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Appalachian State, after its first losing season since 2013, has fired football coach Shawn Clark, who went 40-24 in his five seasons with the Mountaineers, it was announced Monday.

Clark’s buyout dropped from $1 million to $500,000 on Monday, sources told ESPN, and the move comes in the wake of a 5-6 season. Appalachian State had last had a losing season in 2013, when it went 4-8 in Scott Satterfield’s first season.

“I want to thank Shawn for all he has done for the App State football program,” athletic director Doug Gillin said in a statement. “Shawn is a true Mountaineer. He has given his heart and soul to his alma mater. He has navigated numerous challenges in his tenure and done so with class and integrity. This was a difficult decision, but after an evaluation of the program, we decided to make the change now.”

Appalachian State hired Clark from the staff of former coach Eliah Drinkwitz after he left for Missouri following the 2019 season. The move was made in part for stability in the program after Drinkwitz left after just one season.

Clark’s teams went 19-7 over the first two seasons, and he made the conference title game in 2021 and 2023. He also coached one of the biggest upsets in recent college football seasons, leading App State to a stunning 17-14 victory at Texas A&M in 2022.

Clark’s fortunes looked dim in 2023, however, until the Mountaineers won six of seven games to close the season. This year, Appalachian State lost three straight games midseason and closed the season with two losses in the last three games. It finished 3-5 in the Sun Belt.

“The expectation for App State Football is to annually compete for a conference championship and a berth in the College Football Playoff,” Gillin said in the statement. “… Mountaineer fans are among the most passionate in the country, and we are committed to providing a football program that builds upon the decades of previous championship tradition.”

Clark is an App State graduate who had been on staff there in some capacity since 2016.

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Source: Belichick, UNC won’t be on Hard Knocks

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Source: Belichick, UNC won't be on Hard Knocks

North Carolina and new coach Bill Belichick will not be the subject of HBO’s “Hard Knocks: Offseason,” a source confirmed to ESPN on Tuesday.

Front Office Sports reported last week that North Carolina would be featured on this year’s show, which would have given viewers an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at how Belichick would manage his first offseason as a college head coach.

When asked about it on “The Pat McAfee Show,” Tar Heels general manager Michael Lombardi said that nothing had been signed with the university but that the program was receiving “a lot of offers from people all over to come in and look at our program.”

But, as CBS Sports first reported earlier Tuesday, a deal could not be reached.

UNC hired Belichick in December after he had spent his entire career in the NFL, where he won six Super Bowls as coach of the New England Patriots. The Patriots never were selected to appear on “Hard Knocks.”

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NHL trade grades: Report cards for the Trent Frederic swap, Seth Jones blockbuster, other major deals

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NHL trade grades: Report cards for the Trent Frederic swap, Seth Jones blockbuster, other major deals

The NHL trade deadline for the 2024-25 season is not until March 7, but teams have not waited until the last minute to make major moves.

For every significant trade that occurs during the season, you’ll find a grade for it here, the Colorado Avalanche and San Jose Sharks swapping goaltenders, Cam Fowler to the St. Louis Blues, Kaapo Kakko to the Seattle Kraken, the blockbuster deal sending Mikko Rantanen to the Carolina Hurricanes and Martin Necas to the Avalanche, J.T. Miller from the Vancouver Canucks to the New York Rangers, and the Canucks staying busy and getting Marcus Pettersson from the Pittsburgh Penguins.

March 1 featured three big trades, with Ryan Lindgren headed to the Colorado Avalanche, the Minnesota Wild adding Gustav Nyquist, and Seth Jones joining the Florida Panthers.

Read on for grades from Ryan S. Clark and Greg Wyshynski, and check back the next time a big deal breaks.

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Reports: Brewers add depth with lefty Quintana

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Reports: Brewers add depth with lefty Quintana

Veteran left-handed pitcher Jose Quintana is joining the Milwaukee Brewers on a one-year, $4.25 million deal with $1 million in potential bonuses, according to multiple reports.

Quintana, 36, is coming off a 2024 season in which he went 10-10 with a 3.75 ERA in 31 starts for the New York Mets. He struck out 135 and walked 63 in 170⅓ innings. Over his past six regular-season starts, Quintana gave up four runs — three earned — in 36 1/3 innings.

He started the deciding game of New York’s NL Wild Card Series matchup with the Brewers and pitched six shutout innings in the Mets’ 4-2 victory, though he received no decision. Quintana had a total of three postseason starts, allowing six runs — five earned — over 14 1/3 innings.

Quintana now will compete for a spot in a Brewers rotation that returns right-handers Freddy Peralta, Tobias Myers and Aaron Civale. The two-time defending NL Central champions also added left-hander Nestor Cortes in a trade that sent two-time NL reliever of the year Devin Williams to the New York Yankees.

The Brewers could use some rotation depth as two-time All-Star Brandon Woodruff and Robert Gasser come back from injuries. Woodruff missed all of 2024 while recovering from shoulder surgery, and he won’t be ready for the start of the season. Gasser, who is recovering from Tommy John surgery, isn’t expected to be available until late in the season.

Milwaukee got more bad news Monday night when left-hander Aaron Ashby, a candidate for a rotation spot, left his start against the Cincinnati Reds with an injury. Murphy told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that Ashby appeared to have an oblique issue and would undergo an MRI.

When he makes his Brewers debut, Quintana will have pitched for every team in the NL Central. He was with the Chicago Cubs from 2017-20 and split the 2022 season between the Pittsburgh Pirates and St. Louis Cardinals.

Quintana owns a 102-103 record and 3.74 ERA in 359 career appearances, including 333 starts. He’s also had stints with the Chicago White Sox (2012-17), Los Angeles Angels (2021), San Francisco Giants (2021) and Mets (2023-24). He was selected to the All-Star Game in 2016.

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