Online: Indians owner says name won’t change in 2021.
The Cleveland Indians are changing their name — they just don’t know to what or when.
Expressing that “it’s time,” owner Paul Dolan said that after months of internal discussions and meetings with groups, including Native Americans who have sought to have the team stop using a moniker many deem racist, the American League franchise is dropping the name it has been known by since 1915.
In an exclusive interview with The Associated Press on Monday, Dolan said: “The name is no longer acceptable in our world.”
Dolan said the team will continue to be called Indians until a new name is chosen. That “multi-stage” process is in its early stages and the team will play — and be branded — as the Indians at least through next season.
College football
WASHINGTON PULLS OUT OF PAC-12 TITLE GAME, REPLACED BY DUCKS >> Washington has pulled out of the Pac-12 football championship game due to COVID-19 issues in the Huskies program, and Oregon will now play No. 13 USC for the conference title on Friday instead.
Washington (3-1) announced it is withdrawing from the championship game after determining the Huskies did not have at least 53 scholarship players available and did not meet the minimum number of scholarship athletes at specific positions.
Huskies coach Jimmy Lake said the entire team is isolating as a precaution and another round of testing for the entire team is scheduled for Tuesday. Lake said Washington did not expect to have any offensive linemen — scholarship players or walk- ons — available to play this week because of positive tests and contact tracing.
Women’s college basketball TOURNAMENT TO PLAYED AT ONE SITE, EYES ON TEXAS >>
T he NCA A announced Monday that San Antonio is the likely host site for the 64-team women’s NCA A tournament next March. The move was made to help mitigate the risks of COVID-19 and matches that of the men’s tournament, which the NCAA said last month will also be played in a single area — most likely Indianapolis.
San Antonio was already the site of the 2021 Final Four. The NCAA has now begun talks with the city on hosting the whole thing and the organization hopes to have plans finalized by the end of January at the latest. It is likely that the NCAA could play games as far away as Austin because of the need for hotels as well as practice and game venues for 64 teams.
The first two rounds of the women’s tournament have been played on campus sites the past few seasons with the top four seeds in each region hosting. The regionals were slated to be played this season in Albany, New York, Austin, Texas, Cincinnati and Spokane, Washington. STANFORD STAYS NO. 1 IN AP POLL >> Stanford remained atop The Associated Press women’s basketball poll released Monday and picked up first-place votes, too.
It was the second consecutive week that the Cardinal were the top team in the poll. Stanford received 26 of the 30 firstplace votes from a national media panel. Louisville, UConn, N.C. State and South Carolina followed Stanford as the first five remained unchanged in their position.
Men’s college basketball
GONZAGA, BAYLOR, IOWA REMAIN ATOP AP TOP 25; DUKE TUMBLES >> Gonzaga and Baylor headlined an unchanged top tier of The Associated Press men’s college basketball poll, even as both have been sidelined by recent coronavirus issues.
The top five teams remained in place in Monday’s latest Top 25, with Mark Few’s Bulldogs receiving 54 of 62 first-place votes to remain firmly in place at No. 1. The second-ranked Bears had seven first-place votes to remain 1-2 with Gonzaga in each of the season’s four polls so far.
Yet the Zags haven’t played since beating West Virginia on Dec. 2 due to COVID-19 protocols, with five straight games canceled or postponed.
Illinois and Duke had the two most notable slides. The No. 13 Illini dropped seven spots to fall out of the top 10 after losing to Missouri, while the No. 21 Blue Devils took the week’s longest tumble by falling 11 spots after losing at home to Illinois.