Press Box: Sports Recap
COLLEGE BASEBALL: Augie Garrido, the winningest coach in college baseball history, is out after 20 seasons at Texas. The decision comes after the Longhorns’ first losing season since 1998 and the third time in five years they missed the postseason. A university statement said that Garrido, 77, was “relinquishing his duties” as coach and will become special assistant to athletic director Mike Perrin. Garrido has 1,975 wins and five College World Series titles — three with Cal State Fullerton and two with Texas — since 1969. The Longhorns were 25-32 in 2016 . ... Florida was named the top overall seed for the NCAA tournament. Louisville received the second seed, with Miami third and Texas A&M fourth. Regionals begin Friday . ... Alabama coach Mitch Gaspard resigned after seven seasons.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL: Baylor athletic director Ian McCaw resigned on the same day that the school hired Jim Grobe on an interim basis to replace Art Briles as head coach. Grobe was 77-82 in 13 seasons at Wake Forest and has been out of coaching for two seasons. Briles was suspended with intent to terminate last week amid accusations that he inappropriately responded to allegations of sexual assault and violence by his players.
COLLEGES: North Carolina defeated Maryland 14-13 in overtime for the men’s lacrosse national championship. Chris Cloutier’s goal at the 1:39 mark of OT gave the Tar Heels their first national title since 1991. ... Mackenzie McDonald of UCLA won the men’s singles national tennis title and became the first player in 15 years to win titles in singles and doubles. Virginia’s Danielle Collins won the women’s crown.
NHL: Commissioner Gary Bettman said the league is open to sending its players to the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, but the issue is unresolved. The International Olympic Committee and the International Ice Hockey Federation have subsidized the league for shutting down for two weeks since NHL players began participating in 1998, but those organizations may end that practice.
NBA: Raptors GM Masai Ujiri said his top priorities for the offseason are re-signing G
DeMar DeRozan and extending coach Dwane Casey’s contract. NFL: Suspended Dolphins DE Dion Jordan will apply for reinstatement Wednesday, USA Today reported. Jordan was suspended for the 2015 season for a diluted sample. He has been suspended three times for drug violations in his three NFL seasons.
OLYMPICS: Pau Gasol of the Bulls is considering skipping the Rio de Janeiro Olympics because of the Zika virus. Gasol helped Spain win silver medals in 2008 and 2012 . ... With the Paralympics 100 days away, the city of Rio de Janeiro is buying a large chunk of tickets. The head of the International Paralympic Committee said that onethird of the Paralympic tickets have been sold compared with two-thirds of Olympic tickets.
SOCCER: Lionel Messi will appear before a judge this week to defend himself from accusations he failed to properly pay taxes on his earnings from Barcelona. Messi is the latest star to have trouble with Spain’s tough tax system, following Neymar, Javier Mascherano, Adriano and Xabi Alonso. Messi’s trial begins Tuesday, and he is expected to testify on Thursday.