Two Louisville coaches are put on leave
Louisville has placed associate men’s basketball coach Kenny Johnson and assistant Jordan Fair on paid administrative leave while the school handles its involvement in a national federal investigation of the sport.
Neither Fair nor Johnson have participated in practices conducted this week by interim coach David Padgett, who was named Sept. 29 as Rick Pitino’s replacement. Pitino is on unpaid administrative leave and facing dismissal after 16 seasons in the wake of the probe.
Vince Tyra was named acting athletic director on Tuesday in place of Tom Jurich, who’s on paid leave pending an Oct. 18 review by trustees. Tyra said in a release Friday that the school is doing due diligence while cooperating with federal authorities and called the decisions regarding Fair and Johnson “an appropriate step at this time.”
Johnson is in his fourth season with Louisville; it’s Fair’s second season on the staff.
Basketball spokesman Kenny Klein said that staffers Michael Bowden, Logan Baumann and R.J. Evans have been placed in temporary coaching roles.
Ten people have been arrested in the federal probe of the sport, including four college assistant coaches at different schools and an Adidas executive.
Pitino, 65, is not named in the federal documents and has maintained that he did nothing wrong. His attorney, Steve Pence, has said Louisville “effectively fired” Pitino when they placed him on administrative leave on Sept. 27. The school’s Athletic Assn. on Monday authorized interim university President Greg Postel to begin the process of firing Pitino for cause after 16 seasons as Cardinals coach.
The NCAA in June placed Louisville on four years’ probation and has ordered the vacation of up to 123 victories — including its 2013 national championship — as a result of a sex scandal. The school and Pitino, who was suspended for five games, are appealing those sanctions.
The group winners automatically qualify, while the best eight second-place finishers from the nine groups advance to the playoffs.
Major League Soccer fined FC Dallas $75,000 of general allocation money and $25,000 for using an ineligible player during its match against Orlando City on Sept. 30 that resulted in a 0-0 draw.
The decision is controversial because FIFA’s disciplinary code calls for a forfeit if a team fields an ineligible player.
Sacramento Kings rookie Harry Giles will not play until at least January while he rehabs his surgically repaired knees.
Giles is the 20th overall draft pick out of Duke. He missed summer league to rest his left knee.
The team said he will work with the training staff to build strength and endurance. He will participate in some “controlled” parts of practice.
Hornets guard Nic Batum says some basketball fans in his native France are happy he tore a ligament in his left elbow.
Batum says some on social media are angry he decided not to play for the French national team this summer for the first time since joining the NBA.
Batum decided not to play because he wanted to focus on working on particulars of his game and the Hornets’ upcoming regular season. Batum will miss a minimum of six to eight weeks because of the injury.
The Toronto Maple Leafs acquired goalie Calvin Pickard from the Vegas Golden Knights for forward Tobias Lindberg and a sixth-round pick next year. The 25-year-old Pickard was 15-31-2 with a 2.98 goals-against average in 50 games last season for Colorado.
Tyler Duncan chipped in from the fringe for eagle on the par-five 18th hole to take the second-round lead in the season-opening Safeway Open in Napa, Calif.
Top-ranked Rafael Nadal moved into the semifinals of the China Open by beating sixth-seeded John Isner 6-4, 7-6 (0).
On the women’s side, unseeded Carolina Garcia of France upset third-seeded Elina Svitolina of Ukraine 6-7 (5), 7-5, 7-6 (6) in almost 31⁄2 hours to line up Petra Kvitova in the semifinals.
Simona Halep, on course to becoming the No. 1 player in the world for the first time, faces French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko.
Denny Hamlin topped qualifying for the NASCAR Cup playoff race Sunday at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C., marking the 13th straight year he has captured a pole on the top circuit.
Hamlin turned a lap at 191.598 mph in the No. 11 Toyota on the 11⁄2-mile oval for his first pole of the season and the 25th of his career. He’ll share the front row with Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Matt Kenseth.
After being arrested in Rio de Janeiro and accused of storing gold bars in Switzerland, Brazilian Olympic Committee President Carlos Nuzman was suspended by the IOC.
The decision came hours after Brazilian authorities investigating a 2016 Olympic vote-buying case asked for help from prosecutors in Switzerland.