College Football
Gee retires from Ohio State after scandalous remarks
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio State University President Gordon Gee announced his retirement Tuesday after he came under fire for jokingly referring to “those damn Catholics” at Notre Dame and poking fun at the academic quality of other schools.
Ohio State initially called the remarks unacceptable and placed Gee on a “remediation plan” to improve his behavior.
Gee, 69, said in a statement he decided during a vacation last week that he would step down July 1.
According to a recording of a Dec. 5 meeting obtained by The Associated Press under a public records request, Gee said Notre Dame never was invited to join the Big Ten conference because “those damn Catholics” can’t be trusted. Gee also took shots at schools in the Southeastern Conference and the University of Louisville, according to the recording of the meeting of the school’s Athletic Council.
Pac-12 ahead of the NCAA in concussion prevention
SAN FRANCISCO – In an effort to cut down on concussions, head trauma and other injuries, the Pac-12 Conference is establishing a league-wide policy to limit the amount of contact made during football practices beginning this season.
Commissioner Larry Scott said Monday the conference will limit hits to numbers “less than what the NCAA permits,” while many of the schools already have their own “self-imposed limits.” Now, there will be an across-the-board rule in an effort to decrease head trauma and other injuries.
Details of how the conference will monitor each school’s hits and contact still are being worked out, but Scott expects everything to be in place by late July.
Cycling
British Cycling head will run for the UCI presidency
LONDON – The head of British Cycling will challenge Pat McQuaid for the presidency of the International Cycling Union, saying the current leadership has failed to restore the sport’s reputation after a series of doping scandals.
Brian Cookson previously had backed McQuaid’s re-election bid but said Tuesday he changed his mind after being offered strong support by a number of federations, riders and team managers.
McQuaid, who has led the UCI for eight years, is seeking a third four-year term.
NFL
Sackmaster ‘Deacon’ Jones dies Monday at 74
His nickname belied his calling: David “Deacon” Jones was the most feared member of the Fearsome Foursome, the original sackmaster.
Reggie White, Bruce Smith, Lawrence Taylor – they all followed the lead set by Jones, who died Monday at 74.
Not only was Jones the main practitioner of the sack in his 14 pro seasons, he coined the term. He once compared bringing down quarterbacks to hog-tying them in a sack.
Yet Jones never got the statistical credit for all those QB knockdowns; sacks didn’t become an official statistic in the NFL until 1982.
Jones retired after the 1974 season, having played 11 years with the Rams, two with the Chargers and one with the Redskins. Rams stats show Jones with 159½ sacks for them and 173½ for his career – all unofficial, of course.
Jones entered the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1980.
Soccer
Japan is the 1st to join Brazil at the 2014 World Cup
SAITAMA, Japan – Japan became the first team to qualify for the 2014 World Cup, tying Australia 1-1 on Tuesday night on Keisuke Honda’s penalty kick in the first minute of second-half stoppage time.
One year and eight days before the tournament opener in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Japan qualified for its fifth consecutive World Cup and joined host Brazil, which received an automatic berth, in the 32-nation field.
Associated Press
