Sports briefs
By NewsPress Now
Missouri hires Memphis athletic director Laird Veatch for the same role
KANSAS CITY, Mo. | Missouri hired longtime college administrator Laird Veatch to be its athletic director on Tuesday, bringing him back to campus 14 years after he departed for a series of other positions that culminated with five years spent as the AD at Memphis.
Veatch replaces Desireé Don Reed-Francois, who abruptly left last month for the athletic director job at Arizona.
“The opportunity to return to the University of Missouri and to Columbia is truly incredible for me and my family,” Veatch said in a statement. “Mizzou has always had a passionate and dedicated fan base including broad support throughout the state, and together, there is nothing that we cannot accomplish. That includes winning SEC and NCAA championships while providing our student-athletes with a tremendous experience.”
Veatch takes over during a period of significant momentum within the Missouri athletics department.
The Tigers’ football team went 11-2 last season, beating Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl and finishing eighth in the final AP Top 25 poll. Their gymnastics and wrestling programs also spent most of this past season ranked in the top 10 nationally.
Off the field, the Missouri Board of Curators recently announced plans to renovate Memorial Stadium. The $250 million project will enclose the north end while adding premium seating options and other upgrades throughout the stadium.
Veatch had built similar momentum at Memphis, where he oversaw the construction of a new indoor football facility, tennis center, Olympic sports weight room and nutrition center. He also unveiled a long-term strategic vision that included a recently launched $220 million renovation project for Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium, the home of the Tigers’ football stadium.
“The search committee was dedicated to finding a great director of athletics, but even more important was to find the director of athletics who is the best fit for Mizzou,” said Bob Blitz, a member of the Board of Curators and chair of the search committee. “I am confident Laird will accelerate our path to the pinnacle of SEC athletics.”
Veatch played football at Kansas State before beginning his career in administration. He spent time at Texas and Iowa State before landing at Missouri, where he worked in a variety of roles until 2010. He spent the next seven years at his alma mater, then three years at Florida, before he took over the athletic department at Memphis.
“Laird Veatch’s energy and leadership skills will serve him well in his new position as director of athletics at Missouri,” SEC commissioner Greg Sankey said in a statement. “His previous experience at Missouri provides him with insight into the Mizzou campus, and he will also benefit from his experience in the SEC as a senior member of the Florida staff.”
Paris mayor is confident that water quality will allow Olympic swimming in the River Seine
PARIS | Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo said she was confident water quality in the River Seine will be up to Olympic standards this summer — and that she’ll be able to prove it by swimming there, possibly alongside President Emmanuel Macron.
The Seine is the venue for marathon swimming at the Games and the swimming leg of the Olympic and Paralympic triathlons.
Asked Tuesday about whether she’ll meet her promise to swim in the Seine before the Games, Hidalgo said “for sure, because water quality will be good.”
For decades, the Seine was too toxic for most fish and for swimmers, useful mainly as a waterway to transport goods and people or as a watery grave for discarded bicycles and other trash. Swimming in the Seine has, with some exceptions, been illegal since 1923.
Hidalgo mentioned new facilities that have been specially built to clean up the river, whose water quality was recently denounced by an environmental group.
A water treatment plant in Champigny-sur-Marne, east of Paris, was inaugurated Tuesday.
Next week will see the official opening of a huge storage basin meant to reduce the need to spill bacteria-laden wastewater into the Seine untreated when it rains. The giant hole dug next to Paris’ Austerlitz train station will hold the equivalent of 20 Olympic swimming pools of dirty water that will now be treated rather than being spat raw through storm drains into the river.
Hildago said she had invited top officials to swim in the Seine at an event dubbed “the big dive” to be staged at the end of June or beginning of July. Macron, who himself promised to swim in the river, has been invited, she confirmed, as well as Paris Olympics organizers and IOC president Thomas Bach.
“We’re going to dive into the Seine, and many volunteers have already come forward to come and dive with me and all the athletes who will be there,” Hidalgo said. “We’ll all be safe to swim in the Seine.”
Marc Guillaume, the Paris regional prefect, earlier this month dismissed a recent NGO report about poor water quality, saying it was based on testing during the winter, when no one was swimming in the Seine.
Water quality must be good enough for swimming during the Games and, from 2025, in the summer, because the city plans to open some areas to the public. However, swimming out of season will remain illegal.
The estimated cost of the Seine cleanup efforts amount to $1.5 billion, paid by the state and local authorities.
Guillaume said routine water testing will start on June 1 when all the new treatment facilities are operational. During the Olympics, water will be tested at 3 a.m. each day and determine whether to hold events as planned, he detailed.
