Reuters U.S. Sports Schedule at 2 PM EST on Thursday, Dec. 18
Dec. 18 (Reuters) - Reuters U.S. sports schedule at 2 PM ET on Thursday: - - - - The duty editor is Steve Ginsburg, 202-898-8427 - - - - NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE Titans at Jaguars JACKSONVILLE - The first-ever NFL regular-season game between a pair of 2-12 teams comes to primetime, with third-string QB Charlie Whitehurst piloting the Tennessee Titans into EverBank Field to face off with rookie Blake Bortles and the Jaguars. (FBN-TITANS-JAGUARS-FIRSTLEDE-WRITETHRU/ (PIX), expect ASAP after 8:25 PM ET kickoff, The Sports Xchange, 400-word first lede, 700-word writethru) - - NFL coaching changes not always answer Forecasting what could be ahead for coaches in the firing line with a look back at how teams who made the move before the 2014 season fared with new bosses. (FBN-COLUMN/, expect by 5 PM ET, The Sports Xchange, by Ira Miller, 800 words) - - Harbaugh weighing Michigan offer SAN FRANCISCO - San Francisco 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh might not be long for his current post. He is still a wanted man, if the $48 million contract offer from Michigan is any indication. (FBN-49ERS-NEWS/, moved, The Sports Xchange, 421 words) - - NFL Week 16: What to watch in every game Keys, players to watch, matchups and facts for all Week 16 games, including who wins and why. (FBN-NEWS/, moved, The Sports Xchange, 3,000 words) - - Bears bench Cutler LAKE FOREST, Ill. - Franchise quarterback Jay Cutler, who leads the NFL in 2014 compensation ($22.5 million) and turnovers (24), is benched by coach Marc Trestman who'll give Jimmy Clausen a start for the first time since 2010. (FBN-BEARS-NEWS/, expect by 6 PM ET on merit, The Sports Xchange, 400 words) - - Rivers' back injury 'bigger' than known ESPN reports Philip Rivers' back injury is a bigger deal than the San Diego Chargers are letting on, though he is still expected to start Saturday at San Francisco. (FBN-CHARGERS-NEWS/, moved; will be led, The Sports Xchange, 335 words) - - Newton with the 1s at Panthers practice Quarterback Cam Newton runs the first-team offense with the Carolina Panthers and plans to start Sunday against the Cleveland Browns. (FBN-PANTHERS-NEWS/, expect by 7 PM ET on merit, The Sports Xchange, 335 words) - - Cowboys RB Murray likely to start Sunday There is nothing wrong with Dallas Cowboys running back DeMarco Murray's left hand, if you judge by his grip on the team's Man of the Year trophy. (FBN-COWBOYS-NEWS/, moved, The Sports Xchange, 375 words) - - Jerry World: Cowboys can make a run IRVING, Tex. - Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has gone from believing his team was facing a season with their backs against the wall to possibly vying for home-field advantage throughout the playoffs and a Super Bowl run. (FBN-COWBOYS-NEWS/, moved, The Sports Xchange, 583 words) - - Carr goes to bat for interim coach Sparano ALAMEDA, Calif. - Derek Carr doesn't have a vote, but as the Oakland Raiders prepared to face the Buffalo Bills, he hit the campaign trail for interim coach Tony Sparano. (FBN-RAIDERS-NEWS/, moved, The Sports Xchange, 612 words) - - NFL roundup News and notes from around the league. (FBN-NOTEBOOK/, expect by 7:45 PM ET, The Sports Xchange, 400 words) - - - - NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION Woeful Knicks on slow learning curve under Jackson regime NEW YORK - In a season full of hope in the first full campaign under Knicks president Phil Jackson, winner of 11 NBA titles as a coach, New York have floundered to a 5-22 record and are struggling with a new offense, a rookie coach and a frustrated star in Carmelo Anthony. (NBA-KNICKS/, moved, by Larry Fine, 395 words) - - Pacers' unity a welcome plus for coach Vogel LOS ANGELES - For Indiana Pacers coach Frank Vogel, a shining light in a gloomy, injury-hit campaign where the Eastern Conference finalists of the past two seasons have resembled a sinking ship has been the team's strong unity. (NBA-PACERS/VOGEL (INTERVIEW, PIX), expect by 3 PM ET, by Mark Lamport-Stokes, 400 words) - - TSX covers all NBA games, highlighted matchups below - - Knicks at Bulls CHICAGO - Carmelo Anthony said he nearly joined the Chicago Bulls (15-9, but visits as part of the enemy New York Knicks (5-22) instead as Derrick Rose & Co. push toward the top of the Eastern Conference. (BKN-BULLS-KNICKS-FIRSTLEDE-WRITETHRU/ (PIX), expect ASAP after 8 PM ET tipoff, The Sports Xchange, by Tom Musick, 400-word first lede, 700-word writethru) - - Thunder at Warriors OAKLAND - The Warriors lost for the first time in five weeks on Tuesday at Memphis, and Golden State comes home with a 21-3 record to host the Oklahoma City Thunder. Kevin Durant and the Thunder have won seven straight