In brief: Two Ohio State players suspended
Two players from No. 1 Ohio State have been suspended for the Buckeyes’ national championship game against LSU for violating team rules, according to several media reports.
Donald Washington, a starting cornerback, and backup Eugene Clifford will miss the BCS national title game in New Orleans on Jan. 7 for the unspecified violations, according to reports by WCMH-TV on Wednesday night and The Columbus Dispatch on Thursday. Both reports cited unnamed sources.
Athletic director Gene Smith declined to confirm the suspensions, but said there was “work to be done.”
Washington is a sophomore who has started every game for the Buckeyes (11-1), and Clifford is a top reserve who played in four games.
Washington played a key role in an Ohio State defense ranked among the best in the nation. He had 34 tackles, tied for seventh best on the team with lineman Vernon Gholston, and also had two tackles for losses, one sack, one interception and one fumble recovery.
“Authorities have charged two women and a man with a weekend attack on three North Carolina football players in Chapel Hill, N.C., which police said was motivated by robbery and included the sexual assault of at least two players.
Neither authorities nor the university released the players’ names, with the school citing federal privacy laws that govern educational institutions.
“Tennessee Titans offensive coordinator Norm Chow pulled his name from consideration for UCLA’s head coaching job. The Titans (8-6) must win their final two games and need help elsewhere to clinch their first playoff berth since 2003.
“Rich Rodriguez fired Michigan’s assistant coaches, his second day as an employee of the school. Lloyd Carr will coach the Wolverines on Jan. 1 against Florida in the Capital One Bowl, then Rodriguez will take over.
Hockey
Woman to be inducted
The International Ice Hockey Hall of Fame is not just for men any more.
Former U.S. Olympic hockey star Cammi Granato will break the gender barrier in the players’ category, along with Geraldine Heaney and Angela James, when she is inducted into the international hockey shrine in May.
Mario Lemieux, Igor Larionov, Philippe Bozon of France and Art Berglund, the Canadian-born manager of U.S. national teams for many years, also will be enshrined.
Granato, 36, began playing hockey with her siblings, including big brother Tony who went on to an NHL career. She became the most well-known female hockey player in the United States, playing in every IIHF world women’s championships and Olympics from the start in 1990 until 2005, when she led the U.S. to its first world title.
As captain, she led the U.S. to gold in 1998 when women’s hockey was an official Olympic sport for the first time. She was honored with the NHL’s Lester Patrick Award in 2007 for outstanding service to hockey in the United States.
Media
Scott to return to air
ESPN anchor Stuart Scott will return to the air tonight after an emergency appendectomy last month revealed a malignant tumor.
Scott had to leave the Monday Night Football game between Miami and Pittsburgh on Nov. 26 to have his appendix removed. Doctors discovered the tumor during surgery and a second, precautionary surgery followed to eliminate surrounding tissue.
Scott will undergo preventive chemotherapy this winter.
“Stuart’s doctors are confident they have removed the cancerous tissue,” ESPN executive vice president Norby Williamson said. “He’s assured his fans and friends and colleagues that he’s going to continue to return to his assignments.”
Scott plans to anchor tonight’s NBA doubleheader, and will begin hosting an NBA studio show on ABC on Christmas Day. Mark Jones, who has been handling some of the network’s basketball coverage, will replace Scott if necessary.