Arizona State’s Vontaze Burfict to forgo senior season for NFL

Arizona State linebacker Vontaze Burfict says he’ll skip his senior season and make himself eligible for the NFL draft.

Burfict made the announcement Tuesday in a one-paragraph statement. He thanked his coaches and professors and added that he plans to return to school in the future to get his degree.

The 6-foot-3 Burfict was the Sun Devils’ second-leading tackler this season with 69, including seven for losses. He also had an interception and fumble recovery.

But Burfict was supposed to be one of the Pac-12’s most dominant defensive players this year and former coach Dennis Erickson described the linebacker’s season as “average.”

As a sophomore, Burfict led the team in tackles with 90 and was a second-team All-Pac-10 selection. In 2009, he was the Pac-10’s defensive freshman of the year. Burfict played at Corona Centennial High.

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Illinois defensive end Whitney Mercilus is passing on senior season to enter the draft. Mercilus led the nation with 16 sacks this season.

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Rutgers junior wide receiver Mohamed Sanu will enter the draft after a breakout season in which he had 115 catches, 1,206 yards and seven touchdowns.

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Former North Carolina State coach Chuck Amato was hired as Akron’s defensive coordinator.

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Indiana has hired former Arizona offensive coordinator Seth Littrell for the same position.

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Two people with knowledge of the negotiations say the Golden State Warriors are close to signing guard Nate Robinson, who was released by the Oklahoma City Thunder last month.

The people spoke on condition of anonymity Tuesday because the deal was yet to be finalized or formally announced by Golden State. The Bay Area News Group first reported the pending signing of Robinson, who will join a small backcourt also featuring Monta Ellis and Stephen Curry.

A midseason acquisition last season from the Boston Celtics, Robinson appeared in four games for the Thunder. He averaged 3.3 points and 1.5 assists in 7.5 minutes per game.

Rafael Nadal struggled past Philipp Kohlschreiber while defending Qatar Open champion Roger Federer routed Nikolay Davydenko in their season openers in Doha.

The second-ranked Nadal overcame Kohlschreiber of Germany, 6-3, 6-7 (2), 6-3, in a match that lasted 2 1/2 hours. Federer, who lost badly to Nadal and No. 1-ranked Novak Djokovic over the weekend at an exhibition tournament in Abu Dhabi, showed he had shaken off the rust by overwhelming the injury-plagued Davydenko, 6-2, 6-2, in just 54 minutes.

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Marlies Schild stretched her World Cup slalom winning streak to five, cruising to the victory in Zagreb, Croatia while overall leader Lindsey Vonn finished ninth despite a stomach illness.

Schild became the first skier to win five straight World Cup races in one discipline since Vonn won the first five downhills of the 2009-10 season. The Austrian world slalom champion was fastest in both runs and finished in an aggregate time of 2 minutes, 1.32 seconds, topping second-place Tina Maze of Slovenia by 1.40 seconds.

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Chicago Blackhawks forward Daniel Carcillo was suspended indefinitely by the NHL following his ugly hit on Edmonton’s Tom Gilbert on Monday night. The league said Carcillo’s ban was pending a hearing with the department of player safety.

Carcillo launched Gilbert into the boards 7 minutes 23 seconds into the second period of the Oilers’ 4-3 victory, resulting in a major boarding penalty and a game misconduct. Gilbert left with a lower-body injury, and Edmonton Coach Tom Renney said he wasn’t sure when he would be able to return to the ice.

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Philadelphia Flyers forward Jaromir Jagr, who left the Winter Classic with a leg injury on Monday, has a mild left groin strain, and will miss seven to 10 days.

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A person with knowledge of the negotiations says free-agent center fielder Coco Crisp has agreed to a two-year deal to return to the Oakland Athletics.

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The Chicago Cubs and outfielder Reed Johnson agreed to a $1.15-million, one-year contract.

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The IndyCar Series selected Beaux Barfield as its new director for racing, according to a person familiar with the hiring. Barfield will be introduced during a news conference Wednesday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the person told the Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because the formal announcement has yet to be made. He replaces Brian Barnhart, who lost race control responsibilities last month.

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The Tulsa Shock hired Indiana Fever assistant Gary Kloppenburg as its head coach.

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Former Olympic champion Evgeni Plushenko was cleared to compete at this month’s European figure skating championships. The International Skating Union said it granted Russia’s request for an exemption for Plushenko, who did not have the required qualifying score from an international event during the last two seasons. He returned to competition for the first time since the Vancouver Olympics at last month’s Russian championships, which he won.

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U.S. Under-17 soccer Coach Wilmer Cabrera is leaving after 4 1/2 seasons, the latest shake-up since Jurgen Klinsmann was hired to run the national team.