Thursday’s Sports in Brief
HOCKEY
Akim Aliu is not happy with the apology Calgary Flames coach Bill Peters issued for a racial slur he allegedly used when both were in the minors 10 years ago.
The former NHL player released his own statement on Twitter, saying he found Peters' statement a day earlier acknowledging that he used offensive language to be "misleading, insincere and concerning."
Aliu said he has accepted an invitation from the NHL to discuss the situation and would not comment further until after the meeting.
Peters issued a letter Wednesday night to multiple media outlets, apologizing to the Flames and general manager Brad Treliving. The letter did not mention the Nigerian-born Aliu or specify the words Peter used. He called it an "isolated and immediately regrettable incident."
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) — Luke Logan missed a 35-yard extra point after Mississippi receiver Elijah Moore was penalized for celebrating a touchdown by crawling and pretending to urinate like a dog, and Mississippi State escaped with a 21-20 victory in the 116th Egg Bowl.
“That’s not who we are. We’ve been a disciplined team all year, and so just disappointed that happened," Rebels coach Matt Luke said. “That’s not who he is. Elijah is a good kid, and he just got caught up in the moment.”
Ole Miss (4-8, 2-6 Southeastern Conference) pulled within a point with 4 seconds remaining on Matt Corral’s 2-yard pass to Moore, but Logan hooked the extra point after Moore cost the Rebels 15 yards. The extra yards also prevented Mississippi from going for a winning 2-point conversion.
The penalty was another in a long line of unsportsmanlike conduct fouls between these two teams in recent years, and oddly not even the first one featuring a player pretending to pee. Luke said he knew that as emotions flared in the annual rivalry game that showboating would need to be avoided.
HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL
SUMMERVILLE, S.C. (AP) — John McKissick, whose 621 victories at South Carolina’s Summerville High made him the nation’s winningest football coach at any level, has died at age 93.
Dorchester County Coroner Paul Brouthers says McKissick had been in hospice care and died Thursday surrounded by family. The longtime coach retired in 2014 after 62 seasons.
Brouthers said McKissick’s birth year is listed as 1929, although his biography has him born three years earlier on Sept. 25, 1926.
McKissick had a career record of 621-155-13 at Summerville from 1952 through 2014. He won 10 South Carolina state championships, the last one coming in 1998.
In 2003, McKissick became the first coach to reach 500 victories. He won his 600th game in 2012, when he was carried off the field by his players.
SOCCER
MILAN (AP) — Inter Milan forward Romelu Lukaku says he was targeted with racist chants by Slavia Prague fans during a Champions League match and wants UEFA to take action.
Lukau says the chants occurred on two different occasions during Wednesday’s game, adding that “I hope UEFA does something, because the entire stadium behaved like that after the first goal by Lautaro (Martinez) and that’s not nice for people watching the match.”
Martinez grabbed two goals and Lukaku also scored as Inter won 3-1 to keep alive its hopes of qualifying for the knockout stages.
Lukaku also had a goal waved off by the VAR because of a foul on Slavia forward Peter Olayinka at the other end — leading to a converted penalty for the hosts.
Lukaku held his hand to his ear after the VAR decision, apparently to bring attention to the racist chants.
Lukaku, who is black, was also targeted with monkey chants by Cagliari fans during a Serie A match in September after he scored a penalty.
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Brazilian soccer club Chapecoense has been relegated from the country’s top division three years after losing most of its players in a plane crash.
After losing to Botafogo 1-0, Chapecoense described the relegation on Twitter as a “difficult time” but says “all sorts of things happen, Chape remains!”
Nineteen of Chapecoense’s players were killed in a plane crash three years ago en route to the club’s first South American tournament final. The plane went down outside Medellin, Colombia, after running out of fuel.
Three players survived the accident.
To rebuild the team, Chape received financial support from Brazilian clubs and the southern city’s vibrant meat-processing industry.
ZURICH (AP) — FIFA has banned a leading African soccer official who faces trial for war crimes in The Hague.
Patrice-Edouard Ngaïssona was banned for six years and eight months by FIFA ethics judges for charges including “discrimination and of failing to protect, respect or safeguard integrity and human dignity.” He was fined 500,000 Swiss francs ($500,000).
Ngaïssona was president of the Central African Republic soccer body for more than a decade since 2008. He was elected last year to the Confederation of African Football executive committee.
He is suspected of war crimes in 2013 and 2014 as leader of the Christian anti-Balaka militia which targeted Muslims.