Utah hires Andersen
Utah hired former Wisconsin coach Gary Andersen as an associate head coach and defensive assistant.
Andersen was the defensive coordinator under coach Kyle Whittingham from 2005-’08 before leaving to take lead jobs at Utah State, Wisconsin and Oregon State. He surprisingly stepped down in early October after a 1-5 start during his third season with Oregon State.
Oregon State went 7-23 under Andersen overall. This will be the third stint at Utah for the Salt Lake City native who played center for the Utes from 1985-’86. Anderson was the defensive line coach from 1997-2002 before taking the head coaching position at Southern Utah in 2003. He returned as defensive line coach under Urban Meyer in 2004 before being promoted to defensive coordinator in 2005. He was the head coach of the Badgers from 2013-’14.
TENNIS
Roger Federer continued preparation for his Australian Open title defense with a 6-3, 7-6 (8) win over Karen Khachanov at the Hopman Cup in Perth, Australia, helping give Switzerland a 2-0 win over Russia.
Federer’s playing partner Belinda Bencic beat Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3, in a later women’s singles match Tuesday to give Switzerland its second consecutive win in Group B.
Earlier, the United States beat Japan, 2-1, after an illness withdrawal by one of the Japanese players. But the win may come at a cost after Jack Sock injured his hip. Sock slipped on the court during the first set of his match against Yuichi Sugita, grabbing his hip. He was forced to retire at 1-1 in the second set after losing the first set, 7-6 (1).
Murray is ailing: Andy Murray’s long-term hip injury has forced him out of the Brisbane International, cast serious doubts over his participation in the Australian Open and has him contemplating surgery.
Former No. 1-ranked Murray pulled out of the Brisbane event after failing to practice Tuesday, two days ahead of his scheduled return to competitive tennis for the first time since July.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Northwestern quarterback Clayton Thorson has a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee, throwing his future up in the air.
There is no timetable for his return. Northwestern’s winningest quarterback, Thorson announced last month he would return for his senior season. He was then injured catching a pass on a trick play during a win over Kentucky in the Music City Bowl on Friday.
Arizona fires Rodriguez: Arizona fired coach Rich Rodriguez after a notice of claim was filed with the state attorney general’s office alleging he ran a hostile workplace.
Arizona was one of college football’s more surprising teams this season after opening 6-2. The Wildcats fell flat after that, losing four of their final five games, including a 38-35 setback against Purdue in the Holiday Bowl.
Rodriguez was 43-39 in six seasons at Arizona, including 3-9 last season.