Fast Break

College football

Lappano won’t stay on at UW

New Washington coach Steve Sarkisian said he’s already made some decisions regarding the current Huskies assistant coaches, but isn’t ready to formally say who is staying and who’s going.

The Seattle Times reports that offensive coordinator Tim Lappano, a Spokane native, has been told he won’t be back.

Sarkisian said there are still a few decisions to be made about whether anyone from Tyrone Willingham’s staff will remain. The most likely candidates to stay are defensive line coach Randy Hart, linebackers coach and recruiting coordinator Chris Tormey (also of Spokane) and running backs coach Steve Gervais.

Sarkisian said he should decide by early next week.

Women’s basketball

Willamette coach collapses, dies

Willamette University officials say coach Bruce Henderson collapsed at Monday’s practice and later died from the apparent heart attack.

The 47-year-old head coach was in his fourth season at the Division III school in Salem, Ore. The game scheduled for Tuesday against Corban College was canceled, and the team won’t resume competition until after the holiday break.

Henderson, a Willamette grad, was an assistant coach at Oregon State and Portland State before returning to his alma mater.

NFL

League office reduces staff

Commissioner Roger Goodell said the league is cutting more than 10 percent of its staff in response to the downturn in the nation’s economy that could put a dent in ticket sales for next season.

Goodell announced the cuts in a memo to league employees. The NFL is eliminating about 150 of its staff of 1,100 in New York, NFL Films in New Jersey and television and Internet production facilities in Los Angeles.

The NFL long has been regarded as one of the wealthiest pro sports leagues on the planet. But now it joins the NBA, NASCAR teams and the company that runs Major League Baseball’s Internet division in announcing layoffs. The NHL hasn’t laid off workers, though it is in a hiring freeze, a spokesman said.