College Football
EUGENE, ORE. – Oregon fired coach Mark Helfrich after a disappointing 4-8 season.
Helfrich was head coach of the Ducks for four seasons, leading the team to the first College Football Playoff championship game two years ago. But this season the Ducks faltered with a five-game losing streak and the team finished at the bottom of the Pac-12 North with just two conference wins.
Helfrich was 37-16 record after taking over from Chip Kelly in 2013. He had an $11.6 million buyout on his contract with the Ducks.
Helfrich issued a statement saying he was honored to have served at Oregon.
SAN FRANCISCO – Washington quarterback Jake Browning and Southern California’s Adoree Jackson were named the Pac-12’s offensive and defensive players of the year.
Colorado’s Mike MacIntyre was named coach of the year, USC’s Sam Darnold the offensive freshman and Washington’s Taylor Rapp the defensive freshman in voting announced on Tuesday.
MacIntyre led the ninth-ranked Buffaloes to a 10-2 overall record and the Pac-12 South title a year after they went 4-9 and won one Pac-12 game last season.
MLB
NEW YORK – Boston Red Sox pitcher Rick Porcello won the AL Comeback Player of the Year award, while Washington Nationals third baseman Anthony Rendon received the NL honor.
Porcello also won the Cy Young Award in his second season with the Red Sox, helping Boston to its second AL East title in four seasons. The right-hander went 22-4 with a 3.15 ERA over 33 starts. Porcello bounced back after going 9-15 with a 4.92 ERA in 2015. His 22 victories led the majors.
Rendon hit .270 with 20 home runs and 85 RBIs in 156 games in his fourth season. He had a .348 on-base percentage and a .450 slugging percentage to help the Nationals win the NL East for the second time in three seasons. Rendon was limited to 80 games in 2015 because of injuries.
NEW YORK – Yoenis Cespedes will stay with the New York Mets – again.
After testing free agency for the second consecutive offseason, the slugging outfielder agreed to a $110 million, four-year contract with New York.
Cespedes gets $22.5 million in 2017, $29 million in each of the following two seasons and $29.5 million in 2020.
The 31-year-old receives a full no-trade provision as part of the agreement, the largest for a free agent thus far this offseason. The deal’s $27.5 million average annual value ties former Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez for the second-highest among position players, trailing only Miguel Cabrera’s $29.2 million with Detroit.
NFL
BEREA, Ohio – Browns quarterback Robert Griffin III was cleared for contact, paving the way for him to play again.
Griffin has been sidelined since breaking a bone in his left shoulder late in the Sept. 11 opener against Philadelphia. He returned to practice last week, but still had to pass another medical test to make sure his injury had healed enough to absorb hits.
The Browns (0-12) have a bye this week, but Griffin will likely start the Dec. 11 game against Cincinnati. Browns coach Hue Jackson could go back to rookie Cody Kessler, but he sustained his second concussion of the season on Nov. 20 and only completed the concussion protocol Monday.
Associated Press
