Sports in 2 Minutes

From The Associated Press

Steinbrenner: Yanks make offer to CC Sabathia

NEW YORK—Joe Girardi said this week he’d enjoy showing free agents around the new Yankee Stadium. CC Sabathia is one of the players the New York manager has in mind for a tour of the spacious clubhouse, players lounge, indoor batting cage and underground hot tub.

Free-agent season opened Friday with the Yankees planning to give Sabathia a record offer for a pitcher.

Yankees co-chairman Hank Steinbrenner confirmed Friday night at the team’s spring training complex in Tampa, Fla., that an offer was made to Sabathia, and that proposals will be forthcoming for pitchers A.J. Burnett and Derek Lowe.

“Yes,” Steinbrenner said when asked if an offer was made to Sabathia. “And we’re prepared to make offers to Burnett and Lowe.”

The Yankees formulated a proposal to the big lefty that would exceed Johan Santana’s $137.5 million, six-year contract with the New York Mets both in total and average, a baseball official familiar with the negotiations said. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to divulge details.

Steinbrenner declined to give details about the Sabathia offer.

No. 3 Gators swamp Spurrier

GAINESVILLE, Fla. —The Ol’ Ball Coach never experienced anything like this at Florida Field.

Not as a player. Not as a coach. Not even as an opponent.

Percy Harvin ran for a career-high 167 yards and two touchdowns, Tim Tebow accounted for three scores and No. 3 Florida thrashed 24th-ranked South Carolina 56-6 Saturday, handing Steve Spurrier his worst loss in 90 games at The Swamp.

The Gators won their sixth in a row, finished unbeaten in the Southeastern Conference Eastern Division and kept their national title hopes alive by beating the Gamecocks for the 16th time in the last 17 years. The 50-point drubbing was South Carolina’s worst loss since falling 63-7 to Spurrier’s Gators in 1995.

Not even a few visor tosses would have helped Spurrier in this one.

Florida (9-1, 7-1) scored three touchdowns in eight plays in the first quarter, capitalizing on three consecutive turnovers by South Carolina (7-4, 4-4), and put the game away when Harvin went 80 yards for a score on the opening play of the third.

No. 1 Tar Heels beat Penn

CHAPEL HILL, N.C.—Top-ranked North Carolina figured it had enough returning talent to pass its first test without Tyler Hansbrough. Turns out the Tar Heels’ frontline newcomers are pretty good, too.

Tyler Zeller scored a team-high 18 points while fellow freshman Ed Davis had a double-double Saturday to help North Carolina beat Pennsylvania 86-71, a season-opening performance that seemed to indicate the Tar Heels can weather the uncertainty of playing without the reigning national player of the year.

Deon Thompson added 17 points for the Tar Heels, who led by double figures much of the day yet had some trouble putting together a game-sealing run. North Carolina was also without fellow senior Marcus Ginyard, injuries that forced North Carolina to thrust Zeller and Davis into the lineup.

Zeller, a 7-footer, started in Hansbrough’s spot and finished 5-for-8 from the field and 8-for-10 from the foul line in 23 minutes. Davis had 10 points and 14 rebounds in 22 minutes.

Edwards wins race; Bowyer takes title

HOMESTEAD, Fla.—Carl Edwards won the season-ending Ford 300 on Saturday night, but came up 21 points short in his attempt to overtake Clint Bowyer for the NASCAR Nationwide Series championship.

All Bowyer had to do to keep Edwards from winning a second straight title in the second-tier series was finish in the top eight. He did that easily, taking fifth to stay on top of the standings, right where he has been most of the year despite winning only one of 35 races.

“We’ve been consistent,” Bowyer said after climbing out of his Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet. “We did the things it takes to win championships. I want to thank Richard for giving me the opportunity.

“We’ve raced a long time, we’re both from the Midwest and he’s a good competitor,” Bowyer said of Edwards. “He’s last year’s champion and it feels really good to beat him.”

Michigan loses eighth game

ANN ARBOR, Mich.—Michigan sank to an all-time low on a day as miserable as its season.

C.J. Bacher threw touchdown passes on his first two drives of the second half to lift Northwestern to a 21-14 win Saturday over the Wolverines, handing them eight losses overall and five at home for the first time in the storied program’s 129-year history.

“I’m sick to my stomach right now,” senior safety Brandon Harrison said.

Many fans likely felt the same way, leaving Michigan Stadium mostly empty in the second half because of subfreezing wind chill, rain, sleet and snow along with poor play.

“It was tough to stay,” coach Rich Rodriguez said. “It’s our job to put a team out there that everybody is proud of.”

College football’s winningest program had already sealed its first losing season since 1967 and snapped a 33-season bowl streak.