Beleaguered coach fired by Real Madrid
Real Madrid finally fired coach Julen Lopetegui on Monday. The announcement followed a meeting by the club’s board of directors, a day after the team lost 5-1 at Barcelona.
Santiago Solari, coach of Real Madrid B, will take charge for the Copa del Rey match against third-division club Melilla on Wednesday.
The firing caps a horrible few months for Lopetegui. The 52-year-old, making his debut with a major club in a top European league, was let go from Spain’s national team before the World Cup for not telling federation officials he took the Madrid job.
More gymnastics turmoil
The former president of USA Gymnastics pleaded not guilty in a Houston courtroom to a charge of tampering with evidence in the sexualassault investigation of now-imprisoned sports doctor Larry Nassar.
Prosecutors accuse Steve Penny of destroying or hiding documents related to Nassar’s activities at the Karolyi Ranch, the ex-national training center near Huntsville, Texas. A number of gymnasts said Nassar abused them at that training center.
Attorney Rusty Hardin said his client, Penny, participated in a decision by lawyers to transfer the documents “for safekeeping” to USA Gymnastics headquarters in Indianapolis but denied Penny received them.
Also, a former Olympic gymnast, Tasha Schwikert, and her sister, Jordan, filed civil lawsuits in Los Angeles that claim USA Gymnastics enabled and failed to prevent sexual abuse by Nassar.
China surged past Russia in Doha, Qatar, to capture the team gold medal at the world championships. College football: Cal linebacker Evan Weaver was named the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week. Weaver returned his first career interception 37 yards for a touchdown and had 11 tackles in a 12-10 win over Washington on Saturday.
The Mountain West named San Jose State cornerback Dakari Monroe its Defensive Player of the Week. The senior from Mitty High intercepted two passes, returning one 50 yards for a touchdown, in a 50-37 win over UNLV.
Illinois defensive coordinator Hardy Nickerson resigned, citing health reasons. The former Cal and NFL linebacker had been at Illinois since 2016.
USC head coach Clay Helton fired offensive line coach Neil Callaway and has taken playcalling from offensive coordinator Tee Martin. Water sports: The Red Bull Heavy Water, considered by many to be the most challenging stand-up paddle surfing contest, has been postponed until 2019. The San Francisco event had a window through Friday, but forecasts call for unfavorable conditions. — Bruce Jenkins Golf: Stanford’s Albane Valenzuela shot a 4under-par 68 to win the individual title, and the Cardinal women took first in the stroke-play competition of the East Lake Cup in Atlanta. Obituary: Jim Wiechers, a longtime PGA Tour pro who earned All-America honors at Santa Clara, died Oct. 15 in Napa. He was 74. Wiechers was born in Oakland and attended Bellarmine Prep. He spent 13 years on the PGA Tour, with four runner-up finishes and 32 top-10s in 224 starts. He later worked as the golf coach at Napa Valley College. — Ron Kroichick