Coaches hope their tournament this weekend has no political undertones

INGLEWOOD, Calif. >> The coaches of the four teams playing for the CONCACAF Nations League title this week think soccer should remain separate from the geopolitical events currently roiling relations among their nations.

Speaking two days before the tournament’s semifinal matches at SoFi Stadium, U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino and Canada counterpart Jesse Marsch on Tuesday downplayed the political impact on the latest major international sporting competition to be staged amid President Donald Trump’s rhetoric and policies, including his tariff war with Mexico and Canada.

“I think we can’t mix political things with sport,” Pochettino said.

The U.S. faces Panama on Thursday before Canada takes on Mexico in the nightcap. The championship is Sunday night.

Trump and Putin discuss U.S.-Russia hockey series

U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin discussed staging a series of hockey games between players from their respective countries during their call Tuesday, according to the Kremlin.

Moscow said in its recap of the call that Trump supported Putin’s idea to organize games in the U.S. and Russia involving players from the NHL and the KHL The White House’s report of the call did not mention hockey, and the NHL learned of the idea after it was over.

“We have just become aware of the conversation between President Trump and President Putin,” the NHL said in a statement sent to The Associated Press. “Obviously, we were not a party to those discussions, and it would be inappropriate for us to comment at this time.”

Penguins, Predators to play in Stockholm in November

MANALAPAN, Fla.>> The Country Music Association Awards ceremony kicks the Nashville Predators out of their arena for a long stretch every November. This year, they’ll use that absence to travel to Sweden. The NHL announced the Predators will face the Pittsburgh Penguins in regular-season games in Stockholm on Nov. 14 and 16 as part of the league’s Global Series.

Missouri hires former Tennessee star and coach Harper as women’s coach

Kellie Harper has been hired as the new women’s basketball coach at Missouri, where the former coach of SEC rival Tennessee will have the job of rebuilding a once-proud program that has not been to the NCAA Tournament in six years.

Harper grew up in Sparta, Tennessee, and played under Pat Summitt with the Volunteers, helping them win three consecutive national championships. She began her coaching career in the SEC as an assistant at Auburn in 2000, and was the head coach for Western Carolina, NC State and Missouri State before replacing Holly Warlick at her alma mater in 2019.

Indiana hires coach DeVries away from West Virginia

Darian DeVries grew up in Iowa, an admirer of the Indiana Hoosiers. Now he’s in charge of the program. Just two days after his West Virginia team and the Hoosiers were both left out of the NCAA Tournament, Indiana athletic director Scott Dolson announced he has hired the 49-year-old DeVries to replace Mike Woodson.

DeVries has spent 24 seasons as a college coach, the last seven as a head coach. He went 19-13 with the Mountaineers just one season after they finished 9-23 and last in the Big 12.