FOOTBALL

Packers-Lions game flexed to prime time

The NFC North title showdown between Green Bay and Detroit was moved to Sunday night on New Year’s Day.

The NFL announced the switch on Christmas Day, and also moved two afternoon games back from 1 p.m. to 4:25 p.m.: New Orleans at Atlanta and the New York Giants at Washington.

Green Bay (9-6) has won five consecutive games. Detroit (9-5) plays at Dallas on Monday night before hosting the Packers. Regardless of the outcome of the Lions-Cowboys, the game with the Packers will decide the NFC North.

A first-round playoff bye also could be available for the Packers-Lions winner.

COLLEGES

FOOTBALL: Connor Harris of Lindenwood, who made more tackles than any other college player, is the winner of this year’s Cliff Harris Award.

The award is given annually to the top defender in small-college football. The Harrises are not related.

Harris ended his career with 633 tackles for the NCAA Division II school located in St. Charles, Missouri. As a senior, he had double-digit tackles in all but one game.

The award honors Cliff Harris, who went undrafted out of Ouachita Baptist and later played safety in five Super Bowls with the Dallas Cowboys.

To be eligible, a player must be in NCAA divisions II or III or the NAIA. The award is presented by the Little Rock Touchdown Club and the Wright, Lindsey, Jennings law firm.

BASKETBALL: David Collette scored 17 points on 8-of-8 shooting as Utah defeated Stephen F. Austin 74-66 to claim fifth place in the Diamond Head Classic in Honolulu.

JoJo Zamora and Devon Daniels had 16 each, and Lorenzo Bonam added 12 for the Utes (9-3), who never trailed and shot 58.5 percent (24 of 41) from the field.

Utah scored 30 points off 23 turnovers by the Lumberjacks (5-7).

Gabe Bealer’s 3-pointer from the right corner off an assist from Collette gave Utah its largest lead at 49-35 and capped a 10-2 run with 12:26 left.

• Jack Purchase made five 3-pointers and scored 17 points, and Hawaii snapped a four-game losing streak with a 60-46 victory over Southern Mississippi in the seventh-place game of the Diamond Head Classic.

Hawaii went on a 10-0 run to stretch its lead to 21 points midway through the second half as Southern Miss went scoreless for five-plus minutes.

Gibson Johnson added 10 points for Hawaii (5-7), which made 10 shots from distance.

SOCCER

PREMIER LEAGUE: In one sense, normality has returned to the English Premier League after the craziness of Leicester’s improbable surge to the title last season.

The top six on Christmas Day are the teams most predicted would be challenging for the title: Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Arsenal, Tottenham and Manchester United.

But there’s nothing that’s normal about Chelsea’s current form.

After 11 straight wins, Chelsea leads the league by six points from Liverpool heading into the hectic period of festive fixtures that is unique to British soccer. Only once – Arsenal in 2001-02, with 13 straight wins – has a top-tier club had a longer winning streak in one season since World War II.

On current evidence, it’s hard to see how the team from southwest London can be stopped.

– News service report