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Sports briefs

3 min read

In the NFL

The injury bug has gotten Christian McCaffrey yet again.

The Carolina Panthers often-injured running back will miss the remainder of the season with an ankle injury, the team announced Monday.

McCaffrey had an MRI that revealed the injury was severe enough to put him on injured reserve. Because of his anticipated recovery time and given that it would be his second time on IR, the news means McCaffrey will miss out on Carolina’s final five regular-season games following its bye week.

n Cleveland Browns right tackle Jack Conklin will undergo surgery after suffering a season-ending right knee injury Sunday night at Baltimore, a crushing blow to a Cleveland offense struggling to score.

Conklin ruptured his patellar tendon while pass blocking in the first quarter against the Ravens, who held the Browns to a season-low 40 yards rushing. An MRI taken Monday confirmed the diagnosis of a tear.

n The NFL suspended Dallas Cowboys defensive tackle Trysten Hill for two games for confronting Las Vegas offensive lineman John Simpson and throwing a punch after the Raiders’ 36-33 overtime win on Thanksgiving.

Hil will miss Thursday night’s game at New Orleans and the Dec. 12 game at Washington. He can return Dec. 19 at the New York Giants.

In college football

LSU is hiring Brian Kelly away from Notre Dame, a stunning move by one of the most accomplished coaches in college football jumping from the sport’s most storied program to an Southeastern Conference powerhouse.

A person familiar with the decision told the Associated Press on Monday night that Kelly was leaving Notre Dame for LSU. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because neither school was prepared to make an official announcement.

n Jacksonville State has hired former major college head coach Rich Rodriguez to lead its program into the FBS level.

Rodriguez is a former coach at Arizona, Michigan and West Virginia. He just finished his first season as Louisiana-Monroe’s offensive coordinator after holding the same job at Mississippi in 2019.

Rodriguez, 58, replaces John Grass, who went 72-26 in eight seasons with the FCS program, which is moving up to Conference USA.

n Temple fired coach Rod Carey after three seasons with the school, ending a tenure that started with a bowl game and finished with a combined two conference wins in the last two seasons.

n Sonny Dykes was hired as TCU’s coach.

Dykes spent the past four seasons at SMU, which earlier Monday named Miami offensive coordinator and former Dykes assistant Rhett Lashlee as his replacement.

n Oklahoma quarterback Spencer Rattler, a preseason All-American who lost the starting job early in the season, announced on social media Monday that he will enter the transfer portal.

In the NBA

Michael Porter Jr. of the Denver Nuggets needs surgery to address his latest back injury, and there’s no known timetable yet for his return.

Porter has averaged 14 points in 125 NBA regular-season games, averaged 17.4 points in last season’s playoffs and was rewarded back in September with a five-year extension that will be worth at least $173 million.

In the NHL

The NHL suspended Bruins forward Brad Marchand for three games for slew-footing Canucks defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson during Boston’s 3-2 victory a day earlier.

n Jared McCann and Mason Appleton each scored two goals, and the Seattle Kraken beat the Buffalo Sabres 7-4.

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