News+Notes: Red Sox manager Alex Cora fired in sign-stealing scandal,
The Boston Red Sox fired manager Alex Cora on Tuesday, a day after baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred implicated him in the sport’s sign-stealing scandal.
Cora was the bench coach for the Houston Astros when they illicitly stole signs and won the 2017 World Series. Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred mentioned Cora by name 11 times in a ninepage report Monday, describing him as a key person in the planning and execution of the cheating scheme.
Cora met Tuesday with Boston management, less than a month before the start of spring training. Bench coach Ron Roenicke and former Red Sox star Jason Varitek may be considered for the role.
Manfred said Cora was among those who “originated and executed” aspects of the cheating scheme, in which the team used a center field camera to decode catchers’ signals to pitchers and banged on a trash can with a bat or massage gun near the dugout to let hitters know which pitch was coming.
Manfred announced he was withholding punishment of Cora until completing a separate investigation of accusations the Red Sox stole signs in 2018. Indications were the penalty would be equal or greater than what Hinch and Luhnow received.
College football
EX-PLAYER SUES PENN STATE OVER FOOTBALL HAZING ALLEGATIONS >> A former Penn State football player claims in a lawsuit that Nittany Lions players hazed him and other younger teammates by imitating sexual acts in the shower and invoking Jerry Sandusky’s name.
The player filed the lawsuit Monday in Pennsylvania federal court against the university, head coach
James Franklin and one former teammate.
The school’s own investigation found the ex-teammate had committed “prohibited behavior,” the complaint said.
University police turned over results of their investigation to the local district attorney, who declined to prosecute, Penn State said in a statement. The university said it conducted extensive interviews but found nothing to substantiate claims against Franklin or to indicate that anyone had been hazed.
Pro basketball
WNBA’S 8-YEAR LABOR DEAL
TO HIKE AVERAGE SALARY >> The WNBA and its union announced a tentative eight-year labor deal that will allow top players to earn more than $500,000 while the average annual compensation will surpass six figures for the first time.
The contract, which begins this season and runs through 2027, will pay players an average of $130,000 and guarantees full salaries while on maternity leave. The collective bargaining agreement also provides enhanced family benefits, travel standards and other health and wellness improvements.
Tennis
SMOKE HAZE AGAIN FORCES DELAY IN AUSTRALIAN OPEN QUALIFYING >> Australian Open officials have delayed the start of play by two hours on the second day of qualifying, hoping that smoke from regional wild fires will clear later Wednesday.
Health authorities expect the air quality to bounce between the “very poor to hazardous range” until at least Wednesday afternoon, with a top temperature of 93 Fahrenheit before a late weather change that’s set to bring rain.