Sports

A judge has dismissed domestic violence charges against U.S. women’s national team goalkeeper Hope Solo, according to Chris Daniels of KING 5 News.

Solo, 33, was charged in June with two counts of fourth-degree domestic violence assault for allegedly hitting her half-sister and 17-year-old nephew. In the motion to dismiss filed last month, Solo’s attorney, Todd Maybrown, said the nephew attacked Solo with a broomstick. Solo has denied the allegations throughout the legal process, contending she “used lawful force” in defending herself from her nephew, who is 6-foot-9 and 280 pounds.

Solo was not present in court when the judge announced the decision, according to Daniels.

She had been scheduled to go on trial on Jan. 20.

According to Daniels, Kirkland judge Michael Lambo said that the case was “impermissibly prejudiced” by a lack of cooperation from witnesses, leading the judge to dismiss charges.

Throughout legal proceedings, Solo has continued to be an active member of the U.S. women’s national team, helping the U.S. qualify for the 2015 Women’s World Cup in Canada.

Solo, who plays professionally for Seattle Reign FC of the NWSL, has played in 152 matches with the U.S. women’s national team.

This article originally appeared on SportsIllustrated.com

Ashley Furniture promised to write off expensive purchases if the Buckeyes beat the Ducks

Did you bet on the Ohio State-Oregon game? Did you lose? Cheer up: We wager your loss wasn’t anywhere near as bad as Ashley Furniture’s.

The Ohio chain made a perhaps-ill-advised promise to write off purchases of $1,999 or more from Dec. 17-30 if the Buckeyes beat Alabama and then went on to win the national championship by at least seven points.

Admittedly, it was a long shot: Alabama was the No. 1 seed, and even fewer people predicted the Buckeyes overrunning Oregon 42-20 on Monday.

The promotion was in place at stores in Columbus, Cincinnati, Dayton and Florence, Kentucky. Over 500 people made purchases that totaled $1.5 million, according to parent company Morris Home Furnishings’ vice president of marketing, Rob Klaben.

“We did work with a third-party company that underwrote the promotion. So we’re excited to see a win,” Klaben told ABC News.

But he added – in the first great understatement of 2015 – “It’s not inexpensive to have this kind of promotion.”

This article originally appeared on People.com.

From famous coaches to Tim Tebow

At least a dozen fires started after team's national title win

Police in riot gear used tear gas to break up crowds of revelers in Columbus early Tuesday after Ohio State’s national title win over the Oregon Ducks.

At least a dozen small fires were reported after thousands poured out of bars to celebrate the Buckeyes’ victory, authorities said.

Columbus Police Department spokeswoman Denise Alex-Bouzounis told NBC News that about 8,000 students forced their way into The Horseshoe stadium and tore down a goal post.

She described the crowds as being “intense” after the game. Three canisters of tear gas were used in front of the Ohio Union at around 1:15 a.m. …

Read more from our partners at NBC News

The Denver Broncos have agreed to mutually part ways with head coach John Fox, the team announced on Monday. Jay Glazer of Fox Sports first reported the news.

Fox met with Broncos general manager and vice president of football operations John Elway on Monday afternoon, when the decision was made.

Before Denver’s playoff game on Sunday, Fox Sports’ Jay Glazer reported that there was a “pretty good chance” Fox would be available if the team lost. The Broncos went on to lose 24-13 at home to the Indianapolis Colts in the divisional round of the playoffs.

According to NFL Network’s Jeff Darlington, Elway informed Denver’s entire coaching staff that they have permission to look elsewhere, and that the new head coach will decide whether to retain them or not.

“On behalf of the Broncos, I sincerely thank John for his many contributions during his four seasons as head coach,” said Elway. “He helped establish a positive, winning culture for this team and deserves a lot of credit for the Broncos’ turnaround.

“While we have made significant progress under Coach Fox, there is still work to be done. I believe this change at the head coaching position will be in the best interest of our long-term goal, which from day one has been to win world championships.”

Fox has been Denver’s head coach since 2011, leading the team to a 46-18 record in four seasons. The Broncos made it to the playoffs each year, reaching Super Bowl XLVIII last season and being eliminated in the divisional round the other three years.

Fox previously served as head coach of the Carolina Panthers from 2002 to 2010.

This article originally appeared on SI.com

Ohio State won the first national title in college football's playoff era

(ARLINGTON, Texas) — Ohio State can add the newest version of the national championship trophy to a case that already has a bunch of the old ones.

The Buckeyes’ third-stringer matched Oregon’s Heisman winner as Cardale Jones led Ohio State past Marcus Mariota and the Ducks 42-20 in the first College Football Playoff national championship game Monday night at the $1.2 billion home of the Dallas Cowboys.

