Hall of Famer pitcher Perry, master of the spitball, dead at 84
Baseball Hall of Famer and twotime Cy Young Award winner Gaylord Perry, a master of the spitball, died Thursday. He was 84.
Perry died at his home in Gaffney, S.C., at about 5 a.m. Thursday of natural causes, Cherokee County Coroner Dennis Fowler said.
Perry pitched for eight major league teams from 1962 until 1983. He won the Cy Young with Cleveland in 1972 and with San Diego in 1978 just after turning 40. Perry was a five-time All-Star who was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1991.
He had a career record of 314255, finished with 3,554 strikeouts and used a pitching style where he doctored baseballs or made batters believe he was doctoring them. His 1974 autobiography was titled “Me and the Spitter.”
After his career, Perry founded the baseball program at Limestone College in Gaffney and was its coach for the first three years.
Reports: Michigan star RB Corum out for season
Michigan star running back Blake Corum is expected to have surgery on his injured left knee that would cause him to miss the postseason, multiple sites reported. Michigan has not publicly disclosing Corum's condition.
No. 2 Michigan (12-0) plays Purdue in the Big Ten championship game Saturday night in Indianapolis and is likely heading toward its second straight College Football Playoff appearance.
Corum was injured late in the first half of the Illinois game two weeks ago. He tried to play last week against rival Ohio State, but after appearing on Michigan's first possession he was done for the day.
The junior was a Heisman Trophy contender before his injury. Corum ranks 10th in the nation in rushing at 122 yards per game and is tied for third with 19 touchdowns.
• Mickey Joseph, Nebraska's interim football coach for nine games this season, is accused of putting his hands around a woman's throat, pulling her hair and punching her before being taken into custody, according to a police affidavit.
Joseph, 54, was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of strangulation and third-degree domestic assault. Joseph denied to police that he assaulted the woman. Nebraska placed Joseph on administrative leave.
Joseph made his initial court appearance on video from the Lancaster County Jail on Thursday. He did not enter a plea. His bond was set at $20,000 and he was ordered not to have contact with the alleged victim. His next court appearance was set for Jan. 30.
Joseph's arrest came two days after Matt Rhule was introduced as the Cornhuskers' new head coach. Rhule had said he planned to meet with Joseph to discuss the possibility of Joseph remaining on the staff. Rhule declined comment through an athletic department spokesman.
Joseph was a quarterback for the Cornhuskers from 1988-91 and had run-ins with police during his playing days. He returned to Nebraska last December as receivers coach and was named interim head coach Sept. 11 after Alberts fired Scott Frost. The Huskers were 3-6 under Joseph and finished the season 4-8.
• Florida backup quarterback Jalen Kitna was released from jail on $80,000 bond, a day after he was arrested on five child pornography charges that police said included images of a man having sex with a young girl.
Judge Meshon Rawls set the bond and as conditions for Kitna's release ordered him not to have any unsupervised contact with minors and not to have any internet access.
Kitna sobbed into his hands when his parents, including former NFL quarterback Jon Kitna, addressed the court during a 75-minute appearance. Jalen Kitna was at the Alachua County Jail and on a closed-circuit feed when Jon and Jennifer Kitna stepped to a podium in the courtroom and promised they would supervise their 19-year-old son back home in Burleson, Texas.
The Gainesville Police Department released Kitna's arrest report, providing graphic details about the complaints filed against the nowsuspended football player.
The investigation began in June with a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children into images of child pornography being shared on the social media platform Discord. The investigation led authorities to Kitna.
Kitna shared two images of a pubescent girl, police said in the report, adding that the phrase
“so young junior” was written on both pictures. Kitna told a detective he thought they were legal because he found them online.
When police searched Kitna's phone, they found three more images of two nude pubescent girls in the shower, according to the report. Those three images were saved to his cellphone last December, police said. The report did not estimate the ages of the girls.
Two of the five arresting charges are second-degree felonies that could result in a prison term of up to 15 years and a fine of up to $10,000. The other three are third-degree felonies.
• The Pac-12 Conference extended its agreement to at least 2023 to play its championship game at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. The game today between No. 4 USC and No. 12 Utah will be the second in Las Vegas.
• Arizona agreed to a contract extension with coach Jedd Fisch through the 2027 season.
• Marcus Satterfield will join new Nebraska coach Matt Rhule's staff as offensive coordinator after serving in the same role at South Carolina for two seasons.
• Michigan standout defensive lineman Mazi Smith will play for the Wolverines in the Big Ten championship game this weekend against Purdue while facing a felony charge of carrying a concealed weapon. The charge was filed Wednesday in an Ann Arbor court, nearly two months after the weapon was found during a traffic stop. Smith, a 21-year-old senior and team co-captain, had four tackles and one assist against Indiana Oct. 8, the day after the incident.
Eflin to sign with Rays
Former Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Zach Eflin agreed to join the Tampa Bay Rays on a three-year, $40 million contract that's the largest the club has ever awarded in free agency, multiple sources reported.
Ellis elected to U.S. hall
Jill Ellis was voted into the U.S. Soccer Hall of Fame after coaching the American women to World Cup titles in 2015 and 2019.
The 56-year-old British-born coach was picked on 20 of 24 ballots in the builder voting that included only coach candidates for the 2023 class.
• The owner of the Portland Thorns announced he is putting the club up for sale, the latest fallout from an investigation into misconduct in the National Women's Soccer League.
Merritt Paulson's decision comes nearly two months after a pair of team executives were dismissed for their roles in systemic abuse and misconduct within the NWSL.
Woods' sub among leaders at Hero World Challenge
Sepp Straka, the replacement for injured Tiger Woods, managed six birdies for a 3-under 69 that gave him a share of the lead at the Hero World Challenge with defending champion Viktor Hovland, Tom Kim and Collin Morikawa in Nassau, Bahamas.
• Local pro David Micheluzzi shot a course record-equaling 7-under 63 to take the first-round lead at the Australian Open, where the men's and women's championships are being played concurrently for the first time.
Another Australian, Grace Kim, led the women's field with a 7-under 66 at nearby Kingston Heath that is also being used for the first two rounds of the championships where men and women play in alternate threesomes at the two courses.
• Thriston Lawrence shot an 8-under 64 to match the course record he set last year and took a one-shot lead at the South African Open Championship in Johannesburg.