NCAA:
Arizona has fired football coach Rich Rodriguez after a notice of claim was filed with the state attorney general's office alleging he ran a hostile workplace. The Arizona Daily Star revealed the notice of claim after making a public-records request. The paper said the claim was filed last Thursday by a former employee.
Kansas State coach Bill Snyder will be back on the sideline next season. The 78-year-old coach had been mulling his future since the Wildcats beat UCLA in the Cactus Bowl last week. Snyder ultimately announced in a brief statement that he would return, ending growing speculation in some circles that he might retire for a second time.
Justin Wright-Foreman scored 27 points, Rokas Gustys added 15 with 13 rebounds, and Hofstra beat Northeastern 71-70 last night to end the Huskie's five-game home win streak. After three lead changes, Hofstra scored six straight and led 66-63 on Gusty's layup with 4:07 left. Northeastern twice closed to within a point, but Gustys' layup with 1:33 left gave Hofstra a 70-67 edge and Eli Pemberton made one of two free throws to ice it. Northeastern's Shawn Occeus hit a 3 at the buzzer.
Zane Waterman had 23 points and 12 rebounds, Rich Williams had 20 points, including three free throws with 1.1 second left in regulation, and Manhattan rallied to defeat Marist 101-96 in overtime last night. Pauly Paulicap added 19 points, nine in overtime, and Zavier Turner had 12, including the clinching free throws with 1 second left in OT for the Jaspers (7-7, 2-0 Mid-Atlantic Athletic Conference).
Alex King scored 18 points, Matthew Wilson added 15, and Army beat Loyola (Md.) 86-75 last night. Tucker Blackwell scored 13 points, Luke Morrison added 10, and Babacar Thiombane blocked a season-high four shots for the Black Knights (8-5, 1-1 Patriot League), who shot 53.6 percent from the field. Thomas Funk had six assists.
CJ Massinburg scored 10 of his 27 points in the final 5:24 to help Buffalo pull away and beat Toledo 104-94 last night in a Mid-American Conference opener. Tre'Shaun Fletcher made three free throws to pull Toledo (8-6) to 84-81. Massinburg answered with a jumper and layup, and was 6-of-6 shooting from the line as the Bulls closed on a 20-13 surge.
College baseball is affected by a Mississippi law that lets government clerks or private business people cite their own religious beliefs to deny services to same-sex couples. The Sun Herald reports the University of Southern Mississippi was supposed to play three games in Hattiesburg in late February against Stony Brook University. The games were canceled because New York Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo banned all non-essential state travel to Mississippi after Republican Gov. Phil Bryant signed the law in 2016. Instead of playing in Hattiesburg Feb. 23-25, Southern Miss will play in a tournament in Texas.
Payton Henson finished with 17 points and slammed a dunk in the final seconds to secure Vermont's 62-56 win over Harvard. Harvard's Seth Towns missed a 3-pointer on the other end.
Top-ranked Connecticut's women's basketball game at East Carolina on Wednesday has been moved to a 2 p.m. start because of the threat of severe winter weather. The game had been scheduled for a 7 p.m. start. Up to three inches of snow are in the forecast for the Greenville area that night.
NFL:
Giddy Buffalo fans are making a surge in donations to Andy Dalton's foundation, their way of thanking the Bengals quarterback for making the Bills' long-awaited playoff appearance possible. Dalton's foundation reported Tuesday it has received more than $170,000 in donations since the Bengals beat the Ravens 31-27 on Sunday.
The New England Patriots end the regular season at No. 1 in the AP Pro32 poll. The Patriots received 11 of 12 first-place votes in balloting by media members who regularly cover the NFL. The Minnesota Vikings are No. 2 and the Pittsburgh Steelers are a close 3rd.
Coach Bruce Arians once said he and quarterback Carson Palmer would ride away into the sunset together like a pair of old desert cowboys. Well, they have. Palmer, who turned 38 last week, announced his retirement after 15 NFL seasons in an open letter released by Cardinals, one day after Arians said he was leaving his long coaching career.
