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Newton seeks public input at meeting

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Posted: Tuesday, January 6, 2015 7:00 am

Newton seeks public input at meeting

NEWTON, N.C. — The first public input meeting for the Downtown Newton Streetscape Plan and North Newton Master Plan is at 7 p.m. Monday, Jan. 12, at City Hall, 401 North Main Ave.

The plans currently being formed will introduce specific strategies for redevelopment of Newton’s city center and the area that surrounds the Historic Newton Depot in North Newton. Developers prefer to invest in a city where a range of urban design projects has already been vetted. Input from Newton residents is essential to crafting a plan the entire Newton community will embrace.

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Tuesday, January 6, 2015 7:00 am.

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Editorial: Help blaze state trail

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The North Carolina Division of Parks and Recreation is seeking ideas for its work in completing a master plan for the long-awaited Mountains-to-Sea State Trail. Under development since the 1970s, the trail promises to be a state treasure of sustainable tourism.

The 1,000-mile trail will link Clingman’s Dome in the Great Smoky Mountains to Jockey’s Ridge State Park on the coast. Nearly two-thirds of the trail is designated for use, with a portion of the “planned” section passing through Lenoir and Craven counties just south of the Pitt County border. The trail offers opportunities for hiking, biking, paddling and horseback riding through some of the state’s most scenic areas.

“As we move toward completion of the Mountains-to-Sea State Trail, it’s important to have a guiding document that will focus our efforts for a project that has captured the public’s imagination since it was proposed in the 1970s,” state parks director Mike Murphy said in a news release. “The master planning process will attract partners and volunteers to the concept, and we’re eager to gather ideas from local governments and citizens.”

The state parks system is spending $120,000 from the N.C. Parks and Recreation Trust Fund to develop the detailed master plan by late this year. The completed plan is to chart a path toward official designation of remaining portions of the trail by setting priorities for completing subsections.

Officials expect the plan to unify regional planning efforts, identify potential new partners and funding strategies, and establish guidelines for signs and publicity.

This year’s push to complete the trail is good news for hikers and other nature lovers as well as for state tourism — particularly in those communities closest to the trail.

In mountain communities that host the Appalachian Trail, hikers routinely trek into towns to pick up mail, supplies, and to find lodging. Having a continuous trail across North Carolina will attract similar traffic and foster development of new tourism business.

Citizens can get involved in the planning effort by visiting the state Division of Parks and Recreation’s website, ncparks.gov. The Mountains-to-Sea State Trail website, ncmountainstosea.org, offers updates on the planning process, with regional stakeholder meetings to begin in the spring.

Such a large trail project is a major undertaking involving many components of state and local governments. Establishing a master plan for completing this effort is the right path, so to speak. May 2015 be the year this worthy goal reaches its destination.

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Beer Scout: The beer scene in ’15

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Will Cigar City be Asheville’s newest brewery? Will New Belgium be open for tours by the end of the year? What brewery has a surprising expansion up its sleeve?

While the answers to some of the biggest beery questions for Asheville are elusive this early in 2015, one thing’s for certain: We have another big year on tap.

Let’s start with the big unknowns. Ever since Cigar City’s owner, Joey Redner, came up to Asheville and Greenville with a serious scouting team in October, it’s been a legitimate possibility bubbling under the surface. Rumors have gone around that Black Mountain is a finalist for a second Cigar City brewery, if not a sure thing. Redner even hinted at Black Mountain in particular when he talked to Xpress, saying, “It’s a relaxed small town that puts my mind at ease.”

The other rumor to track in the new year also started in October when a short entry was posted on ProBrewer.com saying that “an Asheville brewpub” was for sale for $3 million. Those most interested in the rumor latched onto the word “brewpub” and focused on the few true brewpubs in Asheville proper (meaning breweries that also have their own restaurant). Yet those true brewpubs — Asheville Brewing, LAB and Oysterhouse — were all soon struck from the list. Will we see a brewpub or brewery change hands in 2015? (Or if a sale doesn’t come through, will we see our first brewery closing since Craggie?)

