Djokovic starts Paris Masters with win; Medvedev ousted
Knight, Indiana’s combustible coaching giant, dies at age 83
Bob Knight, the brilliant and combustible coach who won three NCAA titles at Indiana and for years was the scowling face of college basketball has died. He was 83.
Knight’s family made the announcement on social media on Wednesday night, saying he was surrounded by family members at his home in Bloomington, Indiana.
Knight was among the winningest coaches in the sport, finishing his career with 902 victories in 42 seasons at Army, Indiana and Texas Tech. He also coached the U.S. Olympic team to a gold medal in 1984.
The Hall of Famer cared little what others thought of him, choosing Frank Sinatra’s “My Way” to celebrate his 880th win in 2007, then the record for a Division I men’s coach.
He was nicknamed “The General” and his temper was such that in 2000 it cost him his job at Indiana. He once hit a police officer in Puerto Rico, threw a chair across the court and was accused of wrapping his hands around a player’s neck.
His critics fumed relentlessly about his conduct, but his defenders were legion. There was this side of Knight as well: He took pride in his players’ high graduation rates, and during a rule-breaking era he never was accused of a major NCAA violation.
Player’s death from skate cut leads to more protection talks
The death of American hockey player Adam Johnson from a skate blade to the neck in a game in England is leading to further discussions about cut-resistant protection in the NHL and other leagues.
Commissioner Gary Bettman and Players’ Association executive director Marty Walsh touched based Sunday in the immediate aftermath of the death to set up further talks between the league and union. For several
Texas Tech head basketball coach
Bob Knight, left, stands by his son and head coach designate, Pat Knight during a game against Texas A&M in Lubbock, Texas, on Jan. 16, 2008. Coach Bob Knight earned his 900th career win with a 68-53victory.
years the two sides have been studying skate cut injuries and how to reduce and avoid them, and now the topic has taken on greater urgency at various levels of the sport.
• The Ottawa Senators made an abrupt change at general manager after the NHL decided to dock them a first-round draft pick for their role in a trade between two other teams that was invalidated last year.
Owner Michael Andlauer announced that longtime GM Pierre Dorion resigned.
• Washington Capitals center Nicklas Backstrom is taking a leave of absence from the team because of what he called an “ongoing injury situation” after a slow start to the season on his artificial left hip.
• The New Jersey Devils and Philadelphia Flyers on Feb. 17 and New York Rangers and Islanders on Feb. 18 are set to play the NHL’S 40th and 41st regular-season outdoor games, to be held at Metlife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
Horse deaths has Breeders’ Cup under intense scrutiny
After horse deaths marred this year’s Kentucky Derby and Preakness,
Novak Djokovic demonstrated his desire to achieve the year-end No. 1 ranking for a record eighth time by beating Tomas Martin Etcheverry 6-3, 6-2 in the second round of the Paris Masters.
Daniil Medvedev dropped out of contention for the year-end No. 1 ranking by losing to Grigor Dimitrov 6-3, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (2) in the second round of the Paris Masters, and then was booed off the court after remonstrating with the crowd during the match.
Djokovic can widen the gap with No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz in the race for the year-end top spot after the Spaniard lost to qualifier Roman Safiullin.
Alcaraz is the only player who can overtake Djokovic.
Bears’ head coach Eberflus loses another assistant
The Chicago Bears fired running backs coach David Walker, leaving coach Matt Eberflus down two assistants after defensive coordinator Alan Williams resigned in September and raising more questions about the team’s culture.
Walker was in his second season with the Bears. He was hired after Eberflus replaced Matt Nagy following the 2021 season.
The Bears are last in the NFC North at 2-6 and 5-20 in two seasons under Eberflus and GM Ryan Poles.