Michigan fill-in Martelli: `I've done this before'
In a hallway in the guts of Crisler Center, an anxious Michigan athletics employee walked Phil Martelli to the news conference. More than once, she offered to help: Do you need me? Can I do anything?
Martelli, his shoulders relaxed and his demeanor confident, assured her that he was OK. And with that, he strode purposefully into the room and toward the podium.
“I know what I'm doing. I've done this before,” he said Tuesday.
The 67-year-old Martelli, having spent nearly four decades in big-time college basketball, will fill in for Michigan head coach Juwan Howard for the rest of the regular season. Howard was suspended five games and fined $40,000 by the Big Ten Conference after hitting a Wisconsin assistant coach in the head during the handshake line after a loss Sunday.
Martelli aims to bolster the Wolverines' chances at an NCAA Tournament bid after the team started the season with high expectations for March. His first game will be tonight when Michigan (14-11, 8-7) hosts Rutgers. Howard is expected to return for the Big Ten Tournament, which begins March 9 in Indianapolis.
Now in his third season as the Michigan associate head coach, following 24 years of guiding Saint Joseph's and 10 more there as an assistant, Martelli is no stranger to leading a team through late-season pressure. He maintained his approach will be to continue on the path created by Howard.
“What we have in place is the way we're going to play,” Martelli said.
Martelli was the 2004 Associated Press men's coach of the year after guiding Saint Joseph's within one win of the Final Four. He was 444-328 as the Hawks' head coach, including seven appearances in the NCAA Tournament.
UCONN UPSETS VILLANOVA >> R.J. Cole hit a driving floater with 5.9 seconds left and then took a charge at the other end of the court to rally No. 21 UConn to a 71-69 win over No. 8 Villanova. The Huskies (20-7, 11-5 Big East) beat the Wildcats for the first time since 2014 to secure their first 20-win season in six years. They played most of the game without coach Dan Hurley, who was ejected in the first half.
Villanova (21-7, 14-4) had a fourpoint lead and the ball with 35 seconds remaining. But Caleb Daniels missed the front end of a 1-and-1 for the Wildcats, the best free-throw shooting team in the country, and Villanova was outscored 6-0 the rest of the way.
TEXAS TECH ROLLS >> Davion Warren scored 16 points, Bryson Williams had 13 and ninth-ranked Texas Tech won its 20th consecutive home game while avenging its only loss this month with a 66-42 victory over Oklahoma. The Red Raiders (22-6, 11-4 Big 12) have won seven of eight. The Sooners (14-14, 4-11) have lost four straight since a 70-55 win over Texas Tech.
Golf MICKELSON APOLOGIZES FOR SUPPORT OF SAUDI-BACKED LEAGUE >>
Phil Mickelson apologized for comments about the Saudis and a proposed super league, which he claims were off the
record and not meant to be shared publicly.
Mickelson also said in a statement he has felt pressure and stress affecting him at a deeper level over the last 10 years and he needs time away. However, he did not say if he would be taking a break from golf.
“There is the problem of off record comments being shared out of context and without my consent,” he said. “But the bigger issue is that I used words I sincerely regret that do not reflect my true feelings or intentions.” Mickelson said he was “deeply sorry” and said his comments were reckless.
Most damaging about Mickelson's remarks to author and golf writer Alan Shipnuck was referring to the Saudis financing a proposed breakaway league as “scary mother (expletive)s.” He also told Shipnuck, who is writing a biography on Mickelson, that it was worth getting in bed with the Saudis, despite their history of human rights abuses, if it meant a chance to change the PGA Tour.
“We know they killed (Washington Post columnist Jamal) Khashoggi and have a horrible record on human rights. They execute people over there for being gay,” he said in an interview took place last November. “Knowing all of this, why would I even consider it? Because this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reshape how the PGA Tour operates.”
Shipnuck tweeted Tuesday that
Mickelson's claims he spoke off the record were “completely false.”
WNBA
BIRD SAYS THIS MAY BE FINAL SEASON >> Sue Bird says all signs are pointing toward the 2022 season being her last in the WNBA with the Seattle Storm. Bird, a four-time WNBA champion, 12-time All-Star and the oldest player in the league at 41, previously announced she would return for one more season. She waited until Seattle finished its offseason maneuvers — including bringing back Jewell Loyd and Breanna Stewart — before signing her deal with the Storm last week.
Baseball
YANKEES TO RETIRE NO. 21 >> Paul O'Neill's No. 21 will be retired by the New York Yankees — on Aug. 21. O'Neill, who won four World Series titles with New York, will become the 23rd player or manager whose number was retired by the Yankees.
The Yankees have not retired a number since they hung Derek Jeter's No. 2 in 2017. With 21 now off the table, 11, 12, 14, 18, 19 and 22 are the only numbers under 28 that are neither retired nor worn by a current player or coach.
Tennis
DUBAI CHAMPIONSHIPS >> Secondseeded Andrey Rublev beat Daniel Evans 6-4, 7-5 in the first round of the Dubai Championships on Tuesday, just two days after winning his ninth tour title.
Rubley, who defeated Felix AugerAliassime in the final at the Open 13 tournament on Sunday, next faces Soonwoo Kwan, who beat Ilya Ivashka 6-3, 6-2. Karen Khachanov will face top-seeded Novak Djokovic in the second round after he beat Alex de Minaur 6-3, 6-7 (1), 7-5. MEXICAN OPEN >> Defending champion Alexander Zverev outlasted Jenson Brooksby 3-6, 7-6 (10), 6-2 at the Mexican Open in a first-round match that ended at 4:55 a.m. — the latest-ever finish to an ATP match. Matches started at 6 p.m. due to the intense heat during the day in Acapulco. Later, Daniil Medvedev continued his pursuit of the No. 1 ranking with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Benoit Paire. The 26-year-old can overtake Novak Djokovic and move into top spot if he wins the title.