USC's Bohn chosen as FBS AD of the Year
USC's Mike Bohn was named the 2021-22 FBS Athletic Director of the Year on Tuesday by the NACDA, the first Trojan AD to earn the honor.
Under Bohn, USC won three NCAA team championships — women's track and field, women's water polo and women's beach volleyball — while the athletic department posted its highest-ever graduation success rate (92%).
Bohn also orchestrated the headline-grabbing hire of Lincoln Riley to lead the USC football program after a successful stint as head coach at Oklahoma. USC extended men's basketball head coach Andy Enfield following the program's first Elite Eight run in 20 years and also hired Cleveland Cavaliers assistant Lindsay Gottlieb as the women's basketball head coach.
“Whenever a leader is recognized, it is a reflection of the entire organization and the dedicated people within it,” Bohn said in a statement. “It is a blessing to be on a team at USC that has made incredible impact and enacted meaningful change during the most transformative period in the history of college athletics.”
Fritz, Isner, Keys lead U.S. contingent at BNP Paribas
Taylor Fritz defeated Spanish qualifier Jaume Munar 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 (2) in the third round of the BNP Paribas Open, making him one of five American men still alive in the desert tournament.
Fritz reached the semifinals at Indian Wells last year, his career-best result in an ATP Masters 1000 event. The son of former WTA Tour pro Kathy May has been on an upward trajectory since, reaching the fourth round of the Australian Open in January — his best showing yet in a Grand Slam event.
John Isner beat 14th-seeded Diego Schwartzman, 7-5, 6-3, to reach the fourth round. The 6-foot-11 American blasted 13 aces and frustrated Schwartzman with clever drop shots. Isner didn't even need any tiebreakers; 18 of his 30 sets played this year have ended in tiebreakers.
Two other Americans, Tommy Paul and wild-card Steve Johnson, got beat. Paul lost to 29thseeded Alex de Minaur, 7-6 (2), 6-4. Johnson dropped a 7-6 (7), 6-3 decision to 11th-seeded Hubert Hurkacz.
Americans Frances Tiafoe and Steve Johnson were to play night matches.
Today, two more Americans have big fourth-round matches. No. 17 seed Reilly Opelka plays 21-time major champion Rafael Nadal, while Jenson Brooksby takes on defending champion and 12thseeded Cameron Norrie.
“For the first time in a while you can actually say American tennis on the men's side is very promising,” Isner said.
In women's fourth-round action, Madison Keys beat British qualifier Harriett Dart, 6-1, 6-4. Keys is the last American woman still in the tournament.
No. 3 seed Iga Swiatek outlasted three-time major champion and former No. 1 player Angelique Kerber, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3.
Simona Halep, the 2015 champion, beat Sorana Cirstea 6-1, 6-4.
MLB will experiment in minors again this season
Pitchers, catchers and batters will be able to appeal calls from human umpires to “robo umps” in the Low-A Southeast League this season, while pitch clocks, antishift rules and larger bases will be tried in the minors ahead of possible big league use in 2023.
MLB announced a slate of rules trials, including updates to the Automated Ball-Strike System (ABS) and a ban on infield shifts, that will expand on several experiments from 2021. Some could be introduced to the majors as soon as 2023.
ABS will be used at Triple-A for the first time, as well as in Low-A Southeast for the second straight year. ABS will call balls and strikes in Triple-A West after May 17 and at Triple-A East games played in Charlotte throughout the season, with an aim to “approximate the strike zone called by high-level umpires.”
The Low-A Southeast challenge rule is new. In select games, human umpires will call balls and strikes, and each team will have three appeals that must be made by the pitcher, catcher or batter. Successful challenges will be retained by the team.
The pitch clock is being expanded to all levels after a trial in Low-A West and the Arizona Fall League. Pitchers will have 14 seconds with the bases empty and 19 with runners on at Triple-A, the same timing MLB negotiators mentioned to the players' association. At lower levels, pitchers will get 18 seconds with men aboard.
Additionally, pitchers will only be allowed two pickoff throws or step-offs per plate appearance. A third pickoff attempt that does not lead to an out will result in automatic advancement for the runners. MLB claims the tandem use of the pitch clock and pickoff rule shortened games by more than 20 minutes on average last season.
Larger bases are also being adopted at all levels from 15 inches square to 18, which MLB hopes will limit injuries and encourage more action on the basepaths.
The infield shift will be banned at Double-A, High-A and Low-A. Teams will be mandated to have four players on the infield, two on each side of second base.
As part of the labor contract agreed to by owners and players last week, the sides agreed to the creation of a competition committee that will consider the pitch clock, defensive positioning limits and larger bases for use as soon as 2023. The committee includes six management officials, four union representatives and one umpire, and it can with 45 days notice adopt rules changes. Previously, management was allowed to change rules with union consent or unilaterally with one year notice.
Stenson named captain of Europe's Ryder Cup team
Henrik Stenson is Europe's choice to be the Ryder Cup captain for the 2023 matches in Italy with an announcement indicating the Swede has decided not to join a Saudi-funded rival league.
A former British Open champion who has captured top honors on the European Tour and PGA Tour, Stenson has played on five Ryder Cup teams and served as vice captain last September at Whistling Straits.
Stenson is the first Swede to be captain and faces a big order. Europe suffered its worst loss ever at Whistling Straits, 19-9, to an American team loaded with youth, hunger and attitude.
Zach Johnson was announced as the U.S. captain for the 2023 matches at Marco Simone outside Rome.
“It is a huge honor and I was humbled to get the call confirming the news,” Stenson said. “I would like to thank the selection panel for believing in me and will say to them, and every European golf fan, that I will do everything in my power and leave no stone unturned in the quest to get the Ryder Cup back in European hands.”
Europe typically announces its captain at the start of the year — six of the last seven captains have been introduced before the end of January.
Stenson, however, was among those mentioned as being tempted by a “Super Golf League” that Greg Norman is trying to put together backed by Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund.
Given the challenge to the European tour and the PGA Tour, players who signed up for a rival league would lose out on the Ryder Cup.
The 45-year-old Stenson is popular on both sides of the Atlantic. Along with becoming the first Swedish man to win a major, he won the FedEx Cup on the PGA Tour and the Race to Dubai on the European tour.
Stenson played his first Ryder Cup at The K Club in Ireland in 2006 and holed the cup-clinching putt in a European rout. He has missed only the 2010 and 2012 matches since then.
Chambers takes over as Florida Gulf Coast coach
Pat Chambers quickly convinced Florida Gulf Coast that he was the right person to take over its men's basketball program.
It's a second chance he vowed to not squander.
FGCU introduced Chambers as its new coach, a move that came about 18 months after he resigned as coach at Penn State following an internal investigation into his conduct — including but not limited to an incident where he referenced a noose when talking to a Black player.
“The last 18 months I've been continuing to grow and educate and self-reflect,” Chambers said at a news conference. “I'm confident that you, my next team, my players, my future players, you'll be getting the best leader, best teacher and best coach because I've learned a lot from my past.”
Chambers, who was on staff at La Salle as an assistant this season, went 148-150 in nine seasons at Penn State. He also coached Boston University for two seasons, including an NCAA Tournament appearance in 2011. His career record is 190-178.
Chambers replaces Michael Fly, who was fired after going 55-59 in four seasons and 21-11 this season.