College Basketball
UConn sophomore builds on her impressive résumé
Breanna Stewart is moving up on the USA Basketball victory list.
The UConn sophomore earned her second USA Basketball female athlete of the year honor Tuesday, becoming just the sixth player to win the award twice.
Stewart guided the FIBA U19 World Championship team to a gold medal last summer, her fifth gold medal for USA Basketball.
The 6-5 sensation helped UConn win the national championship as a freshman and has guided the top-ranked Huskies to a 15-0 mark so far. She’s averaging 18.1 points, 8.0 rebounds and 2.8 blocks this season.
NFL
Ireland a fish out of water with the Miami Dolphins
MIAMI – Jeff Ireland is out after six seasons as general manager of the Miami Dolphins, who have failed to reach the playoffs the last five years.
Dolphins’ owner Stephen Ross said he and Ireland mutually agreed to part ways. Ireland had been unpopular with fans for several years, and a late-season collapse by the team last month left his job in jeopardy.
The Dolphins, who finished 8-8, said they would conduct an immediate search for a replacement to lead football operations.
College Football
Florida State breaks SEC run as the final No. 1 in AP poll
PASADENA, Calif. – Move over SEC, Florida State is back on top.
Florida State finished No. 1 in the final Associated Press college football poll, ending the Southeastern Conference’s record streak of seven national championships.
The Seminoles received all 60 first-place votes from the media panel after beating Auburn 34-31 in the BCS championship game Monday night in Pasadena, Calif.
Florida State’s third AP national title (1993 and ’99) ties it for ninth-most with rival Florida and Texas.
The Tigers (12-2) finished second in their extraordinary turnaround season, but for the first time since Texas in 2005, the Southeastern Conference is not on top of the final rankings.
Michigan State was third, followed by South Carolina and Missouri.
NBA
Cavaliers acquire Luol Deng from the Bulls for Bynum
INDEPENDENCE, Ohio – With their season quickly sliding toward yet another trip to the NBA lottery, the Cleveland Cavaliers had to do something to slow their freefall toward irrelevance.
They needed a scorer, a defender, a leader, and perhaps most importantly, someone to show their young players how to win.
Luol Deng fills every hole.
The Cavs acquired Deng, a two-time All-Star small forward with Chicago, early Tuesday in a trade from the Bulls for Andrew Bynum, the enigmatic center whom Cleveland signed to a unique contract during the summer but recently dismissed for detrimental conduct.
Cleveland also gave Chicago a first-round pick from Sacramento, two second-round selections and gave the Bulls the right to swap first-round choices in 2015 if the Cavs are not in the lottery.
The Bulls promptly waived Bynum, who chronically has bad knees and has played just 24 games the last two seasons. Bynum was due another $6 million on the two-year, $24-million contract he signed with Cleveland in July, but the Bulls don’t have to pay him since he was released by Tuesday afternoon.
Celtics, Grizzlies, Thunder play let’s make a deal
MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The Memphis Grizzlies acquired guard Courtney Lee and sent guard Jerryd Bayless to the Boston Celtics as part of a three-team trade that also includes the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Under terms of the deal announced Tuesday, the Grizzlies get Lee and a 2016 second-round draft pick from Boston. The Celtics get Bayless and also receive forward Ryan Gomes from Oklahoma City. The Thunder receive a conditional 2017 second-round draft pick from Memphis.
Associated Press
