‘MIRACLE ON ICE’ STAR PAVELICH DIES AT TREATMENT HOME AT AGE 63
Mark Pavelich, the speedy center from the Iron Range who played on the “Miracle on Ice” Olympic hockey team, has died at a treatment center for mental illness. He was 63.
Officials in Anoka County, Minn., confirmed Friday that Pavelich died at the Eagle’s Healing Nest in Sauk Centre, Minn., on Thursday morning. The cause and manner of death are still pending.
“We are saddened to hear about the passing of 1980 Olympic gold medalist Mark Pavelich,” USA Hockey said in a statement. “We extend our deepest condolences to Mark’s family & friends. (He is) forever a part of hockey history.”
Pavelich was undergoing treatment at the home as part of a civil commitment for assaulting his neighbor in Cook County, Minn., in August 2019, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported. Pavelich thought the man had spiked his beer.
Pavelich assisted on Mike Eruzione’s winning goal against the heavily favored Soviet Union in the 1980 Olympics. He sold his gold medal for more than $250,000 in 2014, two years after wife Kara died in an accidental fall.
College football
LSU’s former athletic director recommended in 2013 that Les Miles be fired as Tigers coach because of his behavior with female student workers, according to a law firm’s 148-page review of how the university has handled sexual misconduct complaints.
Then-Athletic Director Joe Alleva’s recommendation to former LSU President F. King Alexander is detailed in a report made public by the Husch Blackwell law firm. The report offers a scathing view of the resources and attention LSU has dedicated to such complaints campus-wide and also has resulted in the suspensions of two senior athletic officials.
Miles, 67, who now coaches at Kansas and was placed on administrative leave by the Jayhawks on Friday night, was investigated after two female student workers in LSU’s program accused the coach of inappropriate behavior.
• Tennessee fired defensive coordinator Kevin Steele, and the longtime coach could be paid up to $860,870 in severance for a job he had for seven weeks.
Horse racing
Trainer Gordon Elliott’s license was suspended for one year, with the last six months suspended, for posing for a photo while sitting on a horse that had just died of a heart attack. Elliott, one of the biggest names in British and Irish racing, caused “serious damage” to the integrity and reputation of the sport, the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board said in its decision.
Local colleges
USD’s Paul Kunst and
Will Worthington drove in three runs apiece and teammate Shane McGuire homered for the second straight game in the Toreros’ 15-10 victory over UC San Diego at Triton Ballpark. USD (5-3) collected 17 hits, including three each from Kunst and
Cody Jefferis. UCSD catcher Paul Gazzo led the Tritons (1-5) with three hits and three RBIs.
• Point Loma Nazarene, ranked No. 9 in Division II, split a season-opening doubleheader against visiting Vanguard, losing the opener 4-2 before posting a 2-1 win in the second game.
PLNU catcher Brett O’Toole hit a two-run, walkoff single in the nightcap to deliver the victory.
Soccer
South America’s governing soccer body plans to hold talks with FIFA President Gianni Infantino about European clubs refusing to release players for international duty.
CONMEBOL said that FIFA was “looking for a solution to the stalemate” as Manchester City’s Pep Guardiola became the latest manager to reveal he won’t let his players travel to international matches this month if they have to quarantine on their return.
• Accidental handballs in the buildup to a teammate scoring will no longer lead to the goal being ruled out after the law was eased.
Tennis
Petra Kvitova and Garbine Muguruza both advanced to the Qatar Open final, one winning in straight sets and the other without even playing a point. Muguruza advanced when Victoria Azarenka pulled out with a back injury. Kvitova beat Jessica Pegula 6-4, 6-4, winning the final four games after trailing 4-2 in the second set.
• Stefanos Tsitsipas recovered from a break down in the deciding set to beat Karen Khachanov and reach the semifinals of the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament at Rotterdam, Netherlands. Tsitsipas’ win set up a semifinal against fourth-seeded Andrey Rublev. In the other half of the draw, the semifinal pits Borna Coric against qualifier Marton Fucsovics.
• Seventh-seeded Paola Badosa of Spain beat fourth-seeded Kristina Mladenovic of France 7-5, 6-7 (5), 6-2 in an error-strewn match to reach the Lyon Open semifinals in France.