Oklahoma plucks new coach from Loyola Chicago
Oklahoma has hired Loyola Chicago’s Porter Moser as its men’s basketball coach, according to The Associated Press on Friday.
Moser will replace Lon Kruger, who retired last month after 10 years coaching the Sooners.
Moser led Loyola to two deep runs in the NCAA Tournament — the Ramblers reached the Final Four in 2018 and the Sweet 16 this year. He went 188-141 in 10 years at Loyola and has a 293-242 record in 17 seasons as a college head coach, with stops at Arkansas Little Rock (2000-03) and Illinois State (2003-07).
In 2017-18, the Ramblers went 32-6 that season and charmed the nation in an unexpected run buoyed by one last-second shot after another. Along the way, their 98-year-old nun and team chaplain, Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt, became a celebrity, with bobbleheads and athletic apparel and national TV interviews. The Ramblers beat Miami (Fla.), Tennessee, Nevada and Kansas State to reach the national semifinal, where they lost to Michigan.
Loyola made another run this year, led by the nation’s stingiest defense. The Ramblers went 26-5 in their fourth straight year with 20 or more wins. They earned their first AP Top 25 ranking since March 1985 and won the Missouri Valley Conference tournament for the second time in four years.
Sister Jean, 101 and fully vaccinated, was on hand for the NCAA Tournament this year. She watched in Indianapolis as Loyola beat ACC Tournament champion Georgia Tech and dominated top-seeded Illinois in the second round before falling to Oregon State.
KANSAS GIVES SELF CONTRACT TO KEEP HIM UNTIL RETIREMENT >> Kansas basketball coach Bill Self has agreed to a new contract that will keep him with the Jayhawks until he retires, even as the school awaits a decision from an independent panel investigating five Level I infractions charges alleged by the NCAA.
The school announced Friday that Self agreed to a five-year contract that adds one additional year after the conclusion of each season — in effect, making it a lifetime contract. The deal guarantees him $5.41 million per year with a base salary of $225,000, professional services contract of $2.75 million and an annual $2.435 million retention bonus.
Self was closing in on the end of a 10-year contract signed in September 2012.
Golf
TRINGALE TAKES TWO-SHOT LEAD AT TEXAS OPEN >> Cameron Tringale made a move for his first PGA Tour victory with a 3-under-par 69 and a two-shot lead after two rounds of the Valero Texas Open in San Antonio.
Tringale, a 12-year veteran, was at 9-under 135 after a round that included five-straight birdies and leads Jordan Spieth and Matt Wallace.
Spieth continued his comeback from a three-year winless slump and was at 7-under after a 70. Wallace shot 68. Kyle Stanley also shot 68 and was at 5-under with Brandt Snedeker (67), Kevin Stadler (70) and Erik van Rooyen (68).
First-round leader Camilo Villegas shot a 76 to fall five shots back in a group that includes Matt Kuchar, who shot his second 70.
WIE WEST TUMBLES OUT OF ANA >> Michelle Wie West tumbled out of the ANA Inspiration on a hot, breezy afternoon in Rancho Mirage. Patty Tavatanakit held onto the lead.
Playing for the second straight week after a 21-month break, Wie West followed an opening 2-under 70 with a 79 to miss the cut in the first major championship of the year.
The long-hitting Tavatanakit took the lead with an opening 66 and shot a 69 in 97-degree afternoon heat to reach 9 under, a stroke ahead of Shanshan Feng.
NBA
THOMAS TO SIGN WITH PELICANS >> Free agent point guard Isaiah Thomas is expected to sign a 10-day contract with the New Orleans Pelicans today, multiple outlets reported.
The two-time All-Star last played on Feb. 3, 2020, with the Washington Wizards. He was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers on Feb. 6, 2020, and released three days later.
Thomas, 32, averaged 12.2 points and 3.7 assists in 40 games (37 starts) with the Wizards in 2019-20. DURANT FINED $50,000 FOR OFFENSIVE LANGUAGE ON SOCIAL MEDIA >> Kevin Durant was fined $50,000 for his offensive and derogatory language in social media messages to actor Michael Rapaport.
Rapaport released images of the private messages Tuesday on his Twitter account, and they included homophobic and misogynistic language from the Brooklyn Nets star.
Durant apologized Thursday, saying: “I’m sorry that people seen the
language that I used. That’s not really what I want people to see and hear from me, but hopefully I can move past it and get back out on the floor.”
NFL
RAIDERS’ LAWSON SUSPENDED FOR FIRST TWO WEEKS OF SEASON >> Nevin Lawson, a cornerback who will compete to replace the departed Lemarcus Joyner as the Raiders’ slot cornerback, was suspended two games Friday for being in violation of the NFL policy on performance enhancing drugs.
It’s the second straight season Lawson will miss Weeks 1 and 2 of the regular season. He served a two-game suspension in 2020 for swinging his helmet in a postgame altercation with the Denver Broncos in the 2019 regular season finale.
In two seasons after joining the Raiders as a free agent from the Detroit Loins, Lawson has played in 25 games with 14 starts.
NHL
SHARKS SIGN ONE, WILL WAIT ON OTHER NCAA PROSPECTS >> One of the San Jose Sharks’ NCAA prospects officially turned professional Friday, but at least one other college player has informed the team that he is returning to school.
The Sharks signed Minnesota forward Scott Reedy to a two-year entrylevel contract but will have to wait another year to bring in center Jasper Weatherby, who is staying for his senior season at North Dakota.
Joe Will, the Sharks’ assistant general manager, said it also appears that center Thomas Bordeleau will return to Michigan for his sophomore year.
Reedy, the Sharks’ 2017 fourthround draft choice, just completed his senior season at Minnesota. He arrived in San Jose on Thursday and after a three-day quarantine, will join the Barracuda. Starting Sunday, he will be with the team for the rest of the season on an amateur tryout, with his contract kicking in next season.