctors said that could take as long as eight weeks.

Even tho’ LeBron didnt like that mask he was wearing, he still helped his team beat the Charlotte Bobcats 94-83 with his 26 points.

Former Miami Dolphins superstar Ricky Williams was so afraid of dealing publicly with his failed drug test that he retired rather than face the media and the NFL over it.

His biggest fear was that people would know he smoked marijuana, he tells Correspondent Mike Wallace in his first television interview since retiring.

“The thing that I had the most trouble with was that after you fail your third test, then it becomes public knowledge,” he tells Wallace. “That’s one thing I couldn’t deal with at the time – people knowing that I smoke marijuana. That was my biggest fear in my whole entire life. I was scared to death of that.”

So last July, after he tested positive for marijuana for a third time, he retired from the NFL and ran away to Australia where he read a lot and discovered his current passion, Ayurveda. Williams is now studying at the California College of Ayurveda to learn the ancient healing science that originated in India thousands of years ago.

Williams, the 27-year-old player who led the league in rushing in 2002, realizes that his sudden decision to quit football disappointed his Miami teammates.

“I didn’t know ahead of time or I would have given them a clue,” he says. “[His decision to retire] happened in the course of two days. Boom boom boom boom, I failed another drug test. That’s when I knew, OK, it was time for me to go.”

The former franchise running back says he owes no one an apology, not even his Dolphin team that foundered as soon as he left. He disagrees that he’s to blame for their current losing season.

“That’s their problem. …It’s not my problem anymore. I played as hard as I could whenever I put that uniform on, but I’m not doing that anymore, you know? I moved on,” he tells Wallace.

“So when is it OK for me to stop playing football? When my knees went out? When my shoulders went out? When I had too many concussions?”

Williams says he’s entirely at peace about giving up football and the huge salary it paid him, though he will not entirely rule out a comeback. His salary this year would have been $5 million, and now his former team is suing him for over $8 million for breach of contract – money he says he does not have.

What he does have now is freedom from the structured life of the NFL, he says, as he embarks on a path to mental and physical health through Ayurveda. But he understands what others perceive.

“To a lot of people, I look very foolish in what I am doing and I understand that,” he says. “[It doesn’t bother me] because the only thing that matters is how I feel, and if I let what they feel affect me, then it changes how I feel.”

All-Star Vince Carter was traded by the Toronto Raptors to the New Jersey Nets for Alonzo Mourning, Eric Williams, Aaron Williams and a pair of first-round draft picks Friday.

Carter, on the injured list with a strained left Achilles’ tendon, was at the Raptors’ morning shootaround, but did not accompany the team to Conseco Fieldhouse for its game against the Pacers.

“Anytime you lose a guy like Vince, it’s a big blow,” Toronto forward Donyell Marshall said. “He was to Canada what Michael Jordan was to the Bulls.”

“Obviously they felt that was the best deal on the table for us,” said Marshall, who spoke to Carter at his hotel room. “We’re going to miss Vince as a player and as a person. We wish him the best.”

Carter is headed to a Nets team that sorely missed the athleticism it lost when Kenyon Martin left for Denver in the offseason. With Jason Kidd healthy again and Richard Jefferson on one wing, New Jersey has a chance to return to the up-tempo style that made it one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference.

“We are very excited to add a player of Vince’s caliber to the Nets roster,” Nets president Rod Thorn said. “He is a proven All-Star who brings a unique dynamic to any team of which he is a member.

“Vince’s ability to run the floor fits in very well with our desired style of play, and his ability to create his own shot will elevate the productivity of our halfcourt offense.”

Indiana’s Ron Artest and Stephen Jackson charged into the stands and fought with fans in the final minute of their game against the Detroit Pistons on Friday night, forcing an early and ugly end to the Pacers’ 97-82 win.

The game was stopped with 45.9 seconds remaining when a pushing and shoving between the teams spilled into the stands after fans began throwing things at the players near the scorer’s table.

“It’s the ugliest thing I’ve seen as a coach or player,” Pistons coach Larry Brown said.

After several minutes of players fighting with fans in the stands, the Pacers were pelted with beer, ice, and popcorn as they made their way to the locker room in one of the scariest brawls in an NBA game.

