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A22 SPORTS
Thursday 6 december 2018
SPORTS BRIEFS

New York Rangers defenseman Marc Staal (18) controls the
puck against Winnipeg Jets defenseman Josh Morrissey (44)
during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Sunday,
Dec. 2, 2018, in New York.
Associated Press
Forbes: Rangers In this Dec. 2, 2018, file photo, Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer walks off the field with his wife,
Shelley Meyer, early Sunday after defeating Northwestern in the Big Ten championship NCAA
college football game in Indianapolis.
Associated Press
remain most valuable URBAN MEYER might have been consid- there's one thing we can

NHL franchise Continued from Page 17 ered a successful season. take Meyer's word on —
Too much baggage and But even before he an-
and that's his health. It was
too many questions about nounced his resignation hard to watch Meyer at
TORONTO (AP) — The New increase thanks to a new his judgment and propensi- Tuesday — ostensibly for times on the sideline this
York Rangers are the NHL's downtown arena. ty for disregarding the truth health reasons — it was be- year bent over from pain
most valuable franchise for Los Angeles (sixth, $810 mil- for that to happen. coming increasingly clear from a cyst in his brain that
a fourth consecutive year, lion), Philadelphia (seventh, It's a conflicted legacy in that Meyer wouldn't be causes severe headaches.
according to Forbes. $800 million), Vancouver a world where success is completing a contract that And don't forget that he
The Rangers top the an- (ninth, $735 million) and almost always defined by paid him $7.6 million a sea- left Florida earlier because
nual list of franchise valu- Washington (10th, $725 wins and losses. For all the son and ran through 2022. of stress-related issues.
ations at $1.55 billion, up 3 million) round out the top victories Meyer had — and Again, too much baggage Meyer said he doubts he
percent from last year. 10. The Capitals enjoyed all the money he made — and too many questions. will coach again, and that's
The Toronto Maple Leafs a league-best 16 percent it was getting increasingly Meyer seemed to acknowl- the right call. He's got noth-
are second at $1.35 bil- boost with their first Stanley hard to believe some of the edge as much when asked ing more to prove on the
lion, and Montreal Cana- Cup title. things that came out of his whether the suspension field, and he's never going
diens third at $1.3 billion, 4 The Vegas Golden Knights mouth. would cloud his legacy to prove to his detractors
percent increases for both are 12th at $575 million af- That was a problem every once he leaves Ohio State. that he is a different person
clubs. ter reaching the Cup final time he stepped before a "I'm sure it will ... I can lie to than they think he is.
Original Six clubs make up as an expansion team. microphone to talk about you and say it is not impor- But if the mark of a good
the top five, with the Chi- At the other end of the list his team. And it was surely tant to me," he said. coach is that his former
cago Blackhawks fourth are the Florida Panthers becoming more of a prob- Probably not the best players still love him, Meyer
at $1.05 billion and the (30th, $295 million) and Ari- lem when the parents of choice of words consider- seems good on that count.
Boston Bruins fifth at $925 zona Coyotes (31st, $290 18-year-old recruits began ing everything. But football A number of them took to
million. The Detroit Red million). The clubs were the asking the kind of hard is Meyer's life work, and social media to give their
Wings are not far behind only two to lose value ac- questions that Meyer had how he'll be remembered thanks as the news of his re-
in eighth ($775 million) and cording to Forbes, down 3 no desire to answer. for that work is important to tirement spread.
have seen an 11 percent percent each.q He should have been fired him, as it should be. "To the man who gave me
before the season even He won two national titles the opportunity of a life-
Eliud Kipchoge, began, after a university re- at Florida and added a time," Detroit Lions offen-
port showed he tolerated third at Ohio State. Aside sive tackle Taylor Decker,
domestic violence accu-
Ibarguen win IAAF sations and other bad be- from Clemson coach Dabo a former Ohio State star,
Swinney, he's the only posted on Instagram , "and
havior from assistant coach coach in the country who whose football program
best-athlete awards Zach Smith — and then lied hasn't been steamrolled molded me into a man ...
about what he knew.
totally by Nick Saban and all I can say is THANK YOU."
Meyer kept his job but didn't the machine he's built at Meyer will coach on New
do his cause any good with Alabama. Year's Day against Wash-
PARIS (AP) — Marathon in September, shaving a a series of defiant state- But the controversy that ington in his first — and pre-
world-record holder Eliud whopping 78 seconds off ments that seemed to por- Meyer played a big part in sumably last — Rose Bowl.
Kipchoge of Kenya and the previous world record tray himself as the real vic- creating was never going With designated successor
Colombian long jumper set in the German capital tim in the ongoing drama. to completely go away. Ryan Day by his side, Meyer
Caterine Ibarguen won the in 2014 by fellow Kenyan After a three-game sus- Meyer wasn't going to win will try for one last win be-
IAAF athletes of the year Dennis Kimetto. pension , Meyer was back in the court of public opin- fore going on to an unde-
awards Tuesday. Kipchoge also won a third on the sideline and ended ion like he won on the foot- fined role at OSU, presum-
Kipchoge, 34, clocked 2 London Marathon victory up leading Ohio State to ball field, no matter how ably with a settlement of
hours, 1 minute, 39 seconds in April. a Rose Bowl appearance aggrieved he felt. the $38 million he has left
at the Berlin Marathon q that at any other school And, in the end, maybe on his contract.q