Northridge puts Gottfried on leave

Cal State Northridge announced Thursday it placed men’s basketball coach Mark Gottfried and his staff on paid administrative leave.

“Upon learning of potential rules violations within our men’s basketball program, I directed an immediate review,” Cal State Northridge athletic director Michael Izzi said in a statement, which did not elaborate on the potential violations.

Gottfried has one NCAA infractions case pending from his time at North Carolina State. The NCAA in July 2019 accused N.C. State of two Level I violations involving Gottfried, assistant coach Orlando Early and star point guard Dennis Smith Jr. for an allegation that was part of the FBI investigation into college basketball corruption.

In three seasons with the Matadors, Gottfried’s teams are 37-51 overall and 22-24 in the Big West. —J. Brady McCollough season, two people with knowledge of the situation confirmed.

— Andrew Greif

The Seattle Seahawks signed former first-round defensive tackle Robert Nkemdiche . ... The Carolina Panthers are picking up the fifth-year option on wide receiver D.J. Moore’s contract . ... The New Orleans Saints exercised the fifthyear option on defensive end Marcus Davenport.

LAFC coach Bob Bradley expects to have Diego Rossi, the reigning MLS scoring champion, available for Saturday’s game in Houston, but captain Carlos Vela, the 2019 Golden Boot winner, is unlikely to make the trip.

Rossi missed LAFC’s first two regular-season games because of a left hamstring injury while Vela came out of the opener midway through the first half with a knot in his right quadriceps.

— Kevin Baxter

Jesse Marsch will take over at German soccer team Leipzig next season in one of the most prominent jobs for an American coach in European club soccer.

The U.S. will open its second chance to qualify for the baseball tournament at the Tokyo Olympics when it faces Nicaragua on May 31 at Port St. Lucie, Fla.

The UCLA and USC women’s soccer teams begin play in the NCAA tournament Friday in North Carolina. The third-seeded Bruins (12-1-2) will take on Iowa (7-8-1). USC (7-3-3), seeded eighth, will open against Mississippi (10-5-1).

Wendy Mitchell was confirmed to a second term as a member of the California Horse Racing Board by the state Senate. On April 5, Mitchell had been denied reappointment to the CHRB, the first time a governor’s appointment had been voted down in at least 20 years. — John Cherwa