The Associated Press Mississippi State hired Washington State’s Mike Leach as its new head coach Thursday, bringing one of the nation’s quirkiest and most successful coaches to the Southeastern Conference. Leach will replace Joe Moorhead, who was fired last week after two seasons. ...
The Associated Press PHILADELPHIA — The NFL’s chief medical officer called Carson Wentz “heroic” for reporting his concussion during Philadelphia’s playoff loss and disputed the notion the league’s system failed the Eagles quarterback. “I think what Carson Wentz did is heroic ...
A year ago, Richard Lapchick was at least willing to consider it might be cyclical. Not any longer. Not after all but one of the coaching vacancies in the NFL have been filled. Not after — in a league where 70% of players are minorities — blacks have been hired for only two of the 19 open ...
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — The San Francisco 49ers defense is about to be almost whole again at just the right time of the season. Key starters Kwon Alexander, Dee Ford and Jaquiski Tartt are slated to return to the lineup for the Niners’ playoff opener Saturday against the Minnesota Vikings ...
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — David Tepper is entrusting Baylor’s Matt Rhule to lead the Carolina Panthers out of what he views as a cycle of “long-term mediocrity.” The Panthers owner hired the 44-year-old Rhule on Tuesday to become the team’s next head coach. He replaces Ron Rivera, who was ...
CLEMSON, S.C. — Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence was ready to get right back on the field to play for another College Football Playoff title after the Tigers’hard-fought semifinal win over Ohio State last month. That changed once he woke up the next day. “I was really sore so I ...
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — Professional sports leagues struck out in their quest for a cut of sports betting money by claiming they needed payments to help protect the integrity of games. They also fumbled an attempt to claim a share of betting proceeds by saying the games are the intellectual ...
Suddenly, the old guard looks rather old. Tom Brady, who wants to keep playing next season at age 43, was overshadowed on wild-card weekend by a QB who threw for just 72 yards. Drew Brees, who turns 41 this month, followed up what might have been his best season ever with a dud that ...
SPOKANE, Wash. — Growing up in the Dallas area, Ryan Woolridge and Admon Gilder once played together on an AAU team as kids. They are still not entirely sure what age they were — somewhere around 10 or 11 years old — and can barely recall how the other was as a player. But for ...
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Nashville’s David Poile did something he has rarely done in nearly 40 years as a general manager: He made a mid-season coaching change after being fed up with the Predators underachieving. Poile hired former New Jersey Devils coach John Hynes as the third coach in ...
PHILADELPHIA — Joel Embiid scored 18 points playing with a dislocated left ring finger, Ben Simmons had 17 points and 15 rebounds and the Philadelphia 76ers snapped a four-game losing streak, beating the Oklahoma City Thunder 120-113 on Monday night. The 76ers lost all four games on a trip ...
FRISCO, Texas — Mike McCarthy won a Super Bowl and went to the playoffs eight straight years while coaching two-time MVP quarterback Aaron Rodgers. The Dallas Cowboys are hoping for similar results from McCarthy with Dak Prescott. McCarthy, who won the title as Green Bay’s coach at the ...
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa is entering the NFL draft. Tagovailoa, who had surgery on his right hip in November, announced his decision Monday, ending two months of speculation regarding the star quarterback’s plans as he tries to return from the serious injury. ...
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — For the first time in three years, the Patriots won’t enter the offseason following a Super Bowl appearance. Now the franchise that has hoisted six Lombardi trophies faces questions it has rarely had to address during its run of success over the past two decades. ...
LAWRENCE, Kan. — The season was barely a week old when Michigan State lost to Kentucky in the Champions Classic, a defeat of the nation’s No. 1 team that could be written off easily as a high-profile battle of heavyweights on a neutral court early in the season that didn’t go the ...
The Associated Press BATON ROUGE, La. — Funeral services were held Saturday for a Louisiana sports reporter and a pilot who died last week in a plane crash in Lafayette. Five people were killed in the crash as they headed to the Peach Bowl to see Louisiana State University play Oklahoma ...
The Associated Press FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Derrick Henry rushed for 182 yards and a touchdown while Tennessee’s defense stymied Tom Brady and perhaps ended his championship-filled New England career with a 20-13 wild-card victory Saturday night. As a dense fog that shrouded Gillette ...
Marquette downs No. 10 Villanova MILWAUKEE — Villanova coach Jay Wright said Marquette guard Markus Howard played on a different level from anyone his team could throw at him Saturday. Howard scored 29 points and the Golden Eagles used a big first half to beat Wright’s 10th-ranked ...
By Brett Martel The Associated Press NEW ORLEANS — The Dalvin and Alvin show is coming to the Superdome. And the stakes are a lot higher than the last time they shared the stage as NFL debutants three seasons ago. Vikings running back Dalvin Cook and Saints rusher Alvin Kamara look ...
The Associated Press FRISCO, Texas — The Dallas Cowboys are talking to former head coaches Mike McCarthy and Marvin Lewis in the surest sign so far that they are moving on from Jason Garrett. McCarthy, who won a Super Bowl and went to three other NFC championship games with Green Bay, was ...