The Palace announcer said the game was being stopped and pleaded with fans not to throw things.

It all started when Detroit’s Ben Wallace went in for a layup and was fouled hard by Artest.

Wallace wheeled around and pushed Artest in the face. The benches emptied and punches were thrown.

As the players continued shoving each other near center court and coaches tried to restore order, Artest lay on his back on the scorer’s table.

Just when it appeared tempers had died down, Artest was struck by a cup thrown from the stands. He jumped up, and charged into the stands, throwing punches as he climbed over seats.

Fans were punching back, and Jackson and another teammate joined Artest in the melee. A Pistons player came running into the crowd.

Detroit’s Rasheed Wallace and Indiana’s David Harrison were also in or near the stands.

As the crowd roared, drinks and debris showered the court and the Pacers players covered their heads as they hustled through the runway leading to the locker room.

If ABC hoped to generate a little bit more buzz for �Monday Night Football� and �Desperate Housewives,� its steamy intro to the Dallas-Philadelphia game sure did the trick.

Two days after the network aired the segment featuring Eagles star receiver Terrell Owens and actress Nicollette Sheridan, coaches and players were still talking about it.

Reaction ranged from amusement to anger. Indianapolis Colts coach Tony Dungy found it racially offensive.

�To me that�s the first thing I thought of as an African-American,� Dungy said Wednesday.

�I think it�s stereotypical in looking at the players, and on the heels of the Kobe Bryant incident I think it�s very insensitive. I don�t think that they would have had Bill Parcells or Andy Reid or one of the owners involved in that,� he added, a reference to the coaches in the game.

ABC�s intro showed Sheridan wearing only a towel and provocatively asking Owens to skip the game for her as the two stood alone in a locker room. She drops the towel and jumps into Owens� arms. Owens is black and Sheridan is white.

�If that�s what we have to do to get ratings, I�d rather not get them,� Dungy said. �I realize that ratings pays us in this league, but if that�s what we have to do, I�m willing to take a pay cut.�

Philadelphia quarterback Donovan McNabb wasn�t quite as vocal, saying he didn�t find the segment offensive and believed people were overreacting. (Owens wasn�t at practice Wednesday, excused for what the team said were personal reasons.)

�Some people do different things,� McNabb said. �Not saying that my wife would allow me to do that, but it�s just something that was done, and you move on.�

Michael Powell, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, had a different view, questioning ABC�s judgment in airing the scene.

�I wonder if Walt Disney would be proud,� he said.

ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Co. The FCC will review complaints and decide whether or not to open an investigation that could result in a fine against the network.

�It would seem to me that while we get a lot of broadcasting companies complaining about indecency enforcement, they seem to be continuing to be willing to keep the issue at the forefront, keep it hot and steamy in order to get financial gains and the free advertising it provides,� Powell told CNBC.

The segment drew complaints from viewers and the NFL. ABC Sports apologized for using the introduction to promote its show, �Desperate Housewives.� Dungy�s comment, however, was the first that mentioned race. He also said the segment played off stereotypes of athletes.

�That athletes are sexual predators and that that stuff is more important than what�s going on on the field. That a guy was more concerned with that than the game, that�s a terrible message to send,� Dungy said. �I�m particularly sensitive to that. It could have been any player and I would have been outraged, but being an African-American, it particularly hurt me.�

A decade ago Dungy was outspoken about the lack of black coaches in the NFL. There are currently five, including Dungy and Lovie Smith, whose Bears will face Dungy�s Colts on Sunday.

�I thought it was in bad taste also,� Smith said. �You could say that it was pretty close to pornographic, so any time that happens on prime time, something is wrong.�

But Smith didn�t find it racially offensive.

�I really can�t go that far,� he said. �I saw a naked lady with an athlete, period. Black, white, that doesn�t really matter an awful lot to me.�

Dungy said ABC had asked the Colts, who played on Monday night last week, �to do some things I thought would make our players look a little bit silly (although) nothing like that.�

�We kind of declined,� he said.

Some players were also shocked.

�My mouth dropped when I saw that,� said Washington tight end Mike Sellers, who was watching the game with his wife. �I said, �Did they actually plan this on TV?��

But at least one of his teammates wasn�t bothered.

