Fast Break
College football
Fulmer out at Tennessee
An emotional Phillip Fulmer, with his wife at his side and tearful, angry players surrounding him, announced Monday that he had accepted Tennessee’s decision that this will be his last season as the Volunteers coach.
Fulmer, 58, is being forced out after 17 years as Tennessee’s coach, a run that included a national championship. He has a 150-51 record with the Vols, including the 1998 national championship — the school’s first since 1951.
“This is not an easy day for me or my family. It is not a day that I sought or accepted easily,” said Fulmer, his voice cracking as he fought back tears standing next to wife, Vicky. “Our Tennessee family is united in its goals, but divided in the right path to get there.”
The Vols fell on hard times this season and are just 3-6, including 1-5 in the SEC after a 27-6 loss at South Carolina on Saturday.
Fulmer signed a new seven-year contract in the summer which is worth $2.4 million this season. He will receive $6 million as a buyout of the contract, payable over a 48-month period.
Dubbed the dean of the SEC coaches for his long tenure, Fulmer’s teams won two conference titles and seven divisional crowns. But that wasn’t enough to save his job.
NFL
Hasselbeck may return
Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck may return to practice this week for the first time in more than a month, in a limited role.
Seattle coach Mike Holmgren said Monday that doesn’t mean Hasselbeck will play Sunday at Miami. Holmgren says the bulging disk in Hasselbeck’s back is getting better and his right knee is getting stronger. But the coach says backup Seneca Wallace is still the team’s quarterback.
College basketball
GU’s Bowman out indefinitely
Reigning West Coast Conference Player of the Year Heather Bowman will be out of the Gonzga lineup indefinitely after undergoing elbow surgery Sunday.
The Bulldogs junior injured her elbow in practice last week. She also missed five games early last year with a hand injury, but went on to average a league-leading 20.1 points a game, 12th in the nation, as well as 8.6 rebounds.
“We are disappointed and sad for Heather,” ninth-year head coach Kelly Graves said in a school release. “We can’t replace a player like Heather with any one individual. Everybody will have to step up their games until she returns.”