(STATS) -- To say sports has taught Tyler Swafford teamwork, sportsmanship and drive is an understatement. Especially when his lifes work may be to stand up for the most vulnerable and foster freedom and democracy in places where they are fragile.The Eastern Kentucky University quarterback, who aspires to be a human rights attorney, was announced Tuesday as the 2016 recipient of the STATS FCS Doris Robinson Scholar-Athlete Award. Named after the wife of legendary Grambling State coach Eddie Robinson, the award is presented to an FCS student-athlete who excels not only in the classroom, but in the community and beyond.Swafford will be honored at the STATS FCS Awards Banquet and Presentation Jan. 6 in Frisco, Texas -- on the eve of the national championship game.The 21-year-old rose through a crowded depth chart at Eastern Kentucky to become the Colonels starter during this past season. A redshirt sophomore athletically, the 4.0 honors scholar is on pace to graduate after the spring semester in only three years at the Ohio Valley Conference university.Although Swafford could return as the starting quarterback next fall, he will forsake the opportunity, and likely his playing career at EKU, for his calling in life. He will attend University College Dublin as one of 12 winners in the United States of the prestigious George J. Mitchell Scholarship sponsored by the U.S.-Ireland Alliance.Your education is what you make of it, your football career is what you make of it, Swafford said. But certainly you benefit from people who invest in you and who care about you, and I certainly have at Eastern -- crediting coaches, instructors and administrators.Swafford is majoring in globalization and international affairs with a minor in business. The interdisciplinary studies have combined political science, economics, history and religion and helped shape his desire for humanitarian service. His masters study in Ireland will be geopolitics and global economy.Since I started at EKU, Ive developed a passion for human rights and international security issues, said the resident of Franklin, Tennessee. His parents, Tony and Tara, are attorneys.I think the United States has an indispensable role in the world to lead, to fight for human rights, civil liberties and freedom. Obviously, we shouldnt get in every quagmire around the world that is out there and look for conflict; I know were still war-weary in this country. But I think being the United States, we have a moral high-ground and a special responsibility in the world to provide freedom and widespread opportunity and human rights protection, when they are so under assault today.Swafford was part of his football teams mission trip to Haiti in May 2015, where they worked at an orphanage to build a fish and plant farm system that would become self-sustainable. He also was part of EKUs honors delegation to the Salzburg Global Citizenship Seminar in Austria last May, an experience that included a profound trip to the Dachau concentration camp. He completed an independent research project on the evolution of human rights law, from the Nuremberg Trials through the present-day International Criminal Court.At the seminar, professors challenged the students to become more involved in their local communities. After returning from the trip, Swafford worked with Kentucky Refugee Ministries to help resettle a Syrian family of six to Lexington.During semester break in January, Swafford will study American diplomacy overseas and be part of a select group of students visiting U.S. embassies in Paris and Rabat, Morocco, and the European Commission in Brussels, Belgium.I knew from the moment I met Tyler as a freshman that he was a young man marked for great things, EKU president Michael Benson said, given his intellect, his work ethic, and his ability to relate to others. I also saw in Tyler someone who would thrive in an international studies environment, given his own perspective and world-view.Swafford was chosen as the Doris Robinson Award recipient from a list of finalists comprising all 13 FCS conferences. The other finalists: Dayton linebacker Christopher Beaschler (Pioneer Football League), New Hampshire cornerback Casey DeAndrade (CAA Football), Saint Francis place-kicker Lance Geesey (Northeast Conference), Liberty offensive lineman Lucas Holder (Big South Conference), Alcorn State linebacker Michael Hurns (Southwestern Athletic Conference), North Dakota linebacker Brian Labat (Big Sky Conference), Wofford place-kicker David Marvin (Southern Conference), Delaware State offensive lineman Ernest Mengoni (Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference), Northern Iowa defensive end Karter Schult (Missouri Valley Football Conference), Stephen F. Austin safety Marlon Walls (Southland Conference), Penn wide receiver Justin