JUDGE SIDES WITH OSU, COUGS

A judge granted Oregon State and Washington State a preliminary injunction Tuesday in their legal battle with 10 departing Pac-12 schools, giving the Pacific Northwest rivals control of the conference and millions of dollars in assets.

With a significant legal hurdle cleared, Oregon State and Washington State could soon determine how they will go about keeping the Pac-12 alive and what schools they will be competing against next year.

At a hearing in Whitman County Superior Court, not far from Washington State’s Pullman campus, Judge Gary Libey ruled Oregon State and Washington State should be the only members making decisions about Pac-12 business.

“Oregon State and Washington State will be the sole members of the board,” Libey said, ruling quickly after hearing arguments for about more than 2 hours.

The outgoing Pac-12 schools said they will appeal the ruling.

“Nothing’s going to change in the Pac-12,” Libey said. “The athletes will still be competing. The schools will still be doing business, Pac-12 will still be doing business but will be governed by the two universities that have not submitted their notice of withdrawal.”

More colleges

Deion Sanders had a tothe-point stance on Texas A&M coaching rumors or any other speculation that may involve him leaving Colorado. “I’m here,” Sanders said Tuesday at his weekly news conference. Although the first-year Colorado coach sidestepped a direct answer about the Aggies job that opened up with the firing of Jimbo Fisher, Sanders made it clear he and his family are comfortable at Colorado. “I tell them my mother’s here. My sister’s here. My dog is here. My daughter’s here. Three of my sons are here,” Sanders said.

Georgia moved up to No. 1 in the College Football Playoff rankings, nudging past Ohio State, with third-place Michigan and fourth-place Florida State holding their spots in the top four. Washington and Oregon remained fifth and sixth.

Nebraska Athletic Director Trev Alberts received a new contract that will double his salary and keep him at the school through 2031, university president Ted Carter announced. Alberts’ annual base salary will go from $800,000 to $1.7 million and increase to $2.1 million in 2026, according to a news release from the university.

Tennis

Jannik Sinner recorded his first win over top-ranked Novak Djokovic, delighting a raucous home crowd at the ATP Finals. Sinner triumphed 7-5, 6-7 (5), 7-6 (2) in a match spanning more than three hours. Stefanos Tsitsipas withdrew from the ATP Finals with a back injury after playing only three games of his second match in Turin, Italy, handing Holger Rune the victory.

Soccer

Chelsea’s Emma Hayes was formally named the new head coach of the U.S. women’s team but she won’t take over the four-time Women’s World Cup winners until May, leaving her a short time with the team before it begins play in the Paris Olympics in late July. Interim coach Twila Kilgore will continue to lead the team until Hayes’ arrival after the Women’s Super League season ends, and then she will become one of her assistants.

Six months after storming to its first Serie A title since the days when Diego Maradona played for the club, Napoli is in a state of upheaval. The southern club fired coach Rudi Garcia, two days after the team’s third loss in Serie A this season, and replaced him with Walter Mazzarri, who returns to Napoli 10 years after leading it to a runner-up finish in the Italian league.

Real Madrid midfielder Jude Bellingham withdrew from England’s squad for its upcoming European Championship qualifiers because of a shoulder injury.

Sports and courts

Police in England arrested a man on suspicion of manslaughter in the death of American ice hockey player Adam Johnson, whose neck was cut by a skate during a game.

Johnson, 29, was playing for the Nottingham Panthers against the Sheffield Steelers on Oct. 28 when he was struck by an opponent’s skate blade in the Elite Ice Hockey League game at Sheffield’s Utilita Arena. South Yorkshire Police did not name the suspect or provide his age. He was in police custody.

Matt Petgrave, 31, who plays for Sheffield, was the other player involved in the grisly incident that reverberated around the hockey community and led to moments of silence in the NHL. Video of the incident shows Johnson skating with the puck toward the Steelers net. Petgrave skates toward Johnson and collides with another Panthers player. Petgrave’s left skate kicks up as he begins to fall and the blade hits Johnson in the neck.

Also

Two-time U.S. figure skating champion Bradie Tennell broke her ankle while working on a step sequence in practice and said that the surgery will force her to miss the remainder of the Grand Prix season.