Indiana cans Crean after nine years

Tom Crean put Indiana basketball back in the national conversation. As it turned out, there was too much talk and not enough wins. Not for the Hoosiers.

Nine years after taking over a team mired in turmoil following an NCAA scandal, Crean was fired after missing the NCAA Tournament for the fifth time in his tenure. The 50-year-old coach had three years remaining on his contract, and the move comes a little more than three months before his buyout would have dropped from $4 million to $1 million.

But with so much angst among the general public, Athletic Director Fred Glass couldn’t afford to give Crean another chance.

Olympic sports

PENNY STEPS DOWN FROM USA GYMNASTICS » Steve Penny resigned as president of USA Gymnastics following intensified pressure on the organization for its handling of sex abuse cases. The resignation came a week after the United States Olympic Committee’s board recommended to USA Gymnastics chairman Paul Parilla that Penny should step down. Penny joined USA Gymnastics in 1999 and was named the organization’s president in 2005, overseeing one of the greatest runs in Olympic history. Led by national team coordinator Martha Karolyi, the women’s program has become a dominant force, producing each of the last four Olympic all-around champions and team golds in 2012 and 2016.

MLB

FERNANDEZ LIKELY OPERATOR IN FATAL BOAT CRASH » Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez was the “probable” operator of a speeding boat that crashed into a Miami Beach jetty on Sept. 25, killing the baseball star and two other men, according to a report issued by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, which investigated the accident. The 46-page report included a seating chart that had Fernandez at the helm, based on “physical evidence” collected during the investigation, including the pitcher’s fingerprints and DNA on the steering wheel and throttle and projection of his body as he was thrown from the boat. It also listed drugs and alcohol as factors in the crash.

Golf

GRILLO PACES BAY HILL FIELD » Emiliano Grillo made it through the cold start at Bay Hill for a 5-under 67 and wound up tied for the lead with Matt Fitzpatrick in the first Arnold Palmer Invitational without the beloved tournament host. Grillo overcame a rough start with seven birdies and was three shots better than anyone else from the morning side of the draw, which proved to be the tougher.

NBA

BULLS’ WADE SHELVED » Dwyane Wade decided to leave Miami after 13 seasons to come home to Chicago, hoping his arrival would help galvanize the Bulls team he grew up watching. The fairy tale gave way to a much harsher reality this season, with the Bulls plagued by locker room discord and frustration between the team leaders and the front office. That Wade’s first season is ending 14 games early because of a fractured right elbow only makes it more painful. An MRI revealed a fractured bone and ligament damage in Wade’s elbow, ruling him out for the rest of the regular season. With the Bulls (3236) sitting in 10th place in the Eastern Conference and having lost six of their last seven games, the playoffs are looking less likely by the day.