In the news
Indiana fires Crean after 9 seasons: Indiana coach Tom Crean has been fired after nine often lackluster seasons.
Athletic director Fred Glass announced the decision Thursday as the NCAA Tournament was beginning.
Crean won two Big Ten regular-season championships over the last five seasons but went 18-16 this year and missed the NCAA Tournament for the fifth time in nine years — including each of his first three seasons after taking over a gutted team following an NCAA scandal.
The 50-year-old Crean went 166-135 at Indiana overall.
Wade out for rest of season with elbow injury: Chicago Bulls star Dwyane Wade will miss the rest of the season with a fractured right elbow.
The Bulls said an MRI revealed the fracture. Wade was injured in the fourth quarter of the game against the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday night. He collided with Grizzlies forward Zach Randolph and said after the game that he felt his elbow pop.
Wade averaged 18.6 points and 4.5 rebounds in his first season with his hometown Bulls. But the homecoming has been marred by a 32-36 record that has the Bulls out of the playoffs in the Eastern Conference amid discord in the locker room.
The Bulls have lost six of their last seven games. They next play at Washington on Friday.
Report: Fernandez was likely operating boat in deadly crash: Miami Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez was the “probable” operator of a speeding boat that crashed into a Miami Beach jetty on Sept. 25, killing the baseball star and two other men, according to a report issued Thursday by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, which investigated the accident.
The 46-page report included a seating chart that had Fernandez at the helm, based on “physical evidence” collected during the investigation, including the pitcher’s fingerprints and DNA on the steering wheel and throttle and projection of his body as he was thrown from the boat. It also listed drugs and alcohol as factors in the crash.
Fernandez’s 32-foot Sea Vee hit Miami’s Government Cut north jetty at 65.7 mph just after 3 a.m. on Sept. 25, the report said. Fernandez and the boat’s other occupants — Emilio Jesus Macias, 27, and Eduardo Rivero, 25 — were ejected.
Falcons sign Poe to bolster defensive line: The Atlanta Falcons have bolstered their defensive line by agreeing to terms with two-time Pro Bowler Dontari Poe.
The 6-foot-3, 346-pound tackle joins All-Pro Vic Beasley Jr. and Grady Jarrett, who had three sacks in the Super Bowl.
General manager Thomas Dimitroff announced the signing Thursday. He describes the 26-year-old Poe as a “big guy that can push the pocket.”
Poe has played for the Kansas City Chiefs since being a first-round pick. He started 76 games and recorded 13 sacks over five seasons, while claiming Pro Bowl spots in 2013 and 2014.
This past year, Poe had 1.5 sacks, three passes defensed and one forced fumble.
The Falcons have been looking to add depth on the defensive line since releasing Tyson Jackson at the beginning of free agency.
Compensation pool to pay out $128 million to NFL players: NFL players will receive $127.84 million in performance-based bonuses for the 2016 season, led by a payout of $371,783 to Falcons cornerback Brian Poole.
The payments compensate players based on their playing time for their salary levels. Poole was an undrafted free agent who became a regular on the NFC champions’ defense.
Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott, the Offensive Rookie of the Year who helped the Cowboys to the NFC East title, earned a $353,544 payoff. Prescott was a fourth-round draft pick.
Among nonrookies, another Falcon, safety Ricardo Allen, got the biggest bonus from the collectively bargained pool, $342,712.
In addition, the players’ union is channeling $32 million in benefits to veterans. Oakland guard Gabe Jackson earned the top payout from that fund, $91,475.