SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Do you prefer Chicagos Benny the Bull or Bostons Wally the Green Monster? The deviousness of Arizona States Sparky the Sun Devil or the goofiness of South Carolinas Cocky? Or maybe youre more traditional, and like Penn States Nittany Lion. If youre offbeat, go for Stanfords Tree.Those are among the choices people could have when the Mascot Hall of Fame announces its ballot of six candidates for the hall at a groundbreaking ceremony Friday in northwestern Indiana. After more than a decade of existing only online, the mascots are getting a place to flock together somewhere other than sidelines, ESPN commercials or the Capital One Mascot Challenge.Sam Weyen thinks the hall shall never see a mascot more lovely than the Stanford Tree.What other mascot strikes as much joy in the hearts of fans as it does creepy fear? We have a monopoly on that, said the symbolic systems major from Suwanee, Georgia, who has been the Tree since February. I cant think of a more iconic mascot and one that has been kicked out of so many stadiums as well.The Tree is not officially the universitys mascot -- its the mascot of the band known for its irreverence and has been banned from several stadiums for several years.Dave Johnson, who was Penn States Nittany Lion from 2005 to 2007, believes that mascot should be inducted because of simplicity and tradition. Its stuck to the same basic look since the 1920s.When you think of a college mascot, a lot of these other mascots ... theyre kind of gimmicky. Theyve got the inflatable mascots bouncing around, all that type of thing, and theyre limited in what they can do, Johnson said. In the ever-changing landscape of college campuses, the lion is always the same.The Mascot Hall of Fame will be built in Whiting, a city along Lake Michigan best known for its oil refinery and its Pierogi Fest -- a weekend event in July that celebrates Polish dumplings. More than 250,000 people take part in pierogi eating contests, pierogi tosses and polkas.David Raymond, the original Phillie Phanatic and the halls founder, said the city 20 miles southeast of Chicago is the perfect site for two reasons: It was willing to put up $7 million for the building and its 5,000 residents embrace quirky.Their brand is the little wacky city that could, so they embrace the silliness of this project, Raymond said.Mayor Joseph Stahura said the hall is being financed through tax increment financing and is part of a plan to try to establish the city as one- or two-day tourist destination. A sustainability study says the hall should draw 50,000 visitors a year, he said.The idea for the hall was sparked by a 2003 incident of mascot abuse. Sports fans nationwide were shocked when Pittsburgh first baseman Randall Simon used a bat to fell one of the four Racing Sausages during a Milwaukee Brewers game in the bop heard round the world.Simon, who said he did not deliberately try to knock down the Italian sausage, was cited for disorderly conduct.We as a group in our office said we really should take advantage of this, have some fun with it, but also promote the fact that mascots sometimes arent getting the respect they deserve, Raymond said.That led to the creation of a mascot bill of rights , a mascot march in Philadelphia and the creation of the online hall. The inaugural class of the Phillie Phanatic, the Famous Chicken (aka the San Diego Chicken) and the Phoenix Gorilla was inducted in 2005.To date, 10 pro and seven collegiate mascots have been inducted. The pro honorees include Mr. Met, KC Wolf of the Kansas City Chiefs and Rocky of the Denver Nuggets. The college legends include Ohio States Brutus Buckeye, Wisconsins Bucky the Badger and Tennessees Smokey.Not all mascots are eligible for the hall, just the fully costumed kind. Raymond said the hall organizers may recognize human and animal mascots eventually in some way. Members of the hall are selected through voting by the public online, lifetime hall voting members (comes with a $50 donation) and an executive committee.Weyen said even if selected, the Tree doesnt belong in the hall.I would stipulate it has to be outside because trees dont like to be inside, he said. Cheap