Minnesota fires Mason as coach after bowl debacle

Minnesota fired coach Glen Mason on Sunday, two days after the Gophers blew a 31-point third-quarter lead against Texas Tech and exactly a year after he signed a four-year contract extension.

Mason was 64-57 in 10 years at Minnesota and led the Gophers to seven bowl games. But he was only 3-4 in those games, with his latest loss proving to be the backbreaker. The 44-41 loss in the Insight Bowl, the biggest comeback in bowl history, dropped the Gophers to 6-7, the first time they have finished under .500 in five years.

“If we had not lost the way we had lost, I don’t think we’d be here today,” Athletic Director Joel Maturi said in Minneapolis.

Mason came to Minnesota from Kansas in 1997 and took over a team that hadn’t had a winning season in seven years.

He issued a statement that said he was given “no specific explanation” for his firing during a phone call from Maturi.

“Needless to say, I am extremely disappointed, however I respect the decision of my superiors, Mr. Joel Maturi and President Robert Bruininks,” Mason said.

For the second time in just over a month, the university is buying out a contract. Men’s basketball coach Dan Monson was ousted on Nov. 30, only seven games into the season.

Mason was being paid $1.65 million annually and it will cost the university over $2.2 million to buy him out. He will receive another $1.3 million in deferred compensation.

“I felt we needed a new voice, a new vision and new leadership to bring a football championship to the University of Minnesota,” Maturi said.

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BASEBALL

Orioles, Huff agree to a $20-million deal

Aubrey Huff reached a preliminary agreement on a three-year, $20-million contract with the Baltimore Orioles, who hope the versatile free agent can add punch to a lineup that ranked 11th in the American League in home runs last season.

Huff, 30, can play first base, third base and both corner spots in the outfield. But his value to the Orioles is his bat: Huff hit 21 home runs last season with Tampa Bay and Houston, and averaged 27 from 2002 to 2005 with the Devil Rays.

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HOCKEY

Orr, Brashear suspended over fight-filled game

The NHL suspended New York Rangers forward Colton Orr for five games and Washington enforcer Donald Brashear for one for their actions in Saturday’s game.

Orr received his punishment for a cross-checking blow to the head of Washington forward Alex Ovechkin with 4:20 left in the Rangers’ 4-1 victory.

Brashear’s penalty was for punching Rangers defenseman Aaron Ward at 7:39 of the final period as the Capitals forward skated off right after he fought Brendan Shanahan. It is the second suspension this season for Brashear, who missed three games after a Nov. 22 fight with Atlanta’s Vitaly Vishnevski.

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TENNIS

Hingis prevails easily in Australian opener

Martina Hingis beat Sybille Bammer, 6-0, 6-2, at the Australian Women’s Hardcourt Championship in Gold Coast, where she started her comeback last year.

Australian wild-card entry Sophie Ferguson ousted eighth-seeded Ai Sugiyama, 7-6 (4), 6-4.

Sania Mirza won her singles and doubles matches to lead India to a 2-1 victory over the Czech Republic in her country’s debut at the Hopman Cup mixed teams tournament in Perth, Australia.

Mirza beat Lucie Safarova, 6-2, 6-2, before Tomas Berdych evened it for the Czech Republic with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Rohan Bopanna. Mirza combined with Bopanna in the doubles, winning 10-5 in the match tiebreaker after splitting the first two sets, 6-3, 5-7.

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MISCELLANY

U.S. makes quarterfinals of junior hockey event

Defenseman Jack Johnson scored a power-play goal in overtime to lift the U.S. to a 3-2 victory over Sweden and into the quarterfinals of the World Junior Hockey Championship in Leksand, Sweden.

Johnson made a high shot past the Swedish goalie 3:16 into overtime, securing a game against Finland on Tuesday. The U.S. led, 2-1, before Fredrik Pettersson tied it on rebound with 14 seconds left after goaltender Joel Gistedt was pulled for a sixth skater.

Christoph Eigenmann of Switzerland and Marit Bjorgen of Norway won the first races at the new Tour de Ski in Munich, Germany.

The overall winner of the six races in the cross-country event will get 400 World Cup points.

Eigenmann finished the 1.2K freestyle race in 2 minutes 4.9 seconds to edge Devon Kershaw of Canada by 1.4 seconds.

Bjorgen won the women’s 0.8-kilometer freestyle race in 1:35.1. Arianna Follis of Italy was second and Chandra Crawford of Canada was third, both finishing 1.1 seconds behind.