Feb 8, 2022 3 min read

Steelers hire wide receivers coach

Former Carolina Panthers assistant Frisman Jackson is the new wide receivers coach for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The team announced the hire Tuesday. Jackson replaces Ike Hilliard, whose contract was not renewed following an underwhelming season by a wide receivers group that received solid production from Pro Bowler Diontae Johnson but not much else.

Jackson spent the last two years with Carolina, coming to the Panthers after a two-year stint at Baylor. He followed then-Baylor head coach Matt Rhule when Rhule made the jump from college to the NFL before the 2020 season.

Jackson’s previous coaching stops include one season with the Tennessee Titans in 2017 and various stints at the collegiate level, including Temple and North Carolina State.

Jackson will lead a group that will likely look considerably different in 2022. Veterans JuJu Smith-Schuster and James Washington are both free agents. Smith-Schuster missed most of the 2021 season after injuring his right shoulder against Denver in September.

Wild Things trade

Washington Wild Things acquired infielder/outfielder Nate Fisbeck in a trade with the Boise Hawks of the Pioneer League. Washington will give Boise a player to be named.

Fisbeck played five seasons at McNeese State and then made his pro debut with Boise last summer.

With Boise, Fisbeck batted .360 over 26 games. He scored 27 runs, drove in 28, had eight doubles, one triple and belted 10 home runs..

“(We’re) really happy to be able to acquire Nate. He’s a kid that I tried really hard to sign when he finished up school last summer before heading to the Pioneer League,” said Washington manager Tom Vaeth. “Nate plays with a lot of passion and brings much-needed versatility to our roster. He can play all over the infield and outfield and offensively he has a reputation for being a tough out.”

Fisbeck played second base, third base, shortstop and corner outfield at McNeese State.

In baseball

Los Angeles prosecutors decided not to charge Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer for allegedly beating and sexually abusing a San Diego woman he met through social media.

Prosecutors were unable to prove the San Diego woman’s accusations beyond a reasonable doubt, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.

College athlete group seeks employee status

An advocacy group filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board, the latest step in a push to give employee status to college athletes and afford them the right to competitive pay, collective bargaining and other benefits and protections.

The National College Players Association filed the unfair labor practice charges against the NCAA, Pac-12 Conference, UCLA and the University of Southern California as single and joint employers of Bowl Subdivision football players and Division I men’s and women’s basketball players.

In the NBA

The Indiana Pacers traded two-time All-Star Domantas Sabonis to the Sacramento Kings in a 6-player deal.

Sacramento is sending Tyrese Haliburton, Buddy Hield and Tristan Thompson to the Pacers. The Kings will get Justin Holiday, Jeremy Lamb and a second-round draft pick plus Sabonis, who is averaging 18.9 points, 12.1 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game.