MLB
NEW YORK (AP) - Mets general manager Jared Porter sent graphic, uninvited text messages and images to a female reporter in 2016 when he was working for the Chicago Cubs in their front office, ESPN reported Monday night.
Porter sent dozens of texts to the woman, concluding with a picture of “an erect, naked penis,” according to the report. ESPN said it obtained a copy of the text history.
New York hired the 41-year-old Porter last month. He agreed to a four-year contract after spending the past four seasons with the Arizona Diamondbacks as senior vice president and assistant general manager.
Mets president Sandy Alderson said in a statement Monday night that he had spoken to Porter and that he “acknowledged to me his serious error in judgment.” Alderson said the team is taking the matter seriously and that the club would follow up as they review the facts of the case.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
The Tennessee football program is starting over yet again, this time after coach Jeremy Pruitt and nine others were fired Monday for cause when an internal investigation found what the university chancellor called “serious violations of NCAA rules.”
Chancellor Donde Plowman said Pruitt was responsible for overseeing the program. Tennessee has been conducting an internal investigation since a tip Nov. 13 about alleged recruiting violations.
Also fired were two assistants and seven members of the recruiting and support staff.
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields is forgoing his senior season to enter the NFL draft, while Buckeyes wide receiver Chris Olave is returning for his senior year.
The teammates announced their decisions Monday on Twitter.
Fields, expected to be a first-round pick, said in his lengthy Twitter post that his path to OSU was not direct, but that he couldn’t “have asked for a better final destination.” He went on to thank his family, coaches, support staff and teammates.
After playing his freshman season at Georgia, Fields passed for 5,373 yards and 63 touchdowns with nine interceptions for the Buckeyes. He also rushed for 867 yards and 15 TDs.
Olave was Ohio State’s leading receiver and Fields’ favorite target. The 6-1, 188-pound junior had 50 receptions for 729 yards and seven TDs this season.
NFL
The NFL will not allow in-person workouts for the scouting combine due to health and safety precautions because of COVID-19.
The league informed teams Monday that any workouts will take place on the individual pro days on college campuses. Interviews of prospects and psychological testing and assessments will be done virtually.
The league is working with club physicians and athletic trainers to obtain comprehensive medical information on each of the invited prospects.
- By Pro Football Writer Rob Maaddi.
TENNIS
Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley has ruled out any change in the best-of-five set format for men’s singles matches at the season-opening tennis major as three more COVID-19 cases were reported among the international arrivals for the tournament.
There are 72 players now in hard quarantine and unable to practice because of nine active coronavirus cases - an increase in three - among the incoming travelers to Melbourne. There was no immediate indication from health officials Tuesday that there would be any increase in the number of affected players.
In good news for players in lockdown, there were suggestions that some may be allowed to leave their rooms for practice before the 14-day hard quarantine period.
WOMEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Vanderbilt’s women’s basketball program has decided to end its season after struggling with a depleted roster.
The school announced the move on Monday. The Commodores join a growing list of women’s basketball teams that have decided to stop playing that now includes Duke, SMU, Virginia and San Jose State, among others.
The Commodores were 4-4, including 0-3 in the Southeastern Conference. The start of their season had three cancellations, and they’ve played two games since having a game canceled and two others inside the SEC postponed.
SOCCER
LONDON (AP) - Phil Neville, who led England to the Women’s World Cup semifinals in 2019, left the job earlier than planned on Monday to move back into men’s soccer as coach of Inter Miami.
Neville originally said he would stay until September when Netherlands coach Sarina Wiegman would succeed him after the rescheduled Tokyo Olympics to coach England into the home European Championship in 2022.
Now the Football Association, which runs the British Olympic team, is searching for a coach for Tokyo and an interim England coach.
WASHINGTON (AP) - Hernán Losada was hired Monday as coach of Major League Soccer’s D.C. United.
Losada had been manager of Belgium’s Beerschot since the middle of the 2018-19 season.
Ben Olson was D.C. United’s coach from August 2010 until he was fired Nov. 8 and Chad Ashton followed as interim coach.
Losada, a 38-year-old Argentine, will be MLS’s youngest active head coach.
TURIN, Italy (AP) - Torino fired coach Marco Giampaolo on Monday after a poor start to the season.
Torino has won just two of its 18 Serie A matches this season, losing nine.
A 0-0 draw at home against promoted Spezia this past weekend left it 18th in the league standings, a point from safety.
WARSAW, Poland (AP) - Poland coach Jerzy Brzęczek was fired Monday, five months before the European Championship and two months before the start of World Cup qualifying.
The Polish soccer federation did not give a reason for its decision or announce a replacement. Federation president Zbigniew Boniek is scheduled to hold a news conference on Thursday.
Brzęczek is a former international midfielder who was appointed after Poland finished last in its group at the 2018 World Cup.
INTERNATIONAL HOCKEY
ZURICH (AP) - The hockey world championships were pulled from Belarus on Monday following pressure from opposition groups and a threatened boycott by sponsors.
The International Ice Hockey Federation cited safety concerns and said it will seek a new country to co-host the tournament with Latvia or host it on its own. The tournament is scheduled to start May 21.
OBITUARY
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Jon Arnett, one of Southern California’s greatest running backs who went on to become a five-time Pro Bowl player for the Los Angeles Rams, has died. He was 85.
USC said Monday that Arnett died Saturday of heart failure in Lake Oswego, Oregon.
Arnett earned the nickname “Jaguar Jon” for his acrobatic agility and elusiveness running the ball that he honed as a youth gymnast. He lettered at USC from 1954-56. He earned All-American and All-Pacific Coast Conference first-team honors as a junior. He received the Voit Trophy as the West Coast’s most outstanding player.
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