Edited by Leeroy Francis Jr. |Sports editorIn the MLS final at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on Saturday, Dec. 8, Atlanta Utd. defeated Portland Timbers 2-0 to win the league title in its second year of competition. Josef Martinez and Franco Escobar scored the goals for Atlanta. Keeper Brad Guzan made several key saves for the home team. ATL Manager Gerardo Martino was coaching in his last match for the club as he is moving on to coach the Mexican national team. It was Atlanta's first major professional championship since the Braves won the World Series in 1995. Elsewhere in sports:
- Augusta University's men defeated Emmanuel 77-70 on Dec. 6 to enter the final exam mini-break with a 5-2 record. Guard Miguel Arnold led the Jaguars with 22 points. Next up for AU is a game at Young Harris on Monday, Dec. 17 at 11 a.m. The women's game will follow at 1 p.m. ...
- After losing to Alabama in a tight SEC championship game, Georgia was named to play Texas in the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 1, 2019. The Bulldogs just missed the college football playoff, which will feature the Crimson Tide against Oklahoma and Clemson against Notre Dame ...
- Army beat Navy 17-10 in the final regular-season college football game in Philadelphia on Dec. 8 for the Black Knights' third straight win in the series ...
- Quarterback Kyler Murray of Oklahoma won the Heisman Trophy ...
- When Georgia Tech plays Minnesota in the Quick Lane Bowl in Detroit on Dec. 26, it will mark the end of Paul Johnson's tenure as the coach of the Yellow Jackets. Temple's Geoff Collins has been hired to replace Johnson, who also coached at Georgia Southern and Navy. Johnson's career record going into the bowl game is 189-98. He won two Division I-AA national titles at Georgia Southern ...
- South Carolina will play Virginia in the Belk Bowl in Charlotte, N.C., on Dec. 29, and Georgia Southern will play Eastern Michigan in the Camellia Bowl in Montgomery, Ala., on Dec. 15 at 5:30 p.m. ESPN will telecast the game ...
- Valdosta State advanced to the NCAA Division II final with a 30-24 win over Notre Dame of Ohio in a game that was televised on ESPN3. Coach Kerwin Bell's Blazers (13-0) will play Ferris State in the final on Dec. 15 in McKinney, Texas. Game time is 4 p.m. on ESPNU. Bell, the former Florida, NFL and CFL quarterback, is in his third year at Valdosta ...
- The Boston Celtics routed the Chicago Bulls 133-77, the largest margin of victory in Celtics' history and the largest margin of defeat in Bulls' history ...
- Liverpool went to the top of the English Premier League after winning 4-0 at Bournemouth while defending champion Manchester City lost 2-0 at Chelsea.
Sources: ABC Sports, Associated Press, Augusta Chronicle, BBC, Bleacher Report, CBS Sports, ESPN and New York Times.Contributors: Leeroy Francis Jr., Ceara Hester, Megan Johnson, Brandon Johnson, Ben Marshall, Khadijah Sandifer and Chase Slone.