November 2004 in Sports - November 20, 2004

November 20, 2004

• Cross-country skiing: In the 2005 World Cup season's second weekend of competitions, in Gällivare, Sweden, the Ladies' 10 km classic style race is won by Marit Bjørgen (NOR), with Kristina Šmigun (EST) and Virpi Kuitunen (FIN) coming in second and third. (FIS-Ski Results). In the Men's 15 km race, Axel Teichmann (GER) wins, followed by René Sommerfeldt (GER) and Vassili Rotchev (RUS). (FIS-Ski Results)
• NBA: Commissioner David Stern suspends Ron Artest, Stephen Jackson, and Jermaine O'Neal of the Indiana Pacers and Ben Wallace of the Detroit Pistons indefinitely for their parts in the November 19, 2004 disturbance at The Palace of Auburn Hills. (NBA) (ESPN)
  • The Houston Rockets beat the Los Angeles Clippers, 91–86, in overtime.(NBA)
• Rugby union:
  • England convincingly defeats the South African Springboks 32–16 at Twickenham in London. (BBC)
  • Argentina defeats France 24–14 at Stade Vélodrome in Marseille. This is the first loss ever for France in Marseille. (BBC)
  • The All Blacks (New Zealand) win a hard-fought match with Wales 26–25 at Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. (BBC)
  • The Wallabies (Australia) defeat Scotland 31–17 at Hampden Park in Glasgow. (BBC)
• Rugby league: Great Britain defeats the New Zealand Kiwis 26–24 in the final group match of the Rugby League Tri-Nations at KC Stadium in Hull. The Great Britain team will face the Australia Kangaroos in the Tri-Nations final next week. (BBC)
• NCAA football:
  • The California Golden Bears rout the Stanford Cardinal 41–6 in the Big Game to retain control of the Stanford Axe for the third year in a row. (SI)
  • The Ohio State Buckeyes upset the Michigan Wolverines 37–21, but Michigan wins the championship of the Big Ten Conference and a berth in the Rose Bowl due to the Iowa Hawkeyes' 30–7 win over the Wisconsin Badgers. (Yahoo!) (Yahoo!)
  • The Utah Utes, by virtue of a 52–21 win over the BYU Cougars, go undefeated for the first time since 1930, giving them a chance to become the first team from a "mid-major" conference to earn a spot in the Bowl Championship Series. (Yahoo!)
  • A brawl breaks out in a game between the University of South Carolina and Clemson University, marring longtime USC coach Lou Holtz's final game. Clemson wins 29–7. (Yahoo!)
• Canadian Interuniversity Sport football: The Saskatchewan Huskies defeat the Saint Mary's Huskies 31–16 in the Mitchell Bowl, while the Laval Rouge et Or defeat the Laurier Golden Hawks 30–11 in the Uteck Bowl. Saskatchewan will face Laval for the Vanier Cup. (TSN) (TSN)
• Boxing:
  • "Winky Wright" retains his world Jr. Middleweight title with a 12 round majority decision over Shane Mosley in their rematch. (BoxingCentral)
  • During the Wright-Mosley rematch, Oscar De La Hoya announces that he has signed his conqueror, Bernard Hopkins, to de la Hoya's promotional company, "Golden Boy Promotions". (BoxingCentral)