Michigan OC Moore suspended for season opener
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Michigan offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore will be suspended for this week’s season-opening game as part of the school’s self-imposed penalties for violating NCAA rules that also led to coach Jim Harbaugh’s punishment.
Harbaugh said Monday an analyst will be elevated to fill Moore’s spot on the staff Saturday against East Carolina.
The school announced last week that it decided Harbaugh would serve a three-game suspension to start this season because of NCAA recruiting infractions.
“I’ve heard people comment it’s a slap on the wrist,” he said. “It’s more like a baseball bat to the kneecaps.”
Michigan handed down Harbaugh’s punishment in an attempt to get out in front of potential NCAA sanctions related to an investigation of impermissible contact with recruits during the COVID-19 dead period.
Harbaugh and Moore, a rising star in the coaching ranks, will not be on the sideline when the second-ranked Wolverines start the season. Both will be allowed to coach on non-game days, following NCAA rules.
Harbaugh also will miss games against UNLV and Bowling Green at the Big House.
Four of Harbaugh’s assistants will have an opportunity to lead the team during his suspension, he announced last week. He also named his 84-year-old father, Jack, assistant head coach and gave strength and conditioning coach Ben Herbert an additional title as associate head coach.
Defensive coordinator Jesse Minter will serve as head coach in the opener. Special teams coordinator Jay Harbaugh will fill his father’s role with the team in the first half of the second game, while running backs coach and former Michigan star Mike Hart will take over the duties in the second half.
In his second game back from a suspension, Moore will be the head coach in the final nonconference game.
Michigan is expected to contend for a national title after winning two straight Big Ten championships and appearing in consecutive College Football Playoffs.
The school previously proposed a four-game suspension for Harbaugh as part of a negotiated resolution to the case with NCAA enforcement staff, but the association’s committee on infractions reportedly declined to accept that proposal.
Without confirming the status of the negotiated resolution, which was submitted by Michigan to the NCAA last month, the governing body put out a terse statement in response to reports that the settlement was in danger of not being accepted.
The negotiated resolution Michigan submitted to the NCAA also included one-game suspensions for Moore and tight ends coach Grant Newsome, who is not expected to be subject to a self-imposed punishment.
Michigan self-imposing a penalty for Harbaugh does not end the case. It is unclear whether Michigan has received an official notice of allegations from the NCAA. Without a negotiated resolution, the case would need to go before the committee on infractions before a ruling is handed down.
That process could take months to complete and likely would stretch into 2024. Schools usually self-impose penalties as a way to get out in front of the NCAA, show cooperation and mitigate some of the damages of an eventual punishment.
The investigation involved impermissible texts and calls — including some by Harbaugh — to high school prospects during part of a pandemic-related dead period for contact with potential recruits. The NCAA also has been looking at whether a member of Michigan’s off-the-field football staff violated rules by doing on-the-field coaching during practice.
Harbaugh previously told NCAA investigators in multiple meetings that he would not agree to an unethical conduct charge for not being forthright, according to two people familiar with the situation. The people spoke earlier this year to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because details of the investigation have not been shared.
ST. PAUL, Minn. — Connor McDavid continues setting records and moving up scoring lists.
McDavid had two goals and an assist in the Edmonton Oilers‘ 5-3 win against the Minnesota Wild on Wednesday night, passing Jari Kurri for second all time in points in Edmonton history. McDavid, a three-time Hart Trophy winner for league MVP and five-time scoring champion, now has 1,044 points in his 10-year career and trails only Wayne Gretzky on the franchise list.
Kurri had 1,043 points in his 10 years with the Oilers, playing on a line with Gretzky for much of it. Gretzky, the NHL’s all-time leading scorer, had 1,669 points in nine seasons in Edmonton.
“Quite a remarkable feat,” Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said. “For him to go up the scoring list as quickly as he has, and within an organization that has had so many significant players. I’ve seen so many remarkable things from him. He’s a tremendous player and great teammate. I said I wouldn’t be surprised anymore just because he surprises you so often over these years, but it’s a nice feat for him and the guys are very proud of him.”
McDavid’s second goal was of the highlight variety. He shot the puck from a tough angle, lifting it over Minnesota goalie Filip Gustavsson without much room.
McDavid didn’t speak to reporters after the game. He was involved in a collision with Minnesota forward Marcus Johansson in the second period in which McDavid’s elbow hit Johansson in the face. There was no penalty called, but it drew the ire of the Wild.
Washington Capitals goaltender Charlie Lindgren practiced with the team on Wednesday for the first time since his upper-body injury on Friday.
He will travel with the team to Ottawa but is still on injured reserve and isn’t eligible to play in Thursday’s game against the Senators. Lindgren, 31, can be activated on Saturday, when Washington hosts the Pittsburgh Penguins.
“Not quite ready with being on the IR and that, but another positive step being on the ice today,” Capitals coach Spencer Carbery said.
Lindgren took a hit to the head and left the Capitals’ home game against the Montreal Canadiens on Friday. In the first minute of the second period, he was struck in the side of the head by Montreal’s Nick Suzuki, who was checked into the goalie by Brandon Duhaime. The game resumed, but Lindgren was pulled approximately two minutes later, and the Canadiens went on to win 3-2 in overtime.
Lindgren is 10-8-2 with a 2.65 goals-against average and .900 save percentage in 21 starts.
He has a career record of 63-47-14 with a .277 GAA and .907 save percentage in 131 regular-season games (123 starts) for the Montreal Canadiens (2015-20), St. Louis Blues (2021-22) and Capitals.
Washington forward Sonny Milano participated in his first full practice since sustaining an upper-body injury on Nov. 6 against the Nashville Predators. Milano, 28, wore a non-contact jersey as he continues his recovery. Milano has played in three games this season.
He has 137 career points (62 goals, 75 assists) in 313 games with the Columbus Blue Jackets (2015-20), Anaheim Ducks (2020-22) and Capitals.
WASHINGTON — A bill to award Congressional Gold Medals to the 1980 “Miracle on Ice” Olympic hockey team was reintroduced in the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate on Wednesday.
The ongoing effort, which included the bill being first introduced in October, needed to be submitted for consideration again in the 119th Congress.
Rep. Pete Stauber, R-Minn., reintroduced the Miracle on Ice Congressional Gold Medal Act in the House along with co-sponsors Reps. Lisa McClain, R-Mich., Mike Quigley, D-Ill., and Bill Keating, D-Mass. Sens. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., and Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., reintroduced it in the Senate.
USA Hockey executive director Pat Kelleher said he encourages fans to contact their congressional representatives to express their support for the bill’s passage. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said the league enthusiastically supports the legislation.
February marks the 45th anniversary of the Americans beating the heavily favored Soviet Union on the way to the gold medal on home ice in Lake Placid, New York.
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