UCF hires Malzahn to lead Knights
Gus Malzahn had planned take a season off from coaching and maybe do some TV work. Then the UCF job opened up.
“I truly believe that this is a program of the future in college football,” Malzahn said.
Central Florida hired Malzahn as its coach Monday, a little more than two months after he was fired by Auburn. Malzahn received a five-year deal with an annual salary of $2.3 million.
The 55-year-old was 68-35 in eight years with the Tigers, never having a losing season and going 39-27 in the Southeastern Conference. He led Auburn to the BCS title game in his first season as head coach in 2013, and was offensive coordinator at Auburn in 2010 when Cam Newton powered the Tigers to the national championship.
UCF lost its athletic director (Danny White) and football coach (Josh Heupel) to Tennessee last month.
Osaka advances to Australian Open semis.
MELBOURNE , AUSTRAL I A » Naomi Osaka earned her 19th victory in a row by overpowering Hsieh Su-wei 6-2, 6-2, in the Australian Open and will next meet the winner of the quarterfinal match between Serena Williams and No. 2-seeded Simona Halep.
NBA says strict protocols will be in place for All-Stars. Players taking part in NBA All-Star weekend in Atlanta will largely have to remain in their hotels when not at the arena, the league told teams Monday, and all players and coaches — whether part of All-Star events or not — will have to continue getting tested daily for COVID-19. The NBA and the National Basketball Players Association agreed on those rules, the league said in the memo laying out protocols that will apply during the break.
Lakers’ Davis to rest injured Achilles; no rupture.
LOS ANGELES» Forward Anthony Davis’ injured Achilles tendon is not ruptured, and he will be reevaluated when the Los Angeles Lakers return from their road trip. The All-NBA first-teamer left the Lakers’ game at Denver in the second quarter Sunday night.
Barnes, Dodgers agree to 2-year deal, avoid hearing.
LOS ANGELES» Catcher Austin Barnes and the World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers avoided a salary arbitration hearing when they agreed to a $4.3 million, two-year contract. The 31-yearold hit .244 with one homer and nine RBIs in 86 bats over 29 games during the pandemic-shortened season.
Marlins will allow fans, with capacity at about 25 percent.
M I AM I» The attendance-challenged Miami Marlins plan to allow fans at home games, although crowds will initially be limited to about 25% of capacity. That would mean a maximum of about 9,300 spectators in the 37,446seat ballpark.
Source: LHP Wilson agrees to deal with Yankees.
NEW YOR K » Left-hander Justin Wilson returned to the New York Yankees after two seasons with the Mets in Queens, agreeing Monday to a one-year contract that includes player and club options for 2022, a person familiar with the agreement told The Associated Press.
Maple Leafs acquire F Galchenyuk in trade. TORONTO» The Toronto Maple Leafs acquired winger Alex Galchenyuk in a trade with the Carolina Hurricanes on Monday for forward Egor Korshkov and defenseman David Warsofsky. Galchenyuk, 27, appeared in eight games with Ottawa this season. He scored one goal before he was shipped to Carolina along with center Cedric Paquette for winger Ryan Dzingel on Saturday.
Duke’s Johnson is forgoes season, declares for NBA draft. Highly touted Duke freshman Jalen Johnson is forgoing the rest of the Blue Devils’ season and declaring for the NBA draft. The 6-foot-9, 220-pound forward averaged 11.2 points and 6.1 rebounds, though he missed three games and significant practice time with a December foot injury.
WASHINGTON» Bradley Beal scored 37 points in an entertaining duel with ex-teammate John Wall, and Washington beat undermanned Houston in Wall’s return to D.C.
Wall, traded in December for Russell Westbrook and a firstround pick, had season highs of 29 points and 11 assists for the Rockets, who were missing leading scorer Eric Gordon along with Victor Oladipo, Christian Wood and P.J. Tucker. Houston dropped its sixth straight.
Westbrook had 16 points, 15 assists and 13 rebounds for his sixth triple-double of the season — his first in a Wizards win — and 152nd of his career. But it was a largely inefficient performance from the former MVP, who shot 8 of 22 overall, 0 of 3 from 3-point range and airballed a 20-foot jumper. Westbrook played on back-to-back days for the first time this season.
BULLS 120, PACERS 112, OT
INDIANAPOLIS» Zach LaVine scored 12 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter to help Chicago force overtime, where it pulled away from Indiana to win.
Chicago had lost 10 straight against Indiana and eight straight on the road in the series.