Baseball union figure Marvin Miller dies
NEW YORK, Nov. 27 (UPI) -- Marvin Miller, who helped form the Major League Baseball Players Association, had died at the age of 95.
His family said Miller died Tuesday at his home in New York. He had been diagnosed with liver cancer earlier this year.
Miller helped major league players create their union in 1966 and served as the head of the MLBPA until 1982.
"All players -- past, present and future -- owe a debt of gratitude to Marvin and his influence transcends baseball," current MLBPA leader Michael Weiner said in a statement Tuesday.
"Marvin, without question, is largely responsible for ushering in the modern era of sports, which has resulted in tremendous benefits to players, owners and fans of all sports."
Miller led a committee of players that negotiated the first collective bargaining agreement in 1968. The agreement raised the minimum salary in baseball from $6,000 -- the level at which it had been stuck for two decades -- to $10,000 and set the tone for future advances.
One of those for the players was the advent of free agency and the end of the reserve clause, which bound players to a team at the team's will. In 1975, pitchers Andy Messersmith and Dave McNally challenged the reserve clause in court, where a legal victory ended the practice, basically allowing players to open bidding for their talents.
Miller led the players through strikes in 1972, 1980 and 1981. There were also owner lockouts in 1973 and 1976.
Steelers likely to start QB Batch again
PITTSBURGH, Nov. 27 (UPI) -- Charlie Batch will likely start at quarterback this week for the Pittsburgh Steelers against the Baltimore Ravens, Coach Mike Tomlin said Tuesday.
However, he also said starting quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who missed two games with shoulder and rib injuries, began throwing Monday and could be healthy enough to play in the key game at Baltimore.
"We'll leave the door open for him," Tomlin said of Roethlisberger. "He's got a chance.
"Right now, Charlie Batch is our quarterback. We are working offensively to put together a plan to complement his strengths. That is our plan until otherwise."
The Steelers have lost both games since Roethlisberger was injured. Bryon Leftwich filled in against the Ravens in Pittsburgh but suffer a rib fracture in the game. Batch started last week against Cleveland, a game in which the Steelers had eight turnovers.
Pittsburgh is 6-5 on the season, three games back of division-leading Baltimore in the AFC North.
Southern Miss fires football coach
HATTIESBURG, Miss., Nov. 27 (UPI) -- Ellis Johnson has been fired after one winless season as the head football coach at Southern Mississippi, the school said Tuesday.
Johnson was hired to replace Larry Fedora, who left Southern Mississippi to become the football coach at North Carolina. The Golden Eagles were 12-2 and ranked 19th in the final coaches' poll after last season.
But Southern Mississippi went 0-12 in 2012. It was the Golden Eagles' first losing season since 1993 and first without a win since they went 0-6 in 1925.
"Following a thorough assessment of our football program, I made the recommendation to our university president that we not retain Ellis Johnson as our head football coach," Southern Mississippi Athletic Director Hammond said in a statement Tuesday.
"At Southern Miss, we expect to compete hard and succeed both in the classroom and on the field. This is not the exception. This is in fact the standard, the norm, our identity and who we are."
Johnson previously coached at Gardner-Webb for one season and the Citadel for three. Counting Southern Mississippi, his overall coaching record is 17-40.
Navy QB in medically induced coma
ANNAPOLIS, Md., Nov. 27 (UPI) -- Naval Academy quarterback Ralph Montalvo was in a medically induced coma in Miami Tuesday following a Thanksgiving night car crash, hospital officials said.
Montalvo, a freshman who had recently been promoted to the travel team as a third-string quarterback, was in critical condition at Kendal Regional Medical Center, The Baltimore Sun reported.
Police have not released a report on the collision but Navy Coach Ken Niumatalolo said Montalvo family members told him Montalvo was a passenger in a car driven by a friend who took a wrong turn in thick fog and crashed the car into a house. Niumatalolo said it was his understanding the driver was also hospitalized in a coma, the newspaper reported.
Niumatalolo said he visited Montalvo Saturday and the player was "doing well" at the time, but he said Montalvo took a turn for the worse Monday.
Dr. Jeff Fair, director of sports medicine at the academy, said hospital medical staff had told academy doctors Montalvo had developed an infection that was driving up his blood pressure.
"He's going to be in the hospital quite awhile, I know that," Fair said.
Offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Ivin Jasper said the Middies -- who are preparing for their traditional game with the U.S. Military Academy Dec. 8 -- were "struggling" with the situation.
