sports briefs
Florida fires football coach
One bad season at Florida was one too many for Dan Mullen.
The standard for success when it comes to coaching the Gators is about as high as it can get in college football.
Florida fired Mullen on Sunday, a day after his sixth loss in nine games, two months after the Gators went toe-to-toe with defending national champion Alabama and a year after they had a chance to make the College Football Playoff.
“This is a place where you should have a high level of success over a long period of time,” Florida athletic director Scott Stricklin said.
Mullen’s stunningly swift downfall and not-so-surprising departure ends a tumultuous two seasons that included mounting losses, numerous public relation missteps, NCAA sanctions and a victory against lower-division Samford that didn’t seem like much for Gators fans to celebrate.
Stricklin said he made the decision Sunday morning and offered Mullen the chance to coach the team’s final game, but he declined for fear of being a distraction.
Former Peters Township athlete Donovan McMillon is a member of the Gators.
Yankees cut Frazier
Clint Frazier’s tenure with the Yankees may have ended after five unfulfilling seasons when New York designated him for assignment on Friday to open a roster spot for a prospect ahead of the winter meeting draft.
Frazier can be claimed by another major league team off waivers. If he is not, he could be assigned outright to the minors but he would have the right to reject the assignment and become a free agent because he has at least three years of major league service.
Infielders Rougned Odor and Tyler Wade also were designated for assignment.
Now 27, Frazier was the fifth pick overall in the 2013 amateur draft by Cleveland and was a prized prospect when he was acquired by the Yankees in the July 2016 trade that sent reliever Andrew Miller to the Indians.
Rockies sign Diaz
The Colorado Rockies agreed to a $14.5 million, three-year contract with catcher Elias Díaz.
His deal was announced Thursday and covers one season of arbitration eligibility and two years of free agency.
Díaz, who turned 31 on Wednesday, hit .246 last season with a career-best 18 homers, tied for third-most among National League catchers. He also threw out 42.1% of base stealers, a mark only behind that of Kansas City’s Salvador Pérez.
The Pittsburgh Pirates signed Díaz in May 2009. He batted .250 in 250 games for the Pirates from 2015-19. He also had 13 homers.
Sacramento fires Walton
The Sacramento Kings fired coach Luke Walton on Sunday after getting off to a disappointing start in his third season in charge.
Walton was informed of the decision a day after a 123-105 home loss to Utah that dropped the Kings to 6-11 on the season.
“After a thorough evaluation of the season thus far, I decided to make a change to the head coach position,” Kings general manager Monte McNair said in a statement. “I want to thank Luke for his efforts and contributions to our team.”
Walton had a 68-93 record in two-plus seasons as coach, failing to get Sacramento back to the playoffs for the first time since the 2005-06 season.
ESPN first reported the firing.
Associate coach Alvin Gentry takes over on an interim basis. Gentry most recently served as head coach for the New Orleans Pelicans (2015-20). He has also had head coaching stops with Miami, Detroit, the Clippers and Phoenix. He has a career record of 510-595.