North Texas got an interception after the ball deflected twice, once off a shoulder pad (Video)

In the third quarter of North Texas' game against Rice Thursday night, defensive back Marcus Trice made an interception after the ball had bounced off of a teammate's shoulder pad and another teammate's hands.

Linebacker Zach Orr was defending the pass down the middle with his back to quarterback Taylor McHargue and the ball popped off his right shoulder and into the air. James Jones had the first shot at it, but he missed, and deflected the ball into Trice's hands, who made the interception.

North Texas held on to beat Rice 28-16 and became bowl eligible with its sixth win of the season for the first time under former Iowa State head coach Dan McCarney.

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Nick Bromberg is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!

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Vitor Belfort says he’d stop TRT use for UFC title shot

Vitor Belfort and wife Joana Prado. (Zuffa)

Vitor Belfort has told everyone that would listen that his four straight wins at middleweight (with one loss to Jon Jones at light heavyweight sandwiched in between) have earned him the right to another middleweight shot. Problem is, the last time Belfort got a shot at the middleweight title, he became quick highlight reel fodder for then champ Anderson Silva, losing by KO in the first round.

Belfort is no longer an apparently credible threat to Silva and champ Chris Weidman has his hands full with his rematch with "The Spider." So, "The Phenom" next fights at light heavyweight against Dan Henderson.

Belfort hasn't given up talking about middleweight title shots, though. In a recent interview with Brazilian outlet UOL, Belfort told that middleweight gold is still on his mind, and that he'd be willing to drastically change his fight preparation to get a shot at it.

Belfort routinely asks for therapeutic use exemptions (TUE) to received testosterone replacement therapy (TRT). Brazilian commissions have been granting the national hero TUEs but Nevada's commission executive director has gone on record as saying that Belfort would not be granted a TUE for TRT in the UFC's home state.

In 2006, Belfort tested positive for the banned substance, 4-hydroxytestosterone, after a fight in Nevada. Belfort maintains that he stays within allowable testosterone levels while receiving TRT under the supervision of doctors but told UOL that he'd give up the treatments if that made a difference to the UFC giving him a title shot.

"I’ve already said that, if they agree with it, I would [stop receiving TRT]," he said. "No problem at all. If they want me to get there in a disadvantage, that’s ok."

Belfort's promise may be a meaningless one, however, since he says that UFC officials have already told him that they won't require him to stop receiving TRT treatments.

"But they already told me that’s not the problem," he explained.

"UFC told me ‘you can’t get in there in disadvantage.’ The thing is, I’m in normal testosterone levels with TRT. That’s the treatment. People don’t seem to understand that I’m the only guy that does blood tests. Many fighters don’t do this, many use illegal stuff and are not tested like I am. I’m tested all the time. Week after week, month after month. I have to keep the levels normal to make it fair."

Follow Elias on Twitter @EliasCepeda

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Chris Paul out-duels Stephen Curry, becomes first 40-15-5 player in 40 years as Clippers beat Warriors (Videos)

What a battle. (Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports)

Those of us who stuck around through the Chicago Bulls-New York Knicks rock fight (punctuated, as it was, by one sublime moment of shot-making) that opened TNT's Thursday doubleheader received a rich, rich reward once the action shifted to Staples Center — Chris Paul and Stephen Curry going head-to-head and haymaker-to-haymaker for 48 glorious minutes.

If you didn't see it, here's what CP3 did:

And here's how Curry responded:

Paul drove, directed and dazzled, disrupted and dished, and even dunked. The $107 million man paced the Clippers' high-powered offense to a 10-point lead after 12 minutes and 68 first-half points, then continued to keep the pressure on come the second half. L.A. scored at an obscene rate during Paul's 37 minutes on the floor on Thursday — an average of 124.8 points per 100 possessions, according to NBA.com, a number that would lead the league by so much over the course of a season as to be essentially imaginary — and saw their offensive efficiency fall off a cliff (paul) when he sat, plummeting to a 71.2 points-per-100 pace. (Breaking news: Darren Collison is not Chris Paul.)

Faced with countering CP3 brilliance, Curry bombed away to keep the Dubs in hailing distance, hitting again and again from deep with an ease that made the blistering, historic pace he maintains seem simple and obvious. He determinedly walked down the Clips' big leads, which got as high as 19 late in the third quarter, on a night where fellow gunslinger Klay Thompson couldn't shake loose, scoring just 10 points on 3 for 7 shooting after torching the Los Angeles Lakers for 38 on Wednesday.

