IN BRIEF

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

Utah rallies past Cal to win Poinsettia Bowl

Jordan Wynn threw for a career-high 338 yards and three touchdowns to rally No. 23 Utah from an early two-touchdown deficit to a 37-27 victory over California in the Poinsettia Bowl on Wednesday in San Diego.

The Utes scored 27 straight points to win their ninth straight bowl game, the longest current streak in the country and tied for the second longest ever. Florida State won 11 straight from 1985 to 1996, and Southern California won nine in a row from 1923 to 1945.

Utah sacked Cal's Kevin Riley five times and intercepted him twice, with former Valley High linebacker Stevenson Sylvester returning a tipped pass 27 yards for a touchdown late in the game.

Also: UNR coach Chris Ault said he has disciplined two of his players and they will not play in today's Hawaii Bowl.

In a statement, Ault said he had suspended safety Duke Williams for the game and dismissed linebacker Andre Davis from the program.

Gary Patterson was voted Associated Press Coach of the Year after leading No. 3 Texas Christian to a 12-0 regular season and a date with No. 6 Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 4.

BASKETBALL

UConn women notch 49th straight victory

Maya Moore scored 23 points and Tina Charles added 20 to help top-ranked Connecticut win its 49th straight game, an 80-68 victory over No. 2 Stanford in front of a sellout crowd of 16,294 in Hartford, Conn.

The Huskies (10-0) won their first nine games this season by at least 25 points and an average of 46.

Also: Celtics forward Paul Pierce had fluid drained from his right knee and will miss the next two weeks.

Pau Gasol has agreed to a three-year contract extension with the Los Angeles Lakers.

Gasol's deal extends through the 2013-14 season and could be worth more than $60 million depending on future salary caps.

BASEBALL

Reliever Rodney agrees to contract with Angels

Fernando Rodney has reached a preliminary agreement with the Los Angeles Angels on a two-year deal worth $11 million. Rodney must pass a physical for the contract to be completed.

Rodney spent the past seven seasons in the Detroit Tigers' bullpen. The hard-throwing right-hander had 37 saves last season with a 4.40 ERA and one blown save.

Also: The Athletics finalized a $5.25 million, one-year contract with free-agent outfielder Coco Crisp.

The Toronto Blue Jays finalized their trade to acquire former No. 1 draft choice Brandon Morrow from the Seattle Mariners for fellow reliever Brandon League.

The Braves reached a preliminary agreement on a one-year contract with Troy Glaus, who is likely to move to first base with Atlanta.

Major League Baseball ensured its first decade of labor peace since the 1960s by agreeing to a five-year deal with umpires that runs through 2014.

MOTOR SPORTS

Schumacher to return to F1 with Mercedes

Seven-time Formula One champion Michael Schumacher is coming out of retirement to drive for Mercedes in 2010.

The 40-year-old German driver, who retired three years ago, confirmed his comeback.

"Three years of absence gave back all the energy that I'm feeling right now," Schumacher said in a telephone conference. "I feel ready for some serious stuff."