ANNAPOLIS, Md. — As long as he could hold onto the ball and keep his footing on a slippery day, Kyron Drones found plenty of room to run.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Garrett Greene threw for 204 yards and a touchdown, Beanie Bishop Jr. returned a punt 78 yards for a score and West Virginia closed a season in which it exceeded expectations with a 30-10 victory over North Carolina on Wednesday night in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl.

LOS ANGELES — Just over six years after Yoshinobu Yamamoto watched a playoff game from the raucous Dodger Stadium stands and decided he absolutely had to play in the major leagues one day, the right-hander pulled on his white No. 18 jersey and a blue cap in the center field pavilion.

SAN DIEGO — With Caleb Williams watching from the sideline, Miller Moss threw a Holiday Bowl-record six touchdown passes in his first college start and Southern California ended a frustrating season by beating No. 16 Louisville 42-28 Wednesday night.

HOUSTON — Rashod Owens had a career-high 164 yards receiving with two touchdowns and Brennan Presley tied a school record with 16 receptions and had 152 yards receiving in No. 22 Oklahoma State’s 31-23 victory over Texas A&M in the Texas Bowl on Wednesday night.

DETROIT — The Detroit Pistons have made NBA history.

DETROIT — Freshman Darius Taylor returned from a leg injury to rush for a career-high 208 yards, and Minnesota beat Bowling Green 30-24 in the Quick Lane Bowl on Tuesday.

DALLAS — Linebacker Brian Holloway returned two interceptions for touchdowns, Jahmyl Jeter ran for three scores, and Texas State beat Rice 45-21 in the First Responder Bowl on Tuesday in the Bobcats’ first bowl appearance as an FBS program.

The numbers that Atlanta guard Trae Young are putting up are historic: 28.3 points and 11.2 assists per game entering Tuesday. Keep that up for an entire season, and he’ll do something that only Oscar Robertson, Tiny Archibald and James Harden have accomplished.

DETROIT — The Detroit Pistons won’t deny it. They are fully aware of the unwanted history they’ve been tumbling toward for two months.

Kareem Jackson is returning to his roots after the Houston Texans claimed the hard-hitting safety off waivers from the Denver Broncos on Tuesday.

PHOENIX — Jason Bean threw for 449 yards and all six of his touchdown passes to two receivers, and penalty-plagued Kansas outlasted UNLV 49-36 in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl on Tuesday night.

NEW YORK — The New York Mets must pay a record luxury tax of nearly $101 million after a fourth-place finish in their division, among an unprecedented eight teams that owe the penalty for the 2023 season.

LOS ANGELES — Jayson Tatum scored 30 points, Jaylen Brown added 24 and the Boston Celtics kicked off their Christmas weekend in Southern California with a 145-108 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday.

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Japanese reliever Yuki Matsui agreed Saturday to a five-year contract with the San Diego Padres. At 5-foot-8, he becomes one of the shortest pitchers in the major leagues.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Charlotte Hornets rookie Brandon Miller has been ruled out for the second half of Saturday night’s game against the Denver Nuggets after spraining his right ankle.

SAN FRANCISCO — When the San Francisco Giants set out this offseason to improve on a disappointing 2023 season, adding athleticism, defense and the ability to put the ball in play were priorities.

LOS ANGELES — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was undergoing surgery for a broken hip Saturday after falling at a concert in Los Angeles.

MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota Vikings offensive coordinator Wes Phillips was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving after being stopped for speeding on a Minneapolis interstate highway.