IN BRIEF
SRU lacrosse 8th in preseason poll
SLIPPERY ROCK — The Slippery Rock University women’s lacrosse team is picked to finish eighth out of 12 teams in the PSAC preseason coaches poll.
The Rock finised 11-6 last season, missing the league playoffs by one game. SRU’s top four scorers and nine of its top 11 return this season.
Three-time defending PSAC champion and fourth-ranked Lock Haven is picked to win the PSAC, followed by No. 7 West Chester, No. 13 Mercyhurst, No. 12 Gannon, Indiana, East Stroudsburg, Bloomsburg and SRU.
The Rock opens the season March 15 vs. Belmont Abbey in Charlotte, N.C. First home game is March 22 vs. Mercyhurst.
Saints involved in bounty ringNEW YORK — New Orleans Saints players and at least one assistant coach, defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, maintained a bounty pool of up to $50,000 the last three seasons, the NFL said. Payoffs came for inflicting game-ending injuries.Among the targets were Brett Favre and Kurt Warner, with “knockouts” worth $1,500 and “cart-offs” $1,000. Payments doubled or tripled for the playoffs, and, according to an investigation by NFL security, pool amounts reached their height in 2009 — the year the Saints won the Super Bowl.The league absolved Saints owner Tom Benson of any blame, but said the investigation showed coach Sean Payton and general manager Mickey Loomis knew about the “pay for performance” program.Baseball expands wild-card entrantsNEW YORK — Major League Baseball expanded its playoff format to 10 teams, adding a second wild-card in each league.The decision establishes a one-game, wild-card round in each league between the teams with the best records who are not division winners, meaning a third-place team could win the World Series.Leafs fire Wilson, hire CarlyleTORONTO — The Maple Leafs fired coach Ron Wilson and replaced him with Randy Carlyle.Wilson was dismissed after a disastrous month that included a slide out of playoff position in the Eastern Conference. He was wrapping up his fourth season in Toronto.Carlyle was coaching Anaheim earlier this season.
