Associated Press
ATLANTA ó Kicker Scott Blair threw a touchdown pass early on, booted a 36-yard field goal with 57 seconds left and No. 15 Georgia Tech rallied to beat Clemson 30-27 after squandering a 24-point lead Thursday.
Clemson (1-1, 0-1 ACC) scored 27 straight points, taking its first lead on Richard Jackson’s 53-yard field goal with 11:33 to go.
The Yellow Jackets (2-0, 1-0) put together a 69-yard drive to set up Blair’s tying kick, a 34-yarder with 5:40 left that made it 27-all.
After a holding penalty wiped out Kyle Parker’s 38-yard completion to Jacoby Ford, Tech got a chance to win it. Josh Nesbitt hooked up with Demaryius Thomas for a 39-yard gain to set up the winning kick.
Parker threw for 261 yards and three touchdowns, including a 63-yarder to C.J. Spiller and a 77-yarder to Ford. Spiller rushed for 87 yards and caught four passes.
NFL
CHARLOTTE ó When Charles Godfrey broke his left hand last month he was given two options: Let it heal naturally and play with a bulky cast for six weeks or undergo surgery to insert a permanent plate and screws.
The decision was easy for Godfrey. So what if the Carolina free safety may occasionally set off metal detectors for the rest of his life?
“This is my life right now. So if that’s what it takes for me to get back on the field, then that’s what it takes,” Godfrey said. “They didn’t have to persuade me. They told me I’d have to wear a club for six weeks. I’m not going that route.”
Godfrey walked around Thursday ó 19 days after suffering the injury in an exhibition game at Miami ó fully able to clench and move his left hand. Eight stitches cover the top of his hand near the broken metacarpel bone. The plates and screws are buried under the skin.
The surgery, “artificial healing” as coach John Fox called it, is a way to rapidly repair a broken bone in that part of the hand. No plaster cast required. Determined not to miss the opener Sunday against Philadelphia, he’s taken rehab to a new level.
“If they told me to go to sleep and keep my hand elevated, well, for me that means keeping my hand elevated all day,” Godfrey said. “So I walked around with my hand elevated. Just taking it overboard so I can hurry up and get back. If I ice it here, I go home and ice it. That’s the approach I took and now I’m back Week 1.”
Godfrey’s return has added importance because stating strong safety Chris Harris’ status for Sunday is uncertain after he injured his left knee Wednesday. Harris missed practice Thursday, and Quinton Teal is the backup to both Godfrey and Harris.
n ALAMEDA, Calif. ó The Raiders re-signed defensive tackle William Joseph, and Richard Seymour remained a no-show.
n TEMPE, Ariz. ó Arizona wide receiver Anquan Boldin briefly tested his sore hamstring Thursday, then watched the rest of practice. If he can’t play in the opener against San Francisco on Sunday, the Cardinals may look to Jerheme Urban for help.
n FLORHAM PARK, N.J. ó Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum admitted the team should have disclosed Brett Favre’s torn biceps tendon on mandatory weekly injury reports over the final third of last season.
Favre, now with the Vikings, said earlier this week he thought he was hurting the Jets because of the injury. He said he would have been willing to sit out, even though that would have ended his streak of consecutive starts, which now stands at 269 games.
BASKETBALLSPRINGFIELD, Mass. ó Michael Jordan will be enshrined in the Hall of Fame today.
David Robinson, John Stockton, Utah coach Jerry Sloan and Rutgers women’s coach C. Vivian Stringer are the other members of the Class of 2009.
n MEMPHIS, Tenn. ó Allen Iverson signed a one-year contract with Memphis, which hasn’t reached the playoffs since 2006 and has never won a postseason game.
n NBA referees are prepared to be locked out for the start of the season after negotiations with the league on a new contract broke down this week when David Stern ended the latest bargaining session.
RACINGSTATESVILLE ó Richard Petty Motorsports and Yates Racing plan to merge in 2010, with the four-car team running Fords under the RPM banner.
Under the agreement announced Thursday, Yates driver Paul Menard will join RPM drivers Kasey Kahne, Elliott Sadler and A.J. Allmendinger next year. RPM was formed in January when Petty Holdings merged with Gillett Evernham Motorsports.
“This is a pretty big deal for us,” Petty said. “We’re thrilled to partner with Ford. We’ve talked with a lot of folks, but in the end it came down to the success the Gilletts, and I think we can achieve with Ford Racing.”
The switch from Dodge to Ford should ease some of the financial pressure felt by RPM since Chrysler’s Chapter 11 filing.
The merger leaves RPM driver Reed Sorenson and former NASCAR champion Bobby Labonte ó who has been driving for Yates ó looking for work.
TENNISNEW YORK ó Sixth-seeded Juan Martin del Potro overcame a sluggish first set to defeat No. 16 Marin Cilic 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-1 in the U.S. Open quarterfinals.
The Rafael Nadal-Fernando Gonzalez match was interrupted by showers. Nadal won the opening set 7-6 (7-4). A second delay came while Nadal led 3-2 in the second-set tiebreaker. As of 11 p.m., rain was still falling.
GOLFLEMONT, Ill. ó Two days after being left off the Presidents Cup team, Rory Sabbatini had seven birdies in a round of 5-under 66 to share the lead with Steve Marino in the BMW Championship.