The point guards combined for 47 second-half points — 32 of which came in the fourth quarter alone — on blistering 15 for 24 shooting. It was glorious to watch. But while Curry kept hitting bananas step-backs and ringing up four-point plays, he also kept coughing the ball up, leveling his nine assists with 11 turnovers, the most in the NBA in nearly three years. Paul, on the other hand, dropped 15 dimes against six turnovers, with nine of his helpers leading directly to layups or dunks, and three more resulting in 3-pointers.

Paul's ability to deftly pick the proper times to penetrate and create contact (16 for 17 from the free-throw line on the night; Curry's deep shooting resulted in only one free-throw attempt), pull up before getting in amongst the trees (8 for 12 inside the 3-point arc but outside the restricted area) or draw attention and dish kept Golden State off balance and at arm's length all night, pushing the Clippers to an impressive 126-115 home win. He finished with 42 points on 12 for 20 shooting from the floor, 15 assists and six steals, a showcase of all-around full-court control that made him the first player since 1973-74 to go for 40-15-5 in the same game ... and, naturally, after the game, all he could talk about was Steph's shooting.

Well, Steph's shooting and Craig Sager's suit. Obviously.

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Dan Devine is an editor for Ball Don't Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at devine@yahoo-inc.com or follow him on Twitter!

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The weekly NFL spread picks: Why are the Colts favored by so little this week?

Las Vegas sports books aren't in the habit of giving away money.

And, when the Colts, one of the league's top five teams, are just 2.5-point favorites over the Texans, who are 2-5 with two semi-miraculous wins and Case Keenum at quarterback, Vegas understands everyone is going to bet Indianapolis. It's less than a field goal! What a gift!

And, in fact, as of Friday morning, ScoresandOdds.com said 86 percent of bets are coming in on the Colts. And why not?

Indianapolis seems poised to win this game and put the Texans away for good. Houston looked good against Kansas City two weeks ago in Keenum's first start, but there's still not a ton to like about this Texans team. So what does Vegas know that we don't? That the Texans aren't going to happily fade away this season without a battle? There has to be something.

I'm falling into the trap and taking the Colts, because by any measure they're the far better team (Football Outsiders' DVOA metric ranks the Colts third in the NFL this week, and the Texans 29th, which seems about right). Playing at Houston doesn't change that. This Indianapolis team won by 20 at San Francisco already, so it can play well on the road. Then when the Texans somehow cover, I'll tip my hat to Vegas for knowing more than everyone else.

Here are the rest of this week's picks:

Dolphins (+3) over Bengals (Thursday): Forgot to post it on Twitter, trick or treating and all, but I liked the home dog on a short week.

Buffalo QB Thad Lewis (USA Today Sports Images) Bills and Thad Lewis (+3) over Chiefs: Or ...

Chiefs (-3) over Bills and anyone else: I'm not picking Jeff Tuel or Matt Flynn to beat any team, much less a very good 8-0 Chiefs squad. Lewis gives Buffalo a chance to cover, but he's still questionable to play because of a rib injury. If Lewis starts, I lean Buffalo. If it's one of the other two, it'll be real ugly.

Cowboys (-10) over Vikings: Looks like it might be Josh Freeman at quarterback again for the Vikings. So if you're in a 20-yard radius of his intended receiver, take cover.

Titans (-3) over Rams: Monday had to be a disheartening loss for the Rams, and they're not going to score any easier on Tennessee's defense.

Jets (+6) over Saints: There's no way the Jets are as bad as they looked last week at Cincinnati. Defensively, they'll figure out some ways to keep the Saints from going nuts.

Chargers (-1) over Redskins: Again, Vegas knows better than anyone, but still, explain this line to me again? I'll fall into another trap here, and take the clearly superior team.

Falcons (+7.5) over Panthers: I think the Panthers win but the Falcons cover, which means I'm picking Carolina to win a close game, something they've proven time and again they absolutely can't do. And you wonder why my record this season is so bad.

Raiders (-2.5) over Eagles: I can't think of one good reason to pick the Eagles on the road right now. Or at home, for that matter.

Buccaneers (+16.5) over Seahawks: Tough to pick a team that has already quit on its coach, but did you see Seattle's offense on Monday night?

Browns (+2.5) over Ravens: The over/under for this one is 41, a total these two offenses might not reach if they played a doubleheader on Sunday.

Steelers (+6.5) over Patriots: Since Tom Brady's not going to take off on any 93-yard quarterback runs, the Steelers might have a shot.

Bears (+10.5) over Packers: Josh McCown had a bye week to settle in, and Chicago will give Green Bay a strong run on Monday night.

Last week: 3-10

Season to date: 43-77-2

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Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdowncorner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!