Confirmed openings and expansions

Moving beyond speculation, there’s plenty of concrete action in 2015.

First, let’s backtrack and start at the end of 2014. Thirsty Monk’s new venture in Gerber Village, Open Brewing, opened on Dec. 3. Since then, it has released only one beer, but many more will be hitting the taps in the coming weeks. If you haven’t heard of Open yet, this is the premise: Thirsty Monk brewmaster Norm Penn is working with talented area homebrewers to scale their recipes up and brew them in the Thirsty Monk brewhouse. So once they’re off and running, you’ll be able to stop in and sample a variety of taps from a variety of local brewers.

To the west, Boojum Brewing in Waynesville will likely be the first new brewery officially opening in Western North Carolina this year. They haven’t yet set an opening date, but co-owners Ben and Kelsie Baker are already brewing their first batches. When it opens, Boojum will join Bearwaters, Frog Level and Tipping Point to become the fourth brewery in Waynesville. Unlike its competition, Boojum will start off with two locations: a production brewery outside of town and a pub at 50 N. Main St.

Next up are two local breweries opening satellites in town. Catawba just sent out an update and released plans for its new satellite brewery and tasting room on Banks Avenue on the South Slope. Co-owner Billy Pyatt says the brewery plans to complete the bulk of the work by March. Hi-Wire won’t be far behind with its second Asheville location. It aims to have a production facility, along with its own taproom and tours, operational by mid-2015, according to co-owner Adam Charnack.

While not a brewery, Tasty Beverage Co. will expand Asheville’s beer scene in a different way. The store will have more than 1,200 beers available in bottles (so it’s a serious bottle shop), but it will also have draft beer available — and eventually it may have a small selection of charcuterie and cheeses as well. Owner Johnny Belflower says the construction is slightly behind schedule, but it’s likely opening in spring 2015.

Keep your eyes open for some large expansions at two longtime breweries as well. Green Man will add to the South Slope bustle with a $4 million project, already underway on the corner of Buxton Avenue. By the summer, it should have a new 18,000-square-foot packaging hall complete with a new retail space and an outdoor beer garden.

Over at Highland, communications manager Drew Stevenson says changes will be on full display by summer as well, thanks to a combination loan and Tourism Development Authority grant. “By summer we will have doubled our production space, built a new cooler three times the size of our current cooler, opened entertainment areas on three levels (ground floor, mezzanine and rooftop bar) and we will be powering all production with the sun,” says Stevenson.

Of course, the last opening of the year will be the biggest yet for Asheville proper. New Belgium, which provided a comprehensive update to Xpress last week, will definitely be brewing beer in Asheville this year. The only question now is whether it will be open to the public as well in 2015.

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ACC basketball night in review: Notre Dame slips past North Carolina in Chapel …

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Three takeaways from Notre Dame’s 71-70 victory at North Carolina …

Yes, Notre Dame’s offense is that good. The Fighting Irish has put up gaudy numbers all season, largely against an uninspiring set of nonconference opponents. Even its first two league opponents, Florida State and Georgia Tech, appear headed for the bottom third or so of the league.

So the Irish’s 1.16 points per possession against a stout North Carolina team? And a 10 of 23 performance from 3-point range against a Tar Heels defense that is downright miserly on the perimeter. Those are indications Notre Dame (15-1, 3-0 ACC) is a product of its own talent moreso than the quality (or lack thereof) of its November and December opposition.

From North Carolina’s perspective, the Fighting Irish was just a bit better. Think about all the things that have bit the Tar Heels (11-4, 1-1) at times this season. Foul shooting? They were 72 percent at the line against Notre Dame. Rebounding? They controlled the boards and had a 21-8 edge in second-chance points.

Carolina wasn’t efficient from the floor, which reinforces the observation that the progress of the Tar Heels’ offense is going to determine how much success Roy Williams’ team enjoys this season. But Monday wasn’t a trainwreck either. It was, simply, a tossup game that didn’t fall Carolina’s way. Nothing more, nothing less.

Monday went a long way to counteracting Notre Dame’s nonconference strength of schedule problem. When you play a soft nonconference schedule like the Irish did, there is an onus to make some statements to the NCAA tournament committee in league play. Notre Dame provided one in Chapel Hill.

