Sports Digest: Walton leads Cal College women's basketball team to win

Pro football

PACKERS' RODGERS WINS MVP: The best quarterbacks bring fans out of their seats. Aaron Rodgers and Peyton Manning did exactly that Saturday night when the NFL Most Valuable Player accepted the trophy from the only four-time winner of the award.

The Green Bay quarterback won the 2011 Associated Press award in a landslide. Manning, the hometown hero who didn't play a down this season because of neck surgery, handed it to him.

Rodgers earned 48 votes to two for New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees in balloting by a nationwide panel of 50 media members who regularly cover the NFL. The Packers star is the first Green Bay player honored since Brett Favre concluded a run of three straight seasons as MVP in 1997.

Brees won Offensive Player of the Year for the second time.

Other winners included:

• Baltimore defensive end/linebacker Terrell Suggs, Defensive Player of the Year.

• San Francisco's rookie coach Jim Harbaugh, Coach of the Year.

• Detroit quarterback Matthew Stafford, Comeback Player of the Year.

• The top two picks in last April's draft took the rookie awards: Carolina QB Cam Newton and Denver linebacker Von Miller.

Pro basketball

DENG RETURNS TO SCORE 21 IN BULLS WIN: Derrick Rose scored 21 points and had 13 assists, and Luol Deng added 21 points in his return after missing seven games due to injury, as the Bulls easily beat the Milwaukee Bucks 113-90 Saturday night.

Kyle Korver had 18 points; Joakim Noah had 14 points, and C.J. Watson added 13 for Chicago.

HOWARD SCORES 27 TO BEAT PACERS: Dwight Howard had 27 points and eight rebounds to lead the Orlando Magic to an 85-81 win over the Pacers on Saturday night.

Danny Granger had 19 points and seven rebounds, and Tyler Hansbrough had 17 points and seven rebounds for the Pacers, who have lost two of three to the Magic in less than two weeks.

Men's basketball

CAL COLLEGE EDGES TRINITY CHRISTIAN: Calumet College built a 17-point lead, then hung on to edge Trinity Christian 72-69 in a Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference game Saturday in Hammond.

Brannon Jones topped the Crimson Wave (11-12, 70-4) with 14 points, one more than Chris Diehl and Roddy Richardson. Karl Anderson nabbed six rebounds, and Devin Key handed out five assists for CCSJ.

SOUTH SUBURBAN WINS SEVENTH STRAIGHT: Led by Sultan Muhammad's 18 points, NJCAA No. 2 South Suburban beat Black Hawk College 64-55 in Moline, Ill. The Bulldogs (23-1) also got seven points each from Keenan Williams (E.C. Central) and Marcus Lewis.

PRAIRIE STATE WINS: South Holland resident Chris Lockhart's 25 points led Prairie State to a 72-71 win over Oakton Community College in a Skyway Conference game. Brandon Williams (Bloom) had 17 points for Prairie State (12-13, 4-6).

PUMAS FALLS SHORT: Corey Clifton scored 15 points, and Michael Lipton (Crown Point) had 12, but St. Joseph's College lost 81-75 to NCAA Division II No. 7 Kentucky Welseyan in a Great Lakes Valley Conference game.

It was Kentucky Wesleyan's first win in Rensselaer since the 2002-03 season.

A Clifton 3-pointer got the Pumas (7-14, 2-12) within 78-73 with 33 seconds left, but the Panthers (18-3, 10-3) pulled away.

Women's basketball

WALTON LEADS CRIMSON WAVE TO WIN: Jennifer Walton's 22 points paced Calumet College to a 53-48 victory over Trinity Christian in a CCAC game Saturday in Hammond. Rebecca Arredondo and Moneva Fields (Thornton) each contributed 12 points and five rebounds for the Crimson Wave (6-21, 3-7).

ST. JOSEPH'S FALLS AT HOME: St. Joseph's College couldn't hold on to a seven-point halftime lead as it fell to Kentucky Wesleyan 73-63 in a Great Lakes Valley Conference game.

Montrell Mills led the Pumas (13-8, 7-6) with 18 points, two assists and two steals. Britney Cruse (Merrillville) had 14 points, three rebounds, four assists and three steals.

OAKTON TOPS PRAIRIE STATE: Danielle Zandstra's 13 points led Prairie State in a 61-51 Skyway Conference loss to Oakton Community College.

College swimming

VALPO MEN GO 1-2 AT MONMOUTH: Valparaiso defeated host Monmouth (156-78) but fell to Augustana (138-115) and Western Illinois (170-83). Trevor Trimpe won the 100 breast and helped the 400 medley relay to a victory.

VU WOMEN SWEEP QUAD MEET: Valparaiso took 10 events in sweeping a quadrangular meet with host Monmouth (163-87), Augustana (155-102) and Western Illinois (144-99). Flavia Segatto (200 fly, 200 back), Andrea Bretl (200 free, 500 free) and Natalie Jarrett (100 breast, 200 IM) were double winners

Men's tennis

VU PICKS UP FIRST WIN OF SEASON: Chris Baum, Eric Honert and Kevin DeHerrera each picked up singles and doubles wins as the Crusaders picked up their first victory of the season with a 4-3 decision over Dayton. Baum (No. 1), Honert (No. 2) and DeHerrera (No. 3) each won their respective singles matches in straight sets. VU (1-1) swept doubles.

Around the horn

IUSB senior guard Lizzie Stapke (Highland) reached 1,000 points for her career in Saturday's 77-58 win over St. Francis (Ill.). Stapke had a team-high 16 points. She's the 12th player in Titans history to reach the mark. ... Spencer Levin remained in control in the Phoenix Open in front of the largest crowd in tournament history, shooting a 3-under 68 on Saturday to take a six-stroke lead into the final round. The crowd of 173,210 in perfect conditions at TPC Scottsdale's Stadium Course broke the record of 170,802 set in the third round in 2008. ... Some 24 hours before the Super Bowl, this showed up on the web: "The Giants are Super Bowl CHAMPIONS," complete with an image of the Lombardi Trophy and a link to order championship gear. The problem: Kickoff was more than 24 hours away. And quicker than you can say "Eli," it was gone. The NFL said Saturday night that the web page was set up for possible use after Sunday's game between the Giants and Patriots, but was "inadvertently available for a brief period of time."