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Semyon Varlamov travels with Avs, expected to backup Giguere vs. Stars

RJ Sangosti/The Denver Post A day after being released on $5,000 bail, Semyon Varlamov is in Dallas as the Colorado Avalanche prepare for their game against the Stars Friday night. Facing assault and kidnapping charges, the 25-year old goaltender was given permission to travel by a judge and ordered to stay away from the alleged victim.

He won't start against the Stars, but is expected to be on the bench serving as Jean-Sebastien Giguere's backup.

On Thursday, the Denver Post spoke with Varlamov's accuser, who claimed he had been drinking more than 12 hours and that this wasn't the first time he assaulted her.

From the Post:

Vavrinyuk said the goalie, whom she has been dating for a year, kicked her in the chest, stomped on her while she lay on the ground and dragged her by her hair from their bedroom early Monday. She pointed to her chest, arms, stomach, neck and head — places she said she are bruised. She also said he kicked her out of the apartment.

...

She said her boyfriend had beat her at least four times before in other countries where the police seemed to look the other way. But she remained in her relationship with Varlamov, hopeful that he could change, as she loved him and hoped to have children with him. She said she broke a modeling contract in Hong Kong so she could come to Denver to be with him "because he asked her to," [Interpreter Diana] Senova said.

Speaking with reporters after practice on Thursday, Avalanche head coach Patrick Roy didn't have all of the information on the case to make a full comment, but did say, "We’re going to take it one day at a time like we have been doing it all year long." Players weren't giving any comment on the situation either.

The Avalanche return home on Saturday to face the Montreal Canadiens and in a normal situation you'd expect Varlamov to start that game the night after the 36-year old Giguere plays, but it remains to be seen how Roy will handle the goaltender rotation. A third netminder was not called up from their AHL club as insurance.

Saturday's game also marks the retirement of Adam Foote's No. 52, and starting Varlamov would likely overshadow the attention on the franchise's former captain.

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Sean Leahy is the associate editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!

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Miami Dolphins cheerleaders web page hacked by porn site – it has been fixed

(USA Today Sports Images)

Anyone who logs on to the Miami Dolphins cheerleaders website expects to see attractive women in provocative poses.

Those who checked out DolphinsCheerleaders.com recently from their mobile phone got more than they expected.

The website was recently hacked, and readers were directed to a porn site. The web version was not affected, but mobile viewers were sent to an x-rated website.

“It was hacked without our knowledge,” team spokesman Harvey Greene told Andrew Abramson of The Palm Beach Post. “We learned about it earlier today. We were able to fix it. We’re going to continue to investigate how this happened.”

However, pictures of partially clothed cheerleaders are back on the website and ready for their audience.

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Anwar S Richardson is a writer for Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at NFLAnwar@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!

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George Mason basketball is recruiting a 10-year-old fifth grader

This is the actual recruiting letter sent to 10-year-old Jaden Jones — Jones family via Prep Rally source Jaden Jones is in fifth grade. The native Texan enjoys school, playing with his friends and really loves playing basketball. He watches cartoons and receives recruiting letters from Division I programs.

That last detail is not an exaggeration; Jaden Jones is literally receiving actual, hand-written recruiting letters from Division I basketball programs. The first to hit up the 10 year old was George Mason, which sent along the letter you see at the right.

It goes without saying that this is an absolute abomination. The recruiting wars have gotten younger and younger, but sending official letters to 10 year olds is a joke. Or at least it should be a joke. Unfortunately, George Mason appears to be all too serious.

The video below shows why George Mason and others are already after Jones. Middle School Elite notes that Jones received attention from Nike representatives at a Nike Pre-Draft Camp, and also claims unspecified "major college coaches" are courting the signature of the Class of 2021 [Think about that: The Class of 2021!] prospect.

Jones is big for his age -- he's already 5-foot-5, compared to Shaquille O'Neal's 5-foot-4 at the same age -- and has enormous hands that can already palm a basketball. Typical growth projections would have Jones grow to be nearly 7-feet tall, and his half brother is 6-foot-5 and came from a mother who was five inches shorter than Jones' mother.

All of that means that Jones could eventually be a top basketball player in high school. Perhaps he could play in college, but that is eight years away. Eight years. Jones is at an age where getting Blow Pops and bubble gum on Halloween is a major concern and he's been courted by adults whose student athletes are focused on bling.

Only time will tell how Jones develops, and how he and his family handle the hype that is already swirling around the elementary schooler. All anyone can hope is that he remains insulated enough to have some semblance of a normal childhood, without more recruiting letters for at least a few more years.

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Cameron Smith is the editor of Prep Rally on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at preprallyblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!

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