If the Irish is back to making South Bend a miserable place for opponents and if it handles business against the ACC’s bottom-feeders, it will only need a couple standout road victories to make a clear-cut case. It now has one, and this victory is going to be a major asset moving forward for Mike Brey’s bunch.

Virginia Tech at Florida State (7, YES): Justin Bibbs and the Hokies (8-6, 0-1 ACC) head south for their first conference road game as they visit Leonard Hamilton’s Seminoles (8-6, 0-1).

Pittsburgh at Boston College (9, YES): The Panthers (10-4, 0-1) visit Conte Forum to take on the Eagles (7-5, 0-1) in a matchup of old Big East schools. Pittsburgh won last year’s late-season matchup 66-59, but Olivier Hanlan scored 25 for Boston College.

Contact Patrick Stevens anytime: Email | Twitter

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Residents React to Frommer’s Comments Calling River Arts District "Sketchy"

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c 2014, WLOS ABC 13 | Portions are Copyright 2014 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or distributed.

WLOS News 13 provides local news, weather forecasts, traffic updates, notices of events and items of interest in the community, sports and entertainment programming for Asheville, NC and nearby towns and communities in Western North Carolina and the Upstate of South Carolina, including the counties of Buncombe, Henderson, Rutherford, Haywood, Polk, Transylvania, McDowell, Mitchell, Madison, Yancey, Jackson, Swain, Macon, Graham, Spartanburg, Greenville, Anderson, Union, Pickens, Oconee, Laurens, Greenwood, Abbeville and also Biltmore Forest, Woodfin, Leicester, Black Mountain, Montreat, Arden, Weaverville, Hendersonville, Etowah, Flat Rock, Mills River, Waynesville, Maggie Valley, Canton, Clyde, Franklin, Cullowhee, Sylva, Cherokee, Marion, Old Fort, Forest City, Lake Lure, Bat Cave, Spindale, Spruce Pine, Bakersville, Burnsville, Tryon, Columbus, Marshall, Mars Hill, Brevard, Bryson City, Cashiers, Greer, Landrum, Clemson, Gaffney, and Easley.

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Sprout Pharmaceuticals Names Cindy Whitehead CEO

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RALEIGH, N.C., Jan. 6, 2015 /PRNewswire/ — Sprout Pharmaceuticals today announced that Cindy Whitehead has been named CEO, effective immediately. Cindy co-founded Sprout Pharmaceuticals and previously served as president and chief operating officer. Former CEO Bob Whitehead will become vice chairman of the board of directors and executive director.

“Cindy has been integral in making 2014 a positive year for the company, and I’m confident that under her leadership, 2015 will mark a historic and transformational year for both women’s sexual health and Sprout,” said Anthony Wild, chairman of the board of directors, Sprout Pharmaceuticals. “Her passion and commitment to address this longstanding unmet medical need is unmatched as witnessed by the emerging dialogue that respects the scientific evidence and the experiences of women living with Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder. Cindy is the ideal person to take Sprout into its next phase with the potential approval and launch of flibanserin.”

Prior to co-founding Sprout Pharmaceuticals, Cindy led operational functions at Slate Pharmaceuticals, a specialty pharmaceutical company focused in male sexual health.  There she commercialized the first FDA-approved long-acting testosterone preparation, Testopel. Slate was sold to GTCR/Actient Pharmaceuticals in December 2011 when Sprout acquired the global rights to flibanserin.

Cindy has more than 20 years of experience building brands and companies, managing high performing sales organizations and leading marketing and corporate communications functions. She previously held various roles with Merck Pharmaceuticals, Dura Pharmaceuticals and Elan Pharmaceuticals.

“I am honored to be named CEO and to be surrounded by an outstanding team deeply committed to a breakthrough for women’s sexual health,” said Cindy Whitehead, CEO, Sprout Pharmaceuticals. “I’m optimistic that this year will bring the first FDA approved treatment for women’s most common sexual dysfunction, opening the door to follow on research and innovation that women’s healthcare so richly deserves.”

