SPORTS digest

Ex-OSU assistant pleads guilty to lesser charge

COLUMBUS

Fired Ohio State assistant football coach Zach Smith has pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of disorderly conduct and an Ohio court issued a three-year protective order that keeps him away from his ex-wife.

Smith had been facing a criminal trespass charge stemming from a May dispute. According to Delaware Municipal Court documents, he pleaded guilty Tuesday to misdemeanor disorderly conduct and was fined $150.

Smith said in a Twitter post he agreed to plead guilty to avoid the cost of a trial and end the situation.

Courtney Smith’s agreed to the deal because “a public trial would have had a negative impact on the children, and their safety and well-being has always been her priority,” according to a statement from her attorney.

Zach Smith was fired in July by coach Urban Meyer after domestic violence allegations surfaced. Meyer later was suspended for three games for his handling of it.

Smith was not criminally charged with domestic violence.

East Ohio Volleyball Club to conduct tryouts

WARREN

The East Ohio Volleyball Club will conduct tryouts at Trumbull Family Fitness (formerly YMCA) in Warren on Nov. 11 and 18.

Tryouts for grades 7-8 are from 1-3 p.m. Tryouts for grades 9-12 are from 3-6 p.m. Additional tryouts are scheduled from 6-8 p.m. Nov. 14 and 21 for any grades.

A tryout membership ($10) and signed medical release form from www.ovr.org are required.

Call 330-219-1368 for more information.

Former Miami coach sues school for $3M

CORAL GABLES, Fla.

Former Miami football coach Al Golden has filed a $3 million lawsuit against the university, seeking what he contends is unpaid settlement money.

The lawsuit was filed in federal court Wednesday — three years to the day after Golden’s final game at Miami, a 58-0 loss to Clemson in what is the worst margin of defeat in the school’s football history. The Hurricanes fired Golden on Oct. 25, 2015, the day after that game.

“The unpaid portion of Plaintiff’s separation pay as of October 2018 is approximately $3 million and continues to grow,” read the lawsuit. “Plaintiff seeks judgment for this amount and for any additional sums that accrue and remain unpaid.”

Golden made about $2.6 million in his final year at Miami, according to tax records.

“The University of Miami is disappointed to learn that former Coach Golden filed suit,” the school said in a statement Wednesday. “The University has fulfilled all of its obligations to Coach Golden in connection with his separation from the University and will defend the claims.”

Golden went 32-25 at Miami in parts of five seasons and was 17-18 in Atlantic Coast Conference games. His entire tenure at Miami was overshadowed by an NCAA investigation and subsequent fallout — a mess caused largely by the actions of a rogue former booster, someone currently in federal prison for leading a $900 million Ponzi scheme.

Commission extends fighters’ suspensions

LAS VEGAS

Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor will remain suspended at least until December because of a brawl inside and outside the octagon after their UFC match in Las Vegas, but the Nevada Athletic Commission on Wednesday allowed some prize money to be released to Nurmagomedov.

Neither the Russian from Dagestan nor the Irishman attended a brief hearing in Las Vegas at which Nurmagomedov was called the catalyst for the Oct. 6 “chaos.”

Commission Chairman Anthony Marnell III said the suspensions will last until an investigation is complete.

Marnell said fines and punishment up to a lifetime ban could be considered, and said the fighters will be required to attend a Dec. 10 disciplinary hearing.

“I’m not going to do that hearing over the telephone,” he said.

Staff/wire reports