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The College Football Playoff committee took SMU's wins over Alabama's strength of schedule, picking the Mustangs for the final at-large spot Sunday after a furious public debate and days of lobbying and arguing over which teams should make the 12-team field. SMU (11-2) showed it could compete against a traditional power, losing to Clemson 34-31 on a 56-yard field goal on the final play of the ACC championship game. The late-game rally probably did the trick. “I just think America saw SMU belongs," Mustangs coach Rhett Lashlee told ESPN on Sunday after his team got in. "We’re a team that has a chance to compete for this championship. And to some degree, I think we’re a little bit America’s team after last night.” The Mustangs, seeded 11th, will visit No. 6 seed Penn State in the first round. The bracket was expanded from four teams this season, but that didn’t help Alabama or save the committee from controversy that began over the past two weeks as the CFP rankings — and “data points” — were parsed and criticized. The squabbling wasn't limited to who should be in the field but also who should get consideration for first-round byes. The Crimson Tide (9-3) had quality wins against Georgia and South Carolina in their first season under coach Kalen DeBoer. Losses at Vanderbilt, Tennessee and Oklahoma proved costly. The 24-3 loss to Oklahoma was too much to overcome. The Sooners, who finished 6-6, rushed for 250 yards against the Crimson Tide and dominated despite having several key injuries. Alabama athletic director Greg Byrne stated the case for the Crimson Tide several hours before the announcement. So did former Alabama coach Nick Saban. “Strength of schedule matters,” Byrne posted on social media. “Not all schedules and conferences are created equal. Six of our eight wins are against bowl eligible teams and have come against some of the top teams in the sec, including sec champion Georgia.” Several teams with strong seasons were left out besides the Crimson Tide, including Miami (two losses), South Carolina and Mississippi (three losses each). Committee chairman Warde Manuel explained that strength of schedule was valued — a comment that didn’t sit well with Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin. “Is this fake news??? he didn’t actually really say that ....” Kiffin wrote on a social media post, tagging both the Alabama and SMU football accounts. SMU actually increased its strength of schedule from the previous season by switching from the American Athletic Conference to the ACC. The Mustangs’ only regular-season loss this year was a non-conference game at home to 10-win BYU in the third game of the season . The Mustangs won nine straight before the loss to Clemson. That didn't make the waiting easier on Sunday. SMU was the last qualifier announced. “Until we saw SMU up there, you know, you’re just hanging, hanging on the edge,” Lashlee said. There was more controversy. Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark said he didn't believe any Group of Five team should get the bye over a Power Four champion, citing strength of schedule. Mountain West Commissioner Gloria Nevarez pushed back hours ahead of the bracket announcement. “Participation in the College Football Playoff isn’t about entitlement,” she wrote on social media. “It should not be contingent upon a conference patch or the logo on the helmet ... Boise State’s body of work this season, including an 11-game win streak, has earned it one of the top four seeds ahead of the Big 12 champion.” In the end, Boise State of the Mountain West got the No. 3 seed ahead of Big 12 champion Arizona State, which was seeded fourth. But both got first-round byes.Airbnb unleash new rule for customers that could ruin your next stayAmid an explosion of capability, artificial intelligence leadership is imperativex-ph 。

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The Ellwood City Lincoln High boys basketball team picked up a victory Monday night. Aaron Lake tossed in a game-high 17 points to pace the Wolverines to a 70-31 WPIAL nonsection home win over Sto-Rox. Ellwood City (2-1) stretched a 16-14 lead after one quarter to 32-21 at the half. Christopher Smiley supplied 14 for the Wolverines and Kaleb Servick was next with 10. Javon Nelson netted 12 points for the Vikings. Ellwood City returns to action at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday when it hosts Washington. NEW CASTLE 59, NORTHGATE 1 The Lady 'Canes breezed to a nonsection home win over the Lady Flames. New Castle is now 2-1 on the season. Rihanna Boice bucketed 19 points with eight rebounds for the Lady 'Canes. Valerie Colon, Ka'mya Thompkins and Rah'jare Roberson recorded eight points apiece for the winners. Sofia DeVivo handed out five assists. The Lady Flames (0-1) banked in a free throw in the fourth quarter. "Games like tonight are sometimes tough to play," New Castle coach Kara DiNardo-Joseph said. "I'll give it to Northgate, they stuck with it and didn't quit. "Our girls didn't pick up bad habits. I thought we played hard and finished. We were able to come out and get to 2-1 and now we will build for Thursday." The Lady 'Canes visit Ambridge at 6 p.m. Thursday. WILMINGTON 68, RIVERSIDE 21 The Lady Greyhounds cruised to a nonregion home victory over the Lady Panthers. Wilmington raced to a 21-5 lead after one quarter and pushed it to 