FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski underwent back surgery on Tuesday, his fourth operation this year. The latest surgery was performed by Dr. Robert Watkins and was successful, said Drew Rosenhaus, Gronkowskis agent. On May 20, the Patriots star had the most recent operation on the left forearm that he broke on Nov. 18 while blocking for an extra point in a 59-24 win over the Indianapolis Colts. He had an operation soon after, the first of four on his forearm. He broke it again in the Patriots first playoff game, a 41-28 win over the Houston Texans on Jan. 13, and has had three forearm operations since then. Rosenhaus said the surgery performed last month was expected to be the last on his forearm. The Patriots open training camp in late July and start the regular season on Sept. 8 at Buffalo. In 43 NFL games, Gronkowski has scored 39 touchdowns, 38 on passes and one on a run. Drafted in the second round out of Arizona in 2010, he was chosen for the Pro Bowl in 2011. In that season, he set NFL records for tight ends with 17 touchdown catches, 18 total touchdowns and 1,327 yards receiving. In 11 games last season, Gronkowski had 55 catches for 790 yards and 11 touchdowns. He missed five regular-season games with forearm and hip injuries and the AFC championship game, a 28-13 loss to the Baltimore Ravens, after he re-broke his forearm. . Its sharpness matched my mind. This was no night to go to sleep. . "I wrote 36 on my sheet at the beginning of the game," the Cincinnati coach said, referring the yard line the ball would need to be snapped from. . Shot outdoors against the stunning backdrop of Banff, Alta., the networks 30-minute original production airs tonight at 8pm et/5pm pt on TSN2. The four All-Star teams will play for $100,000 in prize money during TSNs annual skins game, airing live this weekend on TSN from The Fenlands Banff Recreation Centre. .Y. -- Marcell Dareus and the Buffalo Bills defence made life miserable for Super Bowl MVP Joe Flacco. . LOUIS -- Theres no telling how these wacky World Series games will end. SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Notre Dame couldnt pass, couldnt hang on to the ball, couldnt hold on to a 15-point lead and just about couldnt miss from the free-throw line.The Fighting Irish were 30 of 33 in foul shooting with Bonzie Colson making all 12 of his attempts, Steve Vasturia made all seven of his and Notre Dame beat Iowa 92-78 Tuesday night in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.The foul line is an unbelievable weapon for us, Notre Dame coach Mike Brey said. We get there and then we capitalize when we get there.Colson finished with a season-high 24 points and a career-high 17 rebounds for his fourth straight double-double and Vasturia tied a career high with 22 points and grabbed a career-high nine rebounds to pace the Irish (7-0). Colson said he focused on rebounding.I just try to play the game and just play like its my last game and just continue to battle with the bigs and continue to rebound and if I see the scoring opportunity just go to work in that department, he said.Iowa (3-4) had its largest lead of the second half at 52-50 when Notre Dame hit four straight shots and Iowa missed four straight during a 10-0 run capped by Vasturia driving through the lane for a layup to give Notre Dame a 60-52 lead.The Irish extended the lead to 79-63 on a jumper by Farrell.Freshman Jordan Bohanon, whose previous season-high was six points, finished with a team-high 23 points in his first start. Jok, coming off a career-high 42 points against Memphis, struggled throughout, making 4 of 20 shots for 15 points.They were really locked into him, Iowa coach Fran McCaffery said. Those ones he missed tonight were the same ones he made against Memphis. I give Notre Dame credit for that.Jok blamed himself, saying he didnt do his part.Theres no way I should go 4-20 on a given night against anybody. But like I said it was one of those games. Ive still got to find a way to make shots, and I didnt do it tonight.BIG PICTUREIowa: The Hawkeyes were without freshman forward Tyler Cook, their second-leading scorer at 13.7 points game, who underwent ssurgery earlier Tuesday because of a fractured his right index finger and is expected to be out about three weeks.dddddddddddd After two straight losses the Hawkeyes tried to shake things up with three new starters but continued to struggle against Power Five opponents.Notre Dame: The Fighting Irish, who entered the game averaging 7.5 turnovers and 18.5 assists, had four turnovers in less than six minutes, 11 in the first half. The Irish finished with 14 turnovers and just 11 assists, but won comfortably to improve to 7-0 for the third time in 17 seasons under Mike Brey. The Irish also won their first seven in 2001 and got off to their best start at 8-0 in 2010.POLL IMPLICATIONSThe Irish, who were two spots outside the poll on Monday, should have a chance of becoming ranked after their third win against a Power Five opponent.TIP-INSThe Hawkeyes, who had 18 turnovers in each of its past two games against No. 6 Virginia and Memphis, had only six against the Irish. ... Iowa fell to 5-11 in ACC/Big Ten Challenge games. Notre Dame is 3-1. ... The Irish improved to 8-1 vs. Big Ten opponents the past three seasons.REMEMBERING RIVERSNotre Dame will induct former standout guard David Rivers, who led the Irish to four straight NCAA Tournament appearances from 1984-88, into its Ring of Honor on Jan. 21 at halftime of its game against Syracuse. Rivers is the sixth-leading all-time scorer at Notre Dame with 2,058 points. He was a first-round draft pick of the Los Angeles Lakers. He was a three-time captain for the Irish.UP NEXTIowa: The Hawkeyes return home to play Omaha and Stetson before facing rival Iowa State, which is ranked No. 19.Notre Dame: The Irish play North Carolina A&T and Fort Wayne at home before neutral-site games against No. 2 Villanova in Newark, New Jersey, and No. 15 Purdue in Indianapolis.---More AP college basketball:
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