Behind their bullish backup quarterback and the relentless running of Ezekiel Elliott, the Buckeyes (14-1) completed a remarkable in-season turnaround with a dominating performance against the Ducks (13-2).

“The chase is complete,” Ohio State coach Urban Meyer said. “It’s done. It’s over. They accepted their final mission, their final assignment and their final directive, and they did it. That was our whole mantra this last couple of weeks. A job well done, and we’re very grateful.”

Ohio State began the first major college football playoff as the fourth and final seed, and as a team that faced questions about whether it belonged at all. It was a team that never would have had a chance to win a title under the old postseason system.

No question about it now: Ohio State is the truest champion big-time football has ever crowned, showered by golden confetti as its band played “Hang on Sloopy” when the clock hit 0:00.

Meyer’s Buckeyes overcame two injured Heisman contenders and one awful early season loss at home to Virginia Tech to win their first national title since 2002. Back then the Bowl Championship Series decided No. 1 at the end of the season — usually.

Before that, it was up to The Associated Press and coaches’ polls to sort out which team was best, with little help from the bowls. The Buckeyes have three of those championships, too.

And Meyer now has three, adding this one for his home state team to the two he won for Florida. It’s taken just three seasons in Columbus for Meyer to put the Buckeyes — and the Big Ten — back on top, with a team that looks built to last.

Elliott, a sophomore, ran for 246 yards and four touchdowns on 36 carries. In the last three games against Wisconsin, Alabama and Oregon, Elliott had 696 yards rushing.

Jones, who took over three games ago for the injured J.T. Barrett (who had taken over at the start of the season for the injured Braxton Miller), passed for 242 yards and a touchdown and ran for score. The 250-pound third-year sophomore proved he could keep up with Mariota — at least on this night.

Mariota passed for 333 yards and two touchdowns, but the Ducks’ warp-speed spread offense missed too many red-zone opportunities and couldn’t unleash its running game against linebacker Darron Lee and an Ohio State front seven stacked with future NFL draft picks.

The NCAA is in talks with Penn State and state officials that could include restoring coach Joe Paterno’s vacated wins, reports the Philadelphia Inquirer.

The talks are also considering a proposal that “would leave the $60 million fine levied by the league within the state and the university, to be used for child protection,” according to the Inquirer.

The school was forced to vacate 112 victories from 1998-2011, all but one of which came under Paterno, as part of the NCAA’s sanctions following the release of the Freeh Report in 2012. The sanctions penalized the school for the Jerry Sandusky scandal, in which the longtime Penn State assistant football coach was convicted on 45 counts of sex abuse earlier that year.​

The punishment dropped Paterno’s career win total from 409 — the most in Division I college football history — to 298. Paterno died in January 2012 at the age of 85.

The NCAA also gave Penn State a four-year postseason ban, restricted the team to 65 scholarships per year through 2017 and fined the team $60 million, among other sanctions.

In early September, the NCAA Executive Committee restored Penn State’s postseason eligibility and its full allotment of scholarships.

Last month, a judge delayed the trial on the legality of the NCAA’s consent decree that punished the university to Feb. 17.

Sandusky is currently serving a 30- to 60-year prison sentence after he was convicted in 2012.

This article originally appeared on SI.com

It all ended in a playoff on the 18th hole

(KAPALUA, HAWAII)— Patrick Reed holed an 80-yard shot for eagle and made two birdies over his last four holes Monday. The last birdie was on the 18th hole in a playoff to beat Jimmy Walker in the Hyundai Tournament of Champions.

Reed was four shots behind with four holes to play when he put together his big rally and closed with a 6-under 67.

For the second straight day, Walker didn’t make birdie after the 10th hole. He had a chance to win in regulation but missed his birdie putt from 18 feet and shot 69.

They finished at 21-under 271.

In the playoff, Walker had an advantage until he chipped from below the bleachers over the green. Reed hit wedge to 18 feet and holed it for his fourth career win.

This is his third time winning the award

Cristiano Ronaldo has won the FIFA Ballon d’Or, an award that goes to the player with the best performance that year, for the second time in a row.

It’s the third time total that the Portuguese player has won the award. “I would like to continue the work that I have done so far. I want to try to improve, to become better as each day goes by. I never thought that I would bring this trophy back home on three occasions. I want to become one of the greatest players of all time,” Ronaldo said in his acceptance speech.

This year, Ronaldo’s team Real Madrid won the Club World Cup, and Ronaldo was given a rather, ahem, attention-grabbing statue in his hometown of Funchal, Madeira Island.

Ronaldo accepting the award in 2014: