Sports briefs
In college basketball
University of Alabama basketball star Brandon Miller brought a teammate the gun that was used in a fatal January shooting near campus, an investigator testified Tuesday.
Miller, a freshman standout, brought Darius Miles’ gun to him on the night of the shooting after Miles texted him and asked him to do so, Tuscaloosa Police investigator Brandon Culpepper testified, according to news outlets.
The allegation of Miller’s involvement on the night of the Jan. 15 shooting came during a preliminary hearing for Miles and Michael Davis, who face capital murder charges for the death of 23-year-old Jamea Harris.
The ex-Alabama player Miles is accused of providing his gun to Davis, who fired it and killed Harris, prosecutors say.
Alabama coach Nate Oats told reporters Tuesday the team has been aware that Miller allegedly brought Miles the gun, but the team’s leading scorer is not in “any type of trouble.” He has started every game since the shooting.
Miller was just in “the wrong spot at the wrong time,” Oats said.
In the NFL
Mike Priefer’s shining moment with the Browns came when he coached them to a memorable playoff win.
The rest of his four seasons were underwhelming.
Priefer was fired Tuesday following a 7-10 season, capping a tenure filled with inconsistency and too many breakdowns by his units.
The move came six weeks after coach Kevin Stefanski fired defensive coordinator Joe Woods shortly after a loss to Pittsburgh in the finale. Woods has since been hired as a coordinator with New Orleans.
Priefer spent three seasons on Stefanski’s staff and filled in for him when the first-year coach had COVID-19 and missed the Browns’ 48-37 AFC wild-card win over Pittsburgh in the 2020 season.
In baseball
First baseman Luke Voit and outfielder Tyler Naquin agreed to minor league contracts with the Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday and will report to major league spring training.
Voit, 32,hit .226 with 22 homers, 69 RBIs, a .308 on-base percentage and a .402 slugging percentage in 135 games with San Diego and Washington last season. He became a free agent when the Nationals failed to offer a 2023 contract.
In pro basketball
Brittney Griner will be back in the WNBA this season, once again playing with the Phoenix Mercury.
Griner, who was a free agent, re-signed with the team Tuesday.
The 32-year-old Griner had said she would return to Phoenix in a social media post in December, after she returned home from her 10-month detainment in Russia. Griner had been arrested at an airport just outside of Moscow on drug possession charges a year ago and was brought home in a dramatic high-level prisoner exchange in December.
In soccer
Major League Soccer is expanding its playoffs to include the nine top finishers from each of its two conferences, 62% of the league’s teams.
An opening “wild-card” round will feature matches between the eighth- and ninth-seeded teams in the Eastern and Western conferences at the stadium of the higher seed.
The first round will be a best-of-three series, with the top finisher in each conference facing the winner of the wild-card match. The second seed will play the seventh, No. 3 will play No. 6 and No. 4 will play No. 5. The higher seed will host first, with the series moving to the lower seed for the second game, and then back to the higher seed’s home, if necessary.