Off the wire

— FOOTBALL Source: Titans, Williams talk

Gregg Williams may be a step closer to returning to the NFL after being suspended indefinitely for his role in the New Orleans Saints’ bounty program. Titans Coach Mike Munchak has talked with Williams and is interested in adding him to his Tennessee staff, said a person familiar with the situation. The person spoke Sunday to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because the Titans do not discuss personnel moves until they are finalized. Before the Titans could hire Williams, he must be reinstated by the league. Commissioner Roger Goodell suspended him indefinitely for his role in the New Orleans Saints bounty program, and NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said Sunday the league has not yet addressed Williams’ potential reinstatement. Munchak did not immediately answer a message left by the AP on Sunday. The Titans coach has not talked with the media about his team since the day after the season ended. How quickly the league considers reinstating Williams may take at least a week with the San Francisco 49ers arriving in New Orleans on Sunday to kick off festivities leading up to the Feb. 3 Super Bowl. Williams is the only coach or player who has yet to return to the NFL in the wake of the bounty scandal. Goodell just lifted the suspension for New Orleans Coach Sean Payton on Tuesday, nearly two weeks earlier than expected. Saints General Manager Mickey Loomis was suspended for eight games and assistant head coach Joe Vitt for six. Four current or former Saints players were also suspended after an investigation found the club had a performance pool offering cash rewards for key plays, including big hits. The player suspensions eventually were overturned. Williams was the Saints defensive coordinator from 2009-2011 and was hired by St. Louis in January 2012 by former Titans Coach Jeff Fisher before being suspended indefinitely in March 20112. Munchak and Williams coached together with the Oilers, while Williams rose from defensive assistant to coaching special teams, then linebackers and finally defensive coordinator. Williams left the Titans to become head coach of the Buffalo Bills in 2001 before becoming defensive coordinator with the Washington Redskins from 2004-2007. He also was defensive coordinator in Jacksonville in 2008 before being hired by the Saints in 2009.

GOLF US Open returning to New York

The U.S. Open is returning to Winged Foot, the New York club with a history of clutch moments and one unforgettable collapse. The U.S. Golf Association will announce today that the West Course at Winged Foot will host the 2020 U.S. Open, the 12th time it hosted the event. Only two other courses - Oakmont and Baltusrol - will have held the national championship more times. Winged Foot was designed by A.W. Tillinghast in 1923 and hosted its first U.S. Open six years later, when amateur Bobby Jones delivered one of the biggest shots in championship history with a 12-foot putt on the final hole to force a 36-hole playoff. He won the next day by 23 shots over Al Espinosa. The most recent trip to Winged Foot was memorable for all the wrong reasons - not for Geoff Ogilvy winning with a superb up-and-down from below the 18th green, but for Phil Mickelson blowing his best chance ever to win the U.S. Open in 2006.

BOBSLED Jones, US win gold

The United States team, including Olympic 100-meter hurdler Lolo Jones, won gold Sunday in the combined bobsled-skeleton team event at the world championships in St. Moritz, Switzerland.Jones was brakeman for Elana Meyers in the women’s bobsled portion of an event that also added times in two man bobsled plus men’s and women’s skeleton. The U.S. edged Germany by 0. 24 seconds even though the Germans won three of four disciplines on the Olympia track. Jones added her first gold medal in her new sport to her two world titles in the indoor 60-meter hurdles, in 2008 and 2010. The winning U.S. team included two-man bobsled pilot Steven Holcomb, who earlier Sunday lost his title in his main event to the youngest world champion in history. At 22 years, 270 days, Francesco Friedrich of Germany broke a record set in 1935 by Swiss driver Reto Capadrutt, according to bobsled’s world governing body. Holcomb placed fourth. Skeleton racer Noelle Pikus-Pace was 1.7 seconds faster than German rival Marion Thees to lead the U.S. to victory. Canada took bronze, 1.01 seconds behind the Americans’ overall time of 4 minutes, 31.29 seconds. Meyers and Jones were the third-fastest in women’s bobsled; Holcomb and Curtis Tomasevicz were third in two-man bobsled; and John Daly was seventh-fastest in men’s skeleton.

MOTOR SPORTS Pruett wins fifth

Scott Pruett tied Hurley Haywood’s record of five Rolex 24 at Daytona victories Sunday, helping Chip Ganassi Racing return to Victory Lane in the prestigious sports car race. A slight lineup change and a dominating performance in the twice-around-the-clock race earned the No. 01 team another celebratory Rolex watch. Three time defending Grand-Am champions Pruett and Memo Rojas, along with NASCAR driver Juan Pablo Montoya and IndyCar driver Charlie Kimball teamed to beat the Velocity WW team by almost 22 seconds. Montoya won two previous Rolex’s with the No. 01. He spent the last three seasons on Ganassi’s No. 02 “star car” before being moved back to the winning team. He closed the victory for Ganassi by wresting the lead from defending race winner AJ Allmendinger in the final hour.

FIGURE SKATING Aaron wins 1st title

Max Aaron sure knows how to shake things up, jumping from fourth to first at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships on Sunday at the Century Link Center in Omaha. It was the first title for the 20-year-old, who has done very little of note since winning the U.S. junior title two years ago. But if he keeps this up, there’s sure to be more success in store. Aaron finished with 255 points, almost four better than Ross Miner. When Aaron saw his marks, his mouth dropped open and he let out a roar. Jeremy Abbott, who had won three of the last four U.S. titles, dropped to third with a flawed free skate.

HORSE RACING Cohen returns, wins 3

Jockey David Cohen celebrated his return to Aqueduct by winning three races Sunday, including the $73,500 Cagey Exuberance Stakes aboard Celtic Chant on Sunday in New York. Back in New York for the first time since last fall, Cohen guided the 5-year-old to a front-running victory, her eighth in 22 starts, in the race for fillies and mares. The second leading rider at Aqueduct two of the previous three winters, Cohen most recently competed at Gulfstream Park in Florida. Celtic Chant, trained by Chris Englehart, ran six furlongs in 1:10.36, beating Delightful Quality, the 4-5 favorite, by a half-length. She paid $10, $4.20 and $2.60. Delightful Quality returned $2.50 and $2.10, and Enchante paid $2.30 to show.

Sports, Pages 14 on 01/28/2013

Upcoming Events