Applewhite gets Houston promotion
Major Applewhite, who served as Tom Herman’s offensive coordinator at Houston the last two seasons, was promoted to Herman’s spot Friday. It will be the first head coaching job for Applewhite, 38 . ... Alabama offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin is being pursued by Florida Atlantic to become the Owls’ next head coach, two people with knowledge of the situation told the Associated Press on Friday night . ... Nevada hired Arizona State assistant Jay Norvell, a former UCLA offensive coordinator, as the new head coach for the Wolf Pack.
After helping the Chicago Cubs end their World Series drought, outfielder Dexter Fowler finalized an $82.5-million, five-year contract with the St. Louis Cardinals.
Fowler was also a free agent a year ago, when he spurned a $33million, three-year offer from Baltimore.
He signed a $13-million, oneyear deal with the Cubs and hit .276 with 13 homers and a career-best .393 on-base percentage.
Defending champion Evgenia Medvedeva, 17, of Russia began the defense of her Grand Prix Final figure skating title in emphatic style, thrilling the crowd with a world record score in the short program at Marseille, France. Evgenia Tarasova and Vladimir Morozov earned their season-best score in the free skate to win the pairs.
Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom called on California State University schools to reform their athletic departments two days after the NCAA penalized Cal State Northridge for academic fraud. Newsom called the sanctions “a wake-up call.”
In a letter to Cal State Chancellor Tim White, Newsom wrote, “CSU’s student-athletes are offered an education in return for physical and career sacrifices, to the financial benefit of the schools they represent and the spirit of community identity that their dedication fosters. The troubling data suggests that some public CSU campuses are failing to uphold their end of the deal.” — Zach Helfand
The NBA denied the Toronto Raptors’ protest of their 102-99 loss to the Sacramento Kings on Nov. 20. Toronto argued that the officials incorrectly called for a replay review of whether the Raptors’ Terrence Ross released his threepoint shot before time expired.
Kansas sophomore forward Carlton Bragg Jr. was charged with one count of battery after he was accused of pushing his girlfriend down a flight of stairs.
The UCLA women’s volleyball team lost the first set, then won the next three against North Carolina in the NCAA regional semifinals at Minneapolis. The Bruins will face host Minnesota on Saturday.