Sports briefs
UCF hires Malzahn
Central Florida hired Gus Malzahn as its football coach Monday, a little more than two months after he was fired by Auburn.
Malzahn was 68-35 in eight years with the Tigers, never having a losing season and going 39-27 in the Southeastern Conference. UCF scheduled an afternoon news conference to introduce its new coach.
UCF lost both its athletic director (Danny White) and football coach (Josh Heupel) to Tennessee last month. UCF hired Terry Mohajir as AD last week. Mohajir was the athletic director at Arkansas State during Malzahn’s one season at the Sun Belt school.
Big 12 announces schedule changes
The Big 12 Conference on Monday altered three men’s basketball games this week because of extreme winter weather in the southern Great Plains region that created travel issues, including one game that had already reset.
The league said TCU’s game at No. 15 Texas Tech would not be played Tuesday night. That came less than 24 hours after the dates had already been switched and the home sites flip-flopped for the scheduled back-to-back games between the Horned Frogs and Red Raiders.
No. 12 Texas will now play at No. 9 Oklahoma on Wednesday night after that game was pushed back from its scheduled Tuesday slot. The league also postponed the Longhorns’ game at Iowa State that was scheduled Thursday night.
Texas Tech was scheduled to play Monday night at TCU. Those two teams were then scheduled to play Wednesday in Lubbock, which was part of the original schedule for both teams.
The Big 12 altered both of those games on Sunday, when Texas Tech was unable to travel to Fort Worth. The league said then that the Red Raiders and Horned Frogs would play Tuesday in Lubbock and then again Thursday in Fort Worth. That Thursday night game is still currently scheduled.
In the NBA
Andre Drummond wasn’t part of the Cleveland Cavaliers’ future plans. He’s not part of current ones, either.
The two-time All-Star center will be inactive for upcoming games as the Cavs, who are struggling badly after a solid start, pursue a trade for him, a person familiar with the team’s intentions told the Associated Press.
Drummond sat out Sunday night’s game – the team called it “rest” – against the Los Angeles Clippers and will continue to stay on the sideline, said the person.
- The Detroit Pistons are taking another step in their rebuilding process, planning to part ways with Blake Griffin. Detroit plans to keep the star forward out of the lineup while he and the organization work out a decision on his future.
Players of the week
Washington & Jefferson freshman diver Taylor Weyrich, a McMurray native, was named the Presidents’ Athletic Conference Women’s Swimming & Diving Rookie of the Week.
Weyrich has won all four of her diving events.
Against Grove City last Tuesday, Weyrich was first in the 1-meter and 3-meter events, posting a score of 256.73 on the 1-meter board and a 232.80 in the 3-meter event.
Her marks rank first the PAC in the 1-meter and second in the 3-meter. Nationally, Weyrich is seventh in Division III on the 1-meter board and 11th on the 3-meter.
- Waynesburg freshman guard Avery Robinson was named the PAC Women’s Basketball Rookie of the Week.
Robinson scored 23 points Saturday at Saint Vincent, making nine of 10 shots, including all four of her three-point attempts.