Sports Briefs December 13, 2011
Hockey
The Los Angeles Kings fired coach Terry Murray on Monday after a slow start to a season of high expectations.
Murray was replaced by assistant coach John Stevens, who will be the Kings' interim head coach when they open a four-game road trip tonight in Boston.
Murray was behind the long-struggling Kings' bench for their best moments in the past decade, leading Los Angeles to consecutive playoff appearances after an eight-year absence.
Devils 5, Lightning 4: At Tampa, Fla., Zach Parise and Adam Henrique both had a goal and two assists to lead New Jersey past Tampa Bay.
• Chris Chelios led a class of five inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame.
The three-time Norris Trophy winner and four-time Olympian was joined by fellow defenseman Gary Suter, who played with Chelios at the University of Wisconsin and for the Chicago Blackhawks, forward Keith Tkachuk, Philadelphia Flyers owner Ed Snider and broadcaster Mike Emrick.
• The New Jersey Devils have acquired defenseman Kurtis Foster and goaltender Timo Pielmeier from Anaheim in exchange for defenseman Mark Fraser, center Rob Pelley and their seventh-round pick in the 2012 draft.
Basketball
The Syracuse basketball program is in the headlines for a very different reason: The Orange (10-0) are No. 1 in The Associated Press' Top 25.
After spending weeks in the news when former assistant coach Bernie Fine was alleged to have molested two former ball boys, Syracuse moves into the top spot for the fourth time overall and the first time since a one-week appearance late in 2009-10.
Gonzaga fell out of the Top 25 after a loss to Michigan State on Saturday.
• Washington State's Brock Motum was named the Pac-12 Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Week.
Motum led the Cougars to two victories last week, a 66-64 win at Idaho Wednesday and a 93-55 win over Santa Clara Sunday. The Cougars have now won four-straight games, the longest current win-streak of any team in the Pac-12.
WSU's second-leading scorer (15.6 points per game), Motum had a career night Sunday against Santa Clara, putting up a career-high 27 points on 9-for-13 shooting from the field.
• Boston signed draft picks JaJuan Johnson and E'Twaun Moore and re-signed Sasha Pavlovic.
The 6-foot-10 Johnson was the player of the year and defensive player of the year in the Big Ten last season when he averaged 20.5 points, 8.6 rebounds and 2.3 blocks for Purdue. The Celtics took him with the 27th pick of the first round.
The 6-foot-4 Moore, also from Purdue, averaged 18.0 points, 5.1 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.2 steals. He was drafted in the second round with the 55th overall pick.
The Celtics originally signed Pavlovic, a 6-foot-7 swingman, as a free agent on March 3 after he was let go by the New Orleans Hornets. He scored 31 points in 17 games with Boston, including 19 in the regular-season finale.
The Celtics also finalized a trade that brings them Orlando Magic forward Brandon Bass for forward Glen Davis and guard Von Wafer.
Bass' agent, Tony Dutt, said last Friday it was being completed. That night, after the Celtics' first practice since NBA lockout ended, coach Doc Rivers said he hoped Bass could practice with the team soon.
Bass averaged a career-high 11.2 points and 5.2 rebounds in 76 games last season, 51 of them starts. The Celtics are his fourth team in seven NBA seasons.
Davis, who spent all four of his seasons with the Celtics, averaged 11.7 points and 5.5 rebounds last season in 78 games, including 13 starts.
In his only season with Boston, Wafer averaged 3.2 points in 58 games.
- The Associated Press