Sprout plans to resubmit the flibanserin New Drug Application in the first quarter of this year.

About Flibanserin 
Flibanserin is a novel, non-hormonal drug that has been studied in more than 11,000 women in clinical trials for the treatment of HSDD in premenopausal and postmenopausal women. Flibanserin is believed to work on key neurotransmitters, or chemicals, in the brain that affect sexual desire. More specifically, it is thought that flibanserin corrects an imbalance of levels of these neurotransmitters by increasing dopamine and norepinephrine (both responsible for sexual excitement) and decreasing serotonin (responsible for sexual inhibition). In clinical studies, flibanserin was evaluated for its ability to increase the frequency of satisfying sexual events, increase the intensity of sexual desire and decrease the associated distress women feel from its loss.

About Sprout Pharmaceuticals 
Sprout Pharmaceuticals is passionate about women’s sexual health. With a breakthrough concept for women, the company “sprouted” out of Slate Pharmaceuticals in 2011. Based in Raleigh, NC, the company is focused solely on the delivery of a treatment option for the unmet need of women with HSDD. Sprout is pursuing the FDA approval of flibanserin to treat HSDD in premenopausal women, for which there is currently no FDA-approved treatment.

For more information or the latest news about Sprout Pharmaceuticals, visit www.sproutpharma.com. 

Media Contact:
Geoff Curtis
312-233-1253 (o)
312-550-8138 (c)
geoff.curtis@edelman.com 

 

SOURCE Sprout Pharmaceuticals

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Monroe deer hunter’s 8-point trophy wasn’t a buck

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Hunters from all parts of the country go to Kansas hoping to shoot a buck with a trophy-class set of antlers.

Well, for Chuck Rorie, half of the dream came true last month when he shot what he thought was a nice buck. Instead, the set of eight-point antlers were attached to a doe.

“I didn’t think much about it; it just looked like a nice buck when I was watching it and shot it,” said Rorie, of Monroe. “But when I was skinning it I realized something didn’t look right. It didn’t have the right private parts.

“I whispered to my dad to look because I didn’t want to sound like some (dummy). When he looked, said he saw (female parts), too.

“I’m tickled to death. I know this is a once in a lifetime thing.”

According to biologists, it’s actually more like a once in many lifetimes thing.

“I think the last number I heard at a scientific meeting was something like one in about 10,000 will have antlers,” said Grant Woods, a Missouri-based biologist with 25 years’ experience researching whitetail deer who hosts a television show on deer management. “It’s rare, but it’s certainly going to happen.”

Keith Sexson, assistant secretary for the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism, has been with the agency for 46 years, mostly as a biologist. He estimates he has heard of no more than 15 antlered does in Kansas in all that time.

“Really, that may be a high number,” he said. “I know it hasn’t been very often.”

Woods said does with antlers are simply does with high amounts of testosterone, a hormone found in all does, though normally in very low amounts. It happens in most species of mammals.

“Excessive testosterone is why some women have more facial hair than others,” he said. “In deer, that’s expressed in antler growth.”

Woods also said that in-depth research on antlered does is fairly limited, but added that most does with antlers only have short, spindly antlers. Rorie’s 225-pound doe had fairly thick antlers about 17 inches wide, with eight normal-size points. He said his doe’s antlers were also shiny and rock-hard, like you would expect from a buck’s headgear.

Frequently, according to Woods, antlered does have fuzzy antlers still covered in what’s known as velvet, a soft covering antlers have when they’re growing. In bucks, that’s basically May through August. High testosterone levels cause bucks to rub the velvet from their antlers before the autumn breeding season, and to eventually shed their antlers in the winter so a new set can begin growing.

Most does that have enough hormone to spur antler growth lack enough testosterone to cause the deer to polish or shed their antlers. Again, that’s what helps make Rorie’s whitetail pretty unique.

“They just looked like a nice set of eight-point antlers,” Rorie said. “You could see tree bark on the antlers where she’d been rubbing them against trees, like a buck.”

