Sports briefs
By NewsPress Now
Tyrese Samuel, Zyon Pullin carry Gators past Tigers
GAINESVILLE, Fla. | Tyrese Samuel scored a season-high 28 points, Zyon Pullin added 21 and No. 24 Florida never trailed in an 83-74 victory over woeful Missouri on Wednesday night.
Samuel and Pullin scored 23 of the team’s final 25 points, taking over after leading scorer Walter Clayton Jr. fouled out with 14 minutes to play.
The Gators (20-8, 10-5 Southeastern Conference) won for the ninth time in 11 games to reach 20 victories for the first time since the 2017-18 season. The Tigers (8-20, 0-15) lost their 15th in a row and guaranteed a last-place finish in the league as well as the 14th seed in the conference tournament.
Florida has been on the rise for weeks and is now 2-1 — with the lone loss coming at then-No. 13 Alabama in overtime last week — since getting ranked for the first time in coach Todd Golden’s two seasons.
This one was closer than many expected, though. The Gators were 13 1/2-point favorites but found themselves clinging to the lead after coming out flat to start the second half.
Missouri whittled a double-digit deficit to 55-54 after Nick Honor made three free throws with Clayton on the bench.
Florida’s Will Richard answered with his first 3-pointer of the night after missing six from long range. Pullin followed with another trey, and the Gators started to pull away. Samuel then converted a three-point play and made a layup on consecutive possessions. He finished with 10 rebounds.
Pullin and Samuel stepped up after Clayton sat down. Clayton picked up his fifth foul on a technical while arguing a defensive foul called against him. He finished with 13 points, five assists and three rebounds.
Micah Handlogten chipped in 12 points and 12 rebounds for Florida, which won its seventh straight at home and improved to 13-1 in the O’Connell Center. Pullin rebounded from his worst offensive outing of the season — he scored two points against Vanderbilt on Saturday — and reached double figures for the 27th time in 28 games.
Sean East II led the Tigers with 20 points. Honor added 18, and Tamar Bates, who torched the Gators for 36 points in their first meeting of the season, finished with 15.
BIG PICTURE
Missouri: The Tigers have endured several tough losses during their skid, but they weren’t all that competitive in this one. Florida led comfortably in the first half and pulled away down the stretch after Mizzou provided a brief scare.
Florida: The Gators avoided a letdown and prevented what would have been a huge hit to their NCAA Tournament resume. They are one of just a handful of teams in the country to not have a loss outside Quad 1 games.
UP NEXT
Missouri: Hosts Mississippi on Saturday.
Florida: At No. 18 South Carolina on Saturday.
Social media influencer says Tyreek Hill broke her leg
A social media influencer is suing Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill over an alleged incident that happened at the NFL star’s South Florida home last summer.
In a lawsuit that Sophie Hall’s attorneys filed in Broward County circuit court on Feb. 23, the influencer claims that Hill “forcefully and purposefully” shoved her while the two were participating in a football drill at his Southwest Ranches mansion.
Hill was “humiliated” after Hall knocked him backward during a “friendly football lesson,” according to the lawsuit, which led to him charging at her “violently and with great force.”
“The crushing force was so great that she sustained a right leg fracture, necessitating surgery with metal hardware implantation,” the lawsuit says.
Hall is seeking up to $75,000 in damages. It is unclear whether she reported the incident to authorities. Her attorneys are suing Hill for battery, assault, intentional infliction of emotional distress and negligence.
“We were made aware of it,” Dolphins general manager Chris Grier said at the NFL combine on Wednesday. “We were in communication with NFL security, so I really can’t comment on anything of that until we get all our information and find out what happened. For us, Tyreek has been a good addition for us, but in terms of all the off-field stuff, we’ll have to get all the information before we can really comment on it.”
The Dolphins acquired Hill in a trade with the Kansas City Chiefs in March 2022.
Hall, whom the suit describes as a model, actress and influencer with over 2 million followers across multiple social media platforms, met Hill in May 2023 after she bought a ticket for her 10-year-old son to attend Hill’s summer football camp in Boca Raton, Florida.
The Dolphins receiver messaged Hall on Instagram a day after she registered, wanting to “meet up and get to know her,” the court documents say.
The two continued to exchange messages, the documents show, including one in which Hill says he has been “known to be a good stepdad.”
Hill then shared his cellphone number with Hall and invited her to his home. The All-Pro receiver purchased flight and travel arrangements for Hall to stay with him for a few days, the lawsuit says.
Hall arrived at Hill’s home on June 28, according to the complaint. That afternoon, she stood and watched Hill practice with his trainer in his backyard before Hill invited her to participate in offensive line drills with him.
