Quick Hitters

Prep softball: Kofa blows out Gila Ridge

The Kofa softball team beat Gila Ridge, 13-2, on Monday in the teams’ final meeting of the season.

Sam Morales earned the victory, allowing two runs on eight hits with six strikeouts over seven innings. Morales (3-for-3, 4 RBI), Alyssa Sergent (3-for-3) and Chloe Garcia (3-for-4, double, RBI) led the way offensively for the Kings (3-5 AIA), who lost the teams’ first two meetings.

NHL says no to 2018 Olympics in South Korea

The NHL announced Monday that it will not participate in the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea, refusing for the first time in 20 years to halt its season for three weeks so its stars can chase gold for their home countries.

From Alex Ovechkin and Jonathan Toews to Connor McDavid and Henrik Lundqvist, the world’s best players called playing in the Olympics important. The league decided otherwise.

Commissioner Gary Bettman and Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly informed the NHL Players’ Association that the matter was “officially closed” after weeks of speculation.

The NHLPA said in a statement that players are “extraordinarily disappointed and adamantly disagree with the NHL’s shortsighted decision.”

The NHL had allowed its players to participate in the past five Olympics dating to 1998, giving the Winter Games pro-level star power akin to the NBA players who participate in the Summer Olympics.

The league said no meaningful dialogue had emerged in talks with the NHLPA, International Olympic Committee and International Ice Hockey Federation.

Georgetown hires Patrick Ewing as men’s hoops coach

WASHINGTON — Patrick Ewing put Georgetown basketball on the map, turning the Hoyas into a national power as the menacing force in the middle in the 1980s.

Three decades later, Ewing is the Big Man on Campus again.

Georgetown hired Ewing on Monday, bringing the Hoyas legend back to take over a program that had fallen on hard times over the past two seasons and helping the former All-American center finally realize his long-held dream of becoming a head coach.

“My four years at Georgetown were the best of my life,” Ewing said in a statement issued by the school.

“Georgetown is my home and it is a great honor for me to return to my alma mater and serve as the next head coach.”