Coach Marvin Lewis got a two-year contract extension, providing more chances to try to get the Cincinnati Bengals that playoff victory that has eluded him for 15 seasons. The agreement came after a second straight losing season and two days of discussions with owner Mike Brown.
Star linebackers Ray Lewis and Brian Urlacher are among four first-time eligible former players selected among the 15 modern-era finalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame's Class of 2018. Receiver Randy Moss and guard Steve Hutchinson also made the cut to the finals as first-year eligibles.
The New York Jets completed their second straight 5-11 season and head into the offseason with optimism after the team showed progress. It was for that reason owner Christopher Johnson extended the contracts of coach Todd Bowles and general manager Mike Maccagnan. Johnson says there is no playoff mandate for next season, but he remains focused on building on the progress and promise of this season. Maccagnan says the Jets will be active in free agency.
Ted Thompson is out as general manager of the Green Bay Packers, but will remain as senior adviser of football operations. It's a big change after one of the league's most successful teams missed the playoffs and finished with a losing record for the first time since 2008. Green Bay lost its season finale 35-11 on Sunday to the Detroit Lions. A Super Bowl victory in 2010 marked the highlight of Thompson's 13-year tenure with the Packers.
Golf:
Jordan Spieth now can remember 2017 for a silver jug and a diamond ring. Spieth confirms that he proposed to longtime girlfriend Anne Verret, and while he kept the details to a minimum, she said yes. The 24-year-old Spieth and Verret have been dating since they were in high school in Dallas.
NBA:
LaMarcus Aldridge scored 29 points, Kawhi Leonard had a season-high 25 and the San Antonio Spurs beat the New York Knicks 100-91 last night to give Gregg Popovich sole possession of fifth place on the NBA's coaching wins list. Manu Ginobili finished with 12 points — three of them coming on what appeared to be a pass that went into the basket without everyone noticing. Popovich has 1,176 victories, all with the Spurs.
Isaiah Thomas finally made his debut for Cleveland as the Cavaliers downed the Portland Trail Blazers 127-110 on Tuesday night. Thomas scored 17 points in 19 minutes in his first game since May 19 when a serious hip injury ended his postseason with Boston. LeBron James led the Cavs with 24 points and Kevin Love added 19. Damian Lillard scored 25 for the Blazers after missing five games with a hamstring injury.
Meanwhile, The Celtics will play Cleveland on Wednesday night for the first time since the season opener, when top free agent Gordon Hayward sustained a gruesome leg injury. Isaiah Thomas is not expected to play for the Cavs. Since then, the Celtics have moved to the top of the Eastern Conference. Former Boston point guard Isaiah Thomas will not play in the game after making his season debut on Tuesday night.
NHL:
Patrice Bergeron had the go-ahead goal in the second period and the surging Boston Bruins scored three times in the third to pull away for a 5-1 victory over the New York Islanders last night. Danton Heinen, Brad Marchand, Tim Schaller and Noel Acciari also scored for the Bruins, who are 7-0-2 in their last nine games. Tuukka Rask stopped 25 shots.
Carter Hutton stopped 24 shots through overtime and both New Jersey attempts in the shootout, Brayden Schenn and Vladimir Tarasenko scored in the tiebreaker, and the Blues beat the Devils 3-2. Tarasenko and Vladimir Sobotka scored in regulation as St. Louis got its ninth straight win against New Jersey, dating back to a 7-1 loss to the Devils on Jan. 21, 2014.
Boxing:
Retired boxing champion Vinny Paz, whose comeback story after a car crash was dramatized in the 2016 film "Bleed for This," has been accused of attacking a Rhode Island man and sending him to the hospital. Police issued an arrest warrant for Paz on one count of felony assault. The ex-champion told WPRI-TV that he got robbed and did what he had to do.
©2018 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