Watson (Ivy League) and Holy Cross wide receiver Jake Wieczorek (Patriot League). Deryk Engelland Jersey . Louis Blues. Shane Hnidy joins Brian Munz for the broadcast on TSN 1290 Radio at 7pm ct. Alex Tuch Jersey . Burris threw two TD passes, including a key 15-yard fourth-quarter strike to Bakari Grant that effectively countered a Toronto comeback bid and led Hamilton to a 33-19 victory. http://www.officialgoldenknightspro.com/ . -- An ugly goal by Nick Bonino helped the Anaheim Ducks overcome the defensive-minded Phoenix Coyotes on a night when their ragged power play continued to struggle. Oscar Dansk Jersey . Ibaka equaled a career high with 20 rebounds, adding four blocked shots and 15 points as the Thunder smothered the Milwaukee Bucks offence in a 92-79 victory Saturday night. William Karlsson Jersey . Terms of the deal were not immediately available. The 26-year-old finished last season with Clevelands Triple-A affiliate in Columbus after signing with the Indians in August. TORONTO -- After watching DeMar DeRozan drop more than 30 points on an opponent for the eighth time in nine games this season, Toronto coach Dwane Casey suggested that the game keeps slowing down for the NBAs leading scorer.DeRozan, who is averaging 34.0 points after scoring 33 in the Raptors 118-107 victory over the New York Knicks on Saturday night, agreed.Yeah, I always find ways I can be better mentally, physically, skill-wise, he said following Torontos fourth straight win over New York. I always try to find something in the offseason and during the season as well.The outburst put DeRozan in an exclusive club. In the last 50 years, only Michael Jordan, World B. Free and Tiny Archibald have started a season registering 30-plus points in eight of the first nine games.In a see-saw game that saw 27 lead changes, DeRozan provided a reassuring presence for a team that started one rookie in Pascal Siakum and a second-year player in Norman Powell, who had 19 points.Point guard Kyle Lowry, who scored what turned out to be the winning points with 1:41 to play on a driving layup, pointed to DeRozans fourth-quarter, 4-point play.He was serenaded with chants of MVP! MVP! from the crowd as he put the game out of reach with 26.8 seconds to go.Were just going to keep riding that coattail, Lowry said. Were going to keep letting him do him. Were going to rally around him and keep helping him be great.Carmelo Anthony scored 31 points, while Kristaps Porzingis and Derrick Rose added 21 apiece. Rose, who seemed to be favoring his shoulder at points in the game, said it was just a stinger.Losing, it hurts, period, Rose said after the Knicks fell to 3-6. Ive never been a loser in my life and just got to figure ways out. Were closer, a lot closer and the effort that we had, we need to find that effort for the entire game.TIP-INSKnicks: New York is 0-2 in the back end of back-to-back games. It has 15 such games this season. . The Knicks havent won a season series against thhe Raptors since the 2010-11 season, and are 4-9 against them in their last 13 games.ddddddddddddRaptors: F DeMarre Carroll was dropped from the starting lineup for the first time this season to give him some rest. Powell took his place. . Former Raptor Muggsy Bogues was in attendance, throwing signed basketballs into the crowd. . Saturdays game marked the first of 16 Atlantic Division games for Toronto. The Raptors have not lost a season series with their division rivals since 2012-13.OLD IS NEW AGAINThe Raptors wore blue throwback jerseys in tribute to the Toronto Huskies of the old Basketball Association of America, which eventually became the NBA. The Huskies hosted the New York Knickerbockers on Nov. 1, 1946, at Torontos Maple Leaf Gardens in what the NBA regards as the first game in its history, won 68-66 by the Knicks. The Raptors will wear the Huskies blue uniforms and play on a specially designed Huskies court on six occasions this season, and now have a 5-3 record when wearing the throwback uniforms.THEY SAID ITPowell on guarding Anthony: Im a student of the game. I watch a lot of film, especially guys I look up to. Ive watched so much Carmelo Anthony in my day, played with him so much in (video game NBA) 2K. The Knicks were my favorite team.STRO SHOWToronto Blue Jays pitcher Marcus Stroman watched the game from courtside, and threw a few signed mini basketballs into the crowd, launching a couple of the souvenirs all the way to the back of the lower bowl.UP NEXTKnicks: Host Dallas on Monday looking to snap a five-game losing streak against the Mavericks, who have won three straight at Madison Square Garden.Raptors: Visit Cleveland on Tuesday for the first time since last seasons Eastern Conference finals. The Cavaliers beat the Raptors in Toronto last month in the first of four meetings between the teams this season. ' ' '