Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Off the wire
Source: Sumlin to Arizona
A person familiar with the decision said Arizona will hire former Texas A&M coach Kevin Sumlin. The person spoke to The Associated Press on Sunday on condition of anonymity because details of a five-year contract to replace Rich Rodriguez as coach of the Wildcats were still being finalized. Rodriguez was fired Jan. 2 amid sexual harassment allegations. Sumlin was fired after six seasons at Texas A&M in November and had reportedly been in the mix for numerous jobs, including Arizona rival Arizona State. The Sun Devils hired former NFL coach and ESPN analyst Herm Edwards. The Aggies went 51-26 and went to a bowl game every season under Sumlin, but were 2523 in SEC play and never matched his first season in College Station, when they were 11-2 with Heisman Trophy quarterback Johnny Manziel. Texas A&M hired former Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher to replace Sumlin. Sumlin also spent four years at Houston, going 35-17, including 12-1 his final season in 2011.
Bills hire Tide’s Daboll The Buffalo Bills have hired Brian Daboll as their offensive coordinator. Coach Sean McDermott announced Daboll’s hiring Sunday, two days after firing Rick Dennison. Daboll, 42, was most recently the offensive coordinator for national champion Alabama. It was the sixth time he was part of a national title-winning team’s coaching staff. Before joining the Crimson Tide last season, Daboll was the tight ends coach for Super Bowl-champion New England. He has 17 seasons of NFL coaching experience, including stints as the offensive coordinator for Cleveland, (2009-10), Miami (2011) and Kansas City (2012). Daboll has previous ties to McDermott, serving as an assistant at William & Mary when McDermott was a senior safety in 1997. Daboll also has western New York roots, having graduated from St. Francis High School in Athol Springs, a few miles from the Bills’ facility.
GOLF
Parel wins playoff
Scott Parel beat fellow PGA Tour Champions player Scott Dunlap on the first hole of a playoff Sunday to complete a wire-to-wire victory in the Champions Tour Diamond Resorts Invitational at Orlando, Fla. Parel, 52, won the 32-player professional division with a par on the extra hole, the 203-yard 18th at Tranquilo Golf Club. Dunlap hit a fat shot short into water and made a double bogey. Parel and Dunlap finished with 93 points in the 54hole modified Stableford event. Parel earned 32 points in the final round. Dunlap had 34 points in the scoring system that awards six points for eagle, three for birdie, one for par, zero for bogey and minus-two for double bogey or worse. John Daly (Dardanelle, Arkansas Razorbacks) was third with 88 points after a 34-point day. Glen Day (Little Rock) had one birdie, four bogeys and one double bogey for a 13-point round and a total of 56 points, placing him in 27th.
McCarthy in lead by a shot Dan McCarthy shot a 6-under 66 on Sunday to take a one-stroke lead in the Great Exuma Classic at Sandals Emerald Bay, Bahamas, before the round was suspended because of darkness. McCarthy had a two-round total of 8-under 136. Rhein Gibson (68) and Mark Anderson (71) were tied for second at 7-under 137. Taylor Moore (Arkansas Razorbacks) shot a 3-over 75 (144). Patrick Sullivan (Little Rock) shot a 1-over 73 (148). Tag Ridings (Razorbacks) shot a 1-over 73 (144). Sebastian Cappelen (Razorbacks) was 1 under after 3 holes.
Paisley wins SA Open Chris Paisley beat the challenge of home favorite Branden Grace to win the South African Open by three shots on Sunday and claim a first European Tour title. Ahead by one overnight, Paisley increased the gap at the top with a final-round 6-under-par 66 at Glendower Golf Club in Johannesburg to finish 21 under overall. The Englishman made six birdies and didn’t drop a shot in the final round on the way to his breakthrough victory on the tour. Grace finished in second on his own with another South African, JC Ritchie, third on 16 under. Chase Koepka, the younger brother of U.S. Open champion Brooks Koepka, finished with a 71 for 13 under overall and in a tie for seventh.
Europe keeps Cup Europe retained the EurAsia Cup after putting on a sensational showing on the final day to tame Asia 14 to 10, courtesy of eight victories in the 12 singles matches on Sunday. Asia had led by a slim margin coming into the individual play, but they were soundly beaten by the Europeans, who are using the match play tournament as a dress rehearsal for the Ryder Cup later this year. Asia captain Arjun Atwal commended the Europeans on their superior putting skills, which he said made the difference. “We didn’t make enough putts, my players were hitting the edges. It seemed like Europe, every time I watched them, either they were chipping in or making a lot of birdies and it’s hard to beat them like that,” Atwal said. Pioneer Dan Gurney dies Dan Gurney, the first driver to win in Formula One, IndyCar and NASCAR, died Sunday from complications of pneumonia. He was 86. His wife, Evi, announced his death in a statement distributed by All American Racers Inc. Gurney began racing in 1955 and won in nearly every racing series he attempted. He drove for Ferrari, BRM, Porsche and Brabham in Formula One, then formed his own team. He won the Belgian Grand Prix in 1967 in his own car, the first and only time an American won an F1 race in a car of his own design. Gurney teamed with A.J. Foyt that year to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans in a Ford GT40, and he’s often credited with starting the tradition of spraying champagne from the podium at that race. Gurney retired from driving in 1970 with 51 victories. Peterhansel takes stage eight
Dakar Rally defending champion Stephane Peterhansel recovered from his crash the day before to win the eighth stage of the race on Sunday. The Frenchman won after 309 miles between Uyuni to Tupiza in Bolivia with the Peugeot driver holding a 49-second advantage over his teammate Cyril Despres. Spaniard Carlos Sainz was fifth but still leads the overall classification with a 1 hour, 6 minute advantage over second-place Nasser Al-Attiyah. Peterhansel is another seven minutes back in third. In the motorbike race, Frenchman Antoine Meo of KTM won with a 1 minute, 8 second lead over American Ricky Brabec of Honda. Frenchman Adrien van Beveren of Yamaha reclaimed the overall lead despite finishing seventh in the stage. Van Beveren has a 22-second lead over Argentinian Kevin Benavides of Honda. Bad weather predictions made organizers cancel today’s ninth stage of the race between Tupiza and the city of Salta in Argentina. The rally is expected to resume Tuesday with the 10th stage between Salta and Belen in Argentina.
Bell wins Chili Bowl again Christopher Bell won the Chili Bowl for the second consecutive year, taking command after Kyle Larson’s engine appeared to fail as the two raced for the lead. Larson and Bell had the most dominant cars in the 55-lap feature at the Tulsa Expo Center and seemed only to be racing each other Saturday night. As Bell tried to pass Larson with 12 laps remaining, Larson’s car started spewing gray smoke and he pulled off the racing surface. Bell only had to hold off Rico Abreu to make it two consecutive Golden Driller trophies. Spencer Bayston finished third. Results, 3C.