Rorie was hunting in western Sedgwick County with Anthony Youngers, a native of that area now living in North Carolina. Youngers, and his Kansas family, hosted Rorie and several others from North Carolina on their family farm and property owned by neighbors.

Rorie was in a wooden ground blind overlooking a hay field. Several does came out to feed. In a few minutes three young bucks came to the field and started chasing those does around the field, hoping to get a chance to breed.

What Rorie thought was the fourth buck was last to come out on to the field. Impressed with the antlers, he shot it.

In hindsight he said he should have noticed that deer’s neck wasn’t swollen like those of the other lust-fueled bucks, and the deer was also colored more like the does in the field than the bucks. It also wasn’t chasing the does.

“It was … trying to follow the does around, but they wanted nothing to do with her,” Rorie said. “I guess they saw the antlers and just assumed.”

Though rare and impressive, the antlers on Rorie’s doe are far from the largest ever found on a female whitetail deer. Woods said many antlered does have clusters of points going in all directions, known as cactus racks. They happen because the antlers don’t completely harden, or fall off, and each year more and more keep growing.

In 2008, a Kansas hunter near Clay Center shot a doe with 27 points and 179 inches of antler based on the Boone and Crockett scoring system.

The antlers of Rorie’s Kansas deer score about 115 inches, and he has plans on getting the deer mounted. No matter whether on a buck or on a doe, he said the antlers would be considered exceptional around his home in North Carolina.

“We don’t have many big bucks,” he said. “So when a guy brings a buck into the processor I’ll be able to tell him I’ve killed a doe a lot bigger than that buck they just shot.

“I’ll have a lot of fun with this.”

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Oswego County man dies four months after state pays him $7.5 million for …

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PENNELLVILLE, N.Y. – Dan Gristwood, an Oswego County man who won $7.5 million from New York state four months ago for being imprisoned over someone else’s crime, has died.

Gristwood, 48, died of lung cancer Saturday afternoon, said his brother, Jerry Gristwood. At least one of Dan’s five children was with him at Upstate Medical University when he died, his brother said.

A state judge awarded Dan Gristwood $5.5 million in May 2013, finding that in 1996 state troopers coerced him into falsely confessing to attacking his wife, Christina, with a hammer in their Clay apartment.

Troopers questioned Gristwood for 16 hours before he gave the false confession. He spent nine years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit, the judge ruled.

The state appealed Midey’s ruling, delaying Gristwood’s receiving the money for 16 months. By the time the state paid him in September 2014, interest had increased the amount to $7.5 million.

Gristwood had only four months to spend it.

“He didn’t get a chance to enjoy things as much as he wanted,” his brother said. “But he did get a little bit of enjoyment.”

An Onondaga County Court jury convicted Gristwood in 1996 of trying to murder his wife by attacking her with a hammer as she slept. He was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison.

But in 2003, the real attacker, Mastho Davis, came forward and confessed. Two years later, Gristwood was freed.

Christina Gristwood, who suffered a brain injury in the attack, divorced him while he was in prison. She died last year.

Gristwood spent the past decade a free man. But he was still bitter at the state troopers who’d gotten him to confess to a crime he didn’t commit.

In an interview with Syracuse.com and The Post-Standard two years ago, Gristwood bemoaned the fact that none of the four troopers who’d interrogated him was ever punished.

“”I don’t have grudges against the state police,” he said. “There are good state troopers. But then you always get the few (expletives) who don’t want to do their jobs, just straight up have an attitude, thinking they’re better than everybody else.”

That sentiment was the only one Gristwood expressed to his brother in recent years about the case.

“He just wished that somehow they could’ve felt a little piece of the pain that he felt,” Jerry Gristwood said today.

Dan Gristwood was diagnosed with lung cancer about five months ago, shortly before he received the money from the state, his brother said. Dan was a smoker before he went to prison and continued smoking behind bars and after his release, his brother said.

After he was diagnosed with cancer, Dan told his brother he wanted to live, and underwent chemotherapy and other treatments until doctors told him it was futile.

“He was fighting it as hard as he could,” Jerry Gristwood said.

Dan married his new wife, Stacey, in August, Jerry Gristwood said. She was at the hospital when he died.

