Tennessee fires men’s hoops coach

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee has fired basketball coach Donnie Tyndall after one season.

Tyndall’s firing comes as the NCAA investigates his two-year stay at Southern Mississippi, where he coached before coming to Tennessee last year.

Tennessee athletic director Dave Hart said in a statement Friday it is “highly likely” Tyndall will face “significant penalties” after the NCAA completes its inquiry.

Gay NFL players reach out to Sam

Michael Sam says there are “a lot” of gay players in the NFL and some have reached out to him.

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported Sam gave a speech Thursday at the Dallas Holocaust Museum and took questions from the audience.

Sam said: “I’m just saying there is a lot of us.” He added he’d never out a player who confided in him, but “there’s some famous people.”

Sam came out before last year’s NFL draft. The defensive end from Missouri was selected in the seventh round by the St. Louis Rams and cut in training camp. The Dallas Cowboys signed him to their practice squad but released him in October.

He’s currently a free agent.

Soccer goalie hit in head by road flare

PODGORICA, Montenegro (AP) — The European championship qualifying match between Montenegro and Russia was abandoned Friday after two Russian players were struck by objects thrown from the crowd, including its goalkeeper being hit in the head by a flare.

The Group G game was called off with the score at 0-0 after Dmitry Kombarov became the second Russian player to be struck by an object, sparking a mass brawl between the teams. Earlier, goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev was taken to a hospital and the match suspended for about 30 minutes when a flare struck him on the head.