Army: 2017 Armed Forces Bowl Champions

FORT WORTH, Texas -- Army coach Jeff Monken was able to joke afterward.

"We had `em all the way," Monken deadpanned.

It wasn't quite that easy for the Black Knights.

Darnell Woolfolk scored on a 1-yard run with 18 seconds left, Kell Walker converted a go-ahead 2-point run and Army added a last-play defensive touchdown for a 42-35 victory over San Diego State on Saturday in the Armed Forces Bowl.

After Rashaad Penny's fourth touchdown run of the game gave San Diego State (10-3) a 35-28 lead with 5:47 to play, Army (10-3) drove 72 yards for the tying score and winning conversion.

"It was tough, but we were confident we'd move the ball," Army quarterback Ahmad Bradshaw said.

On the Aztecs' final play, they made multiple laterals from their 40. The final lateral was grabbed by Army's Elijah Riley, who returned it 29 yards for a touchdown.

The Black Knights tied a school record for wins set by the 1996 team.

Penny ran for 221 yards, his fifth straight game of at least 200 yards. His scores came on runs of 81, on his first carry, 31, 49 and 4 yards.

Juwan Washington added the Aztecs' other touchdown on a 78-yard kickoff return in the first half's closing seconds.

"Obviously, Rashaad and Juwan had a great night," Aztecs coach Rocky Long said. "Our defense played really, really poorly. And that's coaching. So, that's my fault."

Army dominated the time of possession. The Black Knights ran 91 plays to the Aztecs' 30 and held the ball for 46:00 to San Diego State's 13:53.

"That's our brand of football," Monken said. "We don't have anybody like they have -- when you break through the line, it's six points."

Woolfolk ran for two touchdowns, and Bradshaw and Andy Davidson ran for one each.

Monken said there was no doubt the Black Knights would go for two points if they pulled within one in the closing minutes with a touchdown.

"That No. 20, Rashaad Penny -- if we went into overtime, he's going to get the ball in his hands again," Monken said. "There's no way I wanted to watch that anymore."

Walker took the pitch and raced toward the right corner of the end zone.

"Our O-line did a tremendous job," Walker said. "All I had to do was catch it and run."

THE TAKEAWAY

San Diego State: The Aztecs went into the game ranked ninth in FBS rush defense, allowing 110.4 yards per game. Army ran for 120 in the first quarter and 440 overall.

Army: The Black Knights went into the game ranked last in the FBS averaging 29.6 passing yards per game. They went 1-for-4 passing for 6 yards, including receiver Kjetil Cline throwing an interception.

RUNNING RECORDS FALL

Penny finished with a school-record 2,248 rushing yards this season, breaking the mark set last season by Donnel Pumphrey. He said afterward the record doesn't mean anything since the Aztecs finished with a loss. Penny also became the fourth FBS player ever to run for 200 yards in five straight games.

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED

Army's seniors progressed from records of 4-8 and 2-10 during their first two seasons to 8-5 and 10-3, with two straight wins over Navy and the school's first Commander-in-Chief's Trophy since 1996.

"We flipped the script last year and built the foundation that we're still building to where 10-win seasons are now the expectation," linebacker Alex Aukerman said.



UP NEXT

San Diego State: Having produced 2,000-yard rushers each of the past two seasons, the Aztecs will look to Washington as their primary ball carrier in 2018. The 5-foot-7, 190-pounder ran for 759 yards this season as a sophomore. The Aztecs, with seven starters each returning on offense and defense, will open at Stanford on Sept. 1.

Army: While the academy's public affairs office stated two weeks ago that senior Bradshaw would spend an additional year at West Point, he said following Saturday's play: "This is my last game." The Black Knights will open at Duke on Sept. 1. 

Paris Saint-Germain: 2015-16 Coupe de France Champions

Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored twice on his final appearance for Paris Saint-Germain as the capital club completed a second successive domestic treble with a 4-2 defeat of Olympique de Marseille in Saturday's Coupe de France final.

