In Brief

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

Pitino won't coach past end
of current Louisville contract

Rick Pitino said Tuesday that he won't coach past the 2016-17 season, when his current contract ends at Louisville.

"When you're 59, you're realistic that you don't have a whole lot of years left," Pitino said at a news conference before the No. 4 Cardinals play Georgetown tonight. "My contract's going to run out in 2017. I'm not coaching any more after that."

The former Providence and Kentucky coach has guided the Cardinals to a 12-0 record so far this season.

Louisville's Athletic Association granted Pitino, the only men's coach to lead three schools to the Final Four, a four-year contract extension in August. He'll make $3 million in base salary until the end of the 2013 season, followed by $3.9 million a year.

Pitino didn't use the word "retire," but has said in the past that Louisville would be his last coaching stop. He's 253-96 in his 11th season at Louisville, which reached the Final Four in 2005.

Also: Rhode Island's top scorer, senior guard Jamal Wilson, was suspended indefinitely for breaking unspecified team rules, the university said in a statement. Wilson averaged 17.5 points through the first 10 games of the season.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

South Carolina's Spurrier turns
over defensive duties to Ward

South Carolina football coach Steve Spurrier said he's officially put Lorenzo Ward in charge of the Gamecocks' defense.

Spurrier announced that Ward is the Gamecocks' full-time defensive leader, not just for Monday's Capital One Bowl game but for the 2012 season and beyond. Ward has been defensive coordinator since 2009.

The announcement comes a week after former defensive leader Ellis Johnson left to take over the Southern Mississippi program. Johnson said he would start work for the Golden Eagles immediately and not coach in the Gamecocks' Jan. 2 game against Nebraska.

Also: Nebraska offensive lineman Andrew Rodriguez of No. 21 Nebraska was ruled out of the Capital One Bowl against No. 10 South Carolina because of a sprained foot.

Coach Bo Pelini said the left guard didn't make the trip with the team but could be at the bowl site late in the week. Rodriguez has missed the last three games.

Clemson receiver DeAndre Hopkins is recovering from a concussion after a car wreck on the way to meet his teammates for a trip to Florida for the Orange Bowl.

The school said the sophomore was driving from his home to meet teammates on campus when he was in a crash and suffered a mild concussion.

Hopkins is Clemson's second-leading receiver, with 62 receptions for 871 yards and four touchdowns this season.

The 14th-ranked Tigers meet No. 23 West Virginia on Jan. 4 in the Orange Bowl.

MISCELLANEOUS

Schools assail NCAA's reform
plan on multiyear scholarships

Schools are objecting to an NCAA reform measure on multiyear scholarships sought by university presidents.

More than 75 schools want to override a proposal allowing multiyear athletic scholarships rather than one-year renewable awards. That's the number of dissenters needed for reconsideration by the Division I Board of Directors when it meets next month in Indianapolis.

More schools have objected to NCAA plans to give athletes a $2,000 stipend for living costs not covered by scholarships. That proposal also returns to the Board of Directors.

Both measures were pushed by NCAA president Mark Emmert and adopted as emergency legislation after a presidential summit in August.

Also: A U.S. District Judge in Delaware said a bankruptcy judge erred in freeing the Los Angeles Dodgers from provisions of its current Fox Sports TV contract.

U.S. District Judge Leonard Stark released a 33-page ruling explaining his reasoning after he issued an order last Friday to halt the Dodgers' plans to sell the media rights to future games as part of the team's impending sale.

Fox currently has the rights to produce, record and telecast Dodgers games through the 2013 season. The contract gives Fox certain rights in negotiating an extension, including the right to talk exclusively with the team in advance of competing offers.

But a judge handling the team's bankruptcy proceedings ruled the "no-shop" provisions were unenforceable in bankruptcy.

Johnny Wilson, a four-time Stanley Cup champion with the Detroit Red Wings, died. He was 82.

Toronto Maple Leafs coach Ron Wilson announced his uncle's death on Twitter. The coach called him a "warrior thru & thru, right to the end." There was no immediate word on cause of death.

Johnny Wilson was born in Kincardine, Ontario, and spent 11 years in the NHL. He won the Stanley Cup with Detroit in 1950, 1952, 1954 and 1955.