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Prognosis unclear for falcon mascot hurt in prank
An Air Force Academy falcon mascot that was injured during a prank before the annual rivalry football game against Army is recovering back in Colorado, but her long-term prognosis is unclear.
That’s according to Troy Garnhart, an athletics spokesman at the school. He said Sunday the 22-year-old falcon named Aurora was taken home on the team’s charter flight Saturday night and was seen by a specialist.
Garnhart could not detail the falcon’s injuries but described them as potentially life-threatening.
The Colorado Springs Gazette reports West Point cadets took Aurora from an Army colonel’s house as part of a prank during the week leading up to Saturday’s game at Michie Stadium.
Officials at West Point didn’t return messages from The Associated Press seeking comment.
Kings fire coach John Stevens after slow start
Head coach John Stevens has been fired by the struggling Los Angeles Kings just 13 games into his second season in charge.
Willie Desjardins was named the Kings’ interim head coach Sunday.
Los Angeles is last in the overall NHL standings after a 4-8-1 start. The Kings have been outscored 45-28, but had won two of three after a six-game losing streak.
The Kings went 45-29-8 last season, finishing fourth in the Pacific Division and getting swept in the first round of the playoffs.
Stevens took over in 2017 after seven years as an assistant in Los Angeles under Terry Murray and Darryl Sutter. The former Philadelphia Flyers head coach was an assistant on the Kings’ Stanley Cup-winning teams in 2012 and 2014.
Sara Cox 1st female to referee top-flight English rugby game
Sara Cox has become the first female to referee a toplevel English rugby union match.
The 28-year-old Cox, who became the world’s first female professional rugby referee in 2016, took charge of Northampton’s 15-14 Premiership Cup victory at Wasps on Sunday.
Cox had previously refereed in the second and third tiers of English rugby.
An injury-time try by Mitch Eadie sealed a comeback win for Northampton which took the club to the top of Pool Three in the competition.