 Olympique de Marseille 2 - 4 Paris Saint-Germain

Given the gaping 48-point gulf between the pair in the 2015/16 Ligue 1 table, few expected the encounter at the Stade de France to be close, but Abdelaziz Barrada's first-minute shot that fizzed just wide of Salvatore Sirigu's goal suggested OM would not be the lambs to the slaughter many neutrals had predicted they would be.

Those neutrals would have been somewhat more smug less than 60 seconds later, however, as PSG went in front. When picked out wide on the right-hand side, Angel Di Maria flicked a cross into the box - the ball fell perfectly into the stride of the onrushing Blaise Matuidi, whose touch at close range meant Steve Mandanda had next to no chance of saving his side.

Despite their travails in league competition this season, OM gave PSG two keenly-contested Ligue 1 games, and they showed their abliity to match the champions with an equaliser just ten minutes later (12'). When the ball arrived at the feet of Florian Thauvin, he turned beyond Maxwell and fired low into Sirigu's bottom left-hand corner. The Italy international goalkeeper appeared to think the shot was going wide before realising too late it would find the net instead.

Brave block

Sirigu did get everything behind Steven Fletcher's goalbound touch to a Thauvn cross just after the half-hour mark (32') as OM continued to provide a counter-riposte to PSG's promptings at the opposite end where Di Maria, in particular, was proving a handful. It was one of the Argentina international's free-kicks that led to the scramble that afforded Edinson Cavani a sight of goal, but a brave block sent the Uruguay international's shot spinning to safety.

'Safety' was only a relative term, however, as the subsequent corner was not cleared by the OM defence, and Ibrahimovic saw the ball drop kindly - from a tight angle, PSG's all-time leading scorer fired goalwards, but his shot found a phalanx of OM defenders in its path. The Sweden captain then found a diving Mandanda denying him as the OM goalkeeper flew to his right to snare a low drive (37').

Given their start to the game, OM interim boss Franck Passi no doubt told his side to remain alert at the restart. He would have been all the more frustrated, then, to see Nicolas Nkoulou send Matuidi tumbling inside the box with a handful of seconds on the clock - Ibrahimovic stepped up to gleefully send his spot-kick to Mandanda's left as the OM captain dived right (47').

Effortless

Fletcher sent an effort narrowly wide at the opposite end, and a cleaner contact from the on-loan Sunderland AFC forward might have reaped greater reward. PSG showed OM how to be clinical on 56 minutes, capitalising on possession lost cheaply by their opponents with Ibrahimovic slipping the ideal ball into Cavani's path - the striker fired low beyond Mandanda to give the holders breathing space.

An opportune Nkoulou leg prevented Ibrahimovic from finding Di Maria with a ball that surely would have seen the former Real Madrid CF and Manchester United FC man add a fourth. Instead, it was Ibrahimovic himself who capped a convincing triumph. With OM tiring, Matuidi was able to play the ball into space behind the Marseille back four - Ibrahimovic sprinted goalwards before effortlessly beating Mandanda (82').

To their credit, OM continued pushing, and Michy Batshuayi pulled one back (87'), but the only significant action of the closing minutes was the substitution of Ibrahimovic, who was given a deserved ovation.

Fairleigh Dickinson: 2015-16 Northeast Men's Basketball Champions

NEW YORK -- Fairleigh Dickinson coach Greg Herenda gave a timeline on how his team was thinking of winning the Northeast Conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

"In July it would have been a stretch," he said of a team that was coming off a losing season that saw them drop 15 straight at one point. "In November, December it wasn't a shock to think that anymore. We put Dayton on the board in July."

Dayton and the First Four is where the Knights are most likely headed after beating Wagner 87-79 on Tuesday night to win the NEC Tournament.

"Hey, it's a night in the lights of America and an opportunity to win," he said. "If we win a First Four game, a No. 1 seed has to go down sometime. It's going to happen. I'm not predicting it, but if you come out and guard us we'll drive by you and if you don't we'll shoot over you. I don't care who we play."

That was the formula for success against Wagner.

Darian Anderson scored 28 points and Earl Potts Jr. had 27 to lead FDU to its fifth NCAA Tournament bid and first since 2005.

