Kansas City's Tony Gonzalez broke the NFL record for receptions by a tight end, catching his 816th career pass early in the third quarter against the New York Jets on Sunday. Gonzalez, who came in needing three catches to break Shannon Sharpe's mark, tied it with a 7-yard reception on the Chiefs' first play of the second half. Two plays later, Gonzalez broke the record by taking a short pass from Brodie Croyle and gaining 17 yards. "It's honestly one of the only positive things I can take from the season," Gonzalez said after the Chiefs' 13-10 overtime loss. "I was able to go out there and surpass a really good tight end in Shannon Sharpe. Individually, it's been a pretty good year, statistically."

Pro Bowl running back Brian Westbrook set Eagles' records for catches in a season and total yards from scrimmage in the first half of Sunday's game against Buffalo. Westbrook's third reception of the game gave him 89 this season. Irving Fryar had 88 catches in 1996. Westbrook set the record with a 30-yard catch from Donovan McNabb early in the second quarter. The crowd gave him a standing ovation when the record was announced. Westbrook gained 10 yards on his first carry of the game to set the franchise record for yards from scrimmage. Wilbert Montgomery had 2,006 total yards in 1979. Westbrook entered the game needing 2 yards to set the record.

Chicago Bear's star Devin Hester broke his own NFL record Sunday when he returned a punt 64 yards for a touchdown against the New Orleans Saints, his sixth kick return TD of the season. Hester returned five kicks for scores last season as a rookie. This year he has two kickoff returns and four punt returns for TD's. Hester's 11 combined career kick return touchdowns are two shy of the record held by Brian Mitchell.

New England Patriots' quarterback Tom Brady was named the AP Male Athlete of the Year. Brady was both flattered at being selected The Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year, and determined to spread the honor around. "I play in a team sport," Brady said. "Everybody I play with is responsible for what each of us accomplishes as individuals and for what we all accomplish as a team." Brady received 51 votes from members of The AP, 18 more than runner-up Roger Federer, who won his fifth straight Wimbledon and fourth straight U.S. Open tennis tournament in 2007. They were followed by Tiger Woods, Manning, Barry Bonds and Josh Beckett. Lorena Ochoa, who won eight tournaments including the Women's British Open and became the first LPGA Tour player to win $4 million in a season, was the runaway choice as top female athlete for the second consecutive year.

It began as a friendly basketball game in Mark Mangino's old neighborhood of New Castle, Pa. One of Mangino's teammates kept making mistakes. Finally, Mangino threw up his hands and let the kid have it. Those leadership skills 40 years later would steer surprising Kansas into national championship contention and help him become The Associated Press Coach of the Year. "Mark ran the kid off the court, out of the building and into the street," recalled lifelong friend Tom Tommelleo. "Mark's always been a coach. We just didn't know it then. He would study every sport we played and see things the rest of us couldn't see. The thing that lit his fuse the most was somebody not giving his best effort."

Tim Tebow's unprecedented season keeps getting better. The Florida quarterback won AP Player of the Year honors Tuesday in a vote that was similar to the one that made him the first sophomore to win the Heisman Trophy. Tebow received 31 of a possible 58 votes from AP poll voters. Arkansas running back Darren McFadden, the Heisman runner-up, received 19 votes, and Hawaii quarterback Colt Brennan was third with four votes. Oregon quarterback Dennis Dixon received three votes, and West Virginia quarterback Pat White received one vote. Tebow became the first player in major college history to run for at least 20 touchdowns and throw 20 TD passes in the same season. He accounted for 51 touchdowns, including a Southeastern Conference record 22 rushing and set a school record with 3,970 yards of total offense.

Brett Favre became the NFL career leader in yards passing Sunday, overtaking Dan Marino for his latest achievement in a milestone season. The three-time NFL MVP pulled 1 yard behind Marino with a 44-yard touchdown pass to Greg Jennings, catching Rams in a blitz. That put the Packers ahead 27-14 with 5:58 to go in the third quarter. He passed Marino on the Packers' next series on the first play, a 7-yard slant pattern to Donald Driver with 23 seconds gone in the fourth quarter.

The fans have spoken, and they say Brett Favre should go to the Pro Bowl. The NFL announced today that Favre led fan voting for the NFL's annual all-star game with 1,140,863 votes -- more than New England quarterback Tom Brady or Indianapolis quarterback Peyton Manning. Packers' cornerbacks Al Harris and Charles Woodson and linebacker A.J. Hawk ranked among the fans' top 10 defensive players. Fan votes, which were collected through the NFL's Web site and through Sprint wireless phones, count one-third toward determining the 43-man rosters that represent each conference in the Feb. 10 game in Honolulu, Hawaii. Players and coaches also will vote for Pro Bowl representatives this week, and the teams will be announced next Tuesday.

When it comes to being an All-American, Darren McFadden doesn't have to settle for second. The Arkansas running back and two-time Heisman Trophy runner-up was one of four players voted to The Associated Press All-America team for the second consecutive season. Michigan offensive tackle Jake Long, LSU defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey and Ohio State linebacker James Laurinaitis were the other two-time first-team AP All-Americans on the team released Tuesday. Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow joins McFadden in the backfield along with Central Florida's Kevin Smith, who leads the nation with 2,448 yards and 30 touchdowns. Smith is the first All-American from UCF, which began playing major college football in 1996. Missouri quarterback Chase Daniel, who finished fourth in the Heisman voting, was voted to the second team. Hawaii's Colt Brennan, third in the Heisman voting, was the third-team quarterback.

LSU's Glenn Dorsey won the Lott Trophy on Sunday, topping off a week full of individual honors for the Tigers' defensive tackle. Dorsey won the award honoring on-field performance and personal character among defensive players. It capped a banner week for Dorsey, who won the Bronco Nagurski Award as the nation's top defensive player, as well as the Outland Trophy, the Lombardi Award, and Southeastern Conference Defensive Player of the Year.