MLB
Marlins’ Alvarez ends no-hitter in the on-deck circle
MIAMI – Henderson Alvarez pitched a no-hitter with a most bizarre ending, celebrating in the on-deck circle when the Miami Marlins scored on a two-out wild pitch in the bottom of the ninth inning to beat the AL Central champion Detroit Tigers 1-0 on Sunday.
After Alvarez finished off the ninth with the game scoreless, he had to wait to see if it would become an official no-hitter. A Major League Baseball ruling in 1991 said only complete games of nine or more innings with no hits would count.
The Marlins loaded the bases, and with pinch-hitter Greg Dobbs at bat, Luke Putkonen threw a wild pitch that let Giancarlo Stanton score. Alvarez was on deck, and he took off his batting helmet and started to celebrate with teammates while still wearing his batting gloves.
college football
Fresh off the plane, USC’s Kiffin fresh out of a job
LOS ANGELES – Southern California fired Lane Kiffin early Sunday morning, ending the coach’s tumultuous tenure a few hours after the Trojans lost 62-41 at Arizona State.
Ed Orgeron was picked as USC’s interim head coach by athletic director Pat Haden, who dismissed Kiffin at the airport following the Trojans’ flight home. USC (3-2, 0-2 Pac-12) has eight games left under Orgeron, Kiffin’s assistant head coach and the former Mississippi head coach.
Haden fired Kiffin in a 3 a.m. Pacific meeting at the Trojans’ private airport terminal, but not before a 45-minute chat in which Kiffin tried to change Haden’s mind.
Haden didn’t hire Kiffin but had been firmly behind the coach until Saturday, when the Trojans matched the most points allowed in school history. The loss was the seventh in 11 games for a high-profile program still struggling under the cumulative effect of NCAA sanctions.
Kiffin went 28-15 in parts of four seasons in his self-described dream job, but USC is 0-2 in conference play for the first time since 2001.
Cycling
Portugal’s Costa claims world title in road race
FLORENCE, Italy – Rui Costa of Portugal prevailed over a star-studded field to win a grueling road race at the cycling world championships Sunday, edging Joaquin Rodriguez of Spain in a two-man sprint finish.
Rodriguez attacked several times in the final lap of a hilly circuit, but Costa caught him in the finishing straight and easily won the sprint for the biggest victory of his career.
Costa clocked 7 hours, 25 minutes, 44 seconds over the marathon-like 169-mile route to become the first Portuguese winner in the race’s 86-year history.
The 26-year-old Costa has won three stages at the Tour de France, one in 2011 and two this year, and he also won the Tour de Suisse this year and last.
NBA
NBA Finals could scrap the 2-3-2 format for 2-2-1-1-1
NEW YORK – The NBA Finals could return to a 2-2-1-1-1 format.
The league’s Competition Committee voted unanimously to recommend the change from the current 2-3-2 system and owners will vote on it next month at their meetings.
If approved, it hasn’t been decided if the change would begin with the 2014 finals.
The Competition Committee’s vote was first reported by the Boston Herald.
The format was switched beginning in 1985, a recommendation Commissioner David Stern has said came in part from former Celtics boss Red Auerbach to reduce the cross-country trips between Boston and Los Angeles.
Critics argue it gives home-court advantage to the lower-seeded team in Game 5, which is often a pivotal game in a best-of-seven series.
All other rounds in the NBA playoffs use the 2-2-1-1-1 format.
Associated Press