Custom NHL Jerseys .Y. -- Buffalo Bills coach Doug Marrone has drawn on his Syracuse connections once again by hiring Rob Moore to take over as receivers coach. Authentic Custom NHL Jerseys . Francis told several hundred members of the European Olympic Committees that when sport "is considered only in economic terms and consequently for victory at every cost . http://www.nhljerseyscustom.com/ . "I wrote 36 on my sheet at the beginning of the game," the Cincinnati coach said, referring the yard line the ball would need to be snapped from. Wholesale Custom Hockey Shirts . President of baseball operations Larry Beinfest was fired Friday after 12 years with the Marlins. The move came as the team neared the end of its third consecutive last-place season in the NL East. Custom Tampa Bay Lightning Jerseys . All of the scoring came in the final 20:04. Lucic scored on a power play at 15:46 of the third period, when he tipped a shot over Stars goalie Kari Lehtonen for a 3-1 lead. The Latest on the NFLs 15th Sunday. (all times Eastern):10 p.m.Dallas tight end Jason Witten has passed former teammate Terrell Owens for seventh place on the career receptions list.Witten caught a 6-yard pass from rookie Dak Prescott early in the second quarter to pass Owens with his 1,079th catch. He had two more catches on that touchdown drive and finished the first half with eight catches for 47 yards, giving him 1,084 for his career.The 34-year-old Witten, in his 14th season, is one of two NFL tight ends with at least 1,000 catches and 10,000 yards receiving. Tony Gonzalez is the other.Owens spent three of his 15 seasons with the Cowboys.Dallas led Tampa Bay 17-6 at halftime.- Schuyler Dixon reporting from Arlington, Texas---9:30 p.m.Dallas rookie quarterback Dak Prescott has set a franchise season record for rushing touchdowns by a quarterback with his sixth.Prescotts 2-yard run on a quarterback draw broke Don Merediths mark from 1966. The touchdown gave the Cowboys a 17-3 lead over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.Prescott also had a 15-yard scramble on the 64-yard scoring drive in the second quarter. He set up his scoring run with a 21-yard throw on the run to Brice Butler at the 2.- Schuyler Dixon reporting from Arlington, Texas---5:25 p.m.New England running back LeGarrette Blount barreled in from a yard out in the second quarter against Denver for his 15th rushing score of the season. With that, he set a franchise record for most rushing TDs in a single season.Blount was tied with Curtis Martin, who had 14 in 1995 and again in `96.- Pat Graham reporting from Denver---4:55 p.m.Move aside, Dirty Birds.The Atlanta Falcons have set a franchise record for points in a season with a 21-point outburst against the San Francisco 49ers in the opening quarter.That pushes the Falcons to 449 points with two weeks still to go in the regular season, breaking the mark of 442 set by their 1998 Super Bowl team.Atlanta is also on pace to set a franchise mark for total yards. The Falcons came into Sundays game averaging 402.3 per game, far ahead of their record of 378.2 set two years ago, and they put up 157 yards against the woeful 49ers in the first quarter.- Paul Newberry reporting from Atlanta.---4:55 p.m.This is how bad its gotten for Broncos punt returner Jordan Norwood: The crowd applauds when he cleanly fair catches the football.Norwood has struggled to field punts over his last two home games. Things have gotten so bad that he recently was replaced by Kalif Raymond, who was surprisingly inactive Sunday against New England.Norwoods latest fumble occurred early in the first quarter when the football simply slipped through his hands on a frigid day.At least this time, Aqib Talib didnt shove Norwood as he trudged off the field. But Talib did walk within talking distance of Norwood.The defense did its part, though, holding Tom Brady and the offense to a field goal.Norwood struggled to field two punts in a 30-27 overtime loss Kansas City on Nov. 27. His second one led to a turnover -- and a shove by Talib.