THURSDAY SPORTS: Clemson, USC finish with top 20 classes

Clemson signed a top 15 recruiting class for 2014 Wednesday and added a major piece to their 2015 class in OL Mitch Hyatt (6-6 265) of Suwanee, GA. A couple surprises late in the day gave South Carolina the 19th best class in the country. Some of the National Signing Day highlights:

DB Wesley Green of Lithonia, GA announcing for the Gamecocks over Georgia.

Long time Florida State commitment Dexter Wideman of Saluda switching to South Carolina.

DB Chris Lammons of Plantation, FL signed with USC over Wisconsin.

DE Blake McClain (6-4 284) of Jacksonville, FL signed with USC flipping from Nebraska.

WR Richard Yeargin III (6-4 225) of Fort Lauderdale, FL signed with Clemson.

Clemson did not land DL Cory Thomas, and neither did Tennessee. Thomas surprised many by switching to Mississippi State.

Shrine Bowl DL Poona Ford of Hilton Head signed with Texas.

Alabama finishes with the #1 class in the nation according to all major sources.

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With heavy emphasis on offense and linemen, Furman head football coach Bruce Fowler announced Wednesday the signing of 22 recruits to national letters of intent, including quarterback P.J. Blazejowski (St. Augustine, Fla./Bartram Trail H.S.) and offensive lineman Terrell Bush (Tuscaloosa, Ala./Tuscaloosa Academy).

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South Carolina battled back from a 16-point deficit midway through the second half, but the Gamecocks (8-14, 1-8 SEC) suffered a 79-74 loss to Auburn (11-9, 3-6 SEC) in SEC play on Wednesday night at Colonial Life Arena. Senior guard Brenton Williams led Carolina with 29 points in the contest, hitting 10-of-14 from the field, including 6-of-10 from 3-point range. Chris Denson and KT Harrell led the Tigers with 25 points each in the game.

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In the NBA Wednesday, Anthony Davis had 27 points and 10 rebounds, and the New Orleans Pelicans beat the Atlanta Hawks 105-100 in the Crescent City.

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The NFL announced Wednesday that CBS will air eight of its Thursday night games next season. CBS will air the games during the first eight weeks of the season, while the league’s NFL Network will broadcast six other Thursday night games later in the season. The NFL started a limited package of Thursday games in 2006, and showed 13 of those games on the NFL Network this past season.

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Hundreds of thousands of fans lined a two-mile route in the streets of downtown Seattle Wednesday  to cheer the victory parade for the NFL champion Seahawks, who won the first Super Bowl in the franchise’s 38-year history on Sunday. The parade began near the Space Needle and made its way to CenturyLink Field, the home of the team, where a ceremony was held and the team thanked its notoriously loud fans, known as the 12th Man.

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Former pitcher Curt Schilling, who’s most famous for his “bloody sock” pitching performances for the Boston Red Sox during the 2004 ALCS and World Series after having stitches for an ankle injury, announced Wednesday that he’s been diagnosed with cancer. The 47-year-old revealed the news in a statement released through ESPN, where he works doing baseball coverage. Not disclosed was the type of cancer involved or the prognosis. Schilling, who retired in 2009, played for five teams during his 20-year career, winning word championships with the 2001 Arizona Diamondbacks and the 2004 and 2007 Red Sox. He’d recently revealed that he’d suffered a heart attack in 2011.

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Tennis great Billie Jean King won’t be leading the U.S. delegation to the Sochi Olympics after all, saying Wednesday that she’ll be staying home instead to be with her mother, who is seriously ill. President Obama’s choice of King, who is openly gay, had widely been seen as symbolic message against Russia’s anti-gay laws.

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American snowboarder Shaun White announced Wednesday that he’s pulled out of the slopestyle, dealing a blow to the new Winter Olympics event in which snowboarders tackle rails, bumps and jumps as they go down the mountain. Some competitors have been complaining that the Sochi course is dangerous, and there have been injuries on it, including to White, who jammed his wrist. The world’s most famous snowboarder will instead focus on the halfpipe, trying to win his third straight gold medal in the event.