BEREA, Ohio(AP) Former Green Bay and Seattle coach Mike Holmgren accepted an offer to become president of the Cleveland Browns, a tradition-rich franchise needing a major makeover after a decade of losing and front-office incompetence.
Browns owner Randy Lerner said he reached a preliminary agreement with Holmgren, a Super Bowl-winning coach who brings immediate credibility to the down-and-out Browns.
As part of a front-office shakeup, Lerner said current president Mike Keenan will become the club's chief financial officer.
RENTON, Wash. (AP) - Seahawks long snapper Kevin Houser is hoping to be out of the hospital in time for Christmas Eve after doctors re-inflated his collapsed lung.
Seattle coach Jim Mora said the 32-year-old veteran of 10 seasons was sitting up in his hospital room and watching ``Ren and Stimpy'' cartoons with his wife and kids.
Houser got hurt while covering a punt in the second quarter Sunday against Tampa Bay.
IRVING, Texas (AP) - The Dallas Cowboys cut placekicker Nick Folk and brought back Shaun Suisham.
Suisham previously kicked for Dallas in 2005 and 2006. He was released by Washington on Dec. 8 after missing a key kick - the same problem that cost Folk his job.
Folk clanged the right upright on an easy 24-yarder that would have put away Saturday night's 24-17 victory against the unbeaten Saints. Instead, the Dallas defense had to make one more stand against one of the league's best offenses.
Folk leads the NFL with 10 misses, going 18 of 28 and missing seven of his past 11.
BASEBALL=
NEW YORK (AP) - The World Series champion New York Yankees were hit with a luxury tax of nearly $25.69 million, according to information received by clubs and obtained by The Associated Press.
New York was the only team to pay a tax for this season and has crossed the threshold in all seven years since the tax started. The Yankees have been billed $174 million of the tax's $190 million total since 2003.
The only other teams to pay have been Boston ($13.9 million for 2004-7), Detroit ($1.3 million for 2008) and the Los Angeles Angels ($927,059 for 2004).
COLLEGE BASKETBALL=
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) - Third-ranked Kentucky became the first team in NCAA history to reach the 2,000-win plateau with an 88-44 rout of Drexel. Kentucky improved to 2,000-635-1 in 107 seasons. North Carolina is next on the list with 1,992 wins while Kansas has 1,980.
NEW YORK (AP) - Kansas will be spending at least one more week atop The Associated Press' men's college basketball poll, a spot it has held all season.
The Jayhawks (10-0) saw their lead over Texas trimmed a bit. They received 55 first-place votes from the 65-member national media panel, six less than it had a week earlier. Those votes all went to Texas (10-0), was No. 1 on seven ballots.
Kentucky (11-0) had one first-place vote and was third, followed by Purdue (10-0) and Syracuse (11-0), which was No. 1 on two ballots.
West Virginia, Duke and Villanova remained sixth through eighth, while Michigan State moved up three places to ninth and North Carolina remained 10th.
NEW YORK (AP) - Connecticut was No. 1 in The Associated Press women's Top 25 for the 31st straight week, surpassing the school record set by from 1999-2001.
UConn (9-0) received all 40 first-place votes from the national media panel and moved within five of the all-time record of 36 consecutive weeks at No. 1 set by Louisiana Tech from 1980-82.
To keep the streak going, the Huskies will have to beat No. 2 Stanford on Wednesday in Hartford. Notre Dame was third, followed by Tennessee and Baylor.
Ohio State moved up two places to No. 6, and North Carolina, Duke, Georgia and Texas A&M rounded out the top 10.
HOCKEY=
PITTSBURGH (AP) - Martin Brodeur broke the NHL record with his 104th career shutout in the New Jersey Devils' 4-0 victory over the defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins.
Brodeur needed to make only a few difficult saves while breaking Terry Sawchuk's shutout record, finishing with 35 stops to break the coveted shutout record only two games after setting the NHL mark for regular-season appearances by a goaltender. The shutout record came in his 1,032nd game over 16 seasons, all with the Devils.
ATHLETE OF THE YEAR=
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) - NASCAR driver Jimmie Johnson was selected as the Male Athlete of the Year by members of The Associated Press.
Editors at newspapers which are members of the AP selected Johnson after he captured an unprecedented fourth straight championship in NASCAR's premier series. He received 42 votes to beat tennis star Roger Federer and Olympic sprinter Usain Bolt, who were the only other two athletes to receive vote totals in the double-digits.
Albert Pujols, Kobe Bryant and Tiger Woods, who was named athlete of the decade last week, each received nine votes.
HORSE RACING=
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - The New York Racing Association said it's facing a cash crunch that could threaten the Belmont Stakes and thoroughbred horse racing's Triple Crown because the state government still hasn't approved video slot machines at the Aqueduct racetrack.
NYRA President Charlie Hayward said that unless state lawmakers agree to get video slots up and running soon at Aqueduct, the NYRA may need another $30 million bailout from the state to save the racing season at Belmont, which includes the storied final leg of the Triple Crown.
