NFL

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) The Green Bay Packers have fired coach Mike McCarthy and made offensive coordinator Joe Philbin the interim head coach.

The move announced by team president Mark Murphy came after a stunning 20-17 loss on Sunday to the Arizona Cardinals, dropping Green Bay to 4-7-1.

Murphy, in a statement, said the 2018 season “has not lived up to the expectations and standards of the Green Bay Packers. As a result, I made the difficult decision to relieve Mike McCarthy of his role as head coach, effective immediately.”

Murphy said the process of hiring the next head coach would begin immediately.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) Running back Kareem Hunt has acknowledged lying to the Kansas City Chiefs about his role in a February assault in a Cleveland hotel that ultimately led to his release this week.

During a live interview with ESPN on Sunday, the NFL’s reigning rushing champion also said that league officials never spoke to him about the incident while conducting their own investigation.

Hunt was preparing to play Oakland this week when TMZ Sports posted the grainy, graphic security video Friday. In the course of a few hours, Hunt was sent home from the facility, placed on the NFL’s Commissioner Exemption List, and finally released by the AFC West-leading Chiefs.

Hunt said during the interview that he may have anger issues and is seeking professional help, and that he isn’t sure another NFL team will give him an opportunity.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

NEW YORK (AP) Oklahoma is in the College Football Playoff, moving into the fourth and final spot in the rankings after winning the Big 12 championship.

The Sooners (12-1) will face No. 1 Alabama (13-0) in the Orange Bowl on Dec. 29 and No. 2 Clemson (13-0) plays No. 3 Notre Dame (12-0) in the Cotton Bowl on the same day.

Georgia (11-2) dropped a spot to fifth and Ohio State (12-1) remained sixth in the selection committee’s final top 25 released Sunday. The Bulldogs lost a dramatic Southeastern Conference championship game to Alabama on Saturday while the Buckeyes won the Big Ten championship.

MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) Bill Snyder is retiring as the coach of Kansas State, ending his three-decade relationship with the program that included 27 years on the sideline interrupted by a brief retirement.

The 79-year-old Snyder decided to step away Sunday, a day after the Wildcats finished a 5-7 season with a disheartening loss to Iowa State that eliminated them from bowl eligibility.

Snyder turned around one of the worst programs in college football when he arrived in 1988, making it a perennial powerhouse in the Big 12. He finishes his career with a record of 215-117-1, trips to 19 bowl games, two Big 12 championships and a spot in college football’s Hall of Fame.

AKRON, Ohio (AP) Akron has fired coach Terry Bowden after seven seasons.

Athletic director Larry Williams announced Bowden’s dismissal on Sunday, a day after the Zips were beaten 28-3 by South Carolina to finish 4-8. Bowden went 35-52 at Akron, including a 23-33 record in Mid-American Conference play and led the Zips to two bowl appearances.

HOCKEY

TORONTO (AP) William Nylander’s contract impasse with the Toronto Maple Leafs has ended.

The restricted free agent signed a six-year deal Saturday, just before the 5 p.m. deadline. The deal is worth $10.2 million this season and $6.9 million a year the rest of the seasons.

Nylander, the Calgary-born Swede selected eighth overall in 2014, had to sign by the deadline to be eligible to play in the NHL this season. He and the club had been at odds on the terms of a new agreement after his entry-level contract expired July 1, with negotiations stretching through the summer, into training camp and ultimately forcing the 22-year-old winger to miss 26 games.

WOMEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) Freshman Christyn Williams scored a career-high 28 points on 11-of-16 shooting and No. 2 Connecticut never lost the lead after the 6:36 mark of the first quarter in dominating No. 1 Notre Dame 89-71 on Sunday.

All-American Katie Lou Samuelson, who was held scoreless by the Irish in the first half, had 15 points, including a three-point play that gave Geno Auriemma’s Huskies a 74-64 lead with 6:08 to play. The Huskies’ biggest lead was 19 points late.

