Boston College forward Colin White and Boston University defenseman Charlie McAvoy were named alternate captains of the United States team that will compete in the 2017 International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championship in Montreal and Toronto. The tournament opens Monday and runs through Jan. 5. Wisconsin’s Luke Kunin was named captain. Other local college players on the US squad announced Saturday include goaltenders Jake Oettinger (BU) and Joseph Woll (BC); defensemen Casey Fitzgerald (BC) and Adam Fox (Harvard); forwards Patrick Harper, Jordan Greenway, Clayton Keller, and Kieffer Bellows, all of BU, Erik Foley (Providence), and Tage Thompson (UConn).

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

Harris wins award

Linebacker Connor Harris, who set an NCAA record for career tackles with 633 at Division 2 Lindenwood (St. Charles, Mo.), was named recipient of the Cliff Harris Award, given annually to the top defensive player in small-college football. The award honors Cliff Harris, who went undrafted out of Ouachita Baptist and later played safety in five Super Bowls with the Dallas Cowboys.

BASEBALL

Royals sign Parnell

The Royals signed former Mets closer Bobby Parnell to a minor league deal, according to Baseball America. Parnell, 32, has struggled to get his career back on track after having Tommy John surgery in 2014. He signed a minor league deal with the Tigers last season and struggled in six major league outings before being released . . . A day after Mel Stottlemyre was “fighting for his life,’’ the former Yankees All-Star pitcher is doing better, his son told the New York Post. Stottlemyre has been battling bone marrow cancer since 1999. “Our family has been overwhelmed with joy at the amount of love and prayers for my father and family,’’ Todd Stottlemyre wrote on Facebook. “Please know that the greatest warrior I have ever known is doing a lot better. He is recovering at God speed and he is looking forward to getting out of the hospital.’’ Stottlemyre, 75, was a three-time 20-game winner for the Yankees and was a five-time All-Star. He pitched for the Yankees for 11 seasons (1964-74), and was their pitching coach for four World Series titles (1996, 1998-2000) and also was the pitching coach on the Mets’ 1986 world championship team.

Todd Stottlemyre and his brother, Mel Jr., were both second-generation major league pitchers. Another brother died of leukemia at age 11.