Tuscaloosa, AL (SportsNetwork.com) - Blake Sims and Amari Cooper led Alabama to a win in the highest-scoring Iron Bowl ever, giving the Crimson Tide a fresh memory in their fierce rivalry with Auburn. The Kick Six was so last year. Cooper had 13 catches for an Iron Bowl-record 224 yards and scored on three of Sims four touchdown passes as second-ranked Alabama rallied for a 55-44 win over No. 15 Auburn on Saturday night. Sims overcame three interceptions to pass for 312 yards in the thrill-a-minute game, which came almost a year to the day after Chris Davis 109-yard touchdown return off a missed field goal gave Auburn an instant-classic win over then-No. 1 Alabama to ruin the Crimson Tides national title hopes. This year, Alabama (11-1, 7-1 SEC) clinched the Western Division title and a spot in the conference championship game before it even took the field after Mississippi State lost to Ole Miss earlier Saturday. The Crimson Tide, who are likely to retain their No. 1 spot in the College Football Playoff rankings, will face Eastern Division winner Missouri next Saturday in Atlanta. Sammie Coates had four catches for a career-high 153 yards in the first half and the Tigers (8-4, 4-4) scored 17 points off three Sims interceptions to hold a 33-21 lead four minutes into the second half. But Alabama outscored them 34-11 the rest of the way with Cooper catching touchdown passes of 39 and 75 yards in the third quarter and Sims scrambling for the go-ahead touchdown early in the fourth. Alabama snapped a six-game losing streak to ranked Auburn teams, winning such a matchup for the first time since 2001. Coates finished with five catches for 206 yards and two touchdowns and Nick Marshall passed for 456 yards and three touchdowns, with the third one going to Quan Bray. Marshalls 255 yards passing and two touchdown throws in the first half had Alabama on its heels, but his third-quarter interception led to the Crimson Tides go-ahead touchdown. Alabama has won seven games in a row since losing to Ole Miss on Oct. 4. But it took Nick Sabans players more than a half to really get going in this one. We havent played a lot of games where we give up 44 points and win. Thats not our style. We obviously have to do a better job, said Saban, whose team was out-gained 383 yards to 178 in the first half. Sometimes you can misplace your emotions in a rivalry game, Saban said. Our team was as fired up as weve been but I think it was misplaced emotion. ... You have to be confident thats the way to win a game. We had a lot of emotions but we werent channeling them in the right way. We did a better job of that in the second half. While the first half belonged to Coates and Auburn, the game belonged to the Heisman Trophy hopeful Cooper and Alabama. Auburns Daniel Carlson kicked his fifth field goal of the game with 3:30 remaining in the third quarter. But Alabama struck on the next play from scrimmage when Cooper blew past Jonathon Mincy on the right side for his 75-yard touchdown catch to get the Crimson Tide within 36-34. Cooper had seven catches for 164 yards in the second half. Safety Nick Perry intercepted Marshalls overthrown pass five plays into the ensuing drive and Alabama took the lead for the first time since the second quarter when Sims scored on an 11-yard run two plays into the fourth quarter. Sims two-point conversion pass to DeAndrew White in the front of the end zone gave the Crimson Tide a 42-36 lead. They pushed it to 12 points on Whites 6- yard touchdown catch with 8:05 remaining and a good two-point try. Derrick Henry added a 25-yard touchdown run for Alabama and Corey Grant scored Auburns last points on a 5-yard run. Earlier, three explosive catches by Coates in the first half helped Auburn take its 26-21 lead at the break. His second touchdown, on a 68-yard bomb from Marshall, after Alabama gambled on fourth down at the 1-yard line and scored a touchdown to take the lead. Now up 23-21, Auburn intercepted Sims for the second time with 37 seconds left in the half. Johnathan Fords pick led to a 40-yard pass play to Coates from Marshall, who lined up wide and got the ball on a pitch. It set up Carlsons season-high fourth field goal, a 20-yarder. Jonathan Jones intercepted Sims two plays into the third quarter and Auburn pushed its lead to 33-21 on Marshalls 5-yard touchdown pass to Bray. Alabama then pulled within 33-27 when Sims hit a wide-open Cooper down the middle for a 39-yard touchdown, but the point-after kick was blocked. Three hundred and sixty-four days after the Kick Six, Alabama began the 79th Iron Bowl with a botched opening kickoff when Adam Griffith booted the ball 21 yards and out of bounds. But Roc Thomas dropped what was ruled to be a lateral pass on Auburns first play and Alabama recovered the fumble, leading to T.J. Yeldons 8-yard score 2:13 into the game. Alabama also scored on Sims 17-yard pass to Cooper in the first quarter and stopped Auburn three times inside the 10-yard line in the first 19 minutes of the game, leading to three Carlson field goals. I think the name of the game was we got into the red zone and kicked field goals, said Auburn coach Gus Malzahn. We didnt score touchdowns. Sims completed his first five passes, but the sixth was intercepted by Jermaine Whitehead, setting up Marshalls 34-yard touchdown pass to