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Wide receiver Sammie Coates to leave Auburn and apply for NFL draft

From Staff And Wire Reports

Declaring Auburn wide receiver Sammie Coates is skipping his senior season to enter the NFL draft. Coates, who has already graduated, announced the decision on Monday and is projected as an early round pick. Coates finished the regular season with five catches for 206 yards and two touchdowns in a loss to No. 1 Alabama. Coates graduated Saturday with a degree in public administration, and said without that diploma he wouldn’t have considered leaving. “I’ve got a diploma,” Coates said. “That’s what you come to college for.”

Discussing A person familiar with the situation told the Associated Press that Houston is negotiating with Ohio State offensive coordinator Tom Herman to be its new head coach. The 39-year-old Cincinnati native spent the first 10 years of his career coaching in the state of Texas before becoming offensive coordinator at Iowa State (2009-11). Houston fired coach Tony Levine last week.

Retiring The first American to play in four World Cups, DaMarcus Beasley, said he is retiring from the U.S. national team after 14 years. The 32-year-old scored 17 goals and made 121 international appearances – fifth on the U.S. career list. He played in every minute of the Americans’ four games at this year’s World Cup, where the U.S. lost to Belgium in the second round. After playing midfield at the World Cup in 2002, ’06 and ’10, Beasley was shifted to left back for this year’s tournament.

Recovering NASCAR driver Brian Vickers underwent surgery to repair a hole in his heart for a second time, and the recovery period will cause him to miss the start of the 2015 season. Vickers said in a statement that his previous health issues have given him “a very keen understanding of my body” that helped him recognize something wasn’t right last week. Tests revealed his body was rejecting the artificial patch he received in a 2010 procedure to fix the hole in his heart. He said he had another “corrective” surgery Saturday to repair the hole. Michael Waltrip Racing did not address how long Vickers may be sidelined.