WEDNESDAY SPORTS: Boyd, Beasley, honored by Maxwell Club; Gurley to play Saturday; NBA season tips off

maxwellClemson Quarterback Tajh Boyd and defensive end Vic Beasley have been named semifinalists for major college football awards given by the Maxwell Football Club of Pennsylvania. Boyd is one of 16 semifinal candidates for the Maxwell Award, which is given to the top college football player in the nation, while Beasley is one of 16 semifinalists for the Bednarik Award, which goes to the nation’s top defensive player.

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Georgia football coach Mark Richt says star running back Todd Gurley should be back in the action this Saturday when the Bulldogs head to Jacksonville to take the Florida Gators. Gurley was injured against LSU in late September has not played since. The Dawgs are looking for its third straight win over the Gators when they two hit the field this Saturday.

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The NBA’s 2013-14 season got underway Tuesday night with three games, including one between the reigning champion Miami Heat and the Chicago Bulls. The Heat got their rings and raised the championship banner before the game in Miami, and then went on to beat the Bulls 107-95. In the other two games, the Los Angeles Lakers beat their crosstown rivals, the L.A. Clippers, 116-103, and the Indiana Pacers downed the Orlando Magic 97-87. A full slate of NBA games is scheduled for Wednesdat, including the Atlanta Hawks, who hit the hardwood against the Dallas Mavericks.

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In what St. Louis fans surely hope isn’t a bad omen for their team, the Cardinals’ flight to Boston for Game 6 of the World Series was delayed for some six hours Tuesday as their plane sat on the tarmac with mechanical problems. The team’s plane finally arrived in Boston soon after 11 p.m. ET. St. Louis will be battling to stay alive Wednesday night, down 3-2 to the Red Sox, who’ll by trying to clinch a World Series title on their own field for the first time since 1918.