Sports briefly: Rory McIlroy fires his caddie

Rory McIlroy fired his caddie and will use his best friend at the Bridgestone Invitational and PGA Championship, according to published reports.

Reuters cited a source it did not identify as saying McIlroy has parted ways with J.P. Fitzgerald. They worked together for nine years, during which McIlroy won four major championships and reached No. 1 in the world.

McIlroy is due to speak about the change Wednesday.

The Telegraph reported that McIlroy's caddie at the next two tournaments will be Harry Diamond.

It was Fitzgerald who said, "You're Rory McIlroy, what are you doing?" after McIlroy opened the British Open two weeks ago with a sloppy bogey. The pep talk seemed to help, though McIlroy's round got a whole lot worse before it got better.

Before finishing in a tie for fourth at Royal Birkdale, McIlroy had missed the cut in three of his previous four tournaments, including the U.S. Open, and his self-belief was dissipating fast.

It is the second significant player-caddie split this summer. Phil Mickelson and Jim "Bones" Mackay decided to end 25 years together. Mackay since has taken a job as an analyst on the course at NBC Sports.

Ronaldo is accused of dodging $17.3 million in taxes by creating foreign shell companies to hide income generated in Spain from his image rights. He has denied the allegations, and expects his name to be cleared. He and FC Barcelona's Lionel Messi are among several soccer players who have been investigated by the Spanish tax authorities.

Central Florida kicker Donald De La Haye was ruled ineligible after continuing to receive advertising money for his popular YouTube videos, the school announced.

Knights coach Scott Frost said last week during the start of preseason camp De La Haye was a member of the team and the Central Florida Athletics Association worked to seek an NCAA waiver that would allow De La Haye to keep posting YouTube videos while competing for the Knights.

De La Haye and NCAA officials, however, could not reach an agreement that would keep him in the field. Once De La Haye declined the NCAA's waiver terms, UCF suspended him to avoid repercussions for working with a player the NCAA was likely to later rule ineligible.

It is unclear whether De La Haye, who posted on his Twitter account Monday he was shocked by the decision, will take his argument to court.

• Utah starting safety Chase Hansen, the team's leading tackler last season, is out indefinitely because of an undisclosed injury.

NHL: John Tortorella of the Columbus Blue Jackets, the NHL's Coach of the Year last season, received a one-year contract extension. Financial terms were not released. … Longtime Montreal Canadiens defenseman Andrei Markov signed with Russian club Ak Bars Kazan of the Kontinental Hockey League. A week ago, the Canadiens said they would not keep the defenseman for a 17th NHL season.

NBA: The Milwaukee Bucks re-signed restricted free-agent guard Tony Snell, bringing back a backcourt starter and one of the team's best defenders. … Center Diamond Stone, who starred at Maryland and before that Dominican High School in Whitefish Bay, Wis., was waived by the Atlanta Hawks. He was acquired three weeks ago from the Los Angeles Clippers as part of a three-team trade.