COLLEGES
With its season hanging in the balance after two straight losses, USC has had to forge ahead this week without its head coach.
Lincoln Riley missed a second consecutive practice on Tuesday with an undisclosed illness. A USC spokesperson said that the coach was recovering under doctor’s orders and described his status as “day-to-day.”
It’s unclear whether his absence could stretch through the weekend, with USC slated to travel to Berkeley for a critical matchup with California on Saturday.
For now, in Riley’s place, USC receivers coach Dennis Simmons is serving as acting head coach. USC was also working with its NCAA compliance office to elevate offensive analyst Kliff Kingsbury to an acting assistant role.
• Clemson will be down a pair of starters in wide receiver Antonio Williams and safety R.J. Mickens when it faces North Carolina State on Saturday.
Coach Dabo Swinney said Williams, who had just returned after missing three games with an ankle injury, hurt his toe in a loss to Miami last weekend.
Mickens had an appendectomy on Monday, according to Swinney.
• Maryland football coach Michael Locksley says assistant Kevin Sumlin is not with the team this week following his arrest in Florida over the weekend on a charge of driving under the influence.
When asked if he expected Sumlin to face any discipline, Locksley said “of course,” but he would not go into detail.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL: Georgetown players Kelsey Ransom and Graceann Bennett will always remember Coach Tasha Butts’ energy and passion.
The pair was just starting to get to know her after she was hired as the Hoyas’ head coach in April. She died on Monday after a two-year battle with breast cancer. She left a lasting impression in a short time.
“It’s really overwhelming and shocking,” Bennett said at Big East media day. “Heartbreaking for coach’s family. But we are grateful to be here to represent what coach has done.”
The conference honored Butts with a moment of silence, and the league’s head coaches wore Tasha Tough pins.
HOCKEY
PROFESSIONAL WOMEN’S HOCKEY LEAGUE: The newly launched Professional Women’s Hockey League placed a big emphasis on the “W” in its identity in a logo it unveiled.
The design incorporates two crossed hockey sticks to form the “W” in PHWL, which begins plays in January. The design is made up of six pieces, including a puck, to reflect the PWHL’s six inaugural franchises.
The logo’s primary color is purple, which the league said “signifies power and is often associated with ambition, both symbolic of PWHL players and the league’s formation.” During the league’s draft last month, players entered walking on a purple carpet.
The league is bringing together the top women’s players in the world and will have yet-to-be-named teams based in Boston, New York, Minnesota, Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa. Training camps are scheduled to open on Nov. 15.
TENNIS
WTA FINALS: French Open runner-up Karolina Muchova pulled out of the WTA Finals because of an injured right wrist and was replaced in the field for the season-ending tournament by Maria Sakkari.
Play in the WTA Finals begins on Sunday.
SUSPENSION: American tennis player Jenson Brooksby was given an 18-month suspension after an independent tribunal determined he missed three drug tests within the span of a year.
The International Tennis Integrity Agency said Brooksby accepted that his “whereabouts failures” for two of the missed tests “were valid” and the tribunal found his degree of fault for the other test “was high.”
Under antidoping rules, athletes can be penalized without a positive test if they have three “whereabout failures” within 12 months.
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