Basketball
• Ducks finish exhibition season with victory: The Oregon Ducks men’s basketball team closed out its exhibition slate by defeating Southwestern Oklahoma State 82-65 in front of 5,448 at Matthew Knight Arena on Monday night in Eugene. Oregon had five players score in double figures as freshman Dominic Artis led the way with 15, followed by fellow freshman Damyean Dotson and seniors E.J. Singler, Tony Woods and Carlos Emory, who scored 12 points each. Junior Waverly Austin led the way for the Ducks on the boards with 11 rebounds, four of them offensive.
• NBA hands out first flopping warnings: The NBA issued flopping warnings to Minnesota’s JJ Barea and Cleveland’s Donald Sloan on Monday, the first two under a new policy designed to end the act. Barea threw his upper body backward after contact while defending Sacramento’s Jimmer Fredette in the fourth quarter on Friday. Sloan tumbled wildly to the court a few feet from contact after a pick set against him against Chicago on Saturday. The NBA announced a new policy in preseason to stop the act of players dramatically overselling contact in hopes of tricking referees into calling fouls. League officials review plays and inform players if something they did falls under the league’s definition of a flop. Video of the plays are posted on nba.com.
Football
• K-State hoping Klein plays vs. TCU: Kansas State coach Bill Snyder is hopeful injured quarterback Collin Klein will be available for Saturday’s game at TCU. The Heisman Trophy candidate was hurt during the third quarter of the No. 3 Wildcats’ 44-30 victory over Oklahoma State on Saturday. Snyder did not discuss the nature or severity of the injury, but all indications point toward a possible concussion. Klein lay on the turf for several seconds after scoring his 50th career rushing touchdown. He spent several minutes talking with trainers before his helmet was taken away, which usually signals that a player has sustained some type of head injury. “He obviously was injured or we wouldn’t have taken him out," Snyder said.
• Washington State suspends WR: Washington State star receiver Marquess Wilson was suspended on Monday for an unspecified violation of team rules, and will miss Saturday’s game against No. 17 UCLA. Cougars coach Mike Leach declined to say why Wilson was suspended, although he said the punishment would last at least a week. The Moscow-Pullman Daily News reported Monday that Wilson stormed out of a team practice early Sunday evening. Washington State (2-7, 0-6) was blown out 49-6 at Utah on Saturday for its sixth consecutive loss. Afterward, Leach complained that the effort of his players was “bordering on cowardice."
• Redskins’ Shanahan puts new spin on comments: Washington Redskins coach Mike Shanahan is putting a new spin on his comment that he’ll use the rest of the season “to see who obviously is going to be on your football team for years to come." A clearly agitated Shanahan said on Monday that he probably didn’t give “the perfect quote" after the Redskins fell to 3-6 with Sunday’s 21-13 loss to the Carolina Panthers. Shanahan had proclaimed the game a “must-win" to stay in the playoff hunt. His postgame remarks implied that he was giving up on the postseason chase to turn the focus to player evaluation. Several players were perplexed by the coach’s remarks.
• Chiefs’ Crennel removes himself as D-coordinator: Chiefs coach Romeo Crennel relieved himself of duties as defensive coordinator on a day of massive changes that included the waiving of cornerback Stanford Routt and the signing of defensive tackle Shaun Smith. Crennel had been juggling head coaching and coordinator duties since taking over on an interim basis when Todd Haley was fired last December. Gary Gibbs will take over as defensive coordinator and Crennel plans to spend more time with the rest of the team. The Chiefs fell to 1-7 with Thursday night’s 31-13 loss at San Diego, their fifth straight defeat.
Tennis
• Murray, Djokovic win at ATP finals: Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray won their opening matches Monday at the ATP finals in London, setting up a showdown between two of the top three players in the world. The top-ranked Djokovic beat Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 7-6 (4), 6-3 in Group A, hours after third-ranked Murray rallied to defeat Tomas Berdych 3-6, 6-3, 6-4. Djokovic and Murray will play Wednesday. The ATP finals is the season-ending tournament for the top eight players in the world. Fourth-ranked Rafael Nadal, however, pulled out because of injury. Group B, which includes six-time champion Roger Federer, will play today at the O2 Arena.
Hockey
• NHL, union to return to bargaining table: The NHL and the players’ association are returning to the bargaining table today, hoping momentum generated over the weekend can lead to a long-awaited labor deal. The sides held negotiations Saturday, the first since Oct. 18, in an undisclosed location and made enough progress to want to talk again just days later. They will get back together today in New York. It wasn’t determined yet on Monday who would take part in the talks. Saturday’s were conducted by just NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly and union special counsel Steve Fehr. Today could involve a larger group, including Commissioner Gary Bettman and NHLPA executive director Donald Fehr. The lockout entered its 51st day Monday. So far, 327 games — including the outdoor Winter Classic — have been called off, and the NHL says a full season won’t be played.
Golf
• Famed instructor Flick dies at 82: Jim Flick, a golf instructor for more than 50 years whose clients included Tom Lehman and Jack Nicklaus upon joining the Champions Tour, died Monday of pancreatic cancer, his family said. He was 82. Flick taught golf in 23 countries and directed programs such as Golf Digest’s Schools and ESPN Golf Schools. He was director of instruction at Desert Mountain in Scottsdale, Ariz., for 20 years and wrote five books, the most recent one titled, “Jack Nicklaus, Simply the Best." Lehman spoke to Flick on Sunday before winning the Charles Schwab Cup Championship at Desert Mountain.
— From staff and wire reports