Texans hire Ryans as coach
DeMeco Ryans was hired as coach of the Houston Texans, giving him his first head coaching job and bringing him back to where he started his playing career.
Ryans joins the Texans from the San Francisco 49ers, with whom he spent the last two seasons as defensive coordinator. He replaces Lovie Smith, who was fired after one season in which the team went 3-13-1.
Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers said he doesn’t expect to make a decision on whether to play next season until after the Super Bowl.
The NFL’s salary cap will be $224.8 million in 2023, an increase of $16.6 million.
The Tennessee Titans are tearing up the grass field at Nissan Stadium and replacing it with a synthetic surface before the 2023 season.
Tampa Bay Rays infielder Yandy Diaz agreed to a three-year, $24-million contract that avoided a salary arbitration hearing. Diaz’s agreement could be worth $36 million over four seasons . ... Free-agent reliever Chad Green and the Toronto Blue Jays agreed to a two-year, $8.5-million contract that includes options for 2025 and 2026 . ... Batting champion Jeff McNeil and the New York Mets finalized a four-year, $50-million deal
that prevents salary arbitration. The deal includes a club option for 2027 . ... Dexter Fowler, 36, retired after 14 major league seasons. An All-Star outfielder in 2016 when he won a World Series title with the Chicago Cubs, Fowler hit .259 with 127 homers and 517 RBIs . ... Diego Castillo and the Seattle Mariners have gone to salary arbitration. The relief pitcher wants $3.225 million, and the team is offering $2.95 million.
A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit filed by nine former Minnesota football players who were accused of sexual assault in 2016. The lawsuit against the school alleged the players faced emotional distress and financial damage after being falsely accused of being sex offenders. U.S. District Court Judge Donovan Frank said the players didn’t provide evidence to support their claims . ... A Michigan State football player who swung his helmet at a Michigan player in a stadium tunnel expressed regret. Khary Crump, a defensive back, was sentenced to probation. He was one of seven Michigan State players charged in a skirmish after an Oct. 29 loss at Michigan Stadium.
Longtime California women’s swimming coach Teri McKeever was fired after an investigation into alleged harassment, bullying and verbally abusive conduct, the school said in a statement.
McKeever led the Golden Bears to four NCAA team titles over 29 years. She coached the U.S. women’s swim team at the London Olympics in 2012, the first woman to serve in that role.
NASCAR banned the “Hail Melon” move Ross Chastain used at Martinsville to earn a spot in the title race. In October, Chastain mashed the gas and smashed into the wall so the energy would speed his car past his rivals. NASCAR said the move would draw a penalty in 2023 as part of competition tweaks.
The men’s professional tennis tour said Alexander Zverev will not face disciplinary action after an investigation into domestic abuse allegations against him found “insufficient evidence” to substantiate the claims.
Kenyan marathon runner Georgina Rono was banned for four years for evading a doping test.
Olympic gold medalist Wladimir Klitschko joined Ukraine’s fight against IOC plans to let some Russians compete at the 2024 Paris Summer Games . ... Brazilian volleyball club Cruzeiro suspended Olympic gold medalist Wallace de Souza after he conducted a social media poll asking his fans whether they would shoot Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in the face.