�I thought it was kind of cool, myself,� linebacker Marcus Washington said. �I enjoyed the skit.�

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Former Ohio State star Maurice Clarett accused coach Jim Tressel, his staff and school boosters of arranging for him to get passing grades, cars, and thousands of dollars, including for bogus summer jobs. The school immediately denied the claims Tuesday.

Most of Clarett’s charges, made in an interview with ESPN The Magazine, were addressed as part of an NCAA probe that found the running back lied to investigators, leading to his suspension from the team he helped win the 2002 national title.

Ohio State athletic director Andy Geiger was not surprised by the accusations, saying Clarett had vowed to try to hurt the program.

“In moments of frustration during the investigation, (Maurice) might say something like, ‘I can blow this whole program up,’ or something like that, and so we would then say, ‘OK, blow it up. Tell us what you know,”’ Geiger said.

After being suspended by Ohio State and the NCAA for the 2003 season, Clarett went to court to challenge the NFL’s rule preventing players from entering the draft less than three years after graduating high school. He won initial federal court ruling but lost several appeals and was kept out of the draft.

Friends and family members say Clarett has been working out with a personal trainer in preparation for the 2005 NFL draft. He has not spoken publicly in months.

“I have had a chance to read the article, and the allegations as they were mentioned are, simply, untrue. Period,” Tressel said.

According to the magazine, Clarett said Tressel set him up with a loaner car.

Geiger said Tressel did try to help Clarett buy a car through the dealership that leases cars to several Ohio State coaches and administrators. But Clarett and his mother did not meet with the dealer to make arrangements to buy the car, and the dealership came to Columbus several days later to repossess it.

Geiger said Tressel’s actions did not break NCAA rules, adding that the coach put other players in touch with the dealership, too.

Clarett also said members of Tressel’s staff introduced him to boosters who slipped him thousands of dollars in cash — the better he played, the more he would receive.

“When you’d leave, (the booster) sets you straight,” Clarett told the magazine. “They say, ‘You got any money in your pocket?’ They make sure your money’s straight.”

Clarett said Tressel’s brother Dick, a member of Ohio State’s coaching staff, arranged to get Clarett a job working for a landscaper. Clarett said he was paid even though he did not show up for work. The player also alleged that the football staff arranged an academic adviser who set him up with professors who would pass him even if he skipped class.

Former Ohio State linebacker Marco Cooper also told the magazine he had bogus landscaping jobs, received furniture from a booster and borrowed cars from Columbus dealerships in exchange for signed OSU memorabilia.

Geiger said many of the claims were found to be baseless in investigations by the NCAA and the university. He pointed out that Cooper was kicked off the team for drug possession.

Clarett told the magazine he took “the fall” for Tressel and Ohio State when meeting with the NCAA investigators but was subsequently “blackballed” when he tried to return to school.

Geiger expressed faith in the Ohio State coaches, compliance officers and academic counselors.

“We don’t duck. We’re not afraid of what’s coming. We’re not afraid of what’s here,” Geiger said.

Messages seeking comment were left Tuesday at Clarett’s mother’s house in northeast Ohio and with his attorney.

In the article, Clarett says his main reason for speaking with the magazine was to “clear his name” with NFL owners and general managers.

Thom McDaniels, Clarett’s high school coach in Warren, said Clarett will only hurt himself by making the accusations.

“I don’t know how his coming forth with these comments helps him with his stock in the NFL. I think behaving that way only hurts his reputation and his marketability,” McDaniels said. “That is not honorable behavior. At this point, who knows if it’s fact or fabrication.”

The New England Patriots are no longer perfect, all because of a rookie quarterback who still is.

The Patriots (6-1) had won 21 straight counting the playoffs and a league-record 18 in a row in the regular season, but were all but out of this one after Roethlisberger threw two touchdown passes to Plaxico Burress during a 21-point Steelers first quarter.

Maybe all this winning was too much to ask of Boston-area teams. With running back Corey Dillon (thigh) sitting out and Pro Bowl cornerback Ty Law (foot) sidelined for all but a few plays, the Patriots’ record run ended only four days after the Boston Red Sox won their first World Series in 86 years.