NEWS » g a berth. The Sun are one of four tea

There are 13 days until the college football season begins on Sept. 1, and the number 13 was a magic one for a trio of college football teams last season. ??Three teams won 13 or more games, headlined by 14-1 Alabamas win over Clemson, which also finished 14-1, in the College Football Playoff national championship game. The other 13-win team was the American Athletic Conferences Houston Cougars, who finished 13-1 after their Chick Fil-A Peach Bowl victory over Florida State in the New Years Six game.The 13-win plateau is not as rare as it used to be with the addition of conference championship games and?two rounds of college playoffs. But it remains a sign of excellence nonetheless. The Crimson Tide became the all-time leader in seasons of 13 wins or more?by eclipsing that mark for the fourth time last season, the most since the college football classification system began in 1937.?Three of Alabamas seasons of 13 or more wins have come under coach Nick Saban: 2015, 2012 and 2009. The other time was 13-0 in 1992 under Gene Stallings.?Clemson broke the 13-win mark for the first time?last season with its best showing since going 12-0 in 1981 and winning the national title. With?Deshaun Watson?returning at quarterback, the Tigers are favorites to hit that mark once again. Houston, on the other hand, exploded onto the scene?last year in coach Tom Hermans first season, going 13-1 and defeating Florida State 38-24. It was the second time in school history that it has won 13 games, with the 2011 team the other. ? ?All three teams will open their season on Sept. 3.?Alabama will play USC in Arlington, Texas; Clemson will visit?Auburn; and Houston will play Oklahoma in a neutral-site game at NRG Stadium in Houston.?In case you missed any part of our countdown:14 days: 14 years of Boise State excellence15 days: Kansas has lost 15 straight games, the longest active FBS streak.16 days: Peyton Manning wore No. 16 for Tennessee.17 days: TCU QBs completed 17 of 17 passes in a game in 2012, an FBS record.18 days: Ohio State has won an FBS-best 18 consecutive road games.19 days: There are 19 head coaches at their alma mater this season.20 days: It has been 20 years since Florida won its first national championship.21 days:?Oklahoma led the nation in average scoring margin (21.5) last season.22 days: Ohio State has been in the top 10 of the AP poll for 22 straight weeks.23 days:?Virginia Tech has played in an FBS-best 23 straight bowl games.24 days:?In the first game of the historic rivalry, Navy beat Army 24-0.25 days: Desmond Howard won the Heisman 25 years ago.26 days:?Arkansas State led the nation with 26 interceptions in 2015.27 days: Clemsons Greg Huegel led the nation with 27 field goals in 2015.28 days: Adrian Peterson wore No. 28 for Oklahoma.29 days: Alabamas Bryant-Denny Stadium opened in 1929.30 days: Miamis Vinny Testaverde won the Heisman 30 years ago.Nerlens Noel Jersey .Y. - Free agent outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury, fresh off winning the World Series with Boston, reached agreement with the rival New York Yankees on a seven-year contract worth about $153 million, a person familiar with the negotiations said Tuesday night. 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President of baseball operations Larry Beinfest was fired Friday after 12 years with the Marlins. The move came as the team neared the end of its third consecutive last-place season in the NL East.Despite losing their last game by 24 points, the New York Liberty clinched the third seed in the playoffs. You can bet New York will come out focused and coach Bill Laimbeer will have his squad ready to play the Connecticut Sun on Friday night at Madison Square Garden.On a night when New York honored one of the WNBAs all-time greats, the Liberty laid a big, fat egg against the Seattle Storm on Wednesday and lost, 102-78.The Liberty were still licking their wounds after the loss when they honored the career of Swin Cash, who is retiring after this season. Named one of the 20 greatest WNBA players of all-time, Cash is calling it quits after 15 seasons.Shes not the scorer she once was, but Cash has been credited with helping MVP candidate Tina Charles develop. Charles leads the Liberty with 21.2 and 9.9 rebounds per game.Last week, Charles reached 4,000 career points, which elicited high praise from Laimbeer.We talk about inside that shes the best post player in the world, men or women, he told reporters. Shes that consistent and that dominant. Theres more to her that were waiting to see.Charles has recorded 16 double-doubles, and in seveen other games she has fallen one rebound shy of a double-double.ddddddddddddWhile New York has secured a playoff spot, the Sun still have hope of earning a berth. The Sun are one of four teams -- Seattle and Phoenix are 1 1/2 games ahead and Washington is one game ahead of Connecticut -- jockeying for the final two spots in the playoffs.The Sun have had five days to rest since seeing their modest two-game win streak snapped in a loss to Maya Moore and the Minnesota Lynx.Alex Bentley, the Suns leading scorer at 13.9 points per game, and Chiney Ogwumike (12.1 ppg) had off games and didnt do much damage until late in that contest.In the first meeting earlier this season, Charles scored 32 to lead the Liberty to an 80-72 win on June 16 in Connecticut.On July 17, Charles struggled but Cash and Sugar Rodgers picked up the slack in an 83-76 win over the Sun in New York.After Fridays game, the Sun play host to the Chicago Sky on Sunday.The Liberty hit the road and travel to Dallas for a Sunday date with the Wings. ' ' '