Sports Briefs July 27, 2010
Football
The Tennessee Titans are suing Southern California and coach Lane Kiffin for "maliciously" luring away assistant running backs coach Kennedy Pola a week before training camp opens.
Tennessee Football Inc., the company that owns the Titans, filed the lawsuit Monday in Davidson County Chancery Court against both the university and Kiffin.
The lawsuit accuses Southern California and Kiffin of violating Pola's contract that required him to have written permission to discuss a job with anyone other than the Titans.
Tennessee hired Pola as running backs coach in February only to lose him Saturday to Southern California as the Trojans' new offensive coordinator and running backs coach.
• Florida State linebacker Nigel Carr was freed on a $15,750 bond after being jailed on five separate criminal allegations, including two felony charges, authorities said.
Carr was arrested by Tallahassee police Sunday on two counts of auto burglary, criminal mischief, credit card theft and fraud. A police report said items taken from a vehicle were found in a trash bin at Carr's apartment complex, leading to his arrest.
First-year coach Jimbo Fisher, who was in North Carolina attending his inaugural Atlantic Coast Conference football kickoff, said the 230-pound junior would be disciplined in accordance to the university's athletics code of conduct.
• Three Grizzlies and two Bobcats are among a dozen Big Sky Conference football players to earn preseason All-America honors from The Sports Network.
Montana running back Chase Reynolds and Griz cornerback Trumaine Johnson earned first team honors while Montana center Alex Verlanic earned second-team honors.
Montana State offensive tackle Mike Person and defensive tackle Dan Ogden received third-team honors.
Also earning first team honors were: Northern Arizona quarterback Michael Herrick, Eastern Washington running back Taiwan Jones, Sacramento State defensive end Christian Clark and EWU linebacker J.C. Sherritt.
• Tennessee announced it will host Montana in the 2011 season opener at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn.
Tennessee was scheduled to host North Texas on Sept. 3, 2011, but the Mean Green decided it wanted to begin its season at home in its new football stadium, which is scheduled to open then. The schools plan to reschedule the game for a later date.
The Grizzlies have twice won a national Football Championship Subdivision national title and have been runners-up for the championship for the past two seasons.
Basketball
Chris Paul is staying put with the New Orleans Hornets - at least for now.
The Hornets' star guard did not request a trade in his meeting with new coach Monty Williams and top team officials, general manager Dell Demps said.
Demps, essentially in his first day on the job since his hiring last week, added that he was confident Paul would still be with New Orleans when the coming season opens.
• A Kentucky woman lied repeatedly in an attempt to extort millions from the University of Louisville's basketball coach, then traded sexual favors and lied again to cover up her crime, federal prosecutors said at the start of her trial in Louisville, Ky.
Assistant U.S. Attorney John Kuhn told jurors that Karen Cunagin Sypher threatened to ruin Rick Pitino's reputation with false allegations of rape and forced abortion.
Sypher, 50, has pleaded not guilty to extortion, retaliating against a witness and lying to the FBI.
• The Boston Celtics announced that they had signed swingman Marquis Daniels after his disappointing first season with the club. The seven-year veteran missed 28 games with a torn ligament in his left thumb that required surgery and averaged a career-low 5.6 points in 51 games.
- The Associated Press