HOCKEY
The deadline for retired players to opt in to the $18.9 million settlement of the concussion lawsuit against the NHL has been extended.
Players’ lawyers confirmed the extension to The Associated Press on Friday night. It was not immediately clear what the new deadline was.
The 318 former players who sued the league and accused it of failing to protect them from head injuries or warning them of the risks involved with playing had until the Friday to opt in to the settlement that was reached 75 days ago.
Each player who opts in would receive $22,000 and could be eligible for up to $75,000 in medical treatment. The settlement is significantly less than the billion-dollar agreement reached between the NFL and its former players on the same issue of head injuries.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Nashville Predators forward Ryan Johansen has received a two-game suspension without pay for high-sticking Winnipeg Jets forward Mark Scheifele.
The NHL announced Johansen’s suspension Friday. Johansen committed the penalty Thursday during the first period of the Predators’ 5-1 loss to the Jets.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
STORRS, Conn. (AP) - The University of Connecticut announced Friday that it is self-imposing penalties, including the loss of a scholarship for the 2019-20 season, for violations of NCAA rules by its basketball program under former coach Kevin Ollie.
UConn fired Ollie after a 14-18 season a year ago, and later detailed numerous NCAA violations it said were committed during his tenure.
The NCAA investigated and sent the school a notice in September detailing allegations that included unethical conduct by Ollie, who it said provided false or misleading information about video calls to a recruit from two former UConn stars, Hall of Famer Ray Allen and San Antonio Spurs guard Rudy Gay.
The NCAA characterized the violations as “a severe breach of conduct.”
NBA
CHICAGO (AP) - The Chicago Bulls expect prized rookie center Wendell Carter Jr. to miss eight to 12 weeks because of a left thumb injury.
The team said Friday that surgery has been recommended for Carter, who was hurt Tuesday against the Lakers.
The injury was initially diagnosed as a sprain, but more tests and a follow-up examination with Bulls hand specialists Drs. John Fernandez and Mark Cohen on Friday revealed it was more serious and potentially season-ending.
NFL
DALLAS (AP) - Scott Linehan is out as offensive coordinator of the Dallas Cowboys, less than a week after coach Jason Garrett sent mixed messages about the future for the oft-criticized assistant.
Garrett, in a statement released by the team Friday, described the move as a mutual decision after he and Linehan had some open and positive discussions this week. Linehan, who just completed his fifth season in Dallas, had one more season left on his contract.
LAKE FOREST, Ill. (AP) - The Chicago Bears have hired former Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Deshea Townsend as defensive backs coach.
Townsend played on two Super Bowl championship teams with Pittsburgh and has spent eight years on NFL and college staffs. He was the New York Giants’ assistant defensive backs coach this season.
CLEVELAND (AP) - New Browns coach Freddie Kitchens added seven assistants to his staff, including Tosh Lupoi, Alabama’s defensive coordinator last season.
Lupoi will coach Cleveland’s defensive line. He spent five seasons working under Nick Saban with the Crimson Tide, who were recently beaten by Clemson in the national championship game.
Kitchens also hired Chris Jones (senior defensive assistant), Joe Whitt (pass game coordinator/secondary coach), Al Holcomb (run game coordinator/linebackers coach), John Lilly (tight ends), John Parrella (assistant defensive line) and Jeff Blasko (assistant offensive line).
BASEBALL
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) - After seven seasons with the Cleveland Indians, Cody Allen is looking to rebound with a new team.
Allen and the Los Angeles Angels have agreed to a $8.5 million, one-year contract, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press on Friday.
The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the deal, first reported by The Athletic, is subject to a successful physical. The agreement includes $2.5 million in available bonuses.
A 30-year-old right-hander, Allen had spent his entire career with Cleveland and is the franchise’s leader in saves with 149.
-By AP Sports Writer Joe Reedy.
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) - Avisail Garcia can earn up to $6 million as part of his one-year contract with the Tampa Bay Rays.
