Mississippi St. hires Leach as coach
Mississippi State hired Washington State’s Mike Leach as its new coach Thursday, bringing one of the nation’s quirkiest and most successful coaches from the Pac-12 to the SEC.
Leach will replace Joe Moorhead, fired last week after two seasons.
At Washington State, Leach took over a program that had been mired in the Pac-12 basement and went to five straight bowl games.
Leach produced a similar turnaround at Texas Tech. He was fired by the school after being accused of mistreating a player who had suffered a concussion.
Golf: The opening round of the PGA Tour’s Sony Open in Honolulu was suspended due to darkness. Collin Morikawa shot a 5-under 65 to hold a two-stroke clubhouse lead. ... Pat Hurst was selected captain of the U.S. team for the 2021 Solheim Cup. Hurst, 50, was an assistant to Juli Inkster for the matches against Europe in 2015, ’17 and ’19, and played in the competition five times. The 2021 match will be held at the Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio. ... Famed golf course architect and World Golf Hall of Famer Pete Dye died. He was 94. Dye, who had been suffering from Alzheimer’s, designed TPC Sawgrass in Florida, home to The Players Championship, and many other courses.
Olympics: The IOC published guidelines specifying which types of athlete protests will not be allowed at the 2020 Tokyo Games. Among protests that won’t be allowed are: Taking a knee, hand gestures with political meaning and shows of disrespect at medal ceremonies.
Soccer: Atletico Madrid rallied with two late goals to beat Barcelona 3-2 in the semifinal of the Spanish Super Cup in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Atletico will face Real Madrid in Sunday’s final.
Tennis: World No. 1 Ash Barty of Australia fell to qualifier Jennifer Brady 6-4, 7-6 (4) in the second round of the Brisbane International. ... Russia and host Australia advanced to the semifinals of the ATP Cup.
Correction: An item in Thursday’s briefs incorrectly identified the date for opening day of the 2020 Major League Baseball season. Opening day is March 26.