UCLA loses QB prospect
Eighteen days after Central Florida quarterback Dillon Gabriel posted on social media his intent to play for UCLA, he switched his allegiance to Oklahoma.
This followed the announcement by Oklahoma quarterback Caleb Williams that he was entering the transfer portal while leaving open the possibility of returning to the Sooners.
— Ben Bolch
Wisconsin linebacker
Leo Chenal is entering the NFL draft rather than returning to the Badgers next season . ... Marshall quarterback Grant Wells said he is transferring.
Sky Sports News, the leading outlet of British and European soccer news on U.S. television, has been dropped from U.S. television following the shutdown of the NBC Sports Network.
Ducks forwards Nicolas Deslauriers and Derek Grant, and a club staff member, were placed in the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol. The Ducks canceled Monday’s practice . ... The NHL postponed the Seattle Kraken’s home game scheduled for Thursday against Ottawa because of COVID-19 problems with the Senators.
The Houston Rockets suspended guard Kevin Porter Jr. and forward Christian Wood for conduct detrimental to the team . ... The NBA rescheduled all 11 games that were postponed in December for virus-related reasons and either shifted the times or dates of 10 other games to help accommodate those changes.
Former Evansville basketball coach Walter McCarty is suing the school, saying it owes him more than $75,000 under the terms of the contract he signed four years ago . ... Baylor kept its hold on No. 1 in the AP top 25 men’s basketball poll, earning all 61 first-place votes for the third time in four weeks to outdistance No. 2 Duke. Purdue, Gonzaga and UCLA rounded out the top five . ... South Carolina remained the No. 1 team in the women’s poll, despite losing to Missouri 70-69 in overtime Thursday. Stanford remained in second place, followed by Louisville, Arizona and N.C. State.
The makeup basketball game between UCLA and Arizona State scheduled for Wednesday night at Pauley Pavilion was postponed again, this time because of COVID-19 issues within the Sun Devils’ program.
— Ben Bolch
Mikaela Shiffrin is set to return to the women’s World Cup in Zagreb, Croatia, on Tuesday, eight days after she announced she tested positive for COVID-19 and was forced out of two technical races in Austria last week . ... The U.S. Olympic speedskating trials, scheduled to start Wednesday in Milwaukee, will be held without fans or media because of the surge in COVID-19 cases.
Australian Open champion Naomi Osaka opened her 2022 season with a 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 win over Alize Cornet in a tuneup for the grand slam event in Melbourne. It was Osaka’s first tour-level match since a third-round loss to Leylah Fernandez at the U.S. Open in September.
Jud Logan, a four-time Olympic hammer thrower, died. He was 62 . ... Bob Halloran, a former sportscaster and boxing event organizer, died. He was 87.