Former Oregon coach Mark Helfrich set to join Chicago Bears’ staff.

FOOTBALL Ducks to hire Helfrich

The Chicago Bears are expected to hire former Oregon Ducks coach

Mark Helfrich as offensive coordinator. Helfrich has not worked in the NFL previously but he has spent time as an assistant under UCLA Coach Chip Kelly and Buccaneers Coach Dirk Koetter. He becomes the second coordinator to be hired after the Bears hired Chris Tabor as special teams coordinator on Wednesday. Helfrich was fired after a 4-8 season this past year at Oregon, but he posted a 37-16 record as a head coach of the Ducks after taking over for Kelly in 2013. Helfrich served as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Oregon in 2009-2012. Helfrich got his first major break in coaching joining Koetter’s staff at Boise State in 1998 and then following Koetter to Arizona State. He has 15 years experience as a quarterbacks coach at the Division I level. New Bears Coach Matt

Nagy said he will call the plays and the offense will be his design, but Helfrich will obviously have plenty of influence. Nagy’s offensive staff is coming together quickly. Line coach

Harry Hiestand and running backs coach Charles London were hired Wednesday. There is a good chance the Bears will retain quarterbacks coach Dave Ragone, and tight ends coach Frank Smith is a possibility to remain. The status of offensive line coach Ben Wilkerson is unknown.

Tide losing more to draft

National champion Alabama is losing four more underclassmen to the NFL draft, including All-America safety Minkah Fitzpatrick. Fitzpatrick, safety Ronnie Harrison and tailback Bo Scarbrough announced Thursday they’re skipping their senior seasons. Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban said defensive tackle Da’Ron Payne is also entering the draft. Wide receiver Calvin

Ridley already had announced his departure. Fitzpatrick is a unanimous All-American who won the Bednarik Award and Thorpe Award as the nation’s top defensive player and defensive back, respectively. Harrison led the team in tackles and had three interceptions. Payne was a key run-stopper in the middle and also had an interception and touchdown catch in the semifinal victory over Clemson. Scarbrough ran for 596 yards and eight touchdowns. Leading rusher Damien Harris is also eligible for the draft.

GOLF

Kirk leads Sony Open Chris Kirk finished a strong opening round at the Sony Open in Honolulu with a birdie for a 7-under 63, but Jordan Spieth wasn’t quite so fortunate. Spieth hit four trees with four shots on the par-4 eighth, starting with a tee shot that caromed off the trunk into a ditch. He made a quadruple-bogey 8 on his 17th hole of the round and even a birdie at his final hole was only good for a 69. Kirk played bogey-free along the shores just down from Waikiki Beach. Defending champion Justin Thomas, who opened the Sony Open last year with a 59 and went on to a record performance at Waialae Country Club, had a 3-under 67. Austin Cook (Arkansas Razorbacks) also had a 67. Andrew Landry (Arkansas Razorbacks) had a 2-under 68. Ethan Tracy (Arkansas Razorbacks) was even par at 70. Matt Atkins (Henderson State) had a 2-over 72. Pair lead SA Open Branden Grace and Chase Koepka shot 7-under 65s to share the first-round lead at the SA Open at Gauteng, South Africa, on Thursday. Koepka, the younger brother of U.S. Open champion Brooks Koepka, was among the morning starters and set the clubhouse target by hitting an eagle and seven birdies in his third tournament of his debut season on the European Tour. Grace had three eagles — at Nos. 2, 8 and 15 — as he bids for a ninth European Tour title and to complete the set of victories at his native South Africa’s three most prestigious events. He has already won the Alfred Dunhill Championship in 2014 and the Nedbank Golf Challenge last year, as well as the Joburg Open in 2012. England’s Chris Paisley was alone in third place after shooting 66. Pep Angles (Central Arkansas) shot a 1-under 71.

TENNIS

Kerber advances Former world No.1 Angelique Kerber has continued her strong play to start the season, advancing to the Sydney International semifinals on Thursday with a 6-3, 6-1 victory over Dominika Cibulkova. Kerber, who began last year at top of the rankings before finishing at No.22, won her seventh consecutive match of 2018 after winning four singles matches at the Hopman Cup last week. She will meet the winner of another quarterfinal between defending champion Agnieszka Radwanska and qualifier Camila Giorgi. Australian Ashleigh Barty also advanced to the semifinals with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Barbora Strycova. In men’s quarterfinals, fourth-seeded Fabio Fognini beat No. 5 Adrian Mannarino 6-7 (4), 7-6 (4), 6-2 and Daniil Medvedev defeated Paolo Lorenzi 6-3, 6-3.

Federer, Djokovic in same half Defending champion Roger Federer has been drawn in the same half of the Australian Open as six-time winner Novak Djokovic, who is returning from an elbow injury and is seeded 14th. Federer beat Rafael Nadal in the final here last year on his return from six months on the sidelines and is seeded No. 2 as he bids for a 20th Grand Slam singles title. Top-ranked Nadal will open against Victor Estrella Burgos, has a potential fourth-round match against John Isner, and has No. 3-ranked Grigor Dimitrov in the same half of the draw, which was held Thursday at Margaret Court Arena in Melbourne. Serena Williams has opted not to defend her title four months after giving birth to her first child, leaving the women’s draw open. Venus Williams, who lost the all-Williams final last year, has a tough opener against Belinda Bencic and is also in the same quarter as U.S. Open winner Sloane Stephens. Top-ranked Simona Halep is in the same half as Wimbledon champion Garbine Muguruza, who has a difficult quarter containing former Australian Open champions Maria Sharapova and Angelique Kerber.

BASKETBALL

Women’s HOF finalists named

Chamique Holdsclaw, Tina Thompson and Katie Smith headline the 10 finalists for the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame announced Thursday. The three former WNBA stars were eligible for the first time this year. Joining them as finalists are longtime assistant coaches Chris Dailey of Connecticut and Mickie DeMoss of Tennessee. They are the first two assistants to be up for the Hall of Fame. The other finalists include former Colorado coach Ceal Barry, Russian player Yelena Baranova, Kentucky’s all-time leading scorer Valerie Still and Auburn’s Vickie Orr. Longtime New Jersey Coach Rose Marie Battaglia is the 10th finalist. The Hall of Fame will announce the 2018 class on Feb. 12. They will be enshrined on June 9 at the Hall of Fame in Knoxville, Tenn.

HOCKEY

Dundon takes over Hurricanes

Dallas billionaire Tom Dundon has taken over as the majority owner of the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes. Team officials said the sale closed Thursday, about two months after Dundon signed a purchase agreement to buy a majority stake in the franchise from longtime owner Peter Karmanos Jr. The NHL said its Board of Governors has given its approval. Karmanos will retain a minority ownership interest in the club he moved from Hartford, Conn., to North Carolina in 1997. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman is scheduled to appear at a news conference today in Raleigh to introduce Dundon.