Arkansas puts coach Petrino on paid leave
College football: Arkansas put football coach Bobby Petrino on paid leave Thursday after he failed to disclose he had been riding with a female employee half his age when his motorcycle skidded off the road in Fayetteville, Ark., over the weekend – an accident that prompted him to apologize for that and for what he described as a “previous inappropriate relationship.”
Athletic director Jeff Long announced the decision and said he had no timeline in determining Petrino’s future with the Razorbacks.
“I’m at the beginning of the review. I don’t know what I’m going to find,” Long said.
Long said he didn’t hear about the passenger – former Arkansas volleyball player and current football program employee Jessica Dorrell, who is 25 – until the 51-year-old Petrino called him Thursday afternoon, minutes before a police report was released that disclosed her presence at the accident.
Petrino, who is married with four children, didn’t mention he had a passenger during a news conference on Tuesday, two days after Sunday’s accident, and a school statement that day quoted Petrino’s family as saying “no other individuals” were involved.
Caps top Panthers; both make playoffs
NHL: The Florida Panthers ended one of the longest playoff droughts in major North American sports despite a 4-2 loss to the host Washington Capitals, who also earned a postseason bid to complete the eight-team field for the Eastern Conference.
Both teams qualified after Buffalo lost 2-1 at Philadelphia, eliminating the Sabres.
The Panthers are in the playoffs for the first time in 12 years, but they also will win their first Southeast Division title in franchise history if they gain at least a point at home against Carolina or if the Capitals lose to the New York Rangers on Saturday, the final day of the regular season.
• Predators eliminate Stars, control home-ice destiny: Pekka Rinne made 28 saves for his fifth shutout of the season, Francis Bouillon scored at 4:28 of the third period, and the Nashville Predators beat the Dallas Stars 2-0 in Nashville, Tenn., to grab back control of their playoff slot with their third win in four games.
With the win and Detroit losing 2-1 to New Jersey, Nashville moved back into fourth in the Western Conference, a point ahead of the Red Wings. Each team has one regular-season game remaining.
• Flames beat Canucks, who remain tied with Rangers: Michael Cammalleri scored twice in the third period in the Calgary Flames’ 3-2 comeback victory over the Vancouver Canucks in Calgary, Alberta.
The Canucks had their winning streak snapped at seven, and missed a chance to take a lead over the New York Rangers for the top spot in the overall standings. The Rangers lost 5-2 at Pittsburgh.
• Sharks top Kings in SO, even Pacific race: Joe Pavelski scored the only shootout goal, and the San Jose Sharks beat the host Kings 6-5 to pull even with Los Angeles atop the Pacific Division with two days left in the regular season.
Both teams clinched playoff berths during the game when Dallas and Colorado lost elsewhere, but the Sharks rallied from a late two-goal deficit and then hung on.
Deng powers Bulls past Celtics
NBA: Luol Deng scored 18 of his 26 points in the second half and Joakim Noah added 17 points and nine rebounds to lead the Chicago Bulls to a 93-86 win over the visiting Boston Celtics.
The Bulls again played without Derrick Rose, out due to a strained groin for the 12th consecutive game.
• Anthony leads Knicks past Magic: Carmelo Anthony scored 19 points, Tyson Chandler had 12 points and 12 rebounds and the New York Knicks defeated the Orlando Magic 96-80 in Orlando, Fla.
The Knicks won for just the third time in their last 13 visits to Orlando. The Magic have now lost five straight games for the first time since 2007.
• Van Gundy claims Howard wanted him fired: Orlando Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said he has been told by high-ranking team officials that star center Dwight Howard has asked that he be fired.
“I know he has,” Van Gundy said. “That’s just the way it is. Again, I’ve been dealing with that all year. It’s not anything real bothersome. You go out and do your job.”
Payton awaits fate after meeting
NFL: Sean Payton slipped out a back entrance from NFL headquarters in New York and directly into to a waiting car.
The New Orleans Saints’ Super Bowl-winning coach now must wait for Commissioner Roger Goodell to decide whether he will reduce any of the penalties in the team’s bounty scandal.
Payton declined comment after meeting with Goodell to discuss the season-long suspension he received for his role in the bounty system. Earlier, the commissioner heard appeals from general manager Mickey Loomis and assistant coach Joe Vitt.
Goodell suspended Payton for all of next season, while Loomis was suspended for eight games and Vitt for six.
Meanwhile, a recording of Gregg Williams emerged that purports to capture the disgraced Saints defensive coordinator telling players to “put a lick” on 49ers receiver Kyle Williams to see if he had lingering effects from a concussion. Filmmaker Sean Pamphilon, who had access to Saints meetings for a documentary on football, posted the audio on his website.
• L.A. group releases plan: A group seeking to bring the NFL back to Los Angeles unveiled a massive environmental plan, laying out ways to deal with the traffic nightmare that throngs of fans could create around the proposed $1.4 billion downtown stadium on game days.
Ferris State, BC on to hockey final
College hockey: Aaron Schmit scored two goals, Kyle Bonis had the tiebreaking tally in the third period and Ferris State (26-11-5), in its first Final Four appearance, posted a 3-1 win over Union (26-8-7) to advance to the NCAA Frozen Four at Tampa, Fla.
In the other national semifinal, Paul Carey scored two goals, goaltender Parker Milner made 30 saves and Boston College (32-10-1) eliminated Minnesota (28-14-1) with a 6-1 victory and advanced to Saturday’s championship game in Tampa.
UConn men lose appeal to NCAA
College basketball: The NCAA turned down the University of Connecticut’s final appeal on behalf of its men’s basketball team for a waiver of recently instituted academic requirements – a decision that likely will keep the Huskies out of next year’s postseason.
• George Washington hires Irish assistant: A person with knowledge of the situation tells The Associated Press that Notre Dame assistant Jonathan Tsipis has been hired to coach the George Washington women’s team.