Patriots, 49ers each have eight named to Pro Bowl

Tom Brady is one of eight Patriots and Patrick Willis one of eight 49ers to make the Pro Bowl, the most on each roster.

Defending Super Bowl champion Green Bay (14-1), led by starting quarterback Aaron Rodgers, and Baltimore (11-4), led by veteran linebacker Ray Lewis, have seven apiece for the Jan. 29 game in Honolulu, the NFL announced Tuesday.

Brady is one of seven starters from New England (12-3). The others are receiver Wes Welker, tight end Rob Gronkowski, defensive tackle Vince Wilfork, defensive end Andre Carter, and guards Brian Waters and Logan Mankins all are starters for the AFC from the Patriots. Special teamer Matthew Slater is the other New England representative.

Linebacker Willis, defefensive end Justin Smith, cornerback Carlos Rogers and tackle Joe Staley will start for the NFC from the 49ers (12-3), who had only Smith and Willis make the Pro Bowl last year.

Green Bay’s Rodgers is the starting NFC quarterback, backed by Drew Brees of New Orleans (12-3).

Four of the NFL’s biggest headline makers this season did not get voted in by players, coaches and fans: Lions DT Ndamukong Suh, Steelers LB James Harrison, Panthers rookie QB Cam Newton, and Denver QB Tim Tebow.

Three rookies were chosen: Denver linebacker Von Miller, Cincinnati receiver A.J. Green, and Arizona cornerback Patrick Peterson, selected as a kick return specialist. He has tied an NFL record with four punt runbacks for touchdowns this season.

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Johnny Wilson dies; was Kings coach

Johnny Wilson, a four-time Stanley Cup champion with the Detroit Red Wings, and former coach of the Kings, has died. He was 82.

Toronto Maple Leafs Coach Ron Wilson announced his uncle’s death Tuesday on Twitter. The coach called him a “warrior thru & thru, right to the end.” There was no immediate word on cause of death.

Johnny Wilson was born in Kincardine, Ontario, and spent 11 years in the NHL with Detroit, Toronto, Chicago and the New York Rangers. He had 161 goals and 171 assists in 688 games. Wilson coached seven seasons in the NHL with the Kings, Detroit, Colorado and Pittsburgh. He coached the Kings for the second half of the 1969-70 season.

Wilson won the Stanley Cup with Detroit in 1950, 1952, 1954 and 1955. He was honored by the NHL in 1960 for an ironman streak at the time that totaled 580 consecutive regular-season games.

Houston Antwine, one of the Patriots’ top defensive players in their early years, and his wife, Evelyn, have died, the team said Tuesday. Antwine, 72, died Monday in Memphis, Tenn., of heart failure. His wife died Tuesday of lung cancer, the team said.

The New York Knicks claimed guard Jeremy Lin off waivers.

The Knicks are short-handed in the backcourt. Iman Shumpert could miss four weeks with a knee injury, Baron Davis might still be weeks away because of a bulging back disc and Mike Bibby missed the opener with a sore lower back.

The 6-foot-3 Lin was released by the Houston Rockets on Sunday to make room for Samuel Dalembert.

The top scorer on the men’s basketball team for Rhode Island has been suspended indefinitely. The university said senior guard Jamal Wilson was suspended by Coach Jim Baron for breaking unspecified team rules. The university said in a statement that Baron plans to reevaluate Wilson’s status on the team over the next week.

Wilson is the team’s top scorer. He averaged 17.5 points per game through the first 10 games of the season.