Hall, who in her Instagram bio says she is 6-foot-1, caused Hill to be pushed backward during the first drill, which the suit claims garnered laughter from those watching, including his mother, sister, friend and trainer.
“Apparently embarrassed by his loss of stability as a result of contact by a woman during the ‘football play,’ Mr. Hill’s attitude changed and he became angry,” the complaint says.
Hall was in excruciating pain and unable to get up and walk around as a result of Hill charging at her. The suit claims that Hill downplayed Hall’s injuries but allowed her to stay at his home until he secured travel arrangements for her to return home.
The lawsuit says she was diagnosed with a right leg fracture in July, attends weekly therapy sessions and has persistent pain and weakness in her leg.
In 2019, the Chiefs suspended Hill amid allegations that he had physically abused his son. In 2015, he pleaded guilty to domestic assault and battery by strangulation after choking his then-pregnant fianceé. He received three years’ probation as a result. Last August, Hill was under investigation by Miami-Dade police after a man claimed the receiver hit him after a verbal altercation. No charges were filed.
New York Jets
give Zach Wilson
permission to seek trade
INDIANAPOLIS | The New York Jets expected quarterback Zach Wilson to emerge as the new face of their franchise.
Three years later, he’s looking for a new team.
General manager Joe Douglas said the Jets have given Wilson permission to seek a trade, perhaps marking an end to his tumultuous stint in New York.
“We have had good conversation with his agent,” Douglas said Wednesday at the NFL’s annual scouting combine in Indianapolis. “We’ve given them permission to talk to other teams about a trade. I’m going to circle back with Brian (Ayrault) at some point, maybe this weekend, just to see how those conversations go. Other than that, there’s nothing to report.”
Wilson’s rocky three-year tenure included plenty of struggles.
He went 12-21 as a starting quarterback. He threw more interceptions (25) than touchdowns (23). He was benched multiple times — including once after responding to a postgame news conference question about whether he felt he let the defense down with “no.”
Wilson is yet another player who could be traded in what may be a very active offseason among quarterbacks. Others who could be dealt include Russell Wilson and Justin Fields.
Douglas also said the Jets will not use the franchise tag on edge rusher Bryce Huff, who signed as an undrafted rookie in 2020 and had a breakout 2023 season with a career-high 10 sacks.
The franchise tag would cost the Jets $21.3 million, which could be too much for an already well-compensated defense. But Douglas still wants to work out a deal.
“Those conversations are going to pick up as we get going here,” Douglas said. “This is a big week, just to have a lot of different discussions with a lot of different agents. Obviously, Bryce is an outstanding player. He definitely deserves this opportunity to see where he is on the open market.”
BODY TALK
Some coaches and team executives have been asked this week about how much value they place on body language. For the Cleveland Browns, it’s a serious investment.
Coach Kevin Stefanski acknowledged Wednesday his team fines players for what he dubbed as “BBL,” Bad Body Language.
“We coach it. We never want to see a player on the field going like this (hands out),” he said. “There’s a palms up fine. Certainly how you conduct yourself specifically at the quarterback position is important. Everything you’re doing, you’re saying something even when you’re not saying it verbally. We certainly coach our players up on it.”
Stefanski said the player with the fewest fines is running back Nick Chubb. He declined to say who had the most.
COLTS UPDATES
Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson believes he’s ahead of schedule following last fall’s season-ending shoulder surgery after playing just four games in his rookie season.
Indianapolis general manager Chris Ballard is trying to reel in those expectations, though.
Ballard said Wednesday that he “learned” some valuable lessons when he was dealing with Andrew Luck’s bad shoulder in 2017.
“Really happy about where he’s at. He started throwing, he’s on a rehab program,” Ballard said. “Anthony made some statements that it’s important to be ahead of schedule — we’re here to pull the reins to make sure we don’t get too far ahead of schedule and we’re staying with whatever the doctors are telling us. But he’s in good shape.”
Ballard also told local reporters something else that should make Richardson happy — receiver Michael Pittman Jr. will be on the Colts roster for the season opener. Pittman could become a free agent March 13 and while Ballard’s preference would be re-signing Pittman he did not rule out using the franchise tag.
Five hockey players charged with sexual assault will have a jury trial
The five hockey players charged with sexual assault in Canada have asked for and been granted a trial by jury.
Daniel Brown, one of the lawyers representing former NHL player Alex Formenton, confirmed the request for a jury trial in an email Wednesday to The Associated Press.
“Earlier this week, all five players selected a trial by jury and they are confident that jurors drawn from the community will decide this case fairly and impartially after hearing all the evidence and testimony,” Brown wrote.
The Globe and Mail was first to report the step toward a jury trial. It was not immediately clear when the trial will begin, though a backlog of cases in Canada could push it well beyond 2024.
Formenton and current NHL players Carter Hart of the Philadelphia Flyers, Dillon Dube of the Calgary Flames and Michael McLeod and Cal Foote of the New Jersey Devils are facing charges in connection with an alleged sexual assault that took place in London, Ontario, in 2018. McLeod is facing an extra charge of being party to an offense.
Attorneys representing the players have said their clients would plead not guilty and defend themselves against the allegations. The next hearing in the case is scheduled for April 30.
London police two years ago reopened its investigation into the events of June 2018, after word emerged that Hockey Canada had settled a lawsuit with a woman who said she was sexually assaulted by several members of the country’s world junior team after a fundraising gala in the city between Toronto and Detroit. That led to charges being filed in January and the five players turning themselves in to police.
The NHL, which conducted its own parallel investigation, has said it will wait for the judicial proceedings to play out before taking any other steps. Hart, McLeod, Foote and Dube are each on a leave of absence from his respective team, and all are set to be free agents after this season.
Because of that, Commissioner Gary Bettman said the league is content to let the players be paid for the remainder of the season while away and their contracts expire, rather than issue suspensions.
“At this stage, the most responsible and prudent thing for us to do is await the conclusion of the judicial proceedings, at which point we will respond as appropriate at the time,” Bettman said in early February at All-Star Weekend in Toronto.
Red Bull F1 team
boss Christian Horner stays in charge
SAKHIR, Bahrain | Red Bull dismissed the allegations of misconduct against team principal Christian Horner on Wednesday, closing an investigation that has overshadowed the start of the Formula 1 season.
Horner will remain in charge of the champion F1 team after Red Bull’s internal investigation cleared him of alleged misconduct toward a team employee.
The details of the allegations have not been made public but the investigation had been the major talking point in the run-up to this weekend’s season-opening race in Bahrain. The Red Bull announcement came shortly after the team drivers had finished their regular pre-race media availability and less than 24 hours before the first practice session.
“The independent investigation into the allegations made against Mr. Horner is complete, and Red Bull can confirm that the grievance has been dismissed. The complainant has a right of appeal. Red Bull is confident that the investigation has been fair, rigorous and impartial,” the Red Bull parent company said in a statement.
“The investigation report is confidential and contains the private information of the parties and third parties who assisted in the investigation, and therefore we will not be commenting further out of respect for all concerned. Red Bull will continue striving to meet the highest workplace standards.”
Red Bull won all but one race last season and its driver Max Verstappen is the three-time defending champion.
Horner had remained in his post during the investigation as part of what he called a “business as normal” approach, and was in charge of the team for preseason tests last week, even as he admitted the investigation was a distraction. He had denied wrongdoing.
F1 and the governing body, the FIA, did not immediately respond to requests for comment following Red Bull’s statement that the complaint against Horner had been dismissed.
Speaking before the announcement, Mercedes driver and seven-time F1 champion Lewis Hamilton said the investigation into Horner was a test of the sport’s values.
“Any allegations have to be taken very seriously. Obviously we don’t know everything that’s gone on, but it does need to be resolved as it’s hanging over the sport,” Hamilton said. “I think it’s a really important moment for the sport to make sure that we stand true to our values.”
Jim Farley, the CEO of Ford Motor Co., which is set to become Red Bull’s engine supplier in 2026, wrote to the team last week demanding a resolution to the investigation, in a letter seen by The Associated Press.
Rival team principals Toto Wolff of Mercedes and Zak Brown of McLaren last week called for the investigation to be transparent.
The 50-year-old Horner has been Red Bull team principal since it entered F1 as a full constructor in 2005. He has guided the team to six constructors’ championships and seven drivers’ championships during his time there.
Red Bull won four drivers’ titles in a row with Sebastian Vettel from 2010 through 2013, and three titles with Verstappen since 2021.
Horner is married to Geri Halliwell, better known as Ginger Spice of the female pop group The Spice Girls.
Horner’s profile outside F1 was raised by his prominent role in the Netflix docuseries “Drive to Survive” and by his combative relationship with Wolff amid a bitter title fight between Verstappen and Hamilton in 2021.
Verstappen said the investigation has not been a distraction to his bid to win a fourth successive title. The Dutch driver won a record 19 races last season and is widely considered the clear favorite this year, aided by a Red Bull car which has been significantly redesigned.
“I’m very focused on just the performance of the car myself and hopefully it (the investigation) will just be resolved very soon,” Verstappen said Wednesday before Red Bull issued its statement. “It’s a whole team effort that everyone has to stick together and work toward more success and that’s why it’s important to get everything resolved very soon.”
—From AP reports