---4:25 p.m.Call it the Relocation Bowl?The Oakland Raiders, whose owner Mark Davis wants to move them to Las Vegas, are facing the San Diego Chargers, whose chairman Dean Spanos appears set to move them to Los Angeles.The crowd at aging Qualcomm Stadium is heavily pro-Raiders, as it often is. When the PA announcer said, Now taking the field, your San Diego Chargers, he was greeted by boos.- Bernie Wilson reporting from San Diego---3:40 p.m.The Atlanta Falcons are wearing black throwback jerseys for the second time this season. If they lose to San Francisco, it may be a long time before theyre seen again.The Falcons first modern interpretation of their 1966 uniforms didnt go well as they lost to the Chargers 33-30 on Oct. 23 after leading by 17 points.The Falcons wore red helmets with their black jerseys in their inaugural 1966 season but are using their normal black helmets due to NFL safety rules.- Charles Odum reporting from Atlanta---3:33 p.m.Pittsburghs Chris Boswell has made his sixth field goal, tying the club record. His kicks of 45, 49, 49, 40, 49 and 30 yards have accounted for all of the Steelers points as they trail the Bengals 20-18 early in the fourth quarter.Jeff Reed and Gary Anderson also kicked six apiece for Pittsburgh.The NFL record is eight field goals in a game, by late Titans kicker Rob Bironas in 2007.- Joe Kay reporting from Cincinnati---3:20 p.m.The cold weather is causing all kinds of problems at Arrowhead Stadium, and not just to the Chiefs and Titans.The fuses in the scoreboard froze on Saturday, when the cold weather and snow arrived in earnest, so worker replaced them early Sunday. But they have frozen again, a team spokesman told The Associated Press, and the result has been a blanked-out lower-left corner of the west scoreboard.The temperature was 1 degree at kickoff, making it the coldest game since Kansas City began keeping track of records in 1994. The wind chill was minus-9.- Dave Skretta reporting from Kansas City--3:10 p.m.Chiefs cornerback Marcus Peters left their game against Tennessee with what appeared to be a groin injury midway through the third quarter.Peters went down away from the play but walked off the field on his own power. But he promptly lay down on a table holding his groin area, and several members of the training staff examined him.Tennessee lost defensive tackle Karl Klug to an ankle injury earlier in the second half.- Dave Skretta reporting from Kansas City---2:35 p.m.The Indianapolis Colts have jumped all over the Minnesota Vikings with a dominant first half. They lead 27-0 at the break and out-gained Minnesota 281-69, had 21 first downs to the Vikings two and held the ball for 23 minutes and 32 seconds of the first 30 minutes.Andrew Luck has thrown for 183 yards and a touchdown and Robert Turbin has two scores for the Colts.Adrian Peterson has four carries for 16 yarrds and a lost fumble in his return for Minnesota.dddddddddddd- Jon Krawczynski reporting from Minneapolis---2:20 p.m.The Titans had gone a franchise-record four straight games without a turnover.They had two in the first half Sunday.Rishard Matthews fumbled the ball away in the first quarter after hauling in a 35-yard pass from Marcus Mariota. Then in the second quarter, Mariota coughed up the ball while trying to escape the pocket.Tennessee had been plus-eight in turnover differential over the past four games.- Dave Skretta reporting from Kansas City---2:10 p.m.The Detroit Lions probably will be without top cornerback Darius Slay the rest of the way.He aggravated a hamstring injury in the second quarter and his return is questionable.The Giants had their top cornerback Janoris Jenkins leave earlier in the quarter with a back injury. His return also is questionable- Tom Canavan reporting from East Rutherford, New Jersey---2:05 p.m.Houston quarterback Brock Osweiler has been benched for Tom Savage in the second quarter against the Jacksonville Jaguars.Osweiler was benched after throwing interceptions on consecutive drives in the second quarter to help Jacksonville take a 13-0 lead against the Texans, who are tied with the Titans for first place in the AFC South.Osweiler has struggled in his first season in Houston after signing a $72 million contract to join the Texans from Denver.He has 16 interceptions and 14 touchdown passes.When Savage entered the game he received a loud ovation from the crowd, which had been booing Osweiler all afternoon.