Monday, January 3, 2011

Weekend Sports In Brief - - SI.com

DENVER (AP) - Hall of Fame quarterback John Elway is expected to rejoin the Denver Broncos as their chief football executive by midweek, a person with knowledge of the negotiations told the The Associated Press on Sunday.

Team spokesman Patrick Smyth said reports that the team had already reached an agreement with Elway were premature: "Talks with John are progressing, but nothing has been finalized at this point,'' Smyth said.

The Broncos haven't reached the postseason in five years and have just one playoff win since Elway retired in 1999 following his second straight Super Bowl title.

LANDOVER, Md. (AP) - Tom Coughlin will return as coach of the New York Giants next season, and his status wasn't in question at all, according to team co-owner John Mara.

Speaking Sunday after the Giants were assured of missing the playoffs for a second consecutive season, Mara put an end to any speculation about Coughlin's future.

New York finished its season with a 17-14 victory over the Washington Redskins, but the Giants didn't get the help they needed to claim the NFC's remaining wild-card berth.

The Giants went 10-6, making New York and Tampa Bay the first NFC teams since 1991 to miss the playoffs despite double-digit victories. Green Bay, also 10-6, got the NFC's last spot.

BALTIMORE (AP) - Randy Edsall, who diligently worked to build the Connecticut football program into a winner, has been hired to pull off a similar feat at Maryland. Edsall was picked Sunday to replace Ralph Friedgen, who was fired after a 10-year run at his alma mater.

Edsall spent 12 years at Connecticut and guided the Huskies out of Division I-AA (now FCS) and into the Big East, where he won a pair of conference titles and four straight bowl berths.

Connecticut lost to Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl on Saturday night.

The 52-year-old Edsall led the Huskies to eight or more wins in each of the last four seasons. He finished with a 74-70 record at UConn.

PITTSBURGH (AP) - Pittsburgh fired football coach Mike Haywood on Saturday, saying he could not continue in the job he held for only 2 1/2 weeks because of his arrest on a domestic violence charge.

Haywood was released Saturday from St. Joseph County Jail in Indiana on $1,000 cash bond, said an officer at the jail who declined to give her name, after the charge was upgraded from a misdemeanor to felony domestic battery in the presence of a minor.

Within hours of Haywood's afternoon release, Pittsburgh put out a statement from Chancellor Mark A. Nordenberg, saying Haywood had been dismissed "effective immediately.''

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - Joe Paterno said rumors regarding his future will not affect the way Penn State approaches recruiting.

The 84-year-old coach expects to return for a 46th season and said Sunday that he and his staff have targeted a number of prospects they believe could help the program.

Speaking a day after Penn State's 37-24 loss to Florida in the Outback Bowl, Paterno said he hasn't received any questions about his future from recruits considering the Nittany Lions.

Paterno also said he's never believed a player should base his decision to sign with Penn State on football alone.

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) - Baltimore Orioles reliever Alfredo Simon is the main suspect in a fatal shooting New Year's Eve in the Dominican Republic, police said Sunday.

The pitcher is suspected of killing 25-year-old Michel Castillo Almonte and wounding his 17-year-old brother during a celebration in the northeast coastal town of Luperon. No motive was disclosed. Simon is from the Dominican Republic, and police said he fled after the violence.

Felipe Alou Jr., a Dominican representative for the Orioles, said he spoke with Simon on Saturday and the player said he was in the area when the violence occurred but insisted he was not involved in the shootings.

SAO PAULO (AP) - New Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff assured International Olympic Committee officials that her government will fully support the Rio 2016 Olympics.

Rousseff met with IOC President Jacques Rogge after being sworn in Saturday and said Brazil will "give all guarantees'' to make sure Rio can host "a great event.''

Rousseff is replacing Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who played a key role in helping the Brazilian city win the Olympic bid last year.

Rogge and other IOC members were in Rio on New Year's Eve for the unveiling of the games' logo. Rio will be hosting the first Olympics in South America.

Source: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com

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