B.J. Penn will defend his UFC lightweight title against Diego Sanchez on Dec. 12 in Memphis, Tenn., the promotion officially announced Tuesday.

The UFC also confirmed previously reported matchups pitting Frank Mir vs. Cheick Kongo and Thiago Alves vs. Paulo Thiago.

“I can’t wait to defend the title,” Penn said in a news release. “I know what kind of competitor Diego Sanchez is and I am training very hard. This will be a good test.”

Penn submitted Kenny Florian in his most recent defense at UFC 101 in August. Sanchez, 2-0 at 155 pounds and 21-2 overall, is coming off a split decision over Clay Guida in June.

“I’ve always wanted to face the best,” Sanchez said. “I’ve worked so hard for this and now I finally have a shot at the title. I’m training like I’ve never trained before and I expect an all-out war.”

Mir and Kongo will be the co-headliners for the event, which takes place at the FedEx Forum.

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Tell me if you’ve heard this story before- The Stars battled, didn’t play that great of an overall game and then lost in a shootout.

This time it was against the Vancouver Canucks, as the Stars ended their three-game Western Canada road trip 1-0-2. Not the greatest way to get points but it’s better than walking away with nothing, which is exactly what could have happened tonight.

Since it’s nearly 1 AM on a Monday morning, a truncated game recap up after the jump. We’ll have much, much more on this game tomorrow and Tuesday.

The Good: Jamie Benn finally got his first NHL goal and yes indeed it was highlight reel-worthy. Benn was sensational all night long, and had several opportunities to put one in the net before scoring the game-tying goal with 93 seconds remaining.

The Bad: Marty Turco was still shaky in net and just doesn’t seem too sure of himself when the puck comes near the crease. Part of that may be due to some horrendous coverage around the net by the Stars defenseman, but it’s also something we didn’t see with Auld. He did have one incredible save on Henrik Sedin in the first period, but overall another poor showing for our #1 goaltender. While I know the shootout isn’t a true measure of a team’s performance, Turco was absolutely amateurish on both shots. Too deep in his crease, not challenging the shooter. Fundamental and basics.

The Ugly: The Stars surrendered two more goals while on the penalty kill tonight. Something is drastically wrong here.

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Size matters in the NBA, but that doesn’t always mean bigger is better. Small is a size, too.

And when it comes to lineups, Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle believes in diversity. Yes, he likes to have big men in the game. Most NBA champions have a strong inside presence.

But he also likes to use a three-guard lineup and has done so frequently in the preseason, especially with J.J. Barea occupying one of the spots. The 6-foot Puerto Rican has played 80 minutes in the three exhibitions, behind only Dirk Nowitzki (81 minutes) and Jason Kidd (83).

Barea’s been on the court with Kidd and either Jason Terry or rookie Roddy Beaubois a lot.

“I love it,” Barea says. “I love playing with point guards at the same time. It makes the job a lot easier for all of us. It gets the ball moving, and I like that.”

Until Beaubois gains some experience, Barea figures to keep the job of backing up Kidd. But it can be argued that he’s at his best when playing with Kidd, which allows Barea to look for his shot more. Throw in Terry and the smallish backcourt instantly gives the Mavericks plenty of offense in support of Nowitzki, Shawn Marion or whoever else is on the floor.

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Top 7 Points From Week 5- #1. Denver Broncos

All it took were five wins for Josh McDaniels to go from being young and arrogant to being prodigious and shrewd, for Brandon Marshall to go from childish to exhilarating, for Kyle Orton to go from mundane to dependable, for this defense to go from makeshift to multifaceted and for the Broncos in general to go from laughable to laudable.

This team is for real, and yes, that is shocking. With Kyle Orton completing 35 of 48 passes for 330 yards against a stellar Patriots defense, and with the Broncos having a “Monday Night Football” spotlight at San Diego in Week 6, you’ll be hearing about how the fifth-year quarterback is 26-12 as a starter, and how he is collected under pressure and comfortable in McDaniels’s offense. Be ready for the media onslaught.

