Sports briefs
Duquesne postponed
Duquesne’s Atlantic 10 basketball opener scheduled for Wednesday at St. Louis was postponed because of positive COVID-19 test results within the St. Louis program.
Duquesne, which has been idle since Dec. 2, will open the A-10 season Saturday at George Washington.
WVU’s Cottrell out for season
West Virginia backup forward Isaiah Cottrell will miss the rest of the season after tearing his left Achilles tendon, the team announced Wednesday.
The 6-10 freshman sustained the injury in the first half of Tuesday’s 73-51 win over Northeastern.
Cottrell averaged 1.6 points and 1.4 rebounds in 10 games.
“Everyone associated with Mountaineer Basketball is saddened by the news that we received on Isaiah,” coach Bob Huggins said. “Isaiah is a great teammate, a wonderful kid and a hard worker who will do everything asked of him to get back to 100 percent and back on the court.”
In hockey
Longtime Boston captain Zdeno Chara signed with the Washington Capitals on Wednesday, saying his former team had decided to move on from the towering defenseman who helped the Bruins climb back into the top echelon of the NHL and win the Stanley Cup in 2011.
The stunning move – Chara agreed to terms on a one-year contract worth just $795,000 – came less than a week before most NHL teams open training camp. The Bruins haven’t opened camp without Chara since 2005, the first season after a yearlong lockout.
In the NFL
The Kansas City Chiefs plan to rest the majority of their starters against the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday, choosing to risk a bit of rust over the danger of injury with the No. 1 seed and first-round playoff bye already secured.
Chiefs coach Andy Reid declined to say which starters would sit, though he did indicate veteran Chad Henne will start at quarterback and Matt Moore will likely be promoted from the practice squad. That means it’s nearly certain Patrick Mahomes, who needs just 260 yards passing to reach 5,000 for the season, won’t step foot on the field this week.
In college football
ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit says he has tested positive for COVID-19 and will call the College Football Playoff semifinal between No. 2 Clemson and No. 3 Ohio State from home.
Herbstreit posted Tuesday night on Twitter that he was feeling good and his family was OK.
He said he will still be part of “College GameDay” on the morning of Jan. 1 and on the call of the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans that night.
- The Wisconsin Badgers captured the Duke’s Mayo Bowl and the trophy that came along with it.
And then they broke it.
While dancing around to celebrate his team’s 42-28 victory over Wake Forest on Wednesday, quarterback Graham Mertz dropped the football-shaped piece of Lenox crystal, leaving it shattered on the floor of the locker room after it fell off its base.
Mertz accounted for three touchdowns and Wisconsin turned four second-half interceptions, all by different players, into 21 points to turn a close game into a near-rout.