45-13 at the half. Lia Krarup scored a game-best 24 points for the Lady Greyhounds (1-0) and Reese Bruckner bucketed 19. Krarup added eight steals as well. Maya Jeckavitch dished out nine assists for the winners and Karah Deal pulled down 11 rebounds. "I thought we came out really strong," Wilmington coach Mike Jeckavitch said. "One of the first keys to tonight was to come out strong and I thought we really did that well. Story continues below video "We played unselfish basketball. When we play like that, our team defense takes over. I thought we did a tremendous job of playing team basketball; it was a fantastic start to the season." The Lady Greyhounds return to the court at 6:30 p.m. Friday when they square off against Erie in the opening round of the Franklin Tipoff Tournament. UNION 51, ELLWOOD CITY 46 A big fourth-quarter rally paced the host Lady Scots to a season-opening win over the Lady Wolverines. Union trailed 19-10 after one quarter before rallying to knot the count at 27 at the break. Ellwood City claimed a 40-34 advantage going to the final frame. Kylie Fruehstorfer, Olivia Benedict and Maggie Joseph all scored 11 points for the Lady Scots. Kayla Jones tossed in a game-high 21 points for the Lady Wolverines. Union is back in action at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Riverside. Ellwood City takes on Laurel at 7:30 p.m. Thursday. LAUREL 49, MOHAWK 20 The Lady Spartans picked up their first win of the season at home. "It was nice to get our first win after we went into the Mercer Tournament and didn't play our best on Friday," Laurel coach Ricci LaRocco said. "Saturday, we played better and today was the way I've seen us play. (Macey) Cwynar was out and I thought she gave us a great lift, got us some steals and got us in transition. Shyan Tindall can shoot the way I know she can shoot...We got after it defensively and I couldn't be prouder of them." Jael Henderson paced Laurel (1-2) with 14 points and six rebounds. In the first quarter, Laurel took a seven-point lead and didn't look back. The best offensive quarter for the Lady Spartans came in the second. Laurel posted 22 points to Mohawk's eight in the second to enter halftime with a 34-13 lead. Laurel recorded a total of 15 points in the second half to Mohawk's seven. Maddie Crawford led Mohawk (0-1) with 10 points. Ellwood City Lincoln hosts Laurel at 6 p.m. Thursday. Mohawk is idle until a 7:15 p.m. test Monday at Wilmington. SOUTH SIDE BEAVER 65, SHENANGO 25 South Side Beaver capitalized on turnovers to grab a nonsection win against the Lady Wildcats. The Lady Rams recorded a total of 26 turnovers against Shenango. In the first quarter, South Side Beaver netted 21 points while Shenango (0-3) only managed two. South Side Beaver had 23 more points in the second quarter to hold a 44-6 lead at halftime. Shenango's Amara DeFrank led the team with eight points. The Lady Rams posted a combined 21 points to Shenango's 19 in the second half to secure the win.

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WASHINGTON — Celebrities, cultural icons and a few surprise guests are gathering for the annual Kennedy Center Honors celebration Sunday evening in Washington. This year's recipients of the lifetime achievement award for artistic accomplishment are director Francis Ford Coppola, the Grateful Dead , jazz trumpeter Arturo Sandoval , and singer-songwriter Bonnie Raitt. In addition, the venerable Harlem theater The Apollo , which has launched generations of Black artists, is being recognized. There will be personalized tributes with performances and testimonials from fellow artists during the gala at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Medallions were presented during the traditional Saturday night ceremony at the State Department. The tribute performances are often kept secret from the recipients themselves, most notably in 2018 when Cyndi Lauper flat out lied to her longtime friend Cher about being unable to attend. Lauper appeared on stage to perform Cher's hit, “If I Could Turn Back Time.” Several of the latest honorees have themselves participated in past tributes to friends and colleagues at the Kennedy Center. Coppola spoke during fellow director Martin Scorsese’s induction in 2007. Sandoval performed in the tribute to his mentor, jazz trumpet legend Dizzy Gillespie. Raitt has taken part in tributes to Buddy Guy and Mavis Staples. Raitt even attended the Kennedy Center Honors in the 1970s when her father, Broadway performer John Raitt, was taking part in a tribute to composer Richard Rogers. The tribute to the Grateful Dead is expected to double as a memorial to the band's founding bass player Phil Lesh , who died in October at age 84. This could also be the last Kennedy Center Honors ceremony without political intrigue for a while. During Republican Donald Trump's first four years in office, Kennedy Center officials were forced to walk a public tightrope between the tradition of the president attending the ceremony and the open antipathy toward Trump from multiple honorees. In 2017, recipient Norman Lear threatened to boycott his own ceremony if Trump attended. Trump, who takes office in January, skipped the ceremony for the entirety of his first term. Democratic President Joe Biden is scheduled to host a reception for the honorees at the White House and plans to attend the Kennedy Center ceremony afterward. The show will air on CBS on Dec. 22.