Sports Briefs November 29, 2011
Football
UCLA fired coach Rick Neuheisel after four disappointing seasons in charge of his alma mater.
Neuheisel will be allowed to coach the Bruins (6-6, 5-4 Pac-12) in Friday's Pac-12 title game at Oregon, athletic director Dan Guerrero announced. Offensive coordinator Mike Johnson will be the Bruins' interim coach if they receive a bowl berth.
Neuheisel is 21-28 since taking over the program in December 2007, never building the momentum he needed to reach his goal of challenging Southern California for city supremacy. Guerrero fired Neuheisel two days after UCLA's 50-0 loss to No. 9 USC, the Bruins' largest loss since 1930 in their crosstown rivalry game.
• New Ohio State coach Urban Meyer said he would not have returned to coaching this year for any other job.
Meyer, the former Florida coach and native Buckeye, was officially hired by Ohio State, a program with a glittering past that has suffered through a difficult year of NCAA violations.
• Defending national champion Carroll College meets third-ranked Georgetown of Kentucky in the semifinals of the NAIA football playoffs on Saturday in Helena.
No. 2 Carroll (12-1) advanced with a 17-14 win over Azusa Pacific while Georgetown (12-0) downed St. Francis of Indiana 26-14 last Saturday.
• Utah State is heading to Idaho next month to play in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl.
University officials announced the Aggies (6-5) will play in the postseason game scheduled Dec. 17 at Bronco Stadium in Boise against a foe to be determined.
Basketball
A group of NBA players that has filed an antitrust lawsuit against the league is asking a Minnesota judge to hold off on any court proceedings while the two sides work on a new collective bargaining agreement.
The players sent a letter to U.S. District Judge Patrick Schiltz on Monday. The letter informs the judge that the two sides have reached a tentative agreement to resolve their labor dispute, including lawsuits filed in Minnesota by the players and in New York by the owners.
• Kentucky is back at No. 1 in The Associated Press' poll for the first time since the 2009-10 season. Saint Louis is back in the Top 25 for the first time since 1993-94.
North Carolina (5-1) dropped to fifth following their 90-80 loss to UNLV in the championship game of the Las Vegas Invitational. Gonzaga is ranked 19th.
Hockey
The last-place Carolina Hurricanes fired coach Paul Maurice for the second time in less than a decade and replaced him with former All-Star Kirk Muller.
• Washington Capitals general manager George McPhee said he fired Bruce Boudreau because "players were no longer responding" to the coach.
Wild 3, Lightning 1: At St. Paul, Minn., Niklas Backstrom rebounded from a rough game and an early exit with 32 saves, and Minnesota beat Tampa Bay.
Stars 3, Avalanche 1: At Denver, Michael Ryder scored twice to lift Dallas over Colorado.
Predators 2, Oilers 1: Nick Spaling scored to break a third-period tie to lift Nashville at Edmonton.
Kings 2, Sharks 0: Jonathan Quick stopped 33 shots to lift Los Angeles over San Jose.
Auto racing
Darian Grubb was officially replaced as Tony Stewart's crew chief, eight days after guiding Stewart to the Sprint Cup title. Steve Addington, who quit as Kurt Busch's crew chief last week, takes over immediately - and begins work as Stewart and Grubb head to Las Vegas to begin the championship celebration.
- The Associated Press