FOOTBALL
OU fires DC Stoops
Oklahoma fired defensive coordinator Mike Stoops on Monday after the Sooners struggled to stop Texas during their first loss of the season. Ruffin McNeill, the assistant head coach and defensive tackles coach, will be the defensive coordinator for the rest of the season. The No. 11 Sooners (5-1) lost 48-45 on Saturday, allowing 501 yards to the Longhorns in Dallas. McNeill was defensive coordinator at UNLV from 1997-1998 and at Fresno State in 1999. He later served in that same role with Texas Tech from 2008-2009 before taking over as coach at East Carolina from 2010-2015. Riley’s confidence in Mc-Neill played a role in the decision to fire Stoops, the brother of former Sooners coach Bob Stoops. Riley was McNeill’s offensive coordinator at East Carolina, and he brought Mc-Neill to Oklahoma as assistant head coach before the 2017 season. The Sooners have a week off before they play at TCU. Bob Diaco will move from defensive specialist to coach the outside linebackers. He has been defensive coordinator at Cincinnati, Notre Dame and Nebraska and was the head coach at Connecticut from 2014-2016.
Source: Torn ACL for Ajayi
The Philadelphia Eagles placed running back Jay Ajayi on injured reserve Monday because of a knee injury. A person familiar with the situation said Ajayi tore an anterior cruciate ligament and will miss the rest of the season. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the team hasn’t announced the severity of the injury. Ajayi had 29 yards rushing on eight carries and lost a fumble at the Vikings 5 in a 23-21 loss to Minnesota on Sunday. He was acquired by the Eagles from Miami at the trade deadline last season and helped the team win the Super Bowl. Ajayi, in the final season of his rookie contract, had 184 yards rushing, an average of 4.1 yards per carry and 3 touchdowns this season. The Eagles (2-3) visit the New York Giants (1-4) on Thursday night.
Flowers gone
The New York Giants are parting ways with 2015 first-round draft pick Ereck Flowers. Coach Pat Shurmur said Monday the offensive tackle who was the ninth pick overall was going to be cut or traded by 3 p.m. Central on Tuesday. Flowers lost his starting job at right tackle to Chad Wheeler after the second game of the season and the play of the line picked up. Flowers has been a disappointment since being drafted from Miami. He was supposed to be the team’s left tackle for the next decade. His play was so poor New York signed former New England Patriots left tackle Nate Solder to a four-year, $62 million contract as a free agent this spring. New general manager Dave Gettleman also decided after last season not to pick up the option on the final year of Flowers’ rookie contract. He is making almost $2.4 million this season. Flowers started 48 regular-season games and one postseason game in three-plus seasons.
BASEBALL
No charges for Sano
Minnesota Twins player Miguel Sano will not face criminal charges in the Dominican Republic as a result of his involvement in a traffic incident that injured a police officer, authorities said Monday. Police said in a statement that the third baseman was released from custody after striking the officer with his car, leaving him with a broken leg outside a nightclub in San Pedro de Macoris early Sunday. They said officer Argenis Emilio Gillandeux was working outside the club Riversay when he was hit. Authorities said Sano was not carrying any identification and that his car was not registered. Police spokesman Frank Duran told The Associated Press that Gillandeux said that “it was an involuntary accident, not intentional,” and he would not press charges. Duran said that Sano would need to appear in traffic court, which would impose a fine and indemnity for the officer. Earlier, a Twins spokesman said the ballclub was aware of the situation involving Sano and was gathering facts. Sano, 25, is a native of the Dominican Republic, where he lives when he is not playing. Sano is coming off a shortened season after injuring his surgically repaired left leg. He batted .199 in 71 games with 13 home runs, 53 hits and 115 strikeouts for the Twins.
BASKETBALL
Suns fire GM
The Phoenix Suns fired general manager Ryan McDonough on Monday, nine days before their season begins. James Jones and Trevor Bukstein will share the GM duties on an interim basis for the Suns. Jones is the team’s vice president of basketball operations and Bukstein was assistant GM under McDonough, who had been in Phoenix since 2013 and was under contract through 2020. Suns owner Robert Sarver said in a statement announcing the firing that he made the decision “after much thought and a long evaluation of our basketball operations.” The Suns took Deandre Ayton with the No. 1 overall pick in this year’s draft and gave Devin Booker a $158 million extension during the offseason. Phoenix has had four consecutive losing seasons and no playoff berth since 2010. Last year’s 21-61 record was the worst in the NBA and second-worst in franchise history.
Spurs’ Murray out
The San Antonio Spurs learned Monday that their starting point guard Dejounte Murray has a torn ACL in his right knee. The team hasn’t revealed when Murray will have surgery, nor has it determined a timetable for his return, but ACL reconstruction and rehabilitation is a process that typically takes around a full year. Murray, who turned 22 last month, averaged 8.1 points, 5.7 rebounds and 2.9 assists last season. Murray was a second-team member of the NBA’s All-Defensive Team last season, the youngest player to ever earn such a distinction. He was also going to be the starter for a team that is chasing a 22nd consecutive postseason appearance, which would tie the NBA’s record.