Newsmakers
Died Longtime Miami baseball coach Ron Fraser, who won two national championships with the Hurricanes and whose innovative marketing ideas helped spark a surge in the college game’s popularity, has died. Fraser died Sunday morning, family spokesman Tony Segreto said. Fraser, known as “the wizard of college baseball,” had battled Alzheimer’s disease for many years. It was believed that Fraser was 79, though his family’s statement did not release his age or other private matters, including a cause of death. Fraser led Miami to national titles in 1982 and 1985, taking the Hurricanes to the College World Series 12 times over his 30 years at the school. He retired in 1992 with 1,271 wins, never having a losing season in his three decades guiding the program. Fraser, however, is best known for his promotions to get fans in the stands, from raffling car batteries, to bikini nights. Fraser also played a key role in getting college baseball on national television. And now the College World Series is a mainstay on TV, as are hundreds of regular-season games annually.
Chosen The Phoenix Suns picked player development director Lindsey Hunter as interim coach, two days after the team parted ways with Alvin Gentry. Hunter, who played for 17 seasons in the NBA, joined the Suns in the scouting department last year and this season took over the team’s new player development department. Hunter, 40, has no prior coaching experience.
Extended Forward Joffrey Lupul has signed a five-year contract extension with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Lupul is now signed through the 2017-18 season. The 29-year-old played 66 games last season and ranked second on the team in goals (25), assists (42), points (67) and power-play goals (8). He had career highs for assists and points.
Agreed A person familiar with the situation said the Chicago White Sox have agreed to a one-year contract with free agent reliever Matt Lindstrom. The contract includes a club option for 2014. The right-handed Lindstrom pitched a combined 47 innings for Arizona and Baltimore last season, posting a 2.68 ERA with 40 strikeouts and 14 walks. Lindstrom is 13-15 with a 3.64 ERA over six seasons.
Set South Korean Sang-Hwa Lee set a 500-meter world record in World Cup speedskating at the Olympic Oval in Calgary, Alberta. Lee’s time of 36.80 seconds lowered the women’s mark of 36.94 set by Yu Jinh of China at the world sprint championships last Jan. 29. Other winners were Jens Smeekens of the Netherlands in the men’s 500 and Heather Richardson of the U.S. and Hein Otterspeer of the Netherlands in the 1,000-meter.