Malinin trails two Japanese in worlds skating
Japan's Shoma Uno placed first in the men's short program Thursday at the world figure skating championships. Uno, the two-time defending champion, led the pack with a 107.72 score at the Bell Centre in Montreal.
Japan's Yuma Kagiyama — the 2022 Olympic silver medalist — was second (106.35) ahead of American Ilia Malinin (105.97).
“I could have performed a lot better, and a few minor things here and there I could have really done them a lot better,” Malinin said. “But overall I'm just happy with my score.”
Malinin, a bronze medallist at last year's world championship, said the last few weeks have been a “really tough challenge” because he hasn't felt well. Asked if it was an injury or illness, he said “both,” but wouldn't specify further.
“I was even worried about if I wasn't able to come to worlds,” he said. “It was definitely really hard. Some days I'd have to miss practice. Last week we had a talk and I just decided I want to go, I'm going to try my best no matter how I feel.”
Jason Brown, who won the bronze medal with the American team at the 2014 Olympic Winter Games, placed fourth (93.87).
The free program is set for Saturday evening.
Canada's Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps captured gold in the pairs competition two days after winning the short program.
SMU fires coach Lanier
SMU fired Rob Lanier after two seasons as its men's coach, a day after the Mustangs ended their final season before moving into the basketball-rich Atlantic Coast Conference.
The Mustangs (20-13) lost 101-92 at Indiana State in the first round of the National Invitation Tournament on Wednesday night. They were 30-35 overall in their two seasons under Lanier, including a 16-20 record in American Athletic Conference games.
• Katie Meier, who led Miami's women's team to 10 NCAA tournaments and guided the Hurricanes to the Elite Eight last season, announced her retirement from coaching.
Meier, the 2011 AP national coach of the year who had four years remaining on her contract with the Hurricanes, will remain with the university as a special adviser and ambassador for the athletic department. She coached at Miami for 19 seasons, going 362-208 in that span.
Judge: Suit against league to go forward
A lawsuit accusing the NFL's disability plan of violating its duty to retired players by routinely denying valid injury claims can proceed to trial on most counts, a federal judge in Maryland ruled.
The lawsuit, filed last year, accuses officials who oversee the program of bad faith and flagrant violations of federal law. U.S. District Judge Julie R. Rubin said the suit can move forward against the board, but not against Commissioner Roger Goodell or trustees individually, as they were not accused of wrongdoing.
Lawyers for the 10 retired players who signed onto the potential class action called the ruling “a huge win” for those subject to what they called “systemic injustice.”
• The Detroit Lions released Cameron Sutton as authorities continue to search for the defensive back to serve a domestic violence warrant in Florida.
The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office in Florida, which includes Tampa, has asked for help in finding Sutton, a seven-year pro who just finished his first season with the Lions and helped them reach the NFC championship game for the first time in 32 years.
The warrant is for domestic battery by strangulation, a third-degree felony punishable by up to five years in prison.
Michigan's Scruggs resigns after arrest
Michigan defensive line coach Greg Scruggs resigned less than a week after his arrest for suspected drunken driving and without coaching a game with the Wolverines.
Coach Sherrone Moore said he was notified of Scruggs' resignation and wouldn't comment further.
Scruggs, a former NFL defensive end, coached Wisconsin's defensive line last season. He was a New York Jets assistant defensive line coach in 2022 following two seasons as an assistant with the Cincinnati Bearcats.
Virginia leads women's championships
Gretchen Walsh broke her own collegiate, American and U.S. Open record in the 50-yard freestyle and her sister, Alex Walsh, took the 200 IM to help Virginia move into first on the team leaderboard in the women's swimming and diving championships in Athens, Ga.
Jasmine Nocentini and Maxine Parker joined the
Walsh sisters to win the 200-yard freestyle relay with a time of 1:24.05, an NCAA championship record.
Gretchen Walsh won the 50 freestyle with a time of 20.37, breaking her own mark of 20.41 set in the prelims. Nocentini took third with a personal-best time of 21.10.
Alex Walsh had a personal-best time of 1:49.20 to set a pool record. She also won the event at the 2021 and 2022 championships.
The Cavaliers sit in first with 210.5 points and Florida is second at 163.
North Carolina senior Aranza Vazquez Montaño clinched her second consecutive national title in the 1-meter dive.
Verstappen plans to finish Red Bull deal
Formula 1 champion Max Verstappen wants to stay with Red Bull until the end of his contract in 2028 amid rumors of a switch to Mercedes.
Verstappen said he was flattered by comments in Saudi Arabia by Mercedes boss Toto Wolff, who said he'd “love” to have the Dutch star as a driver. Verstappen said he wants to stay with his Red Bull “family.”
“As I've said before, I'm happy within the team and, of course, it's very important that we try to keep the key players in the team (together) for a longer period of time because that's, of course, where the performance is as well — and at the end of the day, it's a performance business,” he said.
“It's also my intention to be here until the end (of it) because, of course, it would be a great story for me personally to see it out, because it basically means that I've been part of one family, and one team.”