FOOTBALL
Big 12 passes on expansion
The Big 12 Conference has decided against expansion from its current 10 schools after three months of analyzing, vetting and interviewing possible new members. The announcement came after a six-hour meeting Monday with the conference’s university presidents and Commissioner Bob Bowlsby. Oklahoma President David Boren said the decision was unanimous and no specific schools were discussed or voted on during the meeting. Bowlsby said his only recommendation to the board was to bring the expansion process to an end. He said that while the conference could one day re-open the subject, expansion is now off the agenda. “This was not a decision to not expand,” Bowlsby said. “This was an endorsement and reinvestment in the 10 that we had.” Conference officials held interviews in September with Air Force and Colorado State from the Mountain West; Central Florida, Cincinnati, Connecticut, Houston, South Florida, SMU and Tulane from the American Athletic Conference; and Brigham Young, which is a football independent with its other sports in the West Coast Conference.. The Big 12 has been tossing around the idea of expansion for almost two years as it tries to find ways to increase revenue and improve the conference’s chances to make the College Football Playoff. The Big 12 was left out of the first playoff in 2014, but conference champion Oklahoma made it last season. Boren had said the Big 12 was “psychologically disadvantaged” by being the smallest Power Five league and the only one without a football championship game.
Fournette trying to practice
LSU Coach Ed Orgeron said running back Leonard Fournette has asked to practice this week in preparation for the 25th-ranked Tigers’ game against No. 23 Ole Miss on Saturday night. Orgeron is not committing to playing Fournette against the Rebels, wanting to see how practice goes as the junior running back tries to return from a nagging left ankle injury he aggravated at Auburn on Sept. 24. Orgeron said the injury took a toll physically and mentally on Fournette, who “wanted to be out there helping the team with this new start,” after LSU fired coach Les Miles and installed Orgeron as interim coach. LSU has won both of its games in the three weeks Fournette has sat out. Fournette has 386 yards and two touchdowns rushing in three games this season.
BASEBALL
D-Backs hire new GM
The Arizona Diamondbacks have hired Mike Hazen as their new vice president and general manager. With the addition of Hazen, Tony La Russa will shift from chief baseball officer into an advisory role. He had been in charge of the Diamondbacks’ baseball operations since May 2014. Arizona was searching for someone with a blend of traditional baseball evaluation skills and analytics after firing GM Dave Stewart a day after the 2016 season end. Hazen, 40, fits those skill sets. He was a two-time All-Ivy League player at Princeton and played two seasons in the minors after graduating and being drafted by the San Diego Padres in 1998. Hazen spent five seasons with the Cleveland Indians, working in scouting and player development, before moving to Boston. He worked 11 seasons with the Red Sox, winning World Series titles in 2007 and 2013 while making the postseason five times. Hazen was involved in every aspect of baseball operations in Boston and spent four seasons as assistant GM before being promoted to vice president and general manager before the 2016 season. Hazen’s first order of business will be to replace manager Chip Hale, who was fired the same day as Stewart.
TENNIS
Kyrgios suspended, fined
Nick Kyrgios will miss the rest of the season after being suspended by the men’s tour and fined an additional $25,000 on Monday for “tanking” a match and insulting fans in the mercurial Australian’s latest run-in with tennis authorities. The ATP said Kyrgios was sanctioned for “conduct contrary to the integrity of the game” following an investigation into his behavior during a second-round loss to German qualifier Mischa Zverev last week at the Shanghai Masters. Kyrgios gave little effort during the 6-3, 6-1 defeat, even patting easy serves over the net and turning away before his opponent’s serve had crossed the net. The 21-year-old Australian had already been fined a total of $16,500 for failing to give a full effort, unsportsmanlike conduct and verbal abuse of a spectator.
BASKETBALL
NBA: Play other sports
According to the NBA, the best thing young players can do for their basketball careers is not play too much basketball. They should participate in other sports and delay specializing in just basketball until they are at least 14 years old. They should also take at least one day off from organized competition each week and extended time off at least once a year for proper physical and mental recovery. Those were among the guidelines announced Monday by the NBA and USA Basketball to begin Jr. NBA Week. The Jr. NBA is the league’s youth basketball participation program for boys and girls ages 6-14. The research and recommendations come from panels of medical experts, former players, and coaches and administrators throughout basketball. They found that athletes who have the most success played multiple sports at a young age and didn’t focus on a specific one until late adolescence. “The idea of sampling and participating in other sports does not mean you’re getting behind,” said Dr. John DiFiori, NBA director of sports medicine and UCLA team physician.
TRACK AND FIELD
3 plead not guilty in death of Gay’s daughter
LEXINGTON, Ky. — Three men charged in connection with the shooting death of the 15-yerold daughter of Olympic sprinter Tyson Gay pleaded not guilty Monday.
Gay, a former Arkansas Razorbacks all-American, said Sunday, he and his daughter were very close, according to Lexington TV station WLEX.
“It’s so crazy. I have no idea what happened,” Gay told the station.
Fayette County, Ky., District Court Judge T. Bruce Bell set bail at $5,000 each for Chazerae Taylor, 38, and his son, D’Markeo Taylor, 19, on wanton endangerment charges. Dvonta Middlebrooks, 21, is charged with wanton endangerment and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. His bail was set at $12,500.
Bell will assign attorneys for two of them. The younger Taylor already has a lawyer.
Lexington police said Middlebrooks was in the parking lot of the Cook Out restaurant and fired multiple shots in the incident in which Trinity Gay was killed early Sunday. Court records show the Taylors admitted also firing shots.
Police spokesman Brenna Angel said police don’t believe Trinity Gay was in either of the vehicles involved.
Grief counselors were at Lexington’s Lafayette High School on Monday for students and staff, Fayette County Public Schools spokesman Lisa Deffendall said. Both Gay and his daughter attended the school.
Lafayette Principal Bryne Jacobs said Trinity Gay’s mother, Shoshana Boyd, who also attended Lafayette, had thanked him for support from the school and community, and noted that Trinity’s life was something to celebrate.
A candlelight vigil was planned for Monday night on the school’s track, where Trinity Gay excelled.
Trinity Gay was a standout sprinter, placing in the top five in several events at the state championships in May. Her father still holds the state record in the 100 set in 2001.
Tyson Gay competed in the last three Summer Olympics. He was part of a team that won a silver medal in the 4x100-meter relay at the 2012 London Games, though that medal was ultimately stripped after Gay tested positive for steroids in 2013.
Last summer’s Games in Rio featured another stinging disappointment for Gay, 33, who has battled injuries. He was a member of the American men’s 4x100-meter relay team that finished third in the final before being disqualified for an illegal baton exchange between Mike Rodgers and Justin Gatlin. The team’s appeal was denied, giving Canada the bronze medal.