March 9, 2021 3:53 am
UNDATED (AP) – Les Miles is out as Kansas’ head football coach just days after he was placed on administrative leave amid sexual misconduct allegations from his tenure at LSU. Last week, LSU released a 148-page review by a law firm about the university’s handling of sexual misconduct complaints. It described how Miles “tried to sexualize the staff of student workers in the football program by, for instance, allegedly demanding that he wanted blondes with big breasts, and ‘pretty girls.”‘ Kansas announced Miles’ departure Monday night, describing it as a mutual agreement to part ways. Miles has three years left on his original five-year contract with Kansas.
March 9, 2021 3:55 am
UNDATED (AP) – Right-hander Jake Odorizzi and the Houston Astros have finalized a $20.25 million, two-year contract that includes a player option for 2023 and could be worth at least $33.25 million over three seasons. Odorizzi enhances a Houston rotation that lost Framber Valdez indefinitely to a broken finger this spring. Astros ace Justin Verlander also is sidelined while recovering from Tommy John surgery. An All-Star with Minnesota in 2019, Odorizzi was limited to four starts last season because of injuries. He was 0-1 with a 6.59 ERA for the Twins during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.
March 8, 2021 4:01 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Sidney Crosby capped Pittsburgh’s three-goal outburst in the first period, and the Penguins beat the New York Rangers 5-1. Crosby scored his eighth of the season, Kasperi Kapanen netted his sixth and John Marino his first as Pittsburgh scored three times on six shots. Evgeni Malkin and Zach Aston-Reese scored in the third period as the Penguins won for the ninth time 13 games. Casey DeSmith had 22 saves in his second start since Feb. 11. Mika Zibanejad scored the Rangers, who had their season-best three-game winning streak halted.
March 8, 2021 4:02 am
UNDATED (AP) – The Pittsburgh Pirates have acquired right-hander Duane Underwood Jr. in a trade with the Chicago Cubs. Underwood went 1-0 with a 5.66 ERA in 17 games with Chicago during the pandemic-shortened season. He was designated for assignment on Tuesday. Underwood, a second-round pick in the 2012 amateur draft, is 1-1 with a 5.20 ERA in 30 career games. The Cubs received minor league first baseman Shendrik Apostel in the deal. The 20-year-old Apostel was signed by the Pirates out of Curacao in July 2017.
March 8, 2021 4:04 am
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) – The long ball helped Bryson DeChambeau outlast Lee Westwood to win the Arnold Palmer Invitational, only the key shots were more with his putter than his driver. DeChambeau holed a 40-foot birdie putt on the front nine and a 50-foot par putt early on the back nine. He closed it out with a nervy 5-foot par putt for a 1-under 71 and a one-shot victory over the 47-year-old Westwood. It matched the low score of the day, one of only three rounds under par in the toughest final round at Bay Hill in 41 years. DeChambeau and Westwood were never separated by more than one shot over the final 15 holes, a fascinating duel of generations that came down to the last shot.
March 7, 2021 7:05 am
PITTSBURGH — Jared McCann has always possessed the skills required to be a difference-maker at both ends of the ice. The trouble for the Pittsburgh Penguins versatile forward is consistency. Sometimes he looks like one of the better 200-foot players in the NHL. Sometimes he can disappear for long stretches. Not so much at the moment, however. McCann pounced on a rebound and knocked it past Bryan Elliott with less than 10 minutes to go and the Pittsburgh Penguins slipped past the Philadelphia Flyers 4-3 on Saturday. McCann’s fifth goal of the season and third in five games since a two-week absence due to a lower-body injury helped the Penguins beat the Flyers for the second time in five days and draw even with their cross-state rivals in the highly competitive East Division. McCann certainly looked confident while racing through the slot during a rush, and found the game-winner on his stick after Brandon Tanev’s shot smacked off Elliott’s pad. McCann fired it into the net, then went skates over skull after tripping over Elliott. Zach Aston-Reese, Bryan Rust and Evgeni Malkin also scored for Pittsburgh. Tristan Jarry finished with 19 saves as the Penguins responded after letting an early three-goal lead slip away in a loss to the Flyers on Thursday night. Pittsburgh hosts the New York Rangers Sunday night.
March 7, 2021 7:09 am
CLEMSON, S.C.— Al-Amir Dawes scored a season-high 21 points, knocking down five 3-pointers, and Clemson defeated Pitt 77-62 on Saturday to end the regular season. The Tigers (16-6, 10-6 Atlantic Coast Conference) pulled away early in the second half when Nick Honor drained a 3-pointer to start a 9-0 run, expanding Clemson’s lead from 43-41 to 52-41 in 97 seconds. Another 3-pointer by Hunter Tyson put Clemson up 57-46 at the 12:14 mark and it remained in double digits the rest of the away. Clemson made 12 3-pointers in 25 tries Saturday and was 56% shooting from the floor (29 of 52). Justin Champagnie led Pitt (10-11, 6-10) with 13 points, scoring 10 in the last 9:31 of the game. He’d been 1-of-7 shooting before making back-to-back baskets that brought the Panthers as close as 60-54. Champagnie scored 10 of Pitt’s final 14 points. He added two steals and a blocked shot before subbing out with 38 seconds left. Pitt finished 20-for-45 shooting (44%) and were outscored 32-18 in the paint and 11-5 on the fast break. Ithiel Horton added 11 points.
March 7, 2021 7:07 am
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Minus star freshman Cade Cunningham, No. 17 Oklahoma State still found some welcome momentum going into the postseason. Sophomore Avery Anderson III scored a career-high 31 points and the Cowboys, with Cunningham sitting out the regular-season finale because of a sprained ankle, beat No. 6 West Virginia 85-80 on Saturday. Oklahoma State has won six of seven heading into the Big 12 tournament. Taz Sherman led West Virginia (18-8, 11-6 Big 12) with 20 points. Derek Culver added 14 points, Miles McBride scored 12 and Emmitt Matthews 11. West Virginia had a chance to tie it near the end, but Keylan Boone stole McBride’s pass into the lane with 11 seconds left. Anderson then hit two free throws for the final margin. The Mountaineers went 2-2 during a four-game homestand to finish the regular season. Saturday’s loss denied coach Bob Huggins the chance to get his 900th win before his own fans. It also handed No. 13 Kansas the second seed in the upcoming Big 12 tournament, behind league champion Baylor.
March 6, 2021 8:26 am
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) – Arizona has released the Notice of Allegations it received from the NCAA last fall, which includes five Level I violations. The charges include a lack of institutional control by the men’s basketball and swimming programs, and unethical behavior by assistant basketball coach Emanuel Richardson for accepting $20,000 in bribes. Richardson was among 10 people arrested in an FBI investigation into college basketball and served three months in prison. The Notice of Allegations also charged basketball coach Sean Miller with failing to promote compliance and unethical behavior by former assistant coach Mark Phelps for asking a player to delete texts related to an impermissible $500 loan. The school released the notice Friday after a judge this week ruled in favor of a lawsuit filed by ESPN.
March 6, 2021 8:24 am
(AP)- The NFL has hired Maia Chaka as the first Black female official in league history. She will work games during the 2021 season. Chaka enters the NFL after working in the Pac-12 and Conference USA. She was selected in 2014 for the NFL’s Officiating Development Program, which identifies college officiating talent with the goal of showing them some of the same experiences as NFL officials before determining if they have the ability to succeed as an NFL official. The NFL did not specify which officiating position she will work.
