Happy New Year! … The College Football Playoff semifinals are this evening. Fourth-seeded Alabama (12-1) meets No. 1 Michigan (13-0) in the Rose Bowl (ESPN, 5 p.m.) and third-seeded Texas (12-1) takes on second-seeded Washington (13-0) in the Sugar Bowl (ESPN, 8:45 p.m.). … In other bowl matchups today, Wisconsin (7-5) plays No. 13 LSU (9-3) in Tampa (ESPN2, noon), No. 23 Liberty (13-0) faces No. 8 Oregon (11-2) in the Fiesta Bowl (ESPN, 1 p.m.) and No. 17 Iowa (10-3) is paired up with No. 21 Tennessee (8-4) in the Citrus Bowl (ABC, 1 p.m.). … The Carolina Panthers were shut out for the first time since 2002 with a 26-0 loss at Jacksonville on Sunday. … The third-ranked N.C. State women’s basketball team defeated host Virginia, 72-61, on Sunday. … Green Bay overwhelmed host Minnesota, 33-10, in the Sunday night NFL game. … Las Vegas visits Seattle for an NHL match today (TNT, 3 p.m.). … The USFL and XFL will combine to form the United Football League. The first game on March 30 will pit the champions from each league, Arlington (XFL) and Birmingham (USFL).