Napheesa Collier added 16 points with 15 rebounds. Crystal Dangerfield scored 13 points and Megan Walker had 12 as the Huskies (7-0) ended a 28-game winning streak at home by Muffet McGraw’s Irish, who beat UConn 91-89 in overtime in last season’s NCAA semifinals on way to their second national championship. In its last 100 games at home, Notre Dame is 97-3 with all the losses coming against the Huskies.

SOCCER

NEW YORK (AP) Gregg Berhalter has been hired to coach the U.S. men’s national team, making him the first person to run the team after playing for the Americans at the World Cup.

Berhalter, who spent the past five seasons as coach of Major League Soccer’s Columbus Crew, represents a generational change for an American team staggered by its failure to reach this year’s World Cup after seven straight appearances at soccer’s showcase.

The 45-year-old was long viewed as the front-runner for the job. He is the second youngest coach for the Americans in four decades.

ACCRA, Ghana (AP) Nigeria won its 11th title in 13 editions of the Women’s African Cup of Nations by beating South Africa in a penalty shootout in the final on Saturday.

The game ended 0-0 after 120 minutes and although Nigeria missed its first penalty kick in the shootout, when Onome Ebi hit the post, South Africa missed twice and the Nigerians prevailed 4-3.

Nigeria goalkeeper Tochukwu Oluehi pulled off the title-clinching save low to her right from Linda Motlhalo’s final penalty for South Africa.

Nigeria is the dominant force in women’s soccer in Africa and its triumph in Ghana was its third title in a row.

WOMEN’S COLLEGE SOCCER

CARY, N.C. (AP) Dallas Dorosy made one more play for Florida State at another big moment.

Dorosy scored in the 60th minute to help the Seminoles beat North Carolina 1-0 on Sunday for the NCAA Women’s College Cup championship.

Florida State (20-4-3) won the NCAA title for the second time. It also won it all in 2014.

BOXING

QUEBEC CITY (AP) Canadian boxer Adonis Stevenson has been upgraded from critical to stable condition and remains in an induced coma Sunday after being knocked out Saturday night in his light heavyweight title fight.

Boxing promoter Yvon Michel tweeted about the 41-year-old Stevenson’s condition.

Oleksandr Gvozdyk stopped Stevenson at 2:49 of the 11th round Saturday night to take the Canadians’ World Boxing Council light heavyweight title.

The Montreal-based Stevenson was put on a stretcher after the bout and left Videotron Centre in an ambulance.

LOS ANGELES (AP) Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury fought to a split draw Saturday night, with Wilder retaining his WBC heavyweight title after knocking down his British challenger twice.

Wilder (40-0-1) floored Fury (27-0-1) in the ninth and 12th rounds, yet Fury clearly outboxed Wilder for large portions of the remainder of their entertaining showdown.

Judge Robert Tapper scored the fight 114-112 for Fury, while Alejandro Rochin favored Wilder 115-111. Judge Phil Edwards and The Associated Press both scored it a 113-113 draw, with Wilder’s knockdowns compensating for Fury’s superior technique.

SNOOKER

BRISTOL, England (AP) Two Chinese snooker players were handed long bans on Saturday for fixing matches in one of the sport’s biggest corruption scandals.

Yu Delu and Cao Yupeng admitted to manipulating the scores of matches they played in certain ranking tournaments from 2015-17, following an investigation resulting from suspicious betting patterns in the Far East.

Yu, ranked No. 52, was handed a suspension of 10 years and nine months, and ordered to pay costs of 20,000 pounds ($25,000). He was involved in fixing five matches across five tournaments over a period of 2½ years to earn money for himself and friends, and also admitted to lying to investigators and betting on snooker when banned from doing so.

Cao, ranked No. 44, was banned for six years with 3½ years of that ban suspended for fixing the outcome of three of his matches in 2016, including one at the prestigious UK Championship. His suspension was reduced from six years because he showed remorse. He had to pay costs of more than 15,000 pounds ($19,800).