Texas suspends coach over violence charge
Chris Beard, who coached Texas Tech to the 2019 NCAA title game and was hired by Texas with hopes he’d elevate his alma mater to the same level, was arrested Monday on a felony family-violence charge after a woman told police he strangled her.
The school suspended Beard without pay “until further notice.” Assistant Rodney Terry coached the No. 7 Longhorns to an 87-81 overtime victory against Rice on Monday night,
Beard was booked in the Travis County jail at 4:18 a.m. on a charge of assault on a family or household member in which breath was impeded — a thirddegree felony in Texas, punishable by two to 10 years in prison.
Beard posted $10,000 bond and was released.
Attorney Perry Minton told the Austin American-Statesman that Beard is innocent.
• Purdue moved up three spots to No. 1 in the weekly Associated Press men’s college poll, getting 27 first-place votes from a 62-person media panel. No. 2 Virginia received 19 first-place votes to move up a spot and No. 3 Connecticut received 15. Houston, previously No. 1, fell to No. 5 after losing to then-No. 8 Alabama, which rose to No. 4.
• South Carolina led a repeat of the top five teams in the AP women’s poll, followed by Stanford, Ohio State, Indiana and Notre Dame in voting by a 28member media panel.
College football: Mississippi State coach Mike Leach was hospitalized in critical condition, a day after what the university called “a personal health issue” at his home in Starkville. Leach, 61, was airlifted Sunday to the University of Mississippi Medical Center, about 125 miles from the Mississippi State campus.
• Cal announced the hiring of Mike Bloesch as offensive line coach/run-game coordinator and Tim Plough as tight ends coach. Bloesch is finishing his third season as offensive coordinator at North Texas.
The Mean Green will play Boise State in the Frisco Bowl on Saturday night. Plough had been the Broncos’ OC before he was fired in September. Plough replaces Geep Chryst.
— Steve Kroner
• Quarterback Caleb Williams, the Heisman Trophy winner, was one of three USC players selected to the Associated Press All-America team. Offensive lineman Andrew Vorhees and defensive end Tuli Tuipulotu joined to give USC the most players on the first team.
Baseball: The Blue Jays agreed to a $63 million, three-year deal with ex-A’s starter Chris Bassitt, 33, according to a source.
• The Minnesota Twins added catcher Christian Vázquez, on a $30 million, three-year deal.
NFL: Arizona quarterback Kyler Murray suffered a knee injury on the team’s first possession in the Cardinals’ game against the Patriots on Monday night.
• The Dallas Cowboys added free agent T.Y. Hilton, the longtime Colts wide receiver.
Soccer: In Cary, N.C., Syracuse goalkeeper Russell Shealy stopped two shots in an eightround shootout and Amferny Sinclair scored the game-winner as No. 3 seed Syracuse beat 13thseeded Indiana 7-6 in a shootout to win the NCAA College Cup championship for the first time in program history.
Tennis: Iga Swiatek is WTA Player of the Year for the first time after rising to No. 1 and winning two Grand Slam titles.