FOOTBALL
Fisher tears Achilles
The Kansas City Chiefs' quest for a repeat Super Bowl championship will continue without a key member of their offensive line. Chiefs Coach Andy Reid said Sunday night that "it doesn't look too good" with starting left tackle Eric Fisher's Achilles injury. Less than 24 hours later, the bad news: "He's got a torn Achilles tendon," Reid said Monday. "They're observing now exactly how bad, what needs to be done here and how soon." Fisher, a two-time Pro Bowl selection, suffered what is typically a season-ending injury early in the fourth quarter of Sunday's 38-24 win over the Buffalo Bills in the AFC Championship Game. Medical trainers rushed onto the Arrowhead Stadium field and appeared to evaluate Fisher's lower left leg before helping him to his feet. The veteran offensive lineman draped his arms over two staff members and wasn't putting a lot of pressure on his left leg while heading off the field. The Chiefs eventually ruled him out for the remainder of the game.
Alabama hires Marrone
Alabama Coach Nick Saban has added another former NFL head coach to his offensive staff. Saban announced Monday the hiring of ex-Jacksonville Jaguars and Buffalo Bills coach Doug Marrone to coach the offensive line. Marrone joins new offensive coordinator and former Houston Texans and Penn State coach Bill O'Brien. Marrone spent four years leading the Jaguars, taking them to the AFC Championship Game in the 2017 season. He spent two seasons as the Bills head coach from 2013-14. "He knows our new offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien well and will do a fantastic job with our offensive line," Saban said. "He has extensive experience as not only an offensive line coach, but also as a head coach at Syracuse and in the NFL with Buffalo and Jacksonville. "Doug has an excellent track record for recruiting and developing players." Before heading to the NFL, Marrone was head coach at his alma mater Syracuse for four seasons (2009-12). The Jaguars fired Marrone on Jan. 4 shortly after ending the season with a 15th consecutive loss.
Colorado-A&M set for Denver
Colorado has worked out an arrangement to play Texas A&M at the home of the Denver Broncos on Sept. 11. The Buffaloes have frequently held football games inside Empower Field at Mile High as part of their Rocky Mountain Showdown with Colorado State. Texas A&M and Colorado are coming off notable 2020 seasons. The Aggies finished 9-1 and No. 4 in the AP Top 25 poll, while the Buffaloes went 4-2 during the first season under Coach Karl Dorrell. The Aggies were set to host Colorado in College Station, Texas, during the 2020 season, only to have the game canceled due to the covid-19 pandemic. The schools agreed to a contract in 2015 that included a provision for the return game to be played in Denver or Boulder. Colorado leads the overall series against Texas A&M by a 6-3 margin, with all but one of those games taking place while both were members of the Big 12 Conference. In their last meeting in 2009, the Buffs rallied from an 11-point deficit to win 35-34.
Roberts joins Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers have hired longtime NFL assistant Alfredo Roberts as their new tight ends coach. Roberts replaces James Daniel, who retired earlier this month after 17 seasons with the Steelers and 27 overall in the NFL. The team made the announcement on Monday. Pittsburgh is the sixth NFL stop for Roberts. He spent the past four seasons with the Los Angeles Chargers, serving as running backs coach from 2017-19 before sliding over to tight ends coach this past season. Roberts previously coached for Jacksonville, Indianapolis, Cleveland and Tampa Bay. Roberts, 55, joins an offense that's in a bit of a transition following a first-round playoff loss to the Browns. The contracts for offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner and offensive line coach Shaun Sarrett were not renewed and their replacements have not yet been named. Roberts will also be working with a tight end group that will have a different look in 2021 after veteran tight end Vance McDonald announced his retirement last Friday. Roberts played six seasons in the NFL from 1988-93, catching 48 passes for 450 yards and 2 touchdowns in his career with Kansas City and Dallas. He won a pair Super Bowl with the Cowboys in the 1992 and 1993 seasons before going into coaching.
BASKETBALL
Spurs-Pelicans called off
San Antonio's game in New Orleans was called off Monday night in the latest virus-related postponement for the NBA, one that came when the league determined that neither team would have enough players available. Also Monday: Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, the two best players on the Los Angeles Clippers, were ruled out for tonight's game in Atlanta because of the league's health and safety protocols. As has been the case with most of the other games that have been postponed, contact tracing was cited as the cause of the Spurs-Pelicans postponement. But instead of it involving just one team -- as has been the case with each of the season's previous 21 postponements prior to Monday -- this one involved both clubs. "Because of ongoing contact tracing within both the Spurs and Pelicans, neither team has the league-required eight available players to proceed with the scheduled game," the NBA said, sending that announcement less than two hours before the planned tip-off time. San Antonio became the 24th team to have at least one game postponed so far this season because of the virus. The Spurs played Washington -- a team that went 13 days between games because of six players testing positive for covid-19 and three others missing time because contact tracing suggested they may have been exposed to the virus -- on Sunday night. Of the 22 postponements this season, 21 have been made since Jan. 10.