Florida parts way with football coach

Florida and coach Jim McElwain have agreed to part ways a day after a third consecutive loss and nearly a week after he said his players and their families had received death threats.

Athletic director Scott Stricklin made the announcement Sunday and named defensive coordinator Randy Shannon the team’s interim coach for the final four games.

The parties are negotiating McElwain’s $12.5 million buyout.

Florida (3-4, 3-3 Southeastern Conference), which is still paying former coach Will Muschamp, would like to significantly reduce McElwain’s sum and could use his actions over the last week as leverage.

Regardless of the outcome, McElwain’s tenure will be remembered for failing to fix a floundering offense. Three years ago, McElwain proclaimed he could win with his dog at quarterback. The Gators currently rank 113th in total offense, in triple digits nationally for the third time in McElwain’s three seasons.

NFL

OWNERS CANCEL MEETING » Eagles safety Malcolm Jenkins, one of the founders of The Players Coalition, said the next proposed meeting between the owners and players to discuss social justice initiatives has been canceled.

“The league didn’t accept our invitation,” Jenkins said Sunday.

NFL players proposed to meet Monday in Philadelphia. Jenkins said the league cited scheduling issues.

“At this point, the ball is in their court,” Jenkins said. “We’ll continue to do what we’ve been doing. Guys are working around the league.”

The league and players met last week in New York to discuss player demonstrations during the national anthem and other issues.

NBA

76ERS’ FULTZ OUT » Philadelphia 76ers guard Markelle Fultz is out indefinitely with soreness in his right shoulder.

The Sixers said the No. 1 overall pick in the 2017 draft has scapular muscle imbalance. Fultz will be evaluated again in three weeks.

Fultz visited several specialists and there is no structural damage in the shoulder. He will continue to undergo physiotherapy treatment.

Fultz’s shoulder has bothered him all season and the Sixers said last week he would only miss three games. Now he joins Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid as heralded Sixers draft picks who missed time during their rookie seasons because of injury.

Fultz is shooting 33 percent, 50 percent from the free-throw line and has not attempted a 3-point shot all season, all as a reserve.

Baseball

VERLANDER SAYS BALLS JUICED » Justin Verlander is convinced: Baseballs are slicker. Rich Hill isn’t so sure. With home runs soaring to record levels during the regular season and the World Series, juiced balls are on pitchers’ minds.

“The main complaint is that the balls seem a little bit different in the postseason, and even from the postseason to the World Series balls,” Verlander said Sunday, two days ahead of his start for the Houston Astros in Game 6. “They’re a little slick. You just deal with it. But I don’t think it’s the case of one pitcher saying, ‘Hey, something is different here.’ I think as a whole, everybody is saying, ‘Whoa, something is a little off here.”’

Fifteen home runs were hit as the Astros and Los Angeles Dodgers split the first four games. That includes a record eight in Game 2 — five of them in extra innings.

The record for a sixgame series is 17 in 1953, 1977 and 2009. The overall mark of 21 was set by Anaheim and San Francisco over seven games in 2002 — the season before survey drug testing.

Speculation that something is amiss has been fueled by a study claiming to have found differences in the size and seam height of balls since the 2015 All-Star break.

“I know there was talk about different sizes and some of the baseballs were slightly bigger and some were smaller. Some of the seams were higher, some of the seams were lower. But, no, it’s been consistent,” said Hill, who will start Game 6.