GRAHAM RESIGNS AS HAWAII FOOTBALL COACH
Todd Graham resigned as the University of Hawaii’s football coach Friday, stepping down amid controversy after completing the secondyear of a five-year contract.
Graham resigned a week after former players and some parents testified before a state legislative hearing, criticizing the coach’s management style and relationships with players. More than a dozen players have entered the transfer portal, including Graham’s own son.
“After much prayer and reflection with my family, I have come to the conclusion that I will step away as head coach of the Rainbow Warriors, with a very heavy heart,” Graham said in a statement released by the university. “I want to give my thanks and appreciation to the players, staff and coaches who persevered through all the challenges of 2020 and 2021. It wasn’t easy, but they all fought the good fight and we did things the right way.”
The 57-year-old Graham led Hawaii to a 6-7 overall record this season and 4-7 mark in the Mountain West after going 5-4 overall and 4-4 in the conference in his first season. He previously was a head coach at Tulsa, Pittsburgh and Arizona State.
More college football
Atlantic Coast Conference Commissioner Jim Phillips took the strongest public stance yet against expanding the College Football Playoff by the 2024 season, saying a new postseason format should not be a priority with so much uncertainty throughout college sports.
“To the ACC, we don’t have a College Football Playoff problem,” Phillips said during a conference call with reporters. “We have a college football and collegiate athletics-slash-NCAA problem.”
The NCAA is expected to ratify a new constitution at its convention next week, paving the way for decentralized governance of college sports and a transformation of Division I.
Phillips cited changes to D-I along with the continuing need for federal legislation regarding name, image and likeness compensation for athletes, the lingering ramifications of last year’s Supreme Court ruling that struck down the NCAA’s limits on athletes’ educational benefits, and the possibility of athletes organizing.
“The membership of the ACC is very much aligned in its position that now is not the time to expand the College Football Playoff,” Phillips said.
UCLA agreed to give head coach Chip Kelly a four-year extension on the contract that was set to expire after next season, providing him a chance to continue the upward trajectory that culminated in UCLA’s best season in six years.
Kelly’s $9-million buyout would have expired Sunday, meaning UCLA could have fired him without paying that amount. Conversely, Kelly could have taken another job on that date without his new employer having to pay the buyout to UCLA.
Ohio State coach Ryan Day continued to revamp his coaching staff by hiring of two defensive assistants. Tim Walton, a former Ohio State player who spent the last 13 years coaching in the NFL, most recently with the Jacksonville Jaguars, was added as cornerbacks/secondary coach. Perry Eliano, who coached cornerbacks for the past two seasons under Luke Fickell at Cincinnati, will be the new safeties/secondary coach for the Buckeyes.
The nation’s longesttenured FBS head coach plans to stick around a lot longer as the University of Iowa announced it was extending Kirk Ferentz’s contract through the 2029 season.
Iowa center Tyler Linderbaum announced he’ll skip his senior season and enter the NFL Draft. The consensus All-American was the Big Ten’s offensive lineman of the year and received the Rimington Trophy as the nation’s top center.
College basketball
Zach Edey scored 22 points and Jaden Ivey added 17 as the No. 7 Purdue Boilermakers routed Nebraska 9265 at home. The Boilermakers (14-2, 3-2 Big Ten) have won two straight and six of their last seven. Keisei Tominaga led the Cornhuskers (612, 0-7) with 11 points.
Kofi Cockburn scored 21 points and hauled in 10 rebounds to help No. 25 Illinois (13-3, 6-0 Big Ten) beat visiting Michigan (7-7, 1-3) 68-53. Both teams struggled from distance in a foul-plagued first half, combining to go 1 of 20 from 3-point range.
Tennis
Former star Chris Evert says she was diagnosed with an early stage of ovarian cancer. The 67-year-old Evert revealed the illness in a story posted Friday on ESPN.com; she is an on-air announcer for ESPN.She learned of the cancer last month and began chemotherapy treatments this week.
Soccer
Ghana conceded a late goal to draw with Gabon 1-1 and also had a player redcarded for a punch on an opponent after the final whistle as their African Cup of Nations game ended in a melee. The result left four-time African champion Ghana, which famously hasn’t won the Cup of Nations since 1982, third in Group C behind Morocco and Gabon.
Striker Neal Maupay’s late pass forced an own goal from defender Joachim Andersen as Brighton drew at home to fierce rival Crystal Palace 1-1 in the English Premier League.
Burnley’s shortage of players due to coronavirus cases and injuries has led to its Premier League match against Leicester being postponed.
Real Salt Lake has signed 14-year-old forward
Axel Kei, the youngest player ever to sign with a Major League Soccer senior team. Kei, a lanky 6-foot-4 product of the RSL Academy, inked a two-year deal at 14 years and 15 days, the club announced.
Erling Haaland scored twice to propel Borussia Dortmund to a 5-1 win over Freiburg and close the gap to Bundesliga leader Bayern Munich to three points.
U.S. national team midfielder Kellyn Acosta was acquired by LAFC from Colorado for $1.1 million.
Lionel Messi will miss another game for Paris Saint-Germain after acknowledging that his recovery from COVID-19 has been slower than expected.
Baseball
Former Tigers and Angels manager Brad Ausmus will be the new bench coach of the Oakland Athletics under first-year manager
Mark Kotsay. Ausmus will provide Kotsay an experienced sounding board.
Tommy Everidge will be hitting coach and Chris Cron assistant hitting coach.