Stoops abruptly retires as coach at Oklahoma
Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops abruptly announced his retirement Wednesday, a stunning offseason move by the 56-year-old future Hall of Famer who led the Sooners to 10 conference championships and a national title in 18 seasons.
Stoops was the longest-tenured active coach in major college football, taking the job at Oklahoma a day before Kirk Ferentz started at Iowa. Stoops was 190-48 (.798) at Oklahoma — his only college head-coaching job — giving him more victories than Sooners coaching greats Barry Switzer (157) and Bud Wilkinson (145).
“I really don’t have a plan exactly what I’m going to do,” he said. “It’s a little bit frightening, but I’m really a spiritual person, and I believe until you open yourself up to something, you don’t know what the opportunities are that can come to you. So we’ll see what can flow my way.”
Stoops has heart disease, and his father, Ron Stoops, died in 1988 at age 54 of a heart attack suffered while coaching a high school game. Stoops said his health was not a factor in his decision, and reports that he was ill were false.
Offensive coordinator Lincoln Riley, 33, is being promoted to head coach, making him the youngest head coach in FBS. Just last month, Oklahoma gave Riley a three-year contract extension worth $1.3 million per year, making him one of the highest-paid coordinators in the country.
“The time is now because Lincoln Riley will provide a seamless transition as the new head coach, capitalizing on an excellent staff that is already in place and providing familiarity and confidence for our players,” Stoops said.
Riley takes over a team that will again be the favorite to win the Big 12 and reach the College Football Playoff, with a Heisman Trophy finalist in quarterback Baker Mayfield. His first game will be at home against Texas El Paso on Sept. 2. His second game will be at Ohio State.
Stoops was 39 when he left Florida, where he was defensive coordinator under Steve Spurrier, to take over at Oklahoma in 1999
Though Stoops was not able to bring another national championship to Norman, he did lead Oklahoma to three more BCS championship games and a spot in the College Football Playoff two years ago.
ETC. Irish War Cry is favored in Belmont
Irish War Cry is back on the Triple Crown trail as the 7-2 favorite for the Belmont Stakes.
The colt claimed that status after expected favorite Classic Empire was forced out Wednesday because of an abscess in his right front hoof.
No one was more surprised at the turn of events than trainer Graham Motion. He left his base in Fair Hill, Md., early in the day and by the time he arrived in New York, his colt was the favorite in the 12-horse field for Saturday’s race.
Classic Empire was coming off a runner-up finish in the Preakness on May 20 after being fourth in the Kentucky Derby.
The Belmont was already without the Kentucky Derby (Always Dreaming) and Preakness (Cloud Computing) winners.
Irish War Cry drew the No. 7 post under jockey Rajiv Maragh.
Japan-based Epicharis is the 4-1 second choice, followed by Lookin At Lee at 5-1.
Lookin At Lee will be the only horse to run in all three legs of the Triple Crown. He finished second in the Derby and fourth in the Preakness.
The Baltimore Ravens released tight end Dennis Pitta with an injury waiver after he hurt his right hip for a third time in practice last week.
The injury occurred during an offseason practice session Friday.
Each time Pitta, 31, hurt the hip previously, the injury was serious enough to be considered career-threatening. That appears to be the case again.
Pitta began his career with Baltimore in 2010 and caught a touchdown pass in the Super Bowl when the Ravens won the 2012 NFL title.
He first injured his hip in 2013 and hurt it again in 2014. He played in four games in 2013, three in 2014 and sat out the entire 2015 season. Last year, however, he returned to catch 86 passes, most by a tight end in franchise history.
Tampa Bay Rays catcher Derek Norris denied a claim by his ex-fiancee Kristen Eck that he was physically and emotionally abusive to her during their relationship. He said he would cooperate with Major League Baseball’s investigation of the matter.