COLLEGE FOOTBALL
North Carolina and Bill Belichick have agreed to a five-year deal for the six-time Super Bowl-winning head coach to become the Tar Heels’ next football coach. The school announced the hiring Wednesday. That came roughly a week after the 72-year-old Belichick’s name surfaced as an unlikely candidate to replace the program's winningest coach in Mack Brown. The deal still requires approval by UNC trustees. Belichick won six titles in his 24-year run as head coach of the Patriots. Most of that success came with quarterbacking great Tom Brady.
An Ohio politician has seen enough flag planting. Republican state Rep. Josh Williams said Wednesday on social media he's introducing a bill to make flag planting in sports a felony in the state. His proposal comes after the Nov. 30 fight at the Michigan-Ohio State rivalry football game when the Wolverines beat the Buckeyes 13-10 and then attempted to plant their flag at midfield. A fight ensued and police had to use pepper spray to disperse the players. Former Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield famously planted a flag in the middle of the field at Ohio State after the Sooners beat the Buckeyes in 2017.
Former Tulane quarterback Darian Mensah has already found a new program in Duke, while Mississippi State’s Michael Van Buren Jr. and Cal’s Fernando Mendoza are exploring changes of their own in the transfer portal. Mensah is a redshirt freshman with three years of eligibility remaining. He told ESPN on Wednesday he has transferred to Duke. He attended the Blue Devils men’s basketball game against Incarnate Word on Tuesday night. The Blue Devils will face Mississippi in the Gator Bowl, but without 2024 starting quarterback Maalik Murphy and backup Grayson Loftis, who also entered the portal.
NFL
On Thursday Night Football, the L.A. Rams are in San Francisco at 8:15 p.m.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell says a rape allegation against rapper Jay-Z won’t impact the NFL's relationship with the music mogul. Jay-Z's company Roc Nation has produced some of the NFL’s entertainment presentations including the Super Bowl halftime show. A woman who previously sued Sean “Diddy” Combs alleging she was raped at an awards show after-party in 2000 amended the lawsuit Sunday to include an allegation that Jay-Z was also at the party and participated in the sexual assault. Jay-Z says the rape allegation made against him is part of an extortion attempt. The NFL teamed up with Jay-Z’s Roc Nation in 2019 for events and social activism. The league and the entertainment company extended their partnership a few months ago.
NHL
Adam Fox had a goal and two assist and the New York Rangers beat the Buffalo Sabres 3-2. Mika Zibanejad got his 300th career goal and Reilly Smith also scored for the Rangers, who snapped a two-game skid and got their third win in 11 games. Igor Shesterkin stopped 29 shots. Owen Power and Tage Thompson scored for the Sabres, who have lost eight straight (0-5-3). Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 25 saves.
Drake Batherson had three goals and an assist, and the Ottawa Senators beat the Anaheim Ducks 5-1 for their third win in four games. Brady Tkachuk had a goal and an assist, and Noah Gregor also scored for the Senators. Linus Ullmark stopped 31 shots. Cutter Gauthier scored for the Ducks, and John Gibson finished with 29 saves. Anaheim has lost four straight.
MLB
Juan Soto gets free use of a luxury suite and up to four premium tickets behind home plate for regular-season and postseason New York Mets home games as part of his record $765 million, 15-year contract. The Mets agreed to provide personal team security for the All-Star outfielder and his family at the team’s expense for all spring training and regular-season home and road games, according to details of the agreement obtained by The Associated Press. New York agreed to assist Soto’s family for in-season travel arrangements, guaranteed he gets uniform No. 22 and included eight types of award bonuses.
All-Star left-hander Garrett Crochet has been acquired by the Boston Red Sox from the Chicago White Sox for four prospects. Catcher Kyle Teel, infielder Chase Meidroth, right-hander Wikelman Gonzalez and outfielder Braden Montgomery are headed to Chicago. The 25-year-old Crochet was 6-12 with a 3.58 ERA in 32 starts for a White Sox team that went 41-121. It's the most losses for any club since 1900. He was picked for the AL All-Star team in his first season as a starter. Selected 11th overall by Chicago in the 2020 amateur draft, Crochet made his big league debut that September. He had Tommy John surgery in April 2022.
Meanwhile, the Red Sox have acquired catcher Carlos Narváez from the New York Yankees in exchange for minor league pitcher Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz and international signing bonus pool money. The rare deal between the AL East rivals came during the winter meetings Wednesday. It was after Red Sox top catching prospect Kyle Teel was part of a package of four prospects traded to the Chicago White Sox earlier in the day for All-Star left-handed pitcher Garret Crochet. The 26-year-old Narváez made his big league debut with the Yankees by hitting .231 in six games this year.
Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco is scheduled to go to trial Thursday in the Dominican Republic in a sexual abuse case involving a 14-year-old girl. Now 23, Franco was having an All-Star season in 2023 before Dominican authorities began investigating allegations he had been in a relationship with a minor and paid her mother thousands of dollars for her consent. Franco has been charged with sexually abusing a minor, sexual and commercial exploitation against a minor, and human trafficking.
NBA
Trae Young had 22 points and 11 assists, De’Andre Hunter and Jalen Johnson outplayed the Knicks frontcourt and the Atlanta Hawks took their surprising NBA Cup run all the way to the semifinals in Las Vegas, beating New York 108-100 on Wednesday night. Hunter scored 24 points and Johnson had 21 points, 15 rebounds and seven assists for the Hawks, who were perhaps the surprise team of the tournament after knocking off the defending champion Celtics in Boston and NBA-leading Cleveland Cavaliers in group play to reach the knockout stage as the No. 3 seed in the East. Now they will face another East power, the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks, on Saturday in a semifinal matchup.
Jalen Green made two free throws with 3.5 seconds left and the Houston Rockets beat the Golden State Warriors 91-90 on Wednesday night to advance to the NBA Cup semifinals in Las Vegas. Houston snapped a 15-game skid against the Warriors, winning for the first time in the series since Feb. 20, 2020. The Rockets will face Oklahoma City, which beat Dallas in the other West quarterfinal game on Tuesday night, in the semifinals on Saturday. Alperen Sengun led the Rockets with 26 points and 11 rebounds. Stephen Curry missed a 3-pointer with 11 seconds left and Gary Payton II grabbed the rebound, but Green intercepted his pass and was fouled by Jonathan Kuminga to set up the winning free throws.
Golden State coach Steve Kerr said a foul call against his team that led to a loss to Houston on Wednesday night in the NBA Cup was “unconscionable” and that an elementary school referee wouldn’t have made it. After Stephen Curry missed a 3-pointer with Golden State up a point with 11 seconds to go, Gary Payton II grabbed the offensive rebound, but turned it over with a pass that Jalen Green intercepted. Jonathan Kuminga was then called for a foul against Green while they were on the floor, giving Green a pair of free throws that lifted Houston to the 91-90 victory and a spot in the NBA Cup semifinals. Said Kerr: “That is unconscionable. I mean, I don’t even understand what just happened.”
Jimmy Butler knows there are tons of questions about his future with the Miami Heat. He might get traded, he might leave as a free agent next summer, he might exercise a $52.4 million option to return to the Heat or he might get a new contract. He isn't sure what will happen. The Heat forward spoke out about trade speculation Wednesday, telling reporters after practice that he doesn’t mind his name being in the rumor mill.
Trae Young was dribbling out the clock when he leaned down toward New York's center-court logo and pretended he was shooting dice. Young said that's because the Atlanta Hawks are on their way to Las Vegas. When he’s at Madison Square Garden, always bet on Young. The court was orange this time, but otherwise it looked and felt like the 2021 playoffs. The Knicks had just been eliminated, and Young was celebrating in the middle of their arena. The star guard led the Hawks to a 108-100 victory in the NBA Cup quarterfinals. They will head to Las Vegas to play the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday.
WOMEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Boston College 62 UMass 57
SOCCER
Swedish prosecutors say they have dropped a rape investigation that was launched in connection with soccer star Kylian Mbappé’s visit to Stockholm in October. In a statement, lead investigator Marina Chirakova says there is not enough evidence to continue the investigation, which centered on an incident at a hotel. Prosecutors never publicly named the suspect in the investigation but some Swedish media reported it was Mbappé. The Real Madrid striker visited Stockholm in October during a break in the Spanish league. At the time, Mbappé’s legal team dismissed those reports as false.
OLYMPICS
Lake Placid would play host to bobsled, luge and skeleton events for the 2026 Olympics if a track currently being rebuilt in Italy isn't finished in time for the Milan-Cortina Games. There has been no indication from Italian officials that the track — a century-old facility that has been dormant for nearly 20 years — won't be ready. Lake Placid would be serving only as a backup site. The Olympic Regional Development Authority, which manages the sliding venue in Lake Placid, said it would engage in “targeted dialogue” with Italian organizers to “further develop the Plan B back up plan for the sliding events."
Lake Placid played host to the Winter Games in 1932 and 1980. It would provide the U.S. luge, bobsled and skeleton teams with a massive advantage, since Lake Placid is their home track. American sliders tend to fare well in World Cup races in Lake Placid, and the track at Mount Van Hoevenberg will play host to the next world bobsled and skeleton championships in March. Italy’s decision to rebuild the century-old track in Cortina at a cost of nearly $90 million has been met with fierce opposition by the International Olympic Committee. There were a number of other suggestions, such has holding sliding events at tracks in nearby Austria or Switzerland. The Italians insist the track will be ready. But it remains unclear if sliders will be able to test the track in March as planned. The games take place in February 2026.
© 2024 Associated Press. All rights reserved.
