Jan 2, 2019 4 min read

Pro wrestling star Okerlund dies

Eugene “Mean Gene” Okerlund, whose deadpan interviews of pro wrestling superstars like “Macho Man” Randy Savage, The Ultimate Warrior and Hulk Hogan made him a ringside fixture in his own right, has died. He was 76.

World Wrestling Entertainment announced Okerlund’s death on its website Wednesday. Okerlund’s son, Tor Okerlund, told the Associated Press that his father died early Wednesday at a hospital in Sarasota, Florida, near his home in Osprey, Florida, with his wife, Jeanne, by his side.

Tor Okerlund said his father, who had received three kidney transplants, fell a few weeks ago “and it just kind of went from bad to worse.”

Okerlund started as an interviewer in the Minneapolis-based American Wrestling Association. He moved to WWE in 1984 and hosted several shows, including “All-American Wrestling,” “Tuesday Night Titans” and “Prime Time Wrestling.” Besides being WWE’s lead locker room interviewer, he also provided ringside commentary.

Former wrestler and ex-Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura, who wrestled as “The Body,” dubbed Okerlund “Mean Gene.”

Ventura told the Minneapolis Star Tribune on Wednesday that in an interview he “laughingly called him ‘the Mean Gene Hot Air Machine,’ and the ‘Mean Gene’ stuck.”

In the majors

The New York Yankees have obtained a low-cost infield replacement, agreeing to a one-year contract with shortstop Troy Tulowitzki for the major league minimum $555,000, a person familiar with the negotiations told the Associated Press.

Yankees shortstop Didi Gregorius had Tommy John surgery on his right elbow Oct. 17 and is not expected to return until summer. New York also has been talking with Manny Machado, one of the top available free agents. Tulowitzki could slot in at shortstop, allowing Gleyber Torres to remain at second baseman and Miguel Andujar to stay at third.

While Tulowitzki helped the Toronto Blue Jays reach the 2015 AL Championship Series, he slumped the next year and then was derailed by injuries. Toronto would pay all but the big league minimum in the Yankees deal, which would be offset against his 2018 salary.

• The Twins and veteran slugger Nelson Cruz have agreed to a one-year contract with an option for the 2020 season, giving Minnesota a boost at designated hitter.

Cruz played 144 games for the Seattle Mariners last season, hitting .256 with 37 home runs, 97 RBIs and a .342 on-base percentage.

In the NHL

The Vancouver Canucks traded goalie Anders Nilsson and minor-league winger Darren Archibald to the Ottawa Senators for netminder Mike McKenna, forward Tom Pyatt and a sixth-round pick in the 2019 draft on Wednesday.

Nilsson, 28, had a 3-8-1 record with a 3.03 goals-against average and an .895 save percentage this season with Vancouver as Jacob Markstrom grabbed the reins as Vancouver’s No. 1 goalie.

Former USC coach pleads guilty

A former assistant basketball coach for the University of Southern California pleaded guilty Wednesday to conspiracy to commit bribery, admitting he accepted $4,100 in cash to steer players at the school to certain financial advisers and business managers.

Tony Bland’s plea in Manhattan federal court makes it likely he will spend little or no time in prison after he is sentenced April 2.

“On July 29, 2017, I met with others in Las Vegas, Nevada, to discuss my participation in the scheme and received a payment of $4,100,” he told U.S. District Judge Edgardo Ramos.

Bland admitted to federal authorities after his September 2017 arrest that he took a cash payment to steer players to advisers and managers and that he knew it was wrong, Assistant U.S. Attorney Eli Mark said.