- Kristie Rieken reporting from Houston---1:50 p.m.The Steelers-Bengals rivalry remains as contentious as ever.Cincinnati running back Jeremy Hill scored on a 4-yard run to put the Bengals up 17-3 Sunday.Someone tossed a Steelers Terrible Towel on the field behind the end zone. Hill picked it up, tried to tear it, and then tossed it on the ground .The Steelers knocked the Bengals out of the playoffs last season in a controversial 18-16 game.- Joe Kay reporting from Cincinnati---1:40 p.m.The Titans lost cornerback Jason McCourty to a chest injury midway through the first quarter of their game in Kansas City. He was questionable to return.His injury leaves rookies Kevin Byard and LeShaun Sims to play alongside Rashad Johnson.The Chiefs have already attacked the Tennessee secondary. Alex Smith hit Jeremy Maclin for a 44-yard reception that set up a touchdown run by the quarterback, giving Kansas City a 14-0 lead.- Dave Skretta reporting from Kansas City---1:20 p.m.Buffalo Bills running back LeSean McCoy has surpassed 1,000 yards rushing for the fifth time in his eight-year career.He passed the milestone with a 24-yard run on the Bills opening drive against the winless Cleveland Browns. McCoy began the game with 976 yards rushing.The last time McCoy broke the 1,000-yard mark was in 2014, his final season with the Philadelphia Eagles, when he ran for 1,319 yards. McCoy also leads the NFL in averaging 5.25 yards per carry.Knee and hamstring injuries limited McCoy to just 895 yards last season, his first in Buffalo after being acquired in a trade with the Eagles.- John Wawrow reporting from Orchard Park, New York---12:15 p.m.Tyreek Hill is already warming up the Chiefs fans at Arrowhead Stadium.The flashy rookie wide receiver lined up in the backfield on the Chiefs second offensive play against Tennessee, started to his right as if it would be an option, then took an inside handoff and ran untouched 68 yards for a score. He even made a cutback that sent the last defender in his way sprawling to the turf.The big play came moments after Hill recovered his own muff of a punt.It was Hills second TD rushing this season. He had already become the first rookie since Gale Sayers in 1965 with touchdowns on the ground, through the air and on punt and kickoff returns.- Dave Skretta reporting from Kansas City---1 p.m.The Chicago Bears are playing one of the coldest home games in franchise history.The game-time temperature for their matchup against Green Bay on Sunday was 11 degrees with a minus-4 wind chill.Chicago hosted the Packers in 3-degree temperature and a minus-15 wind chill -- the lowest ever for a Bears home game -- on Dec. 18, 1983. The Bears coldest home game, temperature-wise, was against Green Bay on Dec. 22, 2008, when it was 2 degrees with a minus-13 wind chill.Green Bay, of course, played the coldest NFL game on record when it beat Dallas in the 1967 NFL championship game -- the Ice Bowl.- Andrew Seligman reporting from Chicago---12 p.m.Want to see the Titans-Chiefs game at Arrowhead Stadium? Theres still time, and it wont even break the holiday budget.With an hour left before kickoff, the ticket site cheaptickets.com had four seats together in the upper corner of the stadium for $2 apiece -- less than a cup of coffee at most places. Or, if youre willing to pony up double that, a family of four could sit in the upper deck right at the 50-yard line.Of course, thats assuming you can handle the minus-15 wind chill.Parking will still set you back $40.---The NFLs 15th Sunday opens with several early-afternoon matchups between teams in playoff position against those trying to finish on a good note or to keep their unlikely postseason hopes alive.Green Bay travels to struggling Chicago, the 2-11 Jaguars play at Houston and the Steelers play Cincinnati. 5-7. Other 1 p.m. games include Browns-Bills, Lions-Giants, Eagles-Ravens, Colts-Vikings and Titans-Chiefs.The best matchups are later, including the Patriots at the Broncos at 4:25 p.m. EST. Other late-afternoon games are Raiders-Chargers, 49ers-Falcons and Saints-Cardinals.Tampa Bay travels to Dallas for the prime-time game.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '