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Aggies coach Jimbo Fisher has called plays for the offense in each of the last five seasons  Texas A&M has fired offensive coordinator and tight ends coach Darrell Dickey after five years with the program, the university announced Monday. The dismissal clears the way for a potential offensive coordinator who will call plays under coach Jimbo Fisher, who enters a critical offseason for the Aggies ahead of 2023. A coaching veteran, Dickey was hired at Texas A&M as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach after helping transform Memphis' offense under former coaches Justin Fuente and Mike Norvell. However, Dickey was demoted to co-offensive coordinator and tight ends coach for the Aggies after a disappointing 8-4 season in 2021. James Coley joined Dickey as co-offensive coordinator, while Dameyune Craig took over as quarterbacks coach. While Dickey and Coley nominally held the titles, Fisher clearly took the lead on play-calling and quarterbacks duties; he has long been re...

Runners are skinny white people. This was what Alison Mariella Désir thought until she came across a social media post from a friend, a 200-pound Black man, who was training for his first marathon. Looking for a way to break through a persistent bout of depression, she signed up for a marathon as well. Much to her surprise, after 16 weeks of training with a Leukemia & Lymphoma Society running club in Manhattan's Central Park, Désir completed the race. And from then on she was hooked. In her new memoir Running While Black: Finding Freedom in a Sport That Wasn't Built for Us, Désir tells the story of her non-traditional path to long distance running. Along the way, she reframes the history of American running by including the contributions of little known, yet influential Black runners in the narrative. Runners like ultra-marathon pioneer Ted Corbitt, Olympian and activist Wyomia Tyus and the first Black woman to win a marathon Marilyn Bevans, among others. In the decade sinc...

Fox Sports covers plenty of Ohio State football games during the year, and when they do, it's often Gus Johnson and Joel Klatt on the call. Johnson has become known for his emphatic calls on the broadcasts, often being considered one of the best at providing the energy on play-by-play. And when it's Ohio State providing the excitement, Johnson has picked up a unique way to refer to the team: the world famous Ohio State Buckeyes. Ohio State is certainly widely known in the United States. The Buckeyes' football program keeps them in the mainstream at all times, as does the school's massive alumni network. But college football isn't huge outside of Columbus, so why does Johnson refer to the Buckeyes as "world famous?" The Sporting News takes a look. There certainly could be some people outside the United States who consider the Buckeyes' football program to be world famous, but that's not why Johnson has deemed them internationally significant. In fac...

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran arrested a prominent former member of its national soccer team on Thursday over his criticism of the government as authorities grapple with nationwide protests that have cast a shadow over its competition at the World Cup. The semiofficial Fars and Tasnim news agencies reported that Voria Ghafouri was arrested for “insulting the national soccer team and propagandizing against the government.” Ghafouri, who was not chosen to go to the World Cup, has been an outspoken critic of Iranian authorities throughout his career. He objected to a longstanding ban on women spectators at men’s soccer matches as well as Iran’s confrontational foreign policy, which has led to crippling Western sanctions. More recently, he expressed sympathy for the family of a 22-year-old woman whose death while in the custody of Iran’s morality police ignited the latest protests. In recent days he also called for an end to a violent crackdown on protests in Iran’s western Kurdi...

We are heading into Week 11 of the 2022 NFL season and the Wednesday practice reports are officially out. Notably, Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill is off the injury report, Bills quarterback Josh Allen was limited, Panthers' Baker Mayfield is making his first start since the first half of the season and Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson is back at practice.  Quarterback Ryan Tannehill was removed from the injury report and was a full participant this week in practice, meaning he should be the starter on Thursday.  Safety Amani Hooker (shoulder), center Ben Jones (concussion), linebacker Bud Dupree (hip), kicker Randy Bullock (calf) and defensive end Lonnie Johnson (hamstring) are all ruled out for the Titans. Defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons (ankle) and defensive back Elijah Molden (groin) are both questionable.  Packers linebacker De'Vondre Campbell (knee) and WR Romeo Doubs (ankle) are both out for TNF, and cornerback Jean-Charles Shemar (ankle) is doubtful.  Bro...

 The University of California Board of Regents on Thursday put off until next month a decision whether to bless or block U.C.L.A.’s move to the Big Ten Conference, saying it needed more time — and information — before making such a consequential call that would also affect the state’s other flagship university, Cal-Berkeley. The regents have expressed concern about the burden that repeated trips to the Eastern time zone for competitions would place on athletes’ academics and the financial hit Berkeley would take after U.C.L.A.’s departure. But they were also hesitant to set a precedent by overturning — and undercutting the autonomy of — one of their 10 campus chancellors. So, after meeting in a closed session for 90 minutes, the regents emerged to announce that they would hold a special session on Dec. 14 to resolve the matter. “I’d look at it like a football game where the call on the field is being reviewed,” said the regent John A. Pérez, a former Assembly speaker. “It’s not abo...

Less than a week ago, World Cup organizers had to tell major FIFA sponsor Budweiser that their alcohol tents needed to be moved to less visible areas. On Thursday, just three days before the games begin in Qatar, The Times reported that beer will "likely" be banned from all eight stadiums at the request of the Qatari royal family. Alcohol is not technically banned in Qatar, but it is very tightly regulated. If Budweiser can't have any visibility during games, FIFA could be breaching their multimillion dollar contract with Budweiser -- a company that has had a relationship with FIFA since 1985. Before the latest restrictions, beer was expected to be sold at stadiums at around $14 each, and there was going to be a limit of four drinks per order to try to limit binge drinking, as previously reported by The Guardian. Qatar has a zero tolerance policy for drinking in public and being drunk in public.  For now, it seems beer will be available to all fans at the Doha fan parks. ...

