Maine
Sports Digest: Southern Maine women’s lacrosse coach Angela Mallis steps down
COLLEGES
University of Southern Maine women’s lacrosse coach Angela Mallis has resigned after four seasons, the school announced in a press release.
Mallis went 34-27 with the Huskies from 2018-2020. She was named interim coach for the 2021 season and led the Huskies to a 6-3 record. The interim tag was removed after the season.
Ashley Durepo, who coached at Southern Maine from 2018-2020, will replace Mallis. Durepo went 20-16 in her first stint with the Huskies and was named Little East Conference Coach of the Year in 2019. Upon leaving USM, Durepo coached at Merrimack College for 2021 season. She was also the head coach at Concord High School in Concord, New Hampshire in 2022, an assistant coach at Southern New Hampshire University in 2023 and an assistant at Falmouth High in 2024.
TELEVISION
STREAMING: The launch of Venu Sports will be delayed after a federal judge granted FuboTV’s motion for a preliminary injunction against the planned sports streaming venture by ESPN, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery.
U.S. District Judge Margaret M. Garnett in the Southern District of New York said in her 69-page ruling that Fubo was likely to be successful in proving during a trial that the joint venture would violate antitrust laws, and Fubo and consumers would “face irreparable harm in the absence of an injunction.”
ESPN, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery said they would appeal the ruling.
FuboTV filed the lawsuit two weeks after ESPN, Fox, Warner Bros. Discovery and Hulu announced their plan to offer a sports streaming service on Feb. 6.
FOOTBALL
NFL: Cincinnati Bengals kicker Evan McPherson has agreed to a three-year, $16.5 million contract extension, eliminating any chance of him hitting free agency in March.
McPherson, who earned the nickname “Money Mac” because of his penchant for making clutch kicks, will earn $10 million in new money in 2025, according to his agents at New York-based Sportstars Inc. That’s nearly 10 times his base salary of $1,055,000 for 2024.
A fifth-round draft pick from Florida in 2021, McPherson has made 78 of 93 field-goal attempts in three seasons. He’s hit 21 of those from beyond 50 yards and is 126 of 132 on extra points.
GOLF
WOMEN’S SCOTTISH OPEN: American golfer Megan Khang birdied her final hole to shoot 4-under 68 and join Minjee Lee of Australia in a share of the lead at the Women’s Scottish Open in Irvine, Scotland.
Both players were 8 under par overall and seeking their first wins of 2024.
They were two shots clear of three players – Olympic gold medalist Lydia Ko (69), Charley Hull of England (68) and Lauren Coughlin of the United States (69).
AUTO RACING
OBIT: Scott Bloomquist, a dirt track race car driver who was known for his bravado and for being one of the sport’s best, died in a plane crash on his family’s farm in Mooresburg, Tennessee, friends and local officials said.
Bloomquist, 60, stood out with his long hair and a race car that was emblazoned with the number zero and a skull and crossbones. He was also known for winning.
TENNIS
CINCINNATI OPEN: Carlos Alcaraz repeatedly smashed his racket on the court in a rare show of frustration, and the four-time Grand Slam winner fell to Gael Monfils 4-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-4 in Cincinnati.
In a match that was suspended by rain on Thursday night with the players in a second-set tiebreaker, the 37-year-old Monfils advanced by taking the last two sets from the second-seeded Alcaraz, who called the loss his “worst match.”
In women’s action, top-ranked Iga Swiatek advanced to the quarterfinals with a convincing 6-2, 6-2 win over Marta Kostyuk.