NFL: Hasselbeck to start
Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck is ready to play against the Saints despite two cracked bones in his left wrist.
* Brian St. Pierre will start at quarterback for the Panthers against the Ravens. . . . Patriots QB Tom Brady practiced on a limited basis yesterday after missing Wednesday’s session with a foot injury.
* The Redskins could be without cornerback Carlos Rogers, who has a sore right hamstring, when they face Randy Moss and the Titans on Sunday.
COLLEGE: Alabama rolls
Greg McElroy completed 12 of 13 passes for 159 yards and two touchdowns and No. 10 Alabama routed fledgling Georgia State 63-7. It was the most points for the Crimson Tide (9-2) since a 66-3 win over Vanderbilt in 1979.
* Chris Folk rushed for 138 yards and a touchdown to lead Washington past UCLA 24-7.
* An attorney for Kenny Rogers said his client made “a stupid decision” when he sent a fellow Mississippi State booster a text of Cecil Newton‘s payment plan to secure his son’s commitment to the Bulldogs.
Doug Zeit confirmed Rogers sent the text to Bill Bell requesting $80,000 the day after Auburn QB Cam Newton signed with MSU, $50,000 30 days later and another $50,000 30 days after that.
* Federal prosecutors charged five former University of Kansas employees with conspiring to steal more than $2 million in tickets to athletic events in a scandal that embarrassed the school and likely led to the early departure of athletic director Lew Perkins.
* Harrison Barnes scored 19 points in No. 8 North Carolina’s 107-63 win over Hofstra in the opening round of the Puerto Rico Tip-Off. Charles Jenkins had 31 points for Hofstra. . . . Scott Machado scored 28 points as Iona (1-3) defeated Richmond 81-77 in double overtime last night in New Rochelle.
BASEBALL: More playoffs likely
Commissioner Bud Selig‘s plan to expand baseball’s playoffs to 10 teams seemed inevitable after little to no opposition emerged during meetings this week with owners and general managers. Because baseball’s labor contract runs to December 2011, the change is not likely to come until 2012.
* The Twins gave manager Ron Gardenhire a two-year extension through the 2013 season, a day after he was picked as the American League Manager of the Year.
* Former Yankee Jim Leyritz had enough time to stop before a fatal 2007 car crash but was too drunk to react to a traffic light and should be convicted of DUI manslaughter, a Florida prosecutor told jurors in a closing argument yesterday.
ETC: Lapchick awards given
Hall of Famers Jody Conradt and Bob Hurley Sr. and former Purdue coach Gene Keady have been presented the Lapchick Character Awards.
* PGA Tour winner Matt Bettencourt shot an 8-under 64 at Del Monte to take a two-stroke lead in the Pebble Beach Invitational. Heath Wassem, the head pro at Fenway CC in Scarsdale, shot a 66.
* Lightning forward Mattias Ritola has been suspended two games without pay for hitting Matt Moulson of the Islanders from behind in Tampa Bay’s 4-2 win Wednesday night.