NFL

Vikings promote O’Leary

Minneapolis — George O’Leary was promoted to defensive coordinator of the Minnesota Vikings on Wednesday, replacing the fired Willie Shaw.

O’Leary, who resigned as coach at Notre Dame after just five days in 2001 when he admitted he lied on his resume, takes over a defense that ranked 26th in the NFL this season.

Shaw, Minnesota’s secondary coach in 1992 and ’93 and assistant head coach in 2001, was not immediately available for comment.

“We’ve decided to go in another direction and make a change as it pertains to philosophy, schemes and technology,” head coach Mike Tice said.

Tice hired O’Leary, his coach at Central Islip High School in suburban New York, to be his assistant and supervise Minnesota’s defensive linemen just months after O’Leary’s admission that he lied about academic and athletic accomplishments.

Dixie Chicks to sing anthem at Super Bowl

New York — The Dixie Chicks will sing the national anthem before the Super Bowl at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego.

Emily Robison, Martie Maguire and Natalie Maines will be making their first appearance since Robison had a baby in November.

“With Emily’s new baby and Natalie’s toddler, our biggest challenge for this event might be trying to find good babysitters on Super Bowl Sunday,” Maguire said.

Robison admitted to being nervous about performing at the event.

“Anyone who tells you there’s no pressure to sing the national anthem, live, to one of the biggest television audiences on the planet is not telling the truth,” Robison said.

The Super Bowl will be televised to an expected 130 million viewers in the United States and 800 million viewers worldwide.

College football

K-State coordinator bolts

Manhattan — Ron Hudson, the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Kansas State, is leaving for a similar position at Kentucky.

Hudson, who made the announcement Tuesday, left Ohio State to join the Wildcats coaching staff in 1995 as the passing-game coordinator and quarterbacks coach. He was appointed the Wildcats’ offensive coordinator in 1997.

Hudson, 55, led an offense that finished second nationally in scoring in 2002 at 44.7 points per game and 15th in total offense at 423.

Kentucky coach Rich Brooks contacted Hudson about the coaching position after the Wildcats beat Arizona State in the Holiday Bowl. Hudson was an assistant for Brooks when Brooks was head coach at Oregon in the late 1970s.