Dan bought a new pickup truck and camper with some of the state money. He and Stacey and a friend went on a trip to North Carolina to see a big NASCAR race in October. They drove to Houston to visit two friends of Gristwood’s from high school, Jerry Gristwood said.

Dan’s favorite holiday had always been Christmas, and he knew this was going to be his last, his brother said. His five adult children and his grandchildren were at his house for Christmas dinner.

“I talked to him on Christmas day and he was really ecstatic,” Jerry Gristwood said. “Everyone was there. Despite what was going on, he focused on them.”

Gristwood told Syracuse.com and The Post-Standard in September that he planned to put about 90 percent of the state money, or $4.4 million after lawyers’ fees were deducted, into trusts for his five children. His brother said Gristwood carried out that plan.

The wrongful conviction and imprisonment turned Gristwood into an angry man for a long time, but in recent years he was moving on with his life, his brother said.

“He let some of it go, but I think there was always that bitterness,” Jerry Gristwood said. “It tempered off because he was trying to forget everything that happened.”

His nine years in prison and his fight with the state afterward didn’t change Gristwood in one way, his brother said. He was always ready to help someone who needed it, Jerry Gristwood said.

“He had a very big heart,” Jerry Gristwood said. “He would give his shirt off his back to someone who needed it, who truly needed it. He was just that type of guy. That never changed.”

Contact John O’Brien at jobrien@syracuse.com or 315-470-2187.

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Editorial: Mountains to Sea: Cheers to finishing our greatest hiking path – Winston

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Posted: Sunday, January 4, 2015 5:00 pm

Editorial: Mountains to Sea: Cheers to finishing our greatest hiking path

Journal editorial board

Winston-Salem Journal

North Carolina’s Mountain-to-Sea trail is ambitious – for those who want to create it, those who want to map it out and especially those who want to hike it. We’re proud to see the planning and execution of this trail making progress, for it will help preserve our natural beauty and bring in tourism dollars.

The North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources announced in December that it has hired a consultant for $120,000 to develop a master plan in 2015 for completing the 1,000-mile trail, The News Observer of Raleigh reported recently. So far, only 600 miles of the trail have been completed.

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Weekend Sports In Brief

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PRO FOOTBALL

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Andrew Luck threw for 376 yards and a game-changing touchdown as he was headed to the turf, and Daniel “Boom” Herron ran for another score as Indianapolis dominated the second half to beat Cincinnati 26-10 in the wild-card round.

As the Colts (12-5) were setting up a rematch at Denver (12-4) next Sunday, the Bengals frittered away a chance to end their postseason misery.

The Bengals became the first team in NFL history to lose four consecutive opening-round games. Andy Dalton tied Warren Moon for the most consecutive opening-round playoff losses by a quarterback.

Cincinnati coach Marvin Lewis tied Marty Schottenheimer, Jim Mora and Steven Owen for most consecutive playoff losses (six) by a coach. Lewis also tied Mora, the former Colts coach, for most consecutive playoff losses to start a career, and tied Owen for most consecutive playoff losses with one team.

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Tony Romo threw two touchdown passes to Terrance Williams, the second for the lead late in the fourth quarter, and the Dallas Cowboys rallied for a 24-20 wild-card win over Detroit in their first playoff game in five years.

The Cowboys (13-4) wiped out an early two-touchdown deficit to earn a trip to Green Bay, their first visit there in the postseason since a heartbreaking loss to the Packers in the Ice Bowl in 1967.

The Lions (11-6) went 99 yards for one of two first-quarter touchdowns, but Matthew Stafford couldn’t get them in the end zone again. He fell to 0-2 in the playoffs three years after losing a wild-card game to New Orleans.

The winning drive came after officials reversed a pass interference penalty against Dallas, resulting in a Detroit punt.

PITTSBURGH (AP) — The rarely flustered Joe Flacco tossed two second-half touchdowns and the Baltimore Ravens dominated the Pittsburgh Steelers 30-17 on Saturday night in the AFC wild-card game.

