College Football

LINCOLN, Neb. -- Bo Pelini is the new coach at Nebraska, leaving the defensive coordinator post at LSU for a job many Cornhusker fans thought he should have been given four years ago.

Interim athletic director and former coach Tom Osborne announced Pelini's hiring Sunday, after introducing him to the players.

It's the first head coaching job for the 39-year-old Pelini, who spent three years at LSU orchestrating one of the nation's top defenses. He replaces Bill Callahan, fired Nov. 24 after the Huskers' second losing season in four years.

At the Texans' home, Reliant Stadium, Houston (8-4) will play TCU (7-5) in the Texas Bowl on Dec. 28. It will be the 25th time the two teams have met, but the first time in a bowl game. They haven't played each other since 2004, when TCU was still in Conference USA, and the Frogs won that game for their seventh straight victory in the series.

TCU will make its ninth bowl appearance in the last 10 seasons, and sixth in seven years under coach Gary Patterson.

College Basketball

LOS ANGELES -- Damion James dunked with 8 seconds remaining to help No. 8 Texas upset second-ranked UCLA 63-61 after the Longhorns blew all of a 16-point, first-half lead Sunday in the Big 12/Pac-10 Hardwood Series.

James and D.J. Augustin finished with 19 points each, and the Longhorns (7-0) survived their closest game yet after winning their first six by at least 15 points. James also had 10 rebounds.

UCLA's first loss of the season ended the Bruins' 25-game home winning streak. Luc Richard Mbah a Moute had 14 points, and Darren Collison added 12 in his first start for the Bruins (7-1).

Mbah a Moute missed a 3-pointer in front of UCLA's bench at the buzzer.

UCLA became the highest-ranked opponent Texas has beaten in a true road game in school history. Their previous best win came over No. 4 Memphis in January 2006.

NFL

MIAMI -- A fourth man charged in the shooting death of 24-year-old Sean Taylor appeared briefly in court Sunday and, like his co-defendants, was denied bond.

Jason Mitchell, 19, appeared briefly via videoconference in a Fort Myers courtroom, about 100 miles from here. Dressed in an orange jumpsuit, he responded quietly when asked if he understood the charges.

"He looks like he's in shock," said Sawyer Smith, one of his attorneys.

Three others -- Eric Rivera, 17; Charles Wardlow, 18; and Venjah Hunte, 20 -- made their first court appearance Saturday.

All four have been charged with unpremeditated murder, home invasion with a firearm or another deadly weapon and armed burglary. They will be transported to Miami, though authorities haven't said when.

Major League Baseball

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The New York Yankees likely will pull out of trade talks for Johan Santana if the Minnesota Twins don't make a decision by late Monday.

The Yankees have proposed swapping pitcher Phil Hughes, center fielder Melky Cabrera and a midlevel prospect for the two-time Cy Young Award winner, who can become a free agent after next season.

Boston also is competing to land Santana. The Red Sox are thought to have offered a package that would include pitcher Jon Lester or center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury but not both. Center fielder Coco Crisp also could be part of a trade.

HOUSTON -- Second baseman Kaz Matsui finalized a $16.5 million, three-year contract with the Houston Astros on Sunday, a little more than a month after helping the Colorado Rockies to their first World Series appearance.

The 32-year-old switch-hitter batted .288 with four homers and 37 RBIs for Colorado, stealing 32 bases and scoring 84 runs -- his best totals in the majors. Houston swiped only 65 bases this year, the third-lowest in the NL.

ARLINGTON -- Sammy Sosa wasn't offered salary arbitration by the Texas Rangers, who still may be interested in bringing back the slugger.

Sosa, 39, hit .252 with a team-high 21 home runs and 92 RBIs in 114 games for Texas following a year out of baseball. He became a part-time player after joining the 600-homer club, starting only 19 of the last 56 games while the Rangers evaluated younger players.

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