Kansas fires AD days after Miles’ departure
Kansas athletic director Jeff Long resigned Wednesday, less than two days after the school mutually parted with Les Miles amid sexual misconduct allegations dating to the football coach’s time at LSU and one day after Long vowed he would lead the Jayhawks’ search for a replacement.
Kurt Watson will serve as the interim athletic director as the school searches for both an AD and football coach.
Long’s dismissal came one day after he vowed to lead the search for Miles’ successor, a move that drew significant backlash from Kansas alumni. It was Long who had hired Miles, his friend of more than 30 years, despite questions that ultimately led to his firing Monday night.
The move also comes as the Jayhawks’ storied men’s basketball program, which is awaiting the decision of an independent arbitrator on what could be severe NCAA sanctions for rules violations, prepares to open the Big 12 Tournament today with the NCAA Tournament on tap next week.
Long was let go by Arkansas in 2017 after a tenure that included the scandal surrounding the firing of football coach Bobby Petrino.
Long was hired by Kansas to help rebuild a football program mired firmly in the Big 12 cellar. His charge was to find a coach who could take the Jayhawks back to relevance while also persuading donors to open their checkbooks in support of upgrades to the practice facility and aging Memorial Stadium.
Instead, his roughly three-year tenure was filled with bumbling missteps.
After firing former football coach David Beaty, Long informed him that it would be “for cause” due to a relatively minor NCAA investigation into a noncoaching staff member and that his $3 million buyout would be withheld. A 15 month-long court case followed, embarrassing the university that wound up paying $500,000 in legal fees before ultimately agreeing with Beaty on a $2.55 million settlement.
Sherry, former player, coach, manager dies
Former Angels manager and coach, Dodgers catcher and longtime major league coach Norm Sherry has died. He was 89.
Sherry’s family said that he died Monday but they didn’t divulge a cause of death. He was living in San Diego County.
Sherry was third base coach in 1976 for the thenCalifornia Angels when he was promoted to manager after the firing of Dick Williams. Sherry handled the duties for parts of the 1976 and 1977 seasons and went 37-29 to finish the 1976 season and 39-42 in 1977 before being dismissed midway through the season.
He played five big league seasons — four with the Dodgers (1959-62) and one with the New York Mets (1963). He batted .215 with 18 homers and 69 RBIs in 194 games.
During his Dodgers’ stint, future Hall of Famer Sandy Koufax credited Sherry for helping the ace work through control issues.
Sherry spent 16 seasons as a coach, including stints as pitching coach for the National League pennantwinning San Diego Padres in 1984 and the NL champion San Francisco Giants in 1989. He was with the Padres from 1982-84 and Giants from 1986-91.
He served two coaching stints with the Angels (197071, ’76) and was also a pitching coach for the Montreal Expos (1978-81).
Sherry’s younger brother, Larry, a right-hander, was MVP of the 1959 World Series when the Dodgers defeated the Chicago White Sox in six games. Larry Sherry, who passed away in 2006 at age 71, played in the majors from 1958-68.
• Cincinnati Reds first baseman Joey Votto is out for an indefinite period after testing positive for COVID-19 at spring training.
The Reds put the six-time All-Star on the injured list and he gave the team permission to announce he was sidelined because he had tested positive for the virus.
Reds manager David Bell said there were “no indications of any other issues with our team.” Players are tested at least every other day.
The 36-year-old Votto has played in four spring training games, going 4 for 9 at the plate. Last season, the career .304 hitter batted .226 in 54 games, with 11 home runs and 22 RBIs.
“He was feeling very good about where he was, so hopefully he’ll be back as quick as possible,” Bell said.
• The Texas Rangers could have a full house for their home opener next month after opening their new 40,518-seat stadium without fans in the stands for their games last season.
If that happens, the Rangers could be the first team in Major League Baseball or any major U.S.-based sports league to have a full-capacity crowd since the coronavirus pandemic started rapidly shutting down sports a year ago this week.
On the same day that
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s order took effect allowing businesses in the state to operate at 100% capacity, Rangers president of business operations and CEO Neil Leibman said that the team hopes to be at that for the April 5 opener against the Toronto Blue Jays.
Local officials would be able to impose “mitigation strategies,” such as reduced capacity, if virus hospitalizations exceed 15% of all hospital capacity in their region over certain periods. to a cap minimum of $175 million, but that number jumped by $5 million in February and now has been set at $182.5 million.
• The New Orleans Saints have informed receiver Emmanuel Sanders and linebacker Kwon Alexander they’ll be released in moves that will save the club nearly $20 million against the salary cap, a person familiar with the situation said.
Sanders had 61 catches for 726 yards and five touchdowns last season.
Alexander started seven games for the Saints after being traded from San Francisco in midseason.
• The Houston Texans have hired Lovie Smith as defensive coordinator on first-year coach David Culley’s staff.
Smith, who will also hold the title of associate head coach, coached at Illinois from 2016 until he was fired in December. He coached the Bears from 2004-12, the Buccaneers from 2014-15, and has been an assistant with the Rams in a decadeslong coaching career which began as a high school assistant in Texas in 1980. Smith led the Bears to the NFC title in 2006 before losing in the Super Bowl to the Colts.
Romeo Crennel, the interim coach last season following Bill O’Brien’s dismissal after an 0-4 start, will remain with the team as the senior adviser for football performance. by virtue of their 2019 title but headed back to Ames with an 18th straight loss to end the season.