San Diego State’s Long retires, passes baton to assistant
Rocky Long is retiring as San Diego State’s football coach after taking the Aztecs to nine straight bowl games.
He will be replaced by Brady Hoke, a former head coach at Ball State, SDSU and Michigan, the school said Wednesday. Hoke will be elevated from defensive line coach.
The Aztecs were 10-3 last season, capped by a 48-11 victory over Central Michigan in the New Mexico Bowl.
Long, who turns 70 on Jan. 27, gave himself some wiggle room by saying he has decided to retire from coaching “at this point.”
“It’s time. I love coaching, but I don’t necessarily love all the things that head coaches do,” Long said.
He seems open to maybe taking a job as a defensive coordinator somewhere else. Hoke joked that he might recruit Long as the Aztecs’ defensive coordinator.
Long originally came to SDSU as Hoke’s defensive coordinator in 2009 after resigning as New Mexico’s coach.
“When Brady was nice enough to bring me here, that was probably the luckiest day of my life, as far as coaching goes, because I was looking for a job and he gave me one,” Long said. “Obviously it worked out well for him and it worked out well for me, too.”
Hoke was 13-12 as SDSU’s head coach in 200910 and began the school-record streak of 10 straight bowl appearances by getting them to the Poinsettia Bowl in 2010.
Long was 81-38 and took the Aztecs to a bowl game in all nine seasons. WINFIELD JR., FROMM DECLARE FOR DRAFT >> Minnesota safety Antoine Winfield Jr. declared for the NFL draft, skipping his final two years of eligibility after earning consensus AllAmerican honors and tying the single-season program record with seven interceptions.
Also deciding for the draft is Georgia quarterback Jake Fromm. He threw for a career-high 2,860 yards this season, with 24 touchdowns and just five interceptions. But he posted the lowest completion percentage (60.8) and quarterback rating (141.2) of his college career.
Winfield Jr. was the Big Ten Defensive Back of the Year award winner and one of five finalists for the Nagurski Award, given annually to the best defensive player in the nation.
He is the son of Antoine Winfield, a three-time Pro Bowl cornerback who played nine of his 14 years in the NFL with the Minnesota Vikings.
OREGON STATE’S SMITH
GETS 3-YEAR EXTENSION >> Oregon State coach Jonathan Smith has received a three-year contract extension that would keep him with the Beavers through the 2025 season. The Beavers went 5-7 overall this season and 4-5 in the Pac12. The team improved by three wins over the previous season.
GEORGE PERLES, LONGTIME
MICHIGAN STATE COACH, DIES AT 85 >> George Perles, who coached Michigan State to a Rose Bowl victory in 1988 and was an assistant for the dominant Pittsburgh Steelers teams of the 1970s that won four Super Bowls, died Tuesday, the school said. He was 85.
Perles played football at Michigan State and later was an assistant coach, head coach, athletic director and member of the school’s governing body.
Michigan State hired Perles in 1983 to revive its beleaguered football program. He did just that, winning Big Ten titles in 1987 and 1990 and coaching the school in seven bowl games. He helped the Spartans beat USC 20-16 on Jan. 1, 1988, for their first Rose Bowl win in three-plus decades.
Mark Dantonio, Michigan State’s current football coach, recalled having Perles’ support from the moment he arrived on campus in 2007.
“Coach Perles exuded confidence, conviction and toughness. He really gave his life to Michigan State, all the way till the end,” Dantonio said in a statement. “He was someone you could lean on.”
Baseball
BREWERS’ COUNSELL GETS 3-YEAR EXTENSION >> The Milwaukee Brewers signed manager Craig Counsell to a three-year extension through the 2023 season. Counsell, 49, was heading into the final year of his contract.
He is 405-381 through five seasons at the helm, including a National League Central division title in 2018 and a second consecutive playoff appearance in 2019.
Already the longest-tenured manager in the National League, Counsell would surpass Phil Garner (1992-99) as the longestserving skipper in Milwaukee history if he manages the team through 2023.
Soccer
MLS PLANS JERSEY REVEALS, OTHER EVENTS TO MARK 25TH SEASON >> Major League Soccer has unveiled its plans to celebrate its 25th season, including a jersey reveal ahead of New York Fashion Week. The 26team league, including expansion teams in Miami and Nashville, kicks off its 2020 season on Feb. 29.
In the run-up to the season, Adidas and the league will reveal new jerseys on Feb. 5, a day before Fashion Week gets underway. Commissioner
Don Garber, team owners, coaches and players will also hold a leaguewide media event in New York later in the month to preview the season.
MLS will be highlighting former players throughout the year, culminating in November with a “25 Greatest’’ list, based on input from fans, the media, coaches and players.
Women’s basketball
STEWART SET TO RETURN
FOR TEAM USA IN EXHIBITION >> Breanna Stewart is set to return to competition when she leads USA Basketball against her alma mater at the end of month. Stewart and the women’s national team will play exhibition games against UConn in Hartford on Jan. 27 and against Louisville in Kentucky on Feb. 2.
Her return would come about nine months after she ruptured her right Achilles tendon while playing in the Euroleague Women’s championship in April. Stewart missed the WNBA season after winning league MVP and a championship with the Seattle Storm in 2018.
Tennis
TSITSIPAS SAYS RACKET INCIDENT WAS AN ACCIDENT >> Stefanos Tsitsipas said he did not mean to hit his father and coach Apostolos with a racket swipe in a mid-match fit of rage during Tuesday’s ATP Cup loss to Nick Kyrgios. The Greek 21-year-old lost 7-6 (7), 6-7 (3), 7-6 (5), and took out his frustration after losing the opening set tiebreak with two racket swipes near the team bench, the second of which bruised his father’s arm.
Apostolos immediately got up from his chair in shock and went up to the stands to sit with the rest of the Greek team while Tsitsipas, who was docked a point and received an earful from his mother.