games. (BKN-WARRIORS-THUNDER-FIRSTLEDE-WRITETHRU/ (PIX), expect ASAP after 10 PM ET tipoff, The Sports Xchange, by David Del Grande, 400-word first lede, 700-word writethru) - - NBA Game Roundup Capsule recaps of all four games on today's NBA schedule. (BKN-NOTEBOOK/, expect roundup to move periodically as games end, The Sports Xchange, 350 words) - - NBA Wrap: Streaking Thunder visit first-place Warriors The red-hot Oklahoma City Thunder, finally on a roll after early struggles due to injuries to key players, seek their eighth consecutive victory when they visit the league-leading Golden State Warriors in one of the four games on the schedule. (NBA-HIGHLIGHTS/ (PIX), expect by 11:30 PM ET, by The Sports Xchange, 350 words) - - Today's NBA schedule at a glance New York at Chicago, 8 PM ET New Orleans at Houston, 8:30 PM ET Milwaukee at Sacramento, 10 PM ET Oklahoma City at Golden State, 10:30 PM ET - - NBA Roundup The latest moves and news from the NBA. (BKN-NOTEBOOK/, expect by 6 PM ET, The Sports Xchange, 350 words) - - - - MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL Padres could quash Kemp trade USA Today reports the San Diego Padres could reject the deal for outfielder Matt Kemp from the Los Angeles Dodgers because his physical revealed arthritic hips. (BKN-PADRES-DODGERS-NEWS/, moved, The Sports Xchange, 329 words) - - - - NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE Crosby skates, Fleury mumps-free Starting goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury tests negative for mumps and is cleared to play tonight against the Colorado Avalanche, when the Pittsburgh Penguins could also get Sidney Crosby back in the lineup. (HKN-PENGUINS-NEWS/, moved, The Sports Xchange, 145 words) - - TSX covers all NHL games, highlighted matchup below - - Ducks at Canadiens MONTREAL - Currently 2-1 on a five-game Canadian road swing, the Ducks (21-7-5) visit the Montreal Canadiens (20-10-2), who put their three-game winning streak on the line against the NHL's leader in points. (HKN-MAPLELEAFS-DUCKS-FIRSTLEDE-WRITETHRU/ (PIX), expect ASAP after 7:30 PM ET scheduled start, The Sports Xchange, by Larry Millson, 400-word first lede, 700-word writethru) - - NHL Game Roundup Capsule recaps of all seven NHL games on the schedule Thursday. (HKN-NOTEBOOK/, expect multiple versions, moving periodically after 7 PM ET scheduled starts, The Sports Xchange, 400 words) - - NHL Wrap: Leafs eye longest win streak in 10 seasons The Toronto Maple Leafs will shoot for their longest win streak in 10 seasons when they visit the Carolina Hurricanes in search of their seventh consecutive victory in one of the seven games on the NHL schedule. (NHL-HIGHLIGHTS/ (PIX), expect by 11:30 PM ET, by The Sports Xchange, 750 words) - - Today's NHL schedule at a glance Florida at Philadelphia, 7 PM ET Colorado at Pittsburgh, 7 PM ET Toronto at Carolina, 7 PM ET Washington at Columbus, 7 PM ET Anaheim at Montreal, 7:30 PM ET St. Louis at Los Angeles, 10:30 PM ET Edmonton at San Jose, 10:30 PM ET - - NHL Roundup The latest moves and news from the NHL. (HKN-NOTEBOOK/, expect by 6 PM ET, The Sports Xchange, 350 words) - - - - SOCCER FIFA set to vote on publication of Garcia report MARRAKECH, Morocco - FIFA's executive committee begins a two-day meeting amid tight security with members expected to vote on whether to release ethics investigator Michael Garcia's report into the turbulent bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups. (SOCCER-FIFA/, moved, by Brian Homewood, 550 words) - - - - TENNIS Serena and Djokovic take ITF annual honors LONDON - Serena Williams and Novak Djokovic are named 2014 World Champions by the International Tennis Federation. (TENNIS-ITF/CHAMPIONS, moved, 175 words) - - - - JURISPRUDENCE Accused Boston bomber says satisfied with defense lawyers BOSTON - Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, in his first public appearance in more than a year, tells a judge that he's satisfied with his lawyers heading into the January start of his trial in the deadly 2013 attack. (USA-EXPLOSIONS/BOSTON (UPDATE 2, PIX), moved; will be led, 650 words) - - - - THE YEAR IN SPORTS 14 from '14: Year in Sports The most memorable names from the 2014 calendar year in sports are debatable, but no doubt these inspired great debate and left a lasting impression -- Sterling, Rice, Stewart, Sam, Bumgarner, Jeter, Peterson. The Sports Xchange turned to the correspondents who brought readers the top stories of the year to recollect the year's top stories. (MSC-NEWS/, moved, The Sports Xchange, by The Sports Xchange correspondents, 2,100 words) - - - - NORTH AMERICAN SPORTS Roundups of off-field developments in the major North American professional sports leagues. (Expect by 8 PM ET, by The Sports Xchange, 400 words)
