Off the wire

BASKETBALL Reports: Vols to hire Tyndall

Tennessee will hire Southern Miss Coach Donnie Tyndall, according to multiple reports published late Monday night. Both CBSSports.com and ESPN.com reported that Tennessee reached a deal with Tyndall, 43, hours after Louisiana Tech Coach Michael White turned down the Volunteers. UT officials have not commented on its search since former coach Cuonzo Martin left for California. Tyndall and his agent did not comment Monday night, according to the Knoxville (Tenn.) News-Sentinel. An official announcement is expected today, according to reports. Tyndall, a native of Grand Rapids, Mich., had been linked to the Vols’ search since Martin accepted a five-year deal at Cal last Tuesday.Tyndall makes $500,000 per year at Southern Miss. His buyout is also $500,000 if he changes jobs before April 29. Cal owes UT $1.3 million for hiring Martin. Tyndall is 170-101 through his eight seasons as a Division I head coach. His stops have included his alma mater Morehead State (2006-2012) and Southern Miss (2012-2014).

Chicago Bulls center Joakim Noah won the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year award Monday. Noah got 100 of a possible 125 first-place votes from a panel of sportswriters and broadcasters and wound up with 555 points. Indiana’s Roy Hibbert (166 points, eight first-place votes) and the Los Angeles Clippers’ DeAndre Jordan (121 points, eight first-place votes) came in second and third, respectively. The only other Bulls player to win the award was Michael Jordan in 1988. Besides joining the greatest player in franchise history, Noah’s name gets added to an impressive list of centers to take the honor.It includes stars such as Hakeem Olajuwon, Dikembe Mutombo, Alonzo Mourning, David Robinson and Dwight Howard. And now, Noah. The recognition comes after Noah helped Chicago win 48 games and earn home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs despite losing Derrick Rose to a season-ending knee injury and trading away Luol Deng. Noah averaged career highs of 12.6 points, 11.3 rebounds and 5.4 assists.

Houston Rockets point guard Patrick Beverley (Arkansas Razorbacks) has been cleared to play in Game 2 on Wednesday night after injuring his right knee in the opening game of the first-round playoff series against the Portland Trail Blazers. Beverley was injured when LaMarcus Aldridge knocked him down setting a pick with about a minute left in the Trail Blazers’ 122-120 overtime victory on Sunday night. He missed eight games late in the season because of a torn meniscus in the same knee. Beverley said he felt pain in the same area where he was injured before when he was knocked down on Sunday night. He didn’t feel any pain on Monday morning and says he’ll be ready to play on Wednesday. He had nine points and six rebounds in Game 1.

FOOTBALL

Seahawks acquire Pryor

The Oakland Raiders have traded quarterback Terrelle Pryor to the Seattle Seahawks. Oakland sent the third-year player to the Super Bowl champions on Monday for a seventh-round pick in next month’s draft. Pryor was a third-round pick in the 2011 supplemental draft from Ohio State. He started nine games last season, going 3-6, sharing the job with undrafted rookie free agent Matt McGloin. The Raiders made the move after acquiring Matt Schaub from Houston to be the starter. Pryor went 156 for 272 for 1,798 yards, 7 touchdowns and 11 interceptions, with a passer rating of 69.1. He will compete with Tarvaris Jackson for the backup job to Russell Wilson.

The Cincinnati Bengals exercised a 2015 contract option for receiver A.J. Green on Monday. Green was the fourth overall pick in the 2011 draft and was entering the final season on his deal. The collective bargaining agreement allows teams to exercise a fifth-year option on players drafted in the top 10. The Bengals will have to pay him the average of the top 10 receivers in the NFL. Green has 3,833 yards receiving in his first three seasons, trailing only Randy Moss’ 4,163 yards in his first three seasons. He set club records with six 100-yard receiving games and five consecutive 100-yard games last season. He finished with 1,426 yards.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said former NFL and Southern California receiver Keyshawn Johnson has been arrested after a report of a domestic dispute. A Sheriff’s Department statement said deputies responded to a residence in Calabas as at 12:48 a.m. Pacific Monday and determined the resident and his ex-girlfriend were involved in a domestic dispute, and the resident was arrested for misdemeanor domestic battery. The department subsequently identified the resident as Johnson, who posted bond at 9:15 a.m. and was released. In the NFL, Johnson played for the New York Jets, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Dallas Cowboys and Carolina Panthers. He’s currently an ESPN commentator and analyst. ESPN says it’s aware of the arrest and is looking into the matter. A call to Johnson’s agent was not immediately returned.

The city of Atlanta wants to host college football’s national championship game in 2018 as a prelude to a possible Super Bowl bid in 2019. Peach Bowl President Gary Stokan discussed the timetable after a news conference Monday to announce a six-year agreement with the current title sponsor. The game is part of a new playoff system and will again be known as the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl after carrying only the corporate moniker the last eight years. Stokan already announced plans to bid for the national title game after the city’s $1 billion downtown stadium opens in 2017. He expects a decision next spring.

BASKETBALL Woodson, Corbin fired; Adelman retires

Mike Woodson and Tyrone Corbin lost their jobs, and Rick Adelman decided it was time to walk away from his.

Woodson and Corbin were fired Monday and Adelman retired, creating coaching openings for three NBA teams.

Woodson was expected to be replaced after Phil Jackson was hired last month as New York Knicks president during a disappointing season for a team that expected to make the playoffs. He informed Woodson and the entire coaching staff they were being dismissed Monday morning.

“The coaches and players on this team had an extremely difficult 2013-2014 season, and blame should not be put on one individual. But the time has come for change throughout the franchise as we start the journey to assess and build this team for next season and beyond,” Jackson said in a statement.

Woodson went 109-79 with the Knicks, a .580 winning percentage that ranks behind only Pat Riley and Jeff Van Gundy in franchise history. But after winning 54 games and the Atlantic Division title last season, the Knicks were just 37-45.

The Jazz had no such expectations for this season after the departures of Al Jefferson and Paul Millsap, but declined to offer Corbin a new contract after they went 25-57. Corbin, a former Jazz player and assistant who replaced Jerry Sloan on Feb. 10, 2011, went 112-146.

“This has not been an easy decision, but after a thorough review process, we as an organization feel that this is the best decision for our franchise moving forward,” General Manager Dennis Lindsay said.

Adelman won more than 1,000 games in 23 seasons, but the Minnesota Timberwolves were a disappointing 40-42 this season. He wanted to spend more time with wife Mary Kay, who has been treated for seizures over the last two years, and also thinks the Wolves need a fresh voice to help them try to persuade star power forward Kevin Love to remain in Minnesota.

“If anything, I felt if I coached another year and then his future comes up and my future is gone, that makes it even harder,” Adelman said. “I think it’s best for the organization to have somebody else coaching the team, give them a year to see what they can do and hear that voice. I think that’s a much more positive situation for the organization. I feel strongly about that.”

The Detroit Pistons are still looking for a full-time coach after firing Maurice Cheeks during the season, and the Los Angeles Lakers could decide to replace Mike D’Antoni after going 27-55 during an injury-plagued season.

Sports, Pages 17 on 04/22/2014

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