The team announced the deal Friday, an agreement that guarantees $3.5 million this season.
He can earn $250,000 each for 350, 400, 450, 500, 550 and 600 plate appearances, and $1 million for 650.
Garcia, coming off arthroscopic surgery on his right knee, hit a career-high 19 home runs last season but slumped to .236 with 49 RBIs in 93 games after batting a career-best .330 with 18 homers and 80 RBIs in 136 games in 2017, when he was an All-Star.
NEW YORK (AP) - Cincinnati outfielder Nate Scantlin has been suspended for 50 games and Atlanta pitcher Carlos Caminero for 25 games under baseball’s minor league drug program.
Scantlin was disciplined following a second positive test for a drug of abuse, the commissioner’s office said Friday. Scantlin was cited for an unspecified violation; 25 games matches the penalty for the first violation for use or possession of a syringe or any injectable substance.
Caminero, a 21-year-old left-hander, has spent the past two seasons with the rookie-level Dominican Summer League Braves, He was 1-2 with a 1.87 ERA and five saves in 17 relief appearances last year.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
MADISON, Wis. (AP) - Wisconsin renewed football coach Paul Chryst’s five-year contract through January 2024 on Friday.
Chryst is entering his fifth season with the Badgers, who wrapped up a relatively disappointing season at 8-5 (5-4 Big Ten) with a dominating 35-3 win in the Pinstripe Bowl over Miami. Chryst is 42-12 at Wisconsin and the Badgers won consecutive Big Ten West titles before falling short this past season.
AMES, Iowa (AP) - Iowa State rehired Tom Manning as its offensive coordinator on Friday.
Manning, who spent last season on the staff of the Indianapolis Colts, is returning to Ames to run the Cyclones offense under fourth-year coach Matt Campbell.
Manning was Iowa State’s coordinator in 2016 and 2017. The Cyclones went 8-5 last season without an official coordinator.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Former Georgia defensive back Deangelo Gibbs is transferring to Tennessee.
Gibbs tweeted Friday that “I am 100% committed to giving everything I have to the #VolNation.” The Tennessee football program’s official Twitter account sent out a tweet with Gibbs in a Tennessee uniform along with the message “Welcome To Rocky Top.”
Gibbs, who is listed as 6-foot-1 and 205 pounds, played seven games for Georgia as a sophomore this past season and made seven tackles. He appeared in six games as a freshman in 2017 and made three tackles.
OBITUARY
Glen Wood, the patriarch of the famed Wood Brothers Racing team who had been the oldest living member of the NASCAR Hall of Fame, has died after a long illness in Stuart, Virginia. He was 93.
Wood, alongside younger brother Leonard, co-founded the Wood Brothers Racing team in 1953, and won four races over an 11-year racing career. Glen Wood in 1998 was named one of NASCAR’s 50 Greatest Drivers - a list that included 20 drivers who had once raced a Wood Brothers car.
Wood is also a member of Virginia Sports Hall of Fame and in 2011 was elected to the NASCAR Hall of Fame.
CINCINNATI (AP) - Quarterback Turk Schonert, who came off the bench and led the Cincinnati Bengals to an opening victory during their first Super Bowl season, has died suddenly near his home in South Carolina.
The Bengals were informed of Schonert’s death, which came on Thursday two days after his 62nd birthday.
Schonert relieved a struggling Ken Anderson and rallied Cincinnati to a 27-21 victory over Seattle in the 1981 opener. Anderson started the next game, and the Bengals went on to a 12-4 mark and reached the Super Bowl, losing to San Francisco.
HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Trent Dilfer, the former NFL quarterback who won the 2000 Super Bowl with the Baltimore Ravens, has been hired as head football coach at a Tennessee high school.
Lipscomb Academy athletic director Dr. Mike Roller announced the hiring Friday.
Dilfer says he felt led to Lipscomb at this time with the school committing to build a premier football program after going 35-32 over the past six seasons.
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