Football
Bears hire CFL coach — The Bears hired Montreal Alouettes coach Marc Trestman on Wednesday to replace the fired Lovie Smith, hoping he can get the most out of quarterback Jay Cutler and make Chicago a playoff team on a consistent basis. It’s the first head coaching job in the NFL for Trestman, a long-time assistant in the league who spent the past five seasons coaching the CFL’s Alouettes and led them to two Grey Cup titles. Trestman was an offensive coordinator with Cleveland, San Francisco, Arizona and Oakland.
SDSU staying in MWC — San Diego State is staying in the Mountain West and backing out on the Big East — just like Boise State did last month. University President Elliot Hirshman says the school is pleased to be continuing as a full member of the Mountain West Conference. San Diego State, a founding member, had committed to join the Big East for football only, with Boise State, starting next season. San Diego State’s other teams were going to compete in the Big West. But recent defections from the Big East caused Boise State to reconsider and strike a deal to stay in the Mountain West. Without a western partner, San Diego State retreated, too. Now the Mountain West will go into next season with 12 members and it plans to play a football title game.
Baseball
A-Rod has hip surgery — Alex Rodriguez had surgery on his left hip Wednesday and is expected to be sidelined until after the All-Star break. The New York Yankees said Dr. Bryan Kelly repaired a torn labrum and impingement and the operation at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York “went as planned and without complication." The 37-year-old former All-Star third baseman is expected to be released from the hospital on Thursday and the anticipated time for a full recovery is six months. The Yankees signed free agent Kevin Youkilis this offseason to play third base while Rodriguez is out. Kelly said last week that Rodriguez had a condition known as femoral acetabular impingement and it was caused by genes, not by steroids. Rodriguez admitted in 2009 that he used steroids while with the Texas Rangers from 2001-03.
Morse headed to Seattle — A person familiar with the trade says the Washington Nationals have agreed to send Michael Morse to Seattle as part of a three-team deal that would move catcher John Jaso from the Mariners to the Athletics and pitcher A.J. Cole from Oakland to the Nationals. The deal was first reported by The Washington Post. Morse hit .291 with 18 home runs and 62 RBIs for the Nationals in an injury-plagued season, playing mostly as an outfielder. The NL East champions acquired Denard Span in a trade and contemplated moving the 30-year-old Morse to first base but then re-signed Adam LaRoche. Morse played for the Mariners from 2005-08.
Colleges
Big Ten most valuable — The Southeastern Conference isn’t No. 1 in one category: revenues. Forbes released a list Wednesday of the estimated annual revenues for the top conferences in college sports. The SEC, boasting the reigning national champions in football and men’s basketball, is fourth. But that will likely change soon, because most of the money comes from television deals, and the SEC is renegotiating its contracts after expansion. The Big Ten is No. 1 with revenues of $310 million — $250 million of that coming from TV. The Pacific-12 is second at $303 million and the Atlantic Coast Conference third at $293 million. The SEC had revenues of $270 million.
Skiing
Miller skipping season — Bode Miller will skip the rest of the World Cup season to rest his surgically repaired left knee. The two-time overall champion had microfracture surgery nearly a year ago and has been taking a cautious approach to recovery, not wanting any sort of setback with the Sochi Games just a year away. And while the 35-year-old has missed some races, he hasn’t sat out a full season since his debut in 1997. Miller called the decision “tough," but “easy for me when I look at my opportunity next year."
— From wire reports
