NCAA roster settlement gets do-over

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FILE - In this Jan. 21, 2020, file photo, Florida Panthers head coach and former Chicago Blackhawks coach, Joel Quenneville, responds to a question during his first visit back to Chicago as a head coach before an NHL hockey game between the Blackhawks and Panthers. The Blackhawks are holding a briefing Tuesday, Oct. 26, 2021, to discuss the findings of an investigation into allegations that an assistant coach sexually assaulted a player in 2010. The Blackhawks pledged to release the findings of the investigation, which general manager Stan Bowman, former coach Quenneville and others who were in the organization at the time agreed to cooperate with. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast, File)

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FILE - Former NBA basketball player Paul Pierce smiles watching warmups before an NBA basketball game between the Los Angeles Clippers and the Chicago Bulls, Nov. 14, 2021, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Alex Gallardo, file)

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NCAA roster settlement gets do-over

Attorneys handling the $2.8 billion NCAA settlement proposed a massive do-over Wednesday when it comes to roster limits, offering athletes who lost their spots a chance to play without counting against the new caps for as long as they have eligibility. Under court order to come up with an updated plan, the attorneys in court filings suggested that schools compile lists of all the players they cut in anticipation of the settlement being approved — a number that certainly could be in the hundreds and perhaps far more.

Those “Designated Student-Athletes,” as they’re called in the new legal filing, can be invited back to compete for roster spots — no guarantees — or go to new schools. Either way, those athletes won’t count against the new roster limits that are coming under the plan unveiled last fall and given initial approval by U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken in October. The proposal would also give the exemption to high school recruits who were promised spots that were later rescinded; the exemptions would last for as long as those players are eligible in college. The latest proposal capped a two-week scramble after Wilken sent attorneys for both sides back to the negotiating table

Ducks announce Quenneville as coach

Joel Quenneville is returning to the NHL with the Ducks for his first head coaching job since the second-winningest coach in league history resigned and was banned for his handling of a sexual assault scandal. The 66-year-old Quenneville was hired by Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek on Thursday for his first coaching job since his resignation from the Panthers 3 1/2 years ago in the wake of his handling of the sexual assault scandal during his tenure with the Blackhawks. Quenneville and Blackhawks executives Stan Bowman and Al MacIsaac were banned from the NHL for nearly three years after an investigation concluded that the team mishandled allegations raised by former player Kyle Beach against video coach Brad Aldrich during the team’s Stanley Cup run in 2010. The trio was reinstated last July, and Bowman became the Oilers’ GM three weeks later. Quenneville coached the Blackhawks to Cup championships in 2010, 2013 and 2015. His 969 career victories are the second-most in NHL history, trailing only Scotty Bowman’s 1,244.

Long walk for Pierce after Celtics loss

Former Celtics great Paul Pierce was so confident in his team in Game 2 against the Knicks, he said he would walk to work barefoot “in my robe” if they lost for a second straight game in the second-round series. “If the Celtics lose Game 2 at home, I promise you, I am walking here tomorrow,” the 47-year-old Hall of Famer declared on an FS1 show Wednesday. “I guarantee this one. Put the house on this game.” That didn’t turn out so great. The Celtics blew a 20-point lead in Game 2, as they did in Game 1, and lost 91-90. Pierce appeared to honor his vow Thursday, saying he set out before the sun rose for what he said was a 20.2-mile commute to work in the Los Angeles area. He posted updates on Instagram Live. Pierce made the wise choice of not walking barefoot, but bath-robed? Yes. “All right, time for me to get to steppin’,” he said after 5 a.m., calling himself a “man of my word.” “I cant believe the Celtics got me out here like this, dog,” he said in a later update. “I’m really walking out here like this.” Pierce posted another video after arriving at work around 1 p.m. —Associated Press