Mariners hire Hansen to be hitting coach
MLB: The Seattle Mariners have hired former major leaguer Dave Hansen to be their new hitting coach, replacing Chris Chambliss, who was fired after the season.
The Mariners made the announcement on Monday. Hansen spent half of the 2011 and all of the 2012 season in the same position with the Los Angeles Dodgers before being fired at the end of the season.
Prior to joining the Dodgers, Hansen spent four seasons as a hitting instructor in the Arizona Diamondbacks system. Hansen interviewed for the job in Seattle when Chambliss was hired.
Hansen’s charge will be improving a Mariners offense that was the worst in baseball. They finished last in the league in batting average (.234), on-base percentage (.296), slugging percentage (.369) and on-base-plus slugging (.665).
Kobe skips Lakers practice to rest foot
NBA: Kobe Bryant has skipped the Los Angeles Lakers’ practice to rest his aching right foot.
The Lakers announced that Bryant’s foot is sore and bruised.
Bryant was injured during the third quarter of the Lakers’ 99-92 preseason loss to Sacramento on Sunday night. He stayed in the game and scored 21 points.
Bryant has fought a handful of nagging injuries in training camp this month. A sore right foot kept him out of an early practice, and he missed a preseason game in Ontario, Calif., to rest a strained right shoulder.
Stanford women picked to win Pac-12
Women’s Basketball: Stanford, which has reached the Final Four in each of the past five seasons, is an overwhelming favorite to repeat as Pac-12 champion.
Stanford received the maximum of 11 first-place votes in a poll of Pac-12 coaches. California, which returns nearly everybody from a team that advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament last season, got the other first-place vote and came in second.
UCLA was chosen third, followed by Southern California, Arizona State, Oregon State, Utah, Washington, Colorado, Washington State, Oregon and Arizona.
ACC suspends UNC’s Rashad, officials
College Football: The Atlantic Coast Conference has issued one-game suspensions to North Carolina freshman Shakeel Rashad for colliding with a Duke player during a substitution, and three officials from the Duke-UNC and Florida State-Miami games.
In the Duke-UNC game, Rashad knocked down a receiver from behind while running in at the last moment from the sideline. The league also suspended head linesman Tyrone Davis and side judge Angie Bartis “for failure to adhere to correct mechanics of the game and rules related to player safety.”
The FSU-Miami officiating crew will receive letters of reprimand, while crew chief and referee David Epperley were suspended “for failure to properly administer the 10-second runoff rule” at the end of the first half.