Sports Briefs January 16, 2012
Football
Completing an unusual swap of offensive coordinators, the Falcons hired Dirk Koetter from Jacksonville to replace Mike Mularkey only four days after the Jaguars introduced Mularkey as their new coach.
The Falcons announced the hire on Sunday.
The Falcons hired Koetter, an ex-Boise State coach, despite the Jaguars ranking last in the league in total offense and yards passing in 2011. Koetter's offense ranked 29th with its average of 15.2 points per game.
Mularkey, whose Falcons offense was shut out in a 24-2 playoff loss to the New York Giants last week, was introduced as Jacksonville's coach on Wednesday. He hired former Falcons quarterbacks coach Bob Bratkowski to be his offensive coordinator.
Golf
Johnson Wagner played bogey-free over the last 12 holes and won the Sony Open in Honolulu for his third PGA Tour title.
Six players had a share of the lead Sunday at some point in the final round. Wagner was the only player who stayed there, closing with a 3-under 67 for a two-shot victory over Carl Pettersson, Sean O'Hair, Harrison Frazar and Charles Howell III.
The win puts Wagner in the Masters, and keeps that mustache around that has been causing so much attention for at least another week.
Basketball
Spurs 102, Suns 91: Tim Duncan had 24 points and 11 rebounds, leading host San Antonio over Phoenix, keeping the Spurs perfect at home.
The Spurs have won all nine of their home games and are 0-4 on the road. The 9-0 start marks their best opening at home since the 2007-08 season when they began 13-0.
Golden State 99, Detroit 91: At Auburn Hills, Mich., David Lee scored 24 points a to help Golden State beat Detroit.
Jazz 106, Nuggets 96: Paul Millsap had 26 points and 12 rebounds and visiting Utah beat Denver.
• A prison inmate who was one of four men to accuse a former Syracuse University assistant basketball coach of sexual abuse when they were children has admitted that he made up his claim.
The accuser, Floyd VanHooser, wrote in a letter that he lied to police and in December interviews with The Associated Press and The Post-Standard newspaper of Syracuse. He said he wanted to get back at the coach, Bernie Fine, because Fine did not hire a lawyer to help VanHooser fight a criminal conviction.
Fine had helped raise the 56-year-old VanHooser after his parents died.
Penguins 6, Lightning 3: Evgeni Malkin had three goals and two assists to lead Pittsburgh at Tampa Bay.
Capitals 2, Hurricanes 1: Dmitry Orlov scored his first NHL goal, and host Washington beat Carolina.
Canadiens 4, Rangers 1: Max Pacioretty had two goals and an assist and the host Montreal beat New York.
Blackhawks 4, Sharks 3: Jonathan Toews and Viktor Stalberg each had a goal and an assist, and host Chicago beat San Jose.
Oilers 2, Kings 1, OT: Taylor Hall scored at 3:06 of overtime to lift host Edmonton past Los Angeles.
Ducks 4, Canucks 2: Jason Blake scored two goals to lift visiting Anaheim over Vancouver.
Skiing
Ivica Kostelic won a World Cup slalom in Wengen, Switzerland, to close the gap on overall standings leader Marcel Hirscher, who was disqualified for straddling a gate.
Kostelic was almost flawless in the second run to finish 0.85 seconds ahead of Andre Myhrer of Sweden. Fritz Dopfer of Germany was third.
• Lindsey Vonn ended a five-week winless streak with an emphatic victory in a World Cup super-G in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, that moved her into sole possession of third place on the career wins list.
The American clocked 1 minute, 26.16 seconds down the Olympia delle Tofane course, finishing a massive 0.61 seconds in front of German rival Maria Hoefl-Riesch, with Tina Maze of Slovenia third.
- The Associated Press