Lloyd is repeat winner of FIFA award
U.S. midfielder Carli Lloyd was the surprise winner of the women’s player of the year award Monday at FIFA’s annual gala in Zurich, becoming only the second American to earn the honor multiple times after Mia Hamm, who won in 2001 and 2002.
Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal and Real Madrid was named best male player while Italian Claudio Ranieri was named best male coach after guiding Leicester City, a 5,000-to-1 underdog, to the English Premier League title.
Lloyd, who had a team-high 17 goals and 11 assists, earned 20.68% of the votes cast by coaches, journalists and national team captains from FIFA-member countries to edge Brazil’s Marta (16.6%) and Germany’s Melanie Behringer (12.34%).
However the victory was a bit of an upset given that the U.S. was knocked out of the Olympic tournament in the quarterfinals, eliminated by Sweden on penalty kicks, while Behringer led Germany to a gold medal. Plus Lloyd, who played in only seven games for her club team, the Houston Dash, wasn’t even named the best player in the country by U.S. Soccer, which chose U.S. teammate Tobin Heath of the Portland Thorns.
The women’s coach of the year award went Silvia Neid of Germany with U.S. Coach Jill Ellis, the 2015 winner, finishing second. for a player who had never started a college game until last fall but is now projected as a potential firstround pick.
In his only season as the Tar Heels' starter, Trubisky set school records for yards passing, touchdown passes, completions, attempts and total offense.
Colorado football Coach Mike MacIntyre has been rewarded with a contract extension through the 2021 season.
The school announced that the deal extends MacIntyre's agreement for three more years. MacIntyre, who just led the Buffaloes to a 10-4 record, a Pac-12 South title and their first bowl appearance since 2007, will make $3.1 million in 2017.
Air Force has reached an agreement with football Coach Troy Calhoun to extend his contract through the 2021 season.
Max Scherzer of the Washington Nationals, winner of the National League Cy Young Award, revealed that he pitched at the end of last season with an injured finger on his right hand and now will skip the World Baseball Classic.
The Nationals initially announced on Twitter that their star right-hander has a stress fracture in the knuckle of his right ring finger, without offering any details of the problem. The team said the ongoing rehabilitation will keep Scherzer off the U.S. team at the WBC, which is in March, but he is still “expected to be a full participant” at spring training, which starts next month.
Later in the day, Scherzer posted his own statement on Twitter saying that he “experienced discomfort” in his right ring finger in late August and was told he had a sprained finger.
Former major league pitcher and pitching coach Jackie Brown has died. He was 73.
Brown pitched and coached for the Texas Rangers, who said Brown died Sunday in Holdenville, Okla., after a long illness.
In 214 major league games with the Rangers, Washington Senators, Cleveland Indians and Montreal Expos, the right-hander was 47-53 with a 4.18 ERA.
Baylor has gone from no votes in the preseason to the No. 1 team in the Associated Press college basketball poll for the first time in school history. The Bears, who have won their first 15 games, took over the top spot after Villanova lost and slipped to third.
UCLA remained at No. 4. USC is tied with Kansas State at No. 25.
Nick Landahl, a former Australian Open junior boys’ finalist, has been banned from tennis for seven years by the Tennis Integrity Unit after being found guilty of match-fixing offenses at a minor tournament in 2013.