For the first time in eight years, the NFL has made the decision to move a regular-season game due to snow.  With an epic snowstorm on the verge of hitting western New York, Sunday's game between the Browns and Bills will be moved from Buffalo to Detroit, the NFL announced Thursday. The game, which will be played at Ford Field, will remain at 1 p.m. ET. The NFL hasn't moved the location of a regular-season game due to snow since November 2014. Eight years ago, a Sunday game between the Jets and Bills got moved to Monday night in Detroit. However, this year's game won't be switching days. The reason the date of the game isn't changing is because there was no way the league was going to be able to make it work with Buffalo's schedule. After their Week 10 game against the Browns, the Bills have to turn around and play a Thanksgiving game against the Lions in Detroit. With the Bills playing just four days later, that means moving the Browns game back to Monday or Tu...

WNBA star Brittney Griner has been taken to a penal colony in the Russian region of Mordovia, her lawyers confirmed Thursday. Griner was sentenced to nine and a half years in August after being found guilty of drug charges. Before Thursday's update, it was known that Griner was being moved from the detention center, but her new location had not been disclosed. "Brittney is doing as well as could be expected and trying to stay strong as she adapts to a new environment," Griner's attorneys, Maria Blagovolina and Alexander Boykov, said in a statement, via CBS News.  They also added that "this is a very challenging period" for Griner.  The Phoenix Mercury center was detained in Russia on Feb. 17 after custom services at an airport found a marijuana concentrate in her luggage. Here is a full explainer on the situation. Reuters was the first outlet to give an update, reporting that a source said she was recently taken to a Female Penal Colony IK-2 in Yavas, about ...

The Devils led by two points in the Hawks’ final possession, and held off the hosts, improving to 3-1 on the season. A pair of freshmen led the Fredonia State offense, as Sarah Seaman put in a 14-point effort, and Amber Louis added 12. Sophomore Renee Park added 11 and five rebounds. Caitlin Snyder grabbed seven boards. The first half was pretty even, with the Hawks holding a 25-23 lead at the break. Hilbert held slight edges in rebounding (23-21), field goals (8-7) and free throws (8-7). The Devils hit two 3-pointers compared to one by the Hawks. Neither team would lead by more than five points. Fredonia State would grab the lead for good midway through the third. Seaman would convert a layup with just over six minutes remaining to give the Devils a 32-31 advantage. The Devils led the entire fourth quarter, but Hilbert would pull within one point on three occasions — the last coming in the final minute. Ashley Schroeder’s layup with 33 ticks left on the clock cut the Fredonia State le...

It's a tranquil fall morning at Shorehaven Golf Club—just not on the patio where Chris Russo is ranting to the delight of a long-time listener, first-time caller. Only I’m not holding a phone but rather sitting next to one of the most popular—and animated—sports-talk-show hosts ever. Russo, better known as “Mad Dog,” has been talking mostly about golf for an hour, but as we start to wrap up a lively conversation, we begin riffing on topics like the recent retirements of Roger Federer and Serena Williams, the greatest NBA teams of all time, and Chris Paul versus Bob Cousy. We disagree on the latter—let’s just say Russo is a staunch defender of the old guard, including old point guards—but I still emerge smiling from the spirited back-and-forth chat like countless callers who have interacted with him through the years. The radio legend’s career first took off in the New York market alongside Mike Francesa on WFAN’s “Mike and the Mad Dog” show. But after that pair’s iconic 19-year run...

More than two years after Maryland voters approved a sports gambling referendum, state officials finally appear poised to allow wagering via mobile device. The Sports Wagering Application Review Commission announced on Monday that it will consider 10 mobile wagering applications at its meeting on Wednesday. Any applicants who are approved — and who satisfy a few final operational requirements — will be allowed to make their apps available to the public and accept online wagers. A date for that has not been set, though officials are hopeful of being ready by Thanksgiving, when three NFL games will be watched by tens of millions of Americans. The 10 applicants up for a vote on Wednesday represent nearly all of the big-name players. Maryland voters approved sports wagering by a 2-1 margin in 2020, but the rollout has been hampered by implementation. Wanting to avoid a repeat of medical cannabis, where white entrepreneurs scooped up all the licenses, state lawmakers crafted legislation in ...

Qatar's decision to launch itself into hosting the 2022 World Cup was a head-scratcher from the start. Why, some wondered, would a Middle Eastern kingdom with fewer than 3 million people and little soccer tradition want to host the sport's biggest event?  Skeptics say the country wanted to use the prestige of the World Cup, which starts Sunday, to remake its image as an oil producer with few international connections and a shaky human-rights record. They viewed the move, which will cost the country some $220 billion, as a classic case of “sportswashing” — using sports as a forum to cast a country or company as different than many people perceive. It is hardly a new concept, and Middle Eastern oil money has long been a major player. Where many see rich nations spending money to join the global elite, other see nefarious attempts to hide undesired reputations. “The Qatar World Cup kickstarted discussion about sportswashing and human rights in football and it has been very steep l...

The University of Virginia lifted a campuswide lockdown Monday hours after three students were killed and two injured in a shooting rampage on a charter bus that had returned from a field trip, authorities said. Killed were D’Sean Perry, Lavel Davis Jr. and Devin Chandler, all of whom played football at the school, university president Jim Ryan said. The names of the two people who were wounded have not been released.  "This is a sad, shocking and tragic day for our UVA community," Ryan said at a news briefing Monday, adding that authorities did not have a “full understanding” of the circumstances surrounding the shooting. The suspected shooter, Christopher Darnell Jones Jr., is a former UVA football player, though he didn't appear in any games. He was arrested just before 11 a.m. Monday in Henrico County, about 75 miles southeast of Charlottesville, Henrico Police said in a statement. Ryan said Jones, 22, is a student at the 22,000-student school. Jones faces three count...