Olympics organizers said if pollution levels were too high, events could be rescheduled and in the worst-case scenario, the swimming section of the triathlon would be canceled.
In a recent report, the Surfrider Foundation called the Seine “a particularly polluted spot” after it monitored bacteria levels for over six months. The group concluded that athletes “will be swimming in polluted water and taking significant risks to their health.”
The Paris mayor’s news conference on Tuesday was meant to unveil cultural and sports celebrations to be staged on 26 sites across Paris during the summer.
“We are working together to ensure that the party is beautiful,” Hidalgo said, adding that security is the authorities’ top concern.
Around 30,000 police officers are expected to be deployed each day during the Games, with 45,000 working during the opening ceremony on the Seine.
“We work … with a lot of professionalism and determination so that never, ever the issue of security finally comes to prevent our freedom to be able to live together,” Hidalgo said.
Falcons’ draft won’t be impacted by NFL’s investigation
FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. | The NFL’s investigation of the Atlanta Falcons’ possible violation of tampering policies before signing quarterback Kirk Cousins won’t conclude before this week’s NFL draft.
For Falcons general manager Terry Fontenot, that means the team won’t lose any draft picks this year as he looks to build around Cousins.
“The league has been very communicative with us and throughout the whole process,” Fontenot said Tuesday when previewing the draft.
“I really appreciate them. We’ve obviously cooperated and provided them all the information. Again, not really any update from our end. We’ll just continue to cooperate and control what you can control as we get ready for this draft. We’re excited moving forward.”
The Falcons have the No. 8 overall pick in the first round on Thursday night. Before signing Cousins to a four-year, $180 million contract with $100 million guaranteed, Atlanta had been considered a top candidate to pursue a quarterback in the first round.
The Falcons signed Cousins, the former Minnesota quarterback, on the first day of the NFL’s legal tampering period. The agreement was reached so quickly after teams were allowed to begin negotiating with free agents, there were questions as to whether the Falcons violated tampering policies.
Teams are permitted to talk directly with agents during the 52-hour negotiating window. Teams can’t speak to the player unless he has no agent and represents himself.
When discussing his decision to sign with Atlanta, Cousins appeared to indicate he had been in communication with team officials one day before it was allowed.
When asked Tuesday if he believed the team had followed the rules in the negotiations with Cousins, Fontenot said “Again, it’s not something we can talk about as long as it’s under review. … We’ve been cooperative with the league and the way they’ve communicated with us. We appreciate the process they’ve gone through.”
Cousins will be 36 when the 2024 season opens. He is returning from a torn right Achilles tendon that ended his 2023 season after eight games. Fontenot said Cousins has been on the field for the team’s offseason work.
This is the third consecutive year the Falcons have had the No. 8 overall draft pick. They selected running back Bijan Robinson last year and wide receiver Drake London in 2022 with the No. 8 picks after taking tight end Kyle Pitts No. 4 overall in 2021.
The Falcons have eight picks in this year’s draft, including two in the third round and two in the sixth round. The team could focus on defense at the top of the draft and could address a pressing need by selecting an edge rusher such as Alabama’s Dallas Turner in the first round.
The Falcons ranked close to the middle of the NFL team leaders with 42 sacks in 2023. It was a dramatic jump from 2022, when they had only 21 and 2021, when they were last with 18. Atlanta hasn’t had a player with as many as 10 sacks since 2016, when Vic Beasley had 15 1/2.
Veteran defensive tackle Calais Campbell, who shared the team lead with 6 1/2 sacks, may retire.
“We won’t close any doors,” said Fontenot of Campbell playing in 2024.
Nikola Jokic’s brother reportedly involved in an altercation
DENVER | The NBA and Denver police are looking into an incident in which a man reported to be one of the brothers of Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic was seen punching a fan after the team’s buzzer-beating 101-99 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA playoffs.
In videos shared by TMZ and other outlets, the man is seen climbing over seats to confront another person at Ball Arena, who he then punches in the face. TMZ said the altercation happened on Monday night just after the Nuggets completed their comeback from a 20-point deficit to take a 2-0 lead in the first-round series.
An NBA spokesman said Tuesday that the league is looking into the matter.
The Denver police media relations unit said in an email sent to The Associated Press that it is investigating the incident, but said it was not reported to the Denver police at the arena or after the game.
“At this time, no one has come forward as a victim of this incident,” the email said. “The Department is looking into this incident, is actively working to identify the person in the video who was struck, and encourages anyone who was involved or witnessed this firsthand to contact the Denver Police Department.”
—From AP reports
