EUGENE, Ore. — Ernie Kent, the winningest coach in Oregon history, was dismissed Tuesday after 13 seasons with his alma mater.
“You may find a better basketball coach, but I don’t think you’ll find anybody that has the passion and love that I have for this university,” said Kent, who leaves Oregon with a 235-173 overall record, including a 16-16 mark this season.
The Ducks immediately begin a search for a successor. One possible candidate is P.J. Carlesimo, former coach of the Portland Trail Blazers.
• Allen Smith scored 14 points to pace Arkansas-Pine Bluff to a 61-44 victory over Winthrop in the NCAA Tournament’s opening game in Dayton, Ohio. The Golden Lions (18-15) will play Duke, the No. 1 seed in the South Regional, on Friday in Jacksonville, Fla.
• Duquesne University forward Bill Clark has been suspended indefinitely for what the school said was conduct unacceptable to the team. He will miss tonight’s game against Princeton in the College Basketball Invitational.
• Oklahoma State guard Andrea Riley, the nation’s third-leading scorer at 26.6 points a game, will serve a one-game suspension during the Cowgirls’ first-round game against Chattanooga (24-8) on Saturday night in the NCAA Tournament. The NCAA issued the suspension after Riley took a swipe at LSU’s Erica White during a regional semifinal game two years ago to be served during her next NCAA Tournament game. The team missed the tournament last year.
Campbell has broken clavicle, rib
CHICAGO — Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Brian Campbell will miss seven to eight weeks with a broken collar bone and a fractured rib, the result of a hit from Washington Capitals’ star Alex Ovechkin on Sunday.
Mackey wins Iditarod again
NOME, Alaska — Lance Mackey won the 1,100-mile Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race to become the first musher in the event’s 38-year history to win four consecutive races.
For winning, the 39-year-old throat cancer survivor gets a new Dodge truck and $50,400. He finished the race in eight days, 23 hours and 59 minutes — the second-fastest finish in race history.
Footnotes.
Washington Wizards forward Josh Howard could miss the start of next season after having surgery to repair a torn ligament in his left knee.
• Ohio State added two years to football coach Jim Tressel‘s contract — through the 2014 season — and has offered him an administrative job when he retires.
• Lance Armstrong and Alberto Contador will compete in the Criterium International from March 27-28 in Corsica, their first race together since the Tour de France last year.
• English soccer star David Beckham was on his feet and walking on crutches after surgery to repair the torn Achilles tendon that will sideline him for about six months.
• Dan Bishop stood on his own for the first time as the University at Buffalo wrestler took the latest step in his recovery from a severe spinal cord injury suffered during a match March 6.
The Associated Press
