NATION

NATION
Holmes outfor Raiders game
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Priest Holmes is out for Kansas City's regular-season finale against Oakland on Saturday.
Holmes, who is just two touchdowns away from the NFL single-season record of 26, injured his hip at Denver on Dec. 15. He missed last week's game against San Diego.
The 2001 NFL rushing champion was leading the league with a team-record 1,615 yards rushing when he was hurt at Denver. Holmes' 2,287 yards from scrimmage this year is just 142 shy of the NFL record.
Safety Greg Wesley also is out with a pulled hamstring muscle.
Griese questionsBroncos future
DENVER -- Quarterback Brian Griese questioned his future with the Denver Broncos after learning he will not start against Arizona even if his sprained left knee is healthy.
Broncos coach Mike Shanahan said Steve Beuerlein will start against the Cardinals on Sunday as Denver clings to slim playoff hopes.
Griese has thrown for 3,214 yards and 15 touchdowns but has also thrown 15 interceptions and has made some key mistakes late in several games.
Callahan creditedfor resting Raiders
OAKLAND, Calif. -- The Oakland Raiders are one of four teams this weekend that will play their 14th straight game without a week off.
Two of those teams won't play any more games this season beyond Sunday.
That means either the Raiders are in a groove and wouldn't benefit from a first-round bye in the AFC playoffs or they could use a break as much as any of the 12 teams that make the playoffs.
The Raiders can earn a first-round bye by beating Kansas City on Saturday or by losing and receiving some help from one or more teams.
Coach Bill Callahan implemented safeguards against his players getting too fatigued down the stretch and experiencing another late-season meltdown long before the prospect of the Raiders earning a bye surfaced.
"[Everybody] said we were going to fade," wide receiver Tim Brown said Tuesday.
Oakland lost its final three regular-season games last season and got knocked from the playoffs in an AFC divisional semifinal game.
Badgers' Davisworking hard
SAN ANTONIO -- No one involved with the University of Wisconsin football program has ever questioned Anthony Davis' work ethic, tenacity or love for the game.
Yet if you talk to any of the coaches or players as they prepare for Saturday's Alamo Bowl, they'll insist they've never seen Davis play any harder or any better than he did in the Badgers' final two regular-season games.
"In the last two games, he has been a man on a mission," senior center Al Johnson said. "Like a man trying to stick it to everybody who has bad-mouthed him."
Criticism and questions about Davis' character arose last month, when the 20-year-old sophomore was charged with misdemeanor battery for his role in a domestic dispute with his former girlfriend.
Davis allegedly punched Tiffany Spears during an argument in Davis' apartment early in the morning of Nov. 3.
Spears allegedly stabbed Davis in the left thigh during the dispute and has been charged with second-degree recklessly endangering safety and aggravated battery, both felonies. Davis spent two days in the hospital and then was held out of the Badgers' next game, a 17-point home loss to Illinois, despite the fact he had been cleared to play by the UW medical staff.
In his first game back, Davis rushed 26 times for 154 yards (5.9 yards per carry) and a touchdown in a seven-point loss to Michigan. Davis then carried 45 times for 301 yards (6.7 yards per carry) and a school-record-tying five touchdowns to help the Badgers pound Minnesota in the regular-season finale and secure a bowl berth.
Red-hot Hawkeyesare off to Miami
MIAMI -- Remember the Alamo!
That's not exactly what the Iowa Hawkeyes are shouting these days.
But to get an idea just how far Iowa's football program has come in one season, consider this: A year ago the Hawkeyes played Texas Tech in the Alamo Bowl.
Now, Iowa arrives on Thursday -- literally and figuratively.
When the Hawkeyes climb off the plane this afternoon, they will be landing in the national spotlight.
That's what this year's FedEx Orange Bowl means to Iowa, which was 7-5 a year ago and an embarrassing 1-10 in 1999.
A victory over fifth-ranked Southern California (10-2) on Jan. 2 in the Orange Bowl game at Pro Player Stadium likely means a No. 2 finish for Iowa.
There might not be a hotter team in the nation. Not only has Iowa won its past nine games, the Hawkeyes beat their final six opponents by a 229-67 margin to climb to a No. 3 ranking.
No one is certain Iowa (11-1) isn't just as good as No. 2 Ohio State.
Both had 8-0 records in the Big Ten and shared the title. Ohio State earned the right to play No. 1 Miami for the national title in the Fiesta Bowl in Tempe, Ariz., partly because Iowa has one blemish, a 36-31 loss to rival Iowa State.
WORLD
Eberhartercleared to ski
VIENNA, Austria -- World Cup champion Stephan Eberharter was cleared to compete in a downhill Sunday, returning a week earlier than anticipated from a Dec. 15 knee injury.
Eberharter was hurt when he crashed during a giant slalom at Val d'Isere, France, and doctors didn't think he would be ready for Bormio.
Wire reports