By TIM REYNOLDS And … it’s back. The NBA’s new season starts Tuesday with a pair of games; Kevin Durant and the Brooklyn Nets welcoming Durant’s former team in Golden State, while the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers open with the Los Angeles Clippers in the renewal of rivals who share a building. For the…… read more »
FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. (AP) — The Atlanta Falcons ramped up their search for a general manager Friday by conducting virtual interviews with former Houston Texans GM Rick Smith and the team’s director of college scouting, Anthony Robinson. The Falcons are seeking a replacement for long-time GM Thomas Dimitroff, who was fired along with coach Dan…… read more »
By STEVE REED CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — After a heartbreaking 47-40 double-overtime loss to Notre Dame last month, Clemson coach Dabo Swinney assured his players in the locker room that there would be no trophy handed out that night. There would, however, be one up for grabs when they got to Charlotte for the Atlantic…… read more »
By BRETT MARTEL NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Saints record-setting quarterback Drew Brees “looked good” in his first practices since returning from rib fractures and a punctured lung, and is slated to start against the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday, coach Sean Payton said. “We went off how it felt as he went through a full…… read more »
By RALPH D. RUSSO The Sun Belt Conference football championship game Saturday between No. 9 Coastal Carolina and No. 17 Louisiana-Lafayette was canceled Thursday night because of a positive COVID-19 test within the Coastal Carolina program. An entire position group would have been unavailable to play for the unbeaten Chanticleers because of contact tracing, the…… read more »
By RALPH D. RUSSO As Alabama, Ohio State, Clemson, Oregon, Notre Dame, Oklahoma and Florida prepared to play for conference championships, they signed top-10 recruiting classes for 2021 they hope to fuel their next title contenders. The most unusual college football season in memory brought the convergence Wednesday of the start of the early signing…… read more »
By MITCH STACY COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A group of university administrators on a Zoom call decided Ohio State would play in the Big Ten championship game. Now the No. 3 Buckeyes are eager to show that not only are they the dominant team in the conference, but they also unequivocally deserve a spot in…… read more »
By JOHN WAWROW ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Brandon Beane could have easily stayed in Carolina, where he spent 19 years working his way up the Panthers’ front-office ranks, if only because it felt comfortable and safe. Instead, he took the riskier option by gambling on himself in May 2017, and placing faith in the…… read more »
By JOHN ZENOR Auburn fired football coach Gus Malzahn, ending an eight-year run that began with a trip to the national championship game. Athletic director Allen Greene announced the firing Sunday, a day after the Tigers finished the regular season with a 24-10 victory over Mississippi State. Auburn is 6-4 in a pandemic-shortened season of…… read more »
By JOE WALLJASPER COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Georgia quarterback JT Daniels is confident that wherever he tosses it, George Pickens will make the catch. Daniels threw three touchdown passes, two of them to Pickens as No. 12 Bulldogs broke away from Missouri 49-14 Saturday. “I’ll never overthrow George,” Daniels said. “I’ll always throw it up…… read more »
