Oregon tabs coach
Oregon assistant Mario Cristobal was promoted to head football coach Friday, a year to the day after Willie Taggart was introduced.
Taggart bolted Tuesday for the top job at Florida State and Cristobal, the co-offensive coordinator and offensive line coach, was named interim coach for the Las Vegas Bowl. But after a groundswell of support from the players, that interim label was removed Friday.
Cristobal, 47, tipped his hat to the players for their support during his news conference.
“Thank you for your trust, man,” he said. “You’re awesome.”
Cristobal has six seasons of head coaching experience at Florida International, where he went 27-47 with two bowl appearances from 2007-12. He also spent four seasons as offensive line coach at Alabama and served as an assistant at Miami, his alma mater.
Oregon went 7-5 this season, including 1-4 in games without starting quarterback Justin Herbert, who missed time with a broken collarbone. The Ducks face Boise State in the Las Vegas Bowl.
New Nebraska coach Scott Frost is bringing his entire on-field cadre of assistants with him from Central Florida, the school announced . ... Receiver James Robinson’s playing days are over at Florida because of a heart condition. The Gators announced that the freshman, one of the state’s top recruits last February, will not be medically cleared to return . ... Duke kicker/punter Austin Parker has been kicked off the team after he was suspended from school for a violation of the university’s academic policy . ... Ryan Walters has been promoted to Missouri’s defensive coordinator.
U.S. Olympic Committee CEO Scott Blackmun says the plan is to take a team to the Olympic Games in South Korea “unless it’s legally or physically impossible,” a day after members of President Trump’s administration cast doubt over whether the U.S. would do so.
The Arizona Cardinals will again be without running back Adrian Peterson (neck) Sunday against Tennessee. Titans linebacker Derrick Morgan (knee), who has a team-high 71⁄2 sacks, also is out . ... Denver Broncos right guard Ronald Leary (back) is out for Sunday against the New York Jets . ... Atlanta Falcons running back Tevin Coleman has been placed in the concussion protocol after getting hurt in Thursday’s win over New Orleans . ... Green Bay Packers tight end Lance Kendricks has been charged with marijuana possession stemming from a traffic stop in early September.
Backup centers Nerlens Noel of the Dallas Mavericks (thumb surgery) and Cody Zeller of the Charlotte Hornets (torn meniscus) are out indefinitely.
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman announced the projected salary cap for 2018-19 will be between $78 million and $82 million, up from the current $75 million.
Rafael Nadal and Garbine Muguruza won the International Tennis Federation’s player of the year awards.
American David Wise took a major step in his bid to capture back-to-back Olympic gold medals, winning a World Cup ski halfpipe competition that counts as an Olympic qualifier . ... American Nathan Chen won the figure skating Grand Prix Final in Japan.
Peru captain Paolo Guerrero will miss the World Cup after being banned by FIFA for one year because of a positive test for cocaine.
The No. 14 USC women’s volleyball team beat No. 8 Minnesota, 2523, 28-26, 25-16 in the NCAA tournament’s Round of 16. UCLA lost to Florida, 25-23, 17-25, 17-25, 17-25.