Anderson had 18 points in the second half and Potts had 16 when the Knights took control on the way to their first NCAA bid since 2005, and the first under Herenda, who is in his third season.

Potts has the same idea as his coach in terms of the NCAA Tournament.

"Whoever we play is going to have a hard time," he said. "We can go and win a couple of games. We're just not going to show up."

Potts scored FDU's first nine points of the second half as it took the lead for good on his 3-pointer that gave the second-seeded Knights (18-14) the lead at 51-47.

They were ahead by as many as 10 points, the first time on a 3 by Marques Townes with 4:15 to play.

Anderson was 8 of 16 from the field, including 2 of 4 from 3-point range, while Potts was 11 of 19, including 4 of 8 from long range. The Knights were 9 of 19 from 3-point range.

"We didn't play good defense in the first half but we got it right in the second half," Potts said.

Corey Henson led the top-seeded Seahawks (23-9) with 24 points, while Michael Carey had 18 points and 11 rebounds. Wagner finished 4 of 24 from 3-point range and 21 of 33 from the free throw line.

"We just didn't make shots and their effort kicked up a notch and ours didn't," Carey said. "I think it was effort."

The win was the fifth straight for the Knights and it ended Wagner's seven-game winning streak. The teams split the season series with Potts hitting a 3 at the buzzer to give the Knights an overtime win at Wagner.

The game was played before a packed, sellout crowd of about 2,100 at Wagner's Spiro Sports Center and the FDU fans in attendance rushed the court at the final buzzer.

"I knew our crowd would storm the floor," Anderson said. "We knew we had to make a lot of adjustments from last year to make this happen and we ended up doing so."

The first half started and ended about as different as possible.

The Seahawks opened the game on a 13-2 run, getting the ball inside the Knights' 2/3 zone for shots down low. FDU got as close as four points before the Seahawks again scored inside often to take a 31-20 lead with 3:35 left in the half.

The Knights, taking advantage of Wagner turnovers, closed the half on a 13-4 run to cut Wagner's lead to 35-33. Potts closed it with a 3-pointer with 2 seconds left.

Both teams struggled from 3-point range in the first half, Wagner making 3 of 11 and the Knights just slightly better at 3 for 10.

"They made a couple of tough 3s and a couple of bombs," Wagner coach Bashir Mason said. "There's no way I'm going to let our season be defined by one game."

TIP-INS:

FDU: The Knights are the third-youngest roster in Division I with two redshirt juniors and all sophomores and freshmen. ... FDU last played in the NEC title game in 2006. ... FDU's NCAA appearances were 1985, 1988, 1998 and 2005. ... The Knights reached the title game with wins over St. Francis, Pa. and Mount St. Mary's. ... FDU's Director of Basketball Operations is Pete Lappas, the son of former Villanova and Massachusetts coach Steve Lappas.

Wagner: This was the first time Wagner hosted the championship game since 2003. ... The Seahawks reached the title game with wins over Robert Morris and LIU Brooklyn. ... The 87 points were the most allowed by Wagner this season.

UP NEXT:

FDU: NCAA Tournament.

Wagner: NIT.

It makes a fellow proud to be a soldier!

The heart of every man in our platoon must swell with pride,

For the nation's youth, the cream of which is marching at his side.

For the fascinating rules and regulations that we share,

And the quaint and curious costumes that we're called upon to wear.

Now Al joined up to do his part defending you and me.

He wants to fight and bleed and kill and die for liberty.

With the hell of war he's come to grips,

Policing up the filter tips,

It makes a fella proud to be a soldier!

When Pete was only in the seventh grade, he stabbed a cop.

He's real R.A. material and he was glad to swap

His switchblade and his old zip gun

For a bayonet and a new M-1.

It makes a fella proud to be a soldier!

After Johnny got through basic training, he

Was a soldier through and through when he was done.

It's effects were so well rooted,

That the next day he saluted

A Good Humor man, an usher, and a nun.

Now Fred's an intellectual, brings a book to every meal.

