REFEREE MAY TURN HIS BACK ON CAREER AFTER AN INCIDENT
NCAA basketball referee Ted Valentine is considering retirement amid the reaction to him turning his back on North Carolina’s Joel Berry II during a game played Wednesday night.
“I’m thinking about retiring,” Valentine said. “I’ve had enough of people blowing up stuff. I think I’ve had a stellar career, and I think it’s time to get ready to walk away.”
Valentine said he was removed from two Big Ten games since the incident, which occurred Wednesday night when North Carolina lost 81-80 at Florida State, and decided not to officiate Georgia Tech’s eventual 74-60 win over Yale on Saturday because of intense reaction.
Despite contemplating retirement, Valentine said he will work ACC games this week to which he was already assigned.
Valentine turned his back to Berry when Berry tried to a discuss a noncall. Berry felt he had been fouled by Florida State’s Terance Mann, but the veteran referee would not engage with the Tar Heels guard.
Valentine said he turned his back to de-escalate the situation, a technique he said he learned in conflict resolution classes.
The NCAA and North Carolina referred any comment to the ACC, and ACC men’s basketball communications director Brian Morrison said the issue is being addressed internally.
Valentine, known to some as “TV Teddy” for his perceived penchant for “taking over” games, has been a Division I official since 1981.
Brown apparently “injury-free.”
PITTSBURGH» Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown is getting ready for the playoffs with help from former NFL wide receiver Chad Johnson, who called Brown “injury-free” in a social media video over the weekend.
Brown earned unanimous firstteam all-pro honors for this season but missed the final two regularseason games with a calf contusion.
Brown appeared in an Instagram video with Johnson in South Florida, where they were training during the Steelers’ first-round playoff bye.
• Derrick Henry is expected to be the Tennessee Titans’ starting running back in Saturday’s divisionalround game against New England, coach Mike Mularkey confirmed.
Mularkey wouldn’t rule veteran running back DeMarco Murray out of the game. Murray hasn’t played or practiced since he suffered what Mularkey called a “pretty good” knee injury at the end of the Titans’ Dec. 24 loss to the Los Angeles Rams.
• The Atlanta Falcons opened as 2½-point favorites over the Eagles for Saturday’s divisional-round game at Philadelphia, according to the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook.
Since 1975, when the NFL began basing home-field advantage on teams’ regular-season winning percentage, no No. 1 seed had ever opened as an underdog in its first playoff game.
• The Patriots rejected Houston’s request to interview their director of player personnel, Nick Caserio, and director of college scouting Monti Ossenfort for the Texans’ general manager job, and the Eagles told the Texans the same about their vice president of player personnel, Joe Douglas.
• The Green Bay Packers promoted director of player personnel Brian Gutekunst to function as Ted Thompson’s successor as general manager.
Medal favorite secures his spot.
Joey Mantia’s fifth-place finish in the mass start at the U.S. speedskating trials secured his spot in the event at the PyeongChang Olympics, where the reigning world champion will be a medal favorite.
Brian Hansen won the mass start with a time of 7 minutes, 48.24 seconds on the final day of the trials.
They finished 1-2 in the overall rankings to qualify for the Winter Games. The United States has two entries in the mass start, which is debuting this year as a medal event.