Flacco hit Torrey Smith for an 11-yard score in the third quarter and found Crockett Gillmore with a 21-yard pass in the fourth one play after Terrell Suggs picked off Ben Roethlisberger. The Ravens won in Pittsburgh for the first time in the postseason.

Baltimore (11-6) sacked Roethlisberger five times and kept the NFL’s second-ranked offense off-balance. Roethlisberger passed for 334 yards, but the Steelers (11-6) settled for field goals while the Ravens kept scoring touchdowns against their AFC North rival.

Baltimore heads to top-seeded New England next Saturday.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Cam Newton threw for 198 yards and two touchdowns, Carolina’s defense set an NFL record for fewest yards allowed in a postseason game, and the Panthers defeated the Arizona Cardinals 27-16 on Saturday.

It was Carolina’s first playoff win in nine years and Newton’s first playoff victory since entering the league as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2011 draft. Jonathan Stewart ran for 123 yards and a touchdown on a rain-soaked afternoon.

The Panthers held Arizona to 78 yards, intercepted Ryan Lindley twice and sacked him four times. Carolina had 386 yards.

The Panthers (8-8-1) will play at top-seeded Seattle next weekend if Dallas beats Detroit on Sunday. If the Lions win, the Panthers play at Green Bay.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

MOBILE, Ala. (AP) — Kareem Hunt ran for 271 yards and five touchdowns to lead Toledo over Arkansas State 63-44 in the GoDaddy Bowl on Sunday night.

The 5-foot-11, 200-pound Hunt capped a phenomenal season by slicing through Arkansas State’s defense early and often. The performance set a GoDaddy Bowl record and he averaged 8.5 yards per carry.

Hunt, who finished the season with 1,631 yards rushing, had touchdown runs of 4, 44 and 29 yards in the first half as the Rockets built a 35-17 halftime lead. Toledo (9-4) ended the season on a three-game winning streak.

Arkansas State (7-6) pulled within 49-38 in the fourth quarter, but could get no closer. The Red Wolves were playing in their fourth straight GoDaddy Bowl and fell to 2-2 over that span.

Arkansas State’s Fredi Knighten threw for 403 yards and five touchdowns.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Treon Harris threw an 86-yard scoring pass to Ahmad Fulwood and Vernon Hargreaves III intercepted a pass in the end zone late to preserve Florida’s 28-20 victory over East Carolina on Saturday in the Birmingham Bowl.

The big plays helped the Gators (7-5) finish a disappointing season with a winning record while new coach Jim McElwain was among the spectators. Brian Poole also scored on a 29-yard interception return and Florida’s defense repeatedly turned East Carolina’s high-powered offense away from the end zone.

Shane Carden was 34 of 66 for 427 yards for the Pirates (8-5) but Hargreaves’ pick with 1:20 left ended his day.

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CLEVELAND (AP) — Cavaliers general manager David Griffin said David Blatt will remain the team’s head coach and that no change will be made.

Griffin, speaking to reporters before Sunday’s game against Dallas, called scrutiny about Blatt’s job status “ridiculous” and said he isn’t giving the rookie head coach a vote of confidence because “he never needed one.”

Griffin also took issue with reports that LeBron James, who is sidelined with knee and back soreness, is unhappy with Blatt and said the narrative about the coach’s job is over.

Griffin disagreed with the idea that James isn’t supporting Blatt, talk that began in earnest last week. When the four-time MVP was asked if Blatt was the right coach for the team, he said. “Yeah, he’s our coach, I mean, what other coach do we have?” Pressed about endorsing Blatt, James said, “Listen man, I don’t pay no bills around here. I play.”

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NEW YORK (AP) — Stuart Scott was in his element, working a “Monday Night Football” game, when he was forced to leave for an appendix operation.

Doctors discovered a tumor during surgery and Scott was diagnosed with cancer. But he made a point of continuing to live his life — at work and outside of it.

“You beat cancer by how you live,” he would later say. “So live. Live. Fight like hell.”

That fight ended Sunday when Scott, the longtime “SportsCenter” anchor and ESPN personality known for his enthusiasm and ubiquity, died at age 49.

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