He likes the deep philosophers, like Norman Vincent Peale.

He thinks the army's just the thing,

Because he finds it broadening.

It makes a fella proud to be a soldier!

Now Ed flunked out of second grade, and never finished school.

He doesn't know a shelter half from an entrenching tool.

But he's going to be a big success.

He heads his class at OCS.

It makes a fella proud to be a soldier!

Our old mess sergeant's taste buds had been shot off in the war.

But his savory collations add to our esprit de corps.

To think of all the marvellous ways

They're using plastics nowadays.

It makes a fella proud to be a soldier!

Our lieutenant is the up-and-coming type.

Played with soldiers as a boy you just can bet.

It is written in the stars

He will get his captain's bars,

But he hasn't got enough box tops yet.

Our captain has a handicap to cope with, sad to tell.

He's from Georgia, and he doesn't speak the language very well.

He used to be, so rumor has,

the Dean of Men at Alcatraz.

It makes a fella proud to be,

Why, as a kid I vowed to be,

What luck to be allowed to be

A soldier. At ease!

Sporting Kansas City: 2013 Major League Soccer Champions

KANSAS CITY, Kan. – Two championships in 16 months. A young core entering its prime. Owners willing to spend, and a fanbase mushrooming out of control. Everything is going to plan in Kansas City.

And after collecting their second MLS Cup trophy in a wild penalty shootout win over Real Salt Lake, becoming only the fifth team in MLS to win multiple titles in the process, it would seem Sporting Kansas City’s time atop the MLS heap has only just begun.

Of course, it’s easy to say that after popping bottles. But the sentiment’s got plenty of merit – despite the unknowns all MLS teams, most certainly championship ones, face come offseason – and Sporting hope this is just the beginning of a trophy case-clogging run.

“I could throw LeBron out there and say we’re going to win one, two, three, four, five,” defenderMatt Besler said somewhat facetiously, drawing plenty of laughs. “But I saw the potential with this club and where it’s headed and where it was already at. That was probably the biggest factor in signing a long-term deal.”

• READ: Armchair Analyst: Three things we learned about Sporting KC, The Walking Dead and PKs

Besler’s United States national teammate Graham Zusi did the same this June, and despite the fact that both could move on next summer should foreign clubs come calling following the 2014 World Cup, trophies have a way of keeping talent in the fold and attracting plenty more.

As Sporting know all too well, success also attracts wandering eyes, a lesson learned when Roger Espinoza and Kei Kamara departed for England in the past year, but it seems the club has had no problem moving on, restocking the cupboard and finally overcoming their playoff yips to bring a long-awaited championship to Kansas City.

“This is definitely the first stepping stone. We’ve kind of created a culture at this club, and the past couple years we’ve grown each year,” Zusi said. “Don’t get me wrong, we’re very satisfied with what we’ve accomplished right now, but we need to take this as a stepping stone into the years to come and try to become one of the dominant teams in the league.”

Don’t forget the region, either.

By defeating Real Salt Lake, a team that knows all too well that titles are hard to come by after winning MLS Cup ahead of schedule in 2009 then falling short in the ensuring seasons, Kansas City is back in the CONCACAF Champions League for the 2014-15 season.

• READ: After battling through broken ribs, Nielsen saves his best trick for last

Before that, though, they’ll try to navigate the knockout stages for the first time facing a quarterfinal matchup against Cruz Azul in March.

“I made a joke earlier right after the president and owner came over to me on the field. I said, ‘That’s great. Now let’s go and win Champions League,’” manager Peter Vermes said. “Give me one day to just relax and enjoy this, but that’s hopefully the next thing on our list.”

And after that? Perhaps a Supporters’ Shield, US Open Cup or MLS Cup triumph.

Hey, Sporting can dream about a potential dynasty, right?

“I don’t know about a dynasty. We feel like we’ve got a team that can put ourselves in position to win trophies,” defender Seth Sinovic said. “Obviously, US Open Cup last year and MLS Cup this year. Who knows? We’d like to win a lot more, but we know it’s going to be difficult with the parity in this league.”