Blaine Mueller worked for the past five years with the Milwaukee Bucks. Photo courtesy of Maine Celtics
Blaine Mueller has been named head coach of the G League’s Maine Celtics, the team announced Thursday.
Mueller, the ninth head coach in team history, replaces Alex Barlow, who led Maine to 30 wins and a playoff appearance in his lone season as head coach.
Mueller, a Wisconsin native, was an assistant coach with the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks last season. He served as a video coordinator for the Bucks the previous four seasons.
Mueller graduated from the University of Wisconsin in 2014 and served as an assistant coach at Lindenwood (Mo.) University for two years. This will be his first job as a head coach.Maine Celtics start the season Nov. 10 at Capital City. The home opener will be Nov. 17 against Long Island.
HOCKEY
NHL: Tampa Bay will open the season without goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy, who is expected to miss two months after having back surgery.
Vasilevskiy, the former Conn Smythe and Vezina Trophy winner, underwent the procedure to address a lumbar disc herniation, a common cause of lower back pain.
COLLEGES
FOOTBALL: Colorado receiver Travis Hunter and the Colorado State safety whose late hit sent him to the hospital put the incident behind them by meeting up to go bowling.
Hunter and defensive back Henry Blackburn went to an alley Wednesday in Boulder to roll a few frames. The outing served as a way to make peace once and for all. Blackburn posted a video of them shaking hands and embracing.
AUTO RACING
NASCAR: The group will return to the 2.5-mile oval at Indianapolis Motor Speedway next season for the 30-year anniversary of stock cars racing at the historic venue.
NASCAR raced on the oval from 1994 through 2020, but under Roger Penske’s ownership of IMS the race was held on the 2.439-mile road course the last three seasons as part of a shared weekend with the IndyCar Series.
• The NASCAR Cup Series All-Star Race will remain at North Wilkesboro (North Carolina) Speedway in 2024 after this year’s event — the first for NASCAR there in 27 years — attracted a capacity crowd.
FOOTBALL
SPRING LEAGUES: The XFL and USFL, two spring pro leagues announced they would merge with details coming at a later date.
The XFL has eight teams from Seattle, Washington, to Washington, D.C. The USFL also has eight teams that stretch from New Jersey to Memphis.
OLYMPICS
FIGURE SKATING: The Olympic doping case involving Russian teenager Kamila Valieva will resume for two more days in November, the Court of Arbitration for Sport said Thursday.
The highest court in sports said its panel of three judges adjourned the appeal after the third day of a closed-door hearing and will return Nov. 9-10.
SOCCER
SPAIN: Police raided the offices of the country’s soccer federation as part of an investigation into the payment of millions of dollars over several years by Barcelona to a former vice president of Spain’s refereeing committee.
The Guardia Civil confirmed its police searched the offices of the refereeing committee at federation headquarters near Madrid. Police said they had not made any arrests and were acting on the orders of Joaquin Aguirre, a judge who is investigating the case for a court in Barcelona.
PREMIER LEAGUE: New York-based investment firm Dynasty Equity bought a minority stake in Liverpool, the club said.
Fenway Sports Group, which owns the team, said last year it was open to selling shares, leading to speculation about a potential buyout.
HIGH SCHOOLS
OHIO FOOTBALL: A Brooklyn, Ohio, football coach said he was forced to resign by his school district and intended no harm to opposing players after he and his team repeatedly used “Nazi” as a call in a Sept. 22 game.
Tim McFarland, 70, the former coach, Isaid he never meant any offense by using the term and it “didn’t even occur” to him that it could be taken as antisemitic. The calls came during a game against Beachwood High, a school based in a largely Jewish Cleveland suburb.
TENNIS
CHINA OPEN: Alex de Minaur rallied from a break down in the deciding set to beat three-time Grand Slam champion Andy Murray 6-4, 5-7, 7-6 (6) in the first round at Beijing.
Eight of the top-10 ranked players are entered, including Carlos Alcaraz and Daniil Medvedev.
– Staff and news service report
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