Colts assistant to coach Eagles
PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia Eagles are nearing a deal to hire Nick Sirianni to be their head coach, according to two people familiar with the decision. Both people spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Thursday because the team hadn’t officially announced the hiring. Sirianni was the offensive coordinator for the Indianapolis Colts the past three seasons under head coach Frank Reich, who was OC in Philadelphia when the Eagles won Super Bowl LII to cap the 2017 season. Sirianni, 39, has also worked as an assistant in the college ranks as well as with the Kansas City Chiefs (2009-12) and the Chargers (2016-17), making the move with the team from San Diego to Los Angeles. The Eagles fired Doug Pederson this month after he led the team to a 4-11-1 in his fifth season, a tenure that includes the franchise’s only Super Bowl title.
› SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Notre Dame’s football program is on NCAA probation until next January after admitting to recruiting violations in 2019 in which an assistant had an impermissible in-person meeting with one prospect and sent impermissible text messages to another. The NCAA announced the negotiated resolution Thursday after it was reviewed by the Division I Committee on Infractions. The assistant, who was not identified, is no longer with the program. Fighting Irish coach Brian Kelly also was found to have had impermissible off-campus contact with a prospect when he had his picture taken with the prospect at his high school. The NCAA described the former assistant’s violations as Level II, which are considered significant but not the most egregious in the four-level penalty structure; Kelly’s violation was characterized as Level III. The number of official recruiting visits Notre Dame can host in 2020-21 will be reduced from 56 to 55, and there will be 14 days when prospects won’t be allowed to make unofficial visits. The Irish also will impose a seven-day off-campus recruiting ban for the entire staff this spring and will pay a $5,000 fine.
BASKETBALL ›
The Memphis Grizzlies are the latest NBA team that will have a coronavirus-related extended break from games, after the league announced Thursday that their next three contests will be postponed because of a lack of available players, as well as contact tracing. Tonight’s road game against the Portland Trail Blazers was pushed back, along with home games Sunday and Monday against the Sacramento Kings, the NBA said. The decision came one day after another Grizzlies-Blazers game was also called off. The Grizzlies (7-6) most recently played Monday against the Phoenix Suns, earning their fifth straight win and moving above .500 for the first time this season. The earliest they’ll play again is next Wednesday against the Chicago Bulls. The three additional postponements brought the total of NBA games that have been postponed so far this season to 20, with all but one coming since Jan. 10. A quarter of those involve the Grizzlies.
GOLF
› LA QUINTA, Calif. — Brandon Hagy didn’t find out he was in the field at The American Express until three days before the tournament started. The 29-year-old Californian, still in search of his first win on a major professional golf tour, then left no doubt he belonged. Hagy made 10 birdies as he took the first-round lead Thursday with an 8-under-par 64 on the Nicklaus Tournament Course at PGA West, staying one shot ahead of bogey-free Byeong Hun An of South Korea in the opening event of the tour’s West Coast swing. Hagy was added to the field Monday when second-ranked Jon Rahm of Spain abruptly dropped out without giving a reason to tour officials. Rahm later said he incurred a minor injury in the gym but plans to return to competition next week. Max Homa, South Korea’s Si Woo Kim and Scotland’s Martin Laird were tied for third at 66, with Kim the only player in the top five who opened on the Stadium Course, the other layout being used in the tournament.