In brief: Petrino returning as Louisville coach
College football: A person familiar with the situation says Western Kentucky’s Bobby Petrino has accepted an offer to return to Louisville as the Cardinals’ football coach.
The person spoke to The Associated Press on Wednesday night on condition of anonymity because the university had not announced its decision.
The University of Louisville Athletic Association, which must approve the hire, will meet today to review athletic director Tom Jurich’s recommendation to have Petrino, 52, replace Charlie Strong, who has accepted the Texas job.
Jonathan Blue, a Louisville board of trustee, told the AP “if it’s a done deal” he fully supports the decision.
Petrino, led Louisville to a 41-9 record from 2003-06. He has an 83-30 record as a college head coach but was fired by Arkansas in April 2012 amid scandal.
• Winston wins Manning Award: Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston won the Manning Award, given to the nation’s top quarterback.
Winston passed for 4,057 yards and 40 TDs as a freshman this season while leading FSU to a national championship.
• Wolverines fire Borges: Michigan fired offensive coordinator Al Borges after the Wolverines went 7-6 during the 2013 season. Michigan finished 86th in the country in total offense, averaging only 3.3 yards per rush.
• Cal reshuffles staff: Cal demoted defensive coordinator Andy Buh to a position coach after the Golden Bears were one of the nation’s worst defenses last season, giving up 45.9 points per game. Coach Sonny Dykes also announced that defensive tackles coach Barry Sacks and defensive backs coach Randy Stewart will not return.
• Irish RB to enter draft: Notre Dame running back George Atkinson III will skip his senior season and enter the NFL draft. Atkinson started the season listed as Notre Dame’s starting back. He finished second in yards and carries with 555 yards on 93 attempts but saw his carries diminish as the season wore on.
Nets end Warriors’ streak at 10
NBA: Joe Johnson scored 27 points in the Brooklyn Nets’ season-high fourth straight victory, a 102-98 win in New York that snapped the Golden State Warriors’ 10-game winning streak and prevented the first 7-0 road trip in NBA history.
• Clips, Rivers run through Celtics: Blake Griffin scored 29 points, Jamal Crawford added 26 and the Clippers defeated the Boston Celtics 111-105 in Los Angeles, giving Clippers coach Doc Rivers a second win over his former team this season.
• League fines Smith: Knicks guard J.R. Smith was fined $50,000 for “recurring instances of unsportsmanlike conduct” after he tried to untie an opponent’s sneaker a second time.
Flyers stay hot at home
NHL: Sean Couturier, Zac Rinaldo and Michael Raffl scored to lead Philadelphia to its 10th straight home victory, 3-1 over Montreal. Brushing off 1-7 and 4-10-1 starts to become one of the NHL’s hottest teams, the Flyers are 9-2 since Dec. 17.
Unbeaten Badgers top Illini
Men’s basketball: Ben Brust scored 18 pointsand No. 4 Wisconsin, off to the best start in school history (16-0, 3-0 Big Ten) cruised to a 95-70 win over No. 23 Illinois (13-3, 2-1) in Madison, Wis.
• Georgia upsets No. 21 Missouri: Charlie Mann had 18 points, including the go-ahead basket with 35.8 seconds left in overtime, and Georgia (7-6, 1-0 SEC) won 70-64 over No. 21 Missouri (12-1, 1-1).