Devils to tab Ruff
Former Sabres, Stars coach 6th in NHL wins
Stanford announced Wednesday that it is dropping 11 sports amid financial difficulties caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
The school will discontinue men’s and women’s fencing, field hockey, lightweight rowing, men’s rowing, co-ed and women’s sailing, squash, synchronized swimming, men’s volleyball and wrestling after the 2020-21 academic year. Stanford also is eliminating 20 support staff positions.
Stanford projected a deficit of more than $25 million in the 2021 fiscal year and a shortfall of nearly $70 million over the next three years due to the pandemic. The school estimated the cost of sustaining the 11 sports permanently would exceed $200 million.
Numerous schools have cut sports in recent weeks as the pandemic has shut down the sports world. Stanford is believed to be the first Power Five school to eliminate programs.
The contracts of coaches in the 11 sports will be honored, as will the scholarships for the more than 240 athletes affected. All support staff who have been let go will get severance pay.
Stanford has one of the nation’s largest athletic departments, sponsoring 36 varsity sports before Wednesday’s cuts.
Earlier this year, football coach David Shaw, basketball coach Jerod Haase and members of the athletics executive team took voluntary pay cuts to help defray some of the financial hit caused by the pandemic.
Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh said Wednesday he was closing in on a contract extension before coping with the COVID-19 pandemic became a top priority for all involved in the discussions.
Michigan AD Warde Manuel has said he wants Harbaugh to lead the Wolverines until he retires.
Former Buffalo Sabres and Dallas Stars coach Lindy Ruff will become the new coach of the Devils, the NHL Network reported Wednesday.
Ruff, who played for the Sabres and Rangers in a 13-year NHL career, has won 736 games (sixth in NHL history) against 554 losses, with 78 ties and 125 OT losses in his 19season coaching career. He was named coach of the year in 2006 and was most recently an assistant with the Rangers.
Ruff replaces Alain Nasreddine, who went 19-16-8 after replacing John Hynes on Dec. 3.
The Devils reportedly will also retain Tom Fitzgerald as GM.
NINERS’ MOSTERT WANTS OUT
San Francisco 49ers postseason breakout star Raheem Mostert requested a trade from the team after being unable to renegotiate his contract.
Agent Brett Tessler made the request public on Wednesday after talks with the 49ers failed to lead to a new deal to replace the three-year contract Mostert signed in 2019 when he was still mostly a special-teams standout.
“After months of unproductive talks with the 49ers about fairly adjusting Raheem Mostert’s contract (which paid him for special teams) we have requested a trade,” Tessler wrote on Twitter. “Disappointing that it would come to this for a guy who led all NFL RBs in YPC & helped lead them to the Super Bowl.”
Mostert has a base salary of $2,575,000 this season and $2,875,000 next season as part of the deal he signed with the 49ers last year. Fellow running back Tevin Coleman is set to be paid $4.55 million this season despite having more than six carries just once in the final five regular-season games and three playoff appearances after Mostert emerged as the team’s top back.
JOHNSON BACK IN NASCAR
Seven-time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson has twice tested negative for the coronavirus and will race Sunday at Kentucky Speedway.
Johnson missed the first race of his Cup career when he tested positive last Friday. He was tested after his wife received a positive result.
Hendrick Motorsports said Johnson tested negative on Monday and Tuesday and will return to the No. 48 Chevrolet at Kentucky. NASCAR confirmed Wednesday that Johnson has been cleared to return.
“It’s been an emotional journey and I’m so happy to be back,” he tweeted.
DELLE DONNE AWAITS WORD ON STATUS
WNBA MVP Elena Delle Donne is waiting to have her case heard by the league’s independent panel of doctors to see if she’ll be medically excused for the season, the Washington Mystics said Wednesday.
The Mystics star, who was the league Most Valuable Player last year, has battled Lyme Disease since 2008 and would potentially be at a higher risk for serious illness if she contracted the new coronavirus.
Delle Donne tweeted Wednesday night that she was following protocol and waiting for the results from the panel.
“Missing my teammates but health and safety are the priority,” she said.
Her new Washington teammate, Tina Charles, is also waiting for a decision from the panel. Neither player is in Florida with the team.
Charles was traded to the Mystics from the Liberty in the offseason.