College Basketball
Another year of women’s hoops with UConn on top
Geno Auriemma and his UConn Huskies are No. 1 in The Associated Press preseason women’s basketball poll again.
It’s the 11th time that the Huskies are the top choice in the first poll of the season, leaving them one short of the record held by Tennessee. UConn went on to win the national championship in seven of those years, including the last two seasons.
The Huskies received all 32 first-place votes from the national media panel Tuesday and will be trying for an unprecedented fourth consecutive national championship this year.
South Carolina is second with Notre Dame, Tennessee and Baylor rounding out the first five.
MLB
A celebration in Kansas City fit for baseball Royalty
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The world champion Kansas City Royals basked in the adulation of hundreds of thousands of ecstatic fans in a parade and rally Tuesday that nearly shut down downtown for hours.
After driving a 2.3-mile route in a caravan, team owner David Glass, manager Ned Yost and several of the Royals returned the love by telling fans they could not have captured the World Series without their support and calling the turnout for Tuesday’s celebration “unbelievable” and “amazing.”
City officials estimated Tuesday that 500,000 people attended the events.
Police spokesman Tye Grant said traffic was so heavy that some drivers parked along the interstate and walked.
Nationals hire Dusty Baker as their next manager
WASHINGTON – The Washington Nationals hired Dusty Baker as their manager.
Baker’s hiring means that Major League Baseball will avoid having zero black managers for the first time since the start of 1988 season.
The 66-year-old Baker has 20 seasons of managerial experience in the majors, most recently with the Cincinnati Reds, who fired him in 2013. He won NL Manager of the Year honors in 1993, 1997 and 2000.
Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo let Matt Williams go a day after the club, which had World Series aspirations, missed the playoffs and finished the regular season barely above .500 at 83-79, seven games behind the New York Mets in the NL East.
NFL
Titans make a gigantic move on the sidelines
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Titans fired Ken Whisenhunt after a 3-20 start, and Mike Mularkey was named interim head coach for the rest of the season.
Titans controlling owner Amy Adams Strunk said in a statement that they made the move after expecting more progress on the field, saying she felt it was time to move in a different direction.
Mularkey arrived in Tennessee with Whisenhunt as tight ends coach and was promoted to assistant head coach this offseason. He has been a head coach with the Buffalo Bills in 2004-05 and in 2012 with Jacksonville. Mularkey also has been an offensive coordinator with Pittsburgh, Miami and Atlanta.
Struggling Colts fire coach, but not the head man
INDIANAPOLIS – The Indianapolis Coltsfired offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton less than 24 hours after a 29-26 overtime loss at Carolina.
Former Browns head coach Rob Chudzinski will replace Hamilton as the play-caller.
In a statement, head coach Chuck Pagano said the offense hadn’t played with the necessary consistency and it was “his responsibility” to give the Colts (3-5) their best chance to succeed.
Pagano also has faced criticism because the Colts opened the season with Super Bowl aspirations and are 0-5 outside the terrible AFC South.
Associated Press