And through all of it, don’t forget the value of Denver’s offensive line. The second-year sensation Ryan Clady is the best left tackle in football, and the third-year right tackle Ryan Harris isn’t far behind. And the interior of the line is as cohesive as they come.

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The New England Patriots have signed linebacker Junior Seau.

The 40-year-old Seau is a 12-time Pro Bowler. He is entering his 20th NFL season—13 with San Diego, three with Miami and four with New England. His signing was expected after the Patriots gave him a physical and a workout last week.

Seau came out of retirement last year to play the final four games with the Patriots after playing 27 games with them in 2006 and 2007.

To make room on the roster, the Patriots released defensive lineman Terdell Sands(notes), who signed Sept. 28 after being waived by Oakland before the season.

credit: yahoo/patriots sign seau

Austin only saved the season and some jobs (but just wait)

A season nearly died here Sunday, but even after his team ended up buying life-support time, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones made a murky point clear:

The smell of lingering football rot, he says, won’t change a made-up mind.

“No,” Jones said, emphatically, then added with a smile, “and you will not trap me on that one.”

That answer was in reference to what might had been on Monday if the Cowboys hadn’t managed — in overtime, and with a Miles Austin miracle afternoon — to finally subdue an opponent that has now lost 28 of its last 30 NFL games, a futility record for the books.

Fire Wade Phillips? Jason Garrett? Himself as general manager?

Jerry, as the Valley Ranch boss of bosses, was spared, probably temporarily, from having to deal with any of those pertinent queries, once the Cowboys had stumbled and bumbled and gone many Miles out of the way to beat the gawd-awful Kansas City Chiefs 26-20 in OT.

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Anderson Silva is set to defend his middleweight title against fellow Brazilian Vitor Belfort at UFC 108.

The event is expected to take place on Jan. 2 from Las Vegas, kicking 2010 off with a bang.

UFC president Dana White recently confirmed to the Los Angeles Times that the bout has been verbally agreed to by both fighters.

Silva’s last trip to the Octagon was a highlight-reel, first-round knockout win over Forrest Griffin, which followed a middleweight championship title defense over Thales Leites, while Belfort has most recently put together impressive back-to-back knockouts over the likes of Rich Franklin and Matt Lindland.

credit: cbssports/silva belfort ufc 108

The Angels soaked the jersey in beer, champagne and tears, holding Nick Adenhart’s No. 34 high in the middle of the celebration he missed.

Los Angeles is headed back to the playoffs for the sixth time in eight years, and the Angels intend to go with the memory of their late teammate alongside them. The 22-year-old pitcher’s death in an April car accident roiled their season early on, but it couldn’t sink this resilient team.

Kendry Morales homered and drove in three runs, and the Angels wasted no time clinching their third straight AL West title with an 11-0 victory over the second-place Texas Rangers on Monday night.

Ervin Santana pitched a seven-hitter for his fourth career shutout, while Maicer Izturis had three hits and two RBIs to wrap up the Angels’ fifth division crown in six years. Los Angeles (92-64) will open at home in the best-of-five first round next week—most likely against Boston, a familiar nemesis. The Red Sox need one win or a Texas loss to earn the AL wild card.

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Cowboys’ D leads the way to 21-7 win over Panthers

Leading, but not by much, Tony Romo(notes) and the Dallas Cowboys were desperately in need of a big play.

Jake Delhomme(notes) helped them make several.

Terence Newman(notes) returned an interception 27 yards for a lead-stretching touchdown with 5:07 left, then rookie linebacker Victor Butler(notes) got two sacks and forced a fumble on the next series, sending Dallas to a 21-7 victory over the Carolina Panthers on Monday night.

Considering the Cowboys were coming off a last-second loss in the opener of their $1.15 billion stadium, a crowd of 90,588 was especially tense until the defense put the game away. The biggest sigh of relief likely came from team owner Jerry Jones.

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