Coates to give Auburn a 16-14 lead with 10:16 left in the first half. Later, Alabamas gamble on fourth down paid off when Yeldon scored his second touchdown through the right side of the line to make it 21-16. Game Notes Auburns Dhaquille Williams had a team-high seven catches for 121 yards ... Yeldon rushed for 127 yards on 19 carries ... Alabamas last win over a ranked Auburn team was a 31-7 victory over the No. 17 Tigers on Nov. 17, 2001 ... Punter JK Scott took over kickoff duties for Alabama after Griffiths mistake ... Following the Kick Six last year, Auburn beat Missouri in the SEC title game but lost to Florida State in the final BCS National Championship Game, the first time in five years that the winner of the Iron Bowl didnt also win the national title. Cam Gallagher Jersey .com) - Colorado Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki was named the National League Player of the Month for April. Nicky Lopez Jersey . Assistant coach Glen Gulutzan said Thursday that Edler, who played Tuesday in Nashville, is out indefinitely. https://www.cheaproyals.com/687a-jake-newberry-jersey-royals.html . The Nashville Predators were glad their captain was still on their side. Weber had a goal and two assists, and Roman Josi scored the shootout winner to lift the Predators to a 4-3 win over the Flyers on Thursday night. A. J. Hinch Jersey . That assertion is getting harder and harder to make, especially given the way 23-year-old Danilo Gallinari has been playing this season. Kansas City Royals Pro Shop . Mired in an offensive slump, Lowry - the NBAs leader in taking charges this season - did what he has learned to do best, standing his ground and drawing a crucial offensive foul on the Cavaliers all-star point guard. Fast forward 30 seconds to the Cavs next possession, with the home team still trailing by three, Spencer Hawes - one of the leagues best passing big men - threw an interception, intended for Tyler Zeller and picked off by DeMar DeRozan.NEW YORK -- The New York Yankees were hit with a $28 million luxury tax bill, pushing their total past the $250 million mark since the penalty began in 2003. According to Major League Baseball calculations sent to teams Tuesday, the Los Angeles Dodgers were the only other team that exceeded the tax threshold this year and must pay $11.4 million. Boston finished just under for the second straight year, coming in $225,666 shy of the $178 million mark. Figures include average annual values of contracts for players on 40-man rosters, earned bonuses and escalators, adjustments for cash in trades and $10.8 million per team in benefits. Because the Yankees have been over the tax threshold at least four consecutive times, they pay at a 50 per cent rate on the overage, and their $28,113,945 bill was second only to their $34.1 million payment following the 2005 season. The Yankees are responsible for $252.7 million of the $285.1 million in tax paid by all clubs over the past 11 years. Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner said he hopes to get under the threshold next year, when it rises to $189 million. That would reset the teams tax rate to 17.5 per cent for 2015 and get the Yankees some revenue-sharing refunds. But following agreements Tuesday on a $2 million, one-year deal with second baseman Brian Roberts and a $7 million, two-year contract with left-hander Matt Thornton, the Yankees are at $177.7 million for 15 players next year, when benefits are likely to total between $11 million and $12 million. Their only hope to get below the threshold appears to be if an arbitrator upholds most of Alex Rodriguezs 211-game suspension, relieving the team of a large percentage of the third basemans $25 million salary.dddddddddddd Tax money is used to fund player benefits and MLBs Industry Growth Fund. The Yankees finished with the highest regular payroll for the 15th consecutive year, winding up at a record $237,018,889. The Dodgers, in their first full season under new ownership, were just $146,647 behind after nearly doubling spending from $129.1 million. Regular payrolls include salaries, earned bonuses and pro-rated shares of signing bonuses. Los Angeles had a higher payroll for the tax: $243 million to New Yorks $234 million. But because the Dodgers didnt exceed the threshold in 2012, they pay at a 17.5 per cent rate and owe $11,415,959. They would pay at a 30 per cent rate if they exceed the threshold next year. Checks to the commissioners office are due by Jan. 21. Houston, which lost more than 100 games for the third straight season, had a payroll less than one-eighth that of the Yankees and Dodgers. The Astros finished at $29.3 million, the lowest total in the major leagues since the 2008 Florida Marlins and just $1.3 million more than Rodriguez made with the Yankees. After trading many of their stars following an unsuccessful first season in their new downtown ballpark, the Marlins lowered their payroll to $42.3 million from $89.9 million in 2012. Minnesota dropped from $101 million to $76 million. Toronto boosted spending from $92 million to nearly $126 million. The average salary increased 6.9 per cent, to $3,320,089 from $3,105,093, according to MLBs calculations, the steepest rise since 2006. The players association has not yet released its final figures for this year. ' ' '