FOOTBALL
Sooners hire Venables
Oklahoma has hired Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables as its head coach to replace Lincoln Riley, a person with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press on Sunday night. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because a deal hadn't been announced. The Athletic first reported that a deal between Oklahoma and Venables was done. Riley departed the Sooners last week to take over at Southern California. Venables, 50, was on Oklahoma's staff under Bob Stoops as co-defensive coordinator from 1999 to 2003 and defensive coordinator from 2004 to 2011. He was co-defensive coordinator when the Sooners won the 2000 national title. He left Oklahoma for Clemson in 2012 and won the Broyles Award in 2016 as the nation's top assistant. Venables' Clemson defense led the nation in scoring defense in 2018, and his 2020 unit tied for the lead in sacks. This season, Clemson ranks second nationally in scoring defense, ninth in total defense, eighth in rushing defense and sixth in pass efficiency defense. Oklahoma was caught off guard when Riley took the job at USC. The Sooners quickly made Stoops interim coach to calm things down during recruiting. Stoops reassured fans that things would be fine at a program that has won seven national titles and had seven Heisman Trophy winners.
Cajuns promote OC
Louisiana-Lafayette promoted co-offensive coordinator and former Ragin' Cajuns quarterback Michael Desormeaux to head coach on Sunday. The announcement by Athletic Director Bryan Maggard came less than 24 hours after Billy Napier won his final game as Cajuns coach in the Sun Belt Conference championship game, 24-16 over Appalachian State. Napier was hired a week ago by Florida but took the job on the condition that he be permitted to coach the Sun Belt title game before heading to Gainesville. Desormeaux, 36, played at Louisiana-Lafayette from 2005-08 and has been on the Ragin' Cajuns' staff for the last six seasons. After serving as an interim head coach in 2017, Desormeaux was retained by Napier in 2018 and has been on the staff for the greatest run of success in Louisiana-Lafayette history. The Cajuns are 40-12 combined during the past four seasons and have cracked the AP Top 25 in each of the past two seasons. They will finish this season with a fourth consecutive bowl game.
TENNIS
Russia ends 15-year drought
Russia's 15-year wait for a Davis Cup title ended Sunday after another clutch performance from Daniil Medvedev. Medvedev capped his amazing year with a 7-6 (7), 6-2 win over Marin Cilic in the second singles match to give Russia an insurmountable 2-0 lead over Croatia and its first Davis Cup title since 2006. It was the fifth consecutive straight-set victory in the Davis Cup for the No. 2 Medvedev, who three months ago defeated Novak Djokovic to win the U.S. Open for his first Grand Slam title. Andrey Rublev earlier had beaten Borna Gojo in straight sets to put the Russians ahead at the Madrid Arena. Russia's other Davis Cup title was in 2002. Croatia also was seeking its third title after triumphs in 2005 and 2018.
AUTO RACING
Hamilton first at Saudi Arabia
The increasingly tense Formula One title fight between defending champion Lewis Hamilton and his formidable challenger, Max Verstappen, will head to the last race of the season with the fierce rivals level on points. Next weekend's Abu Dhabi showdown will see Hamilton crowned for a record eighth time -- or Verstappen win his first title. Hamilton's nail-biting win at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix on Sunday was his third in a row to pull him level with Verstappen on 369.5 points. The British veteran is within touching distance of title No. 8 to move one ahead of Michael Schumacher and stand alone among F1 greats. Verstappen still leads by a hair's breadth, only because he has more wins: 9-8. Hamilton's win in the heat and humidity of Jeddah saw him pass Verstappen with six laps remaining of a chaotic race, as the pair tangled again this season following high-octane crashes at the British GP and the Italian GP. The race on the street circuit under the lights on the 30-kilometer (18.6-mile) coastal resort area in Jeddah will go down as one of the more memorable events of the season -- if not the last several years. It saw three standing starts, a pair of restarts, multiple safety cars, and an intense back-and-forth between the title contenders including a minor late collision. Red Bull was allowed to negotiate a penalty for Verstappen, Mercedes head Toto Wolff slammed his headset in rage, and Hamilton drove into the back of his title rival before ultimately passing Verstappen for the win.