OLE MISS FOOTBALL HEARING FINALLY BEGINS AFTER 5 YEARS

Mississippi’s football program began its hearing in front of the NCAA’s infractions committee panel Monday, nearly five years after the governing body first launched its investigation.

The Rebels are facing 21 allegations, including 15 that are classified as Level I, which the NCAA deems the most serious. The charges in the wide-ranging case involve academic, recruiting and booster misconduct.

The hearing is being held at a hotel in Covington, Ky., a suburb of Cincinnati. The NCAA has set aside up to three days for the case.

Ole Miss athletic director Ross Bjork declined comment after Monday’s meetings.

The school has already self-imposed several penalties, including a postseason ban for this season, three years of probation, scholarship losses and recruiting restrictions. The NCAA could accept the Rebels’ selfimposed penalties or add to them when it reaches a decision, which could be several weeks to months after the hearing ends.

All 21 of the alleged football violations happened under the program’s two previous coaches — Hugh Freeze and Houston Nutt.

Souers moving on at season’s end.

Longtime Northern Arizona football coach Jerome Souers is stepping down after this season.

Souers made the announcement at a news conference with athletic director Lisa Campos.

Souers, 59, is in his 20th season coaching the Lumberjacks, who are 0-2 this season. Souers is the winningest coach in Big Sky Conference history with 112 wins and coached 84 FCS All-Americans.

L.A. gets official Games go-ahead.

PERU» Los Angeles has received LIMA, its formal go-ahead to host the 2028 Olympics, getting a thumbs-up from the International Olympic Committee’s evaluation commission.

On Wednesday, the full IOC will award the 2024 Games to Paris and the 2028 Games to Los Angeles.

Concerns ahead of World Cup.

LONDON» The English Football Association is concerned about its players and coaches being hacked at the World Cup in Russia and has written to FIFA expressing concerns about information already being accessed in a cyberattack.

England has told players, coaches and technical staff to avoid using public Wi-Fi networks over concerns sensitive personal and team information could be illegally obtained in Russia.

Slow sales for Winter Games.

KOREA» With five

SEOUL, SOUTH months to go before the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics open, the Games are barely an afterthought for most South Koreans, with slow local ticket sales amid the biggest political scandal in years and a torrent of North Korean weapons tests.

South Korea wants more than a million spectators for the Games, which start in February, and expects 70 percent to be locals. But if South Koreans are excited about the Games, they didn’t fully show it during the first phase of ticket sales between February and June — the 52,000 tickets purchased by locals during the period were less than 7 percent of the 750,000 seats organizers aim to sell domestically.

Two Spaniards No. 1 in tennis.

YORK» Garbine Muguruza made NEW her debut at No. 1, joining U.S. Open champion Rafael Nadal in making Spain the first country since the United States 14 years ago to top the WTA and ATP rankings.

Andre Agassi and Serena Williams were both No. 1 in 2003.

Seattle’s Morris undergoes MRI.

Seattle Sounders forward Jordan Morris underwent an MRI to reveal the extent of the injury to his right hamstring suffered in a 1-1 draw with Los Angeles in an MLS game. — The Associated Press