Fister will sign deal with Texas
One of the first free agents off the market happens to be the guy who, for a while, saved the Red Sox rotation.
According to NBC Sports Boston, veteran starting pitcher Doug Fister is set to sign a major league deal with the Rangers, cashing in on a bounce-back second half that saw Fister re-emerge as a source of rotation stability.
The 33-year-old right-hander finished with a 4.88 ERA in 18 games, including 15 starts. SB Nation reported that Fister’s contract is a one-year deal worth $4 million plus incentives and a team option for 2019.
College football: Clemson now tops
Clemson is the new No.1 team in The Associated Press college football poll, taking a close vote with Oklahoma after the top two teams in the rankings lost in the same weekend for the first time since 2012.
The Tigers jumped from fourth to No.1 after blowing out South Carolina. They received 27 first-place votes and No. 2 Oklahoma had 24. No. 3 Wisconsin received 10 first-place votes.
Auburn rose to No.4 after beating Alabama, which had been No. 1 since the preseason. The Crimson Tide slipped to fifth. Georgia moved up a spot to No.6 and Miami fell five spots to No.7 after its first loss, on Friday at Pittsburgh . . . .
After facing vehement backlash from prominent politicians and the student body, Tennessee is no longer pursuing Ohio State defensive coordinator Greg Schiano to be the school’s new head coach.
The school and Schiano were close to an agreement earlier yesterday, but the deal fell apart after widespread backlash that included a protest on campus and complaints on social media from fans, state representatives and gubernatorial candidates . . . .
Florida hired Mississippi State’s Dan Mullen as its next football coach, bringing back the guy who helped turned Tim Tebow into a star as the Gators offensive coordinator from 2005-08 . . . .
Texas A&M fired coach Kevin Sumlin after six winning seasons. The first black head coach in program history was 51-26 and 25-23 in the SEC and never had a losing season . . . .
Arizona State fired coach Todd Graham after six seasons despite a win over rival Arizona on Saturday to finish second in the Pac-12 South behind USC.
Misc.: France captures Davis Cup
France won tennis’ Davis Cup for the first time in 16 years after beating Belgium, 3-2, in Lille, France. Lucas Pouille’s lopsided 6-3, 6-1, 6-0 win over Steve Darcis in the second reverse singles gave France its 10th Davis Cup title, ending a run of three losses in finals . ...
Cameron Davis came from 6 shots behind going into the final round to win golf’s Australian Open in Sydney by 1 stroke, shooting a 7-under 64 that included a birdie on the 18th and an eagle after holing a 100-meter approach shot . . . .
Emily Sweeney and Summer Britcher finished first and second in a sprint race, Britcher took third in the women’s singles event and Erin Hamlin officially clinched another spot on the U.S. Olympic team with a fourth-place singles finish in a World Cup luge race in Winterberg, Germany.