Update on the latest sports
APNFL-SUPER BOWL-WINNERS
Buccaneers look ahead
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Only a day after winning the Super Bowl ,Tom Brady’s coming back. So is Bruce Arians.
But the challenge of attempting a repeat begins with trying to keep some key components together for next season. Brady threw three touchdowns passes on the way to claiming a record seventh NFL title with a 31-9 rout of the Kansas City Chiefs — two to Rob Gronkowski and one Antonio Brown. Both played on one-year contracts after being lured to Tampa Bay by Brady.
Leonard Fournette ran for the team’s other TD. He also joined the Bucs on a one-year deal.
In other NFL news:
—The Pittsburgh Steelers have hired longtime NFL assistant Mike Sullivan as their new quarterbacks coach. The move is one of three made by the team to fill coaching vacancies. Sullivan replaces Matt Canada, who was promoted to offensive coordinator last month. Sullivan is a 16-year NFL coaching veteran, winning two Super Bowl rings with the New York Giants.
—The Chicago Bears promoted John DeFilippo to pass game coordinator while keeping him in his role as quarterbacks coach. DeFilippo joined coach Matt Nagy’s staff last season. He was the offensive coordinator for Minnesota during the 2018 season and Jacksonville in 2019 before he was fired, and he previously worked for Philadelphia, Cleveland, Oakland, the New York Jets, the New York Giants, Indianapolis and Carolina.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL POLL
You’re not in, Kansas, anymore
UNDATED (AP) — Kansas has dropped out of The Associated Press men’s college basketball poll for the first time in 12 years.
The Jayhawks’ record streak of 231 consecutive weeks ranked is over. Gonzaga and Baylor kept the top two spots, just as they have all season, with the Bulldogs getting 55 of 63 first-place votes and the Bears getting the other eight.
Michigan took advantage of Villanova’s loss at St. John’s to jump into the top three, Ohio State climbed three spots to No. 4 and the Wildcats rounded out the top 5.
With Kansas and UCLA falling out, that leaves the AP Top 25 without the Jayhawks, Bruins and fellow bluebloods Duke, Kentucky and North Carolina for the first time since December 1961. It also means none of the 13 winningest Division I programs are ranked.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Baylor postpones three more
WACO, Texas (AP) — The No. 2 Baylor men’s basketball team has postponed three more games because of COVID-19 issues and won’t play again until at least Feb. 20.
The Bears didn’t play Saturday’s scheduled home game against TCU and had already postponed Wednesday’s game at No. 12 Oklahoma before the latest changes announced Monday.
Now postponed are next Saturday’s home game against No. 7 Texas Tech, then two games next week at No. 14 West Virginia. That includes a Feb. 15 game at Morgantown, and then a Feb. 18 game in Waco that was supposed to be the makeup of a game postponed in January because of COVID-19 protocols in the Mountaineers program.
Baylor’s next scheduled game is Feb. 20 at home against No. 23 Oklahoma State.
In other developments:
—The Atlantic Coast Conference announced that Miami’s men’s basketball game basketball game on Monday night at North Carolina has been postponed. The postponement follows a meeting of officials from both schools who concluded the game could not be played, but neither school has publicly disclosed reasons why the game was called off. Earlier Monday, The Daily Tar Heel student newspaper reported that video had surfaced on social media of UNC players Armando Bacot and Day’Ron Sharpe mingling with multiple other people celebrating Saturday’s win against rival Duke and no one wearing a mask.
—The Breeders’ Cup is delaying ticket sales for this year’s world championships in Southern California because of the coronavirus pandemic. The two-day event is set for Nov. 5-6 at Del Mar racetrack, north of San Diego.
MLB-ANGELS-OHTANI
Angels reach two-year deal with Ohtani
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Shohei Ohtani agreed to a two-year, $8.5 million contract with the Los Angeles Angels, avoiding arbitration. The two-way player will make $3 million in 2021 and $5.5 million in 2022. Both years are guaranteed.
Ohtani asked for $3.3 million for the upcoming season, and the Angels countered with $2.5 million. Ohtani earned $259,259 in the prorated portion of his $700,000 contract in 2020, but the 2018 AL Rookie of the Year struggled at the plate and on the mound in his return from Tommy John surgery. Ohtani batted .190 with seven homers and 24 RBIs in 175 plate appearances.
NBA-BULLS-MARKANEN
Bulls’ Markkanen out 2-4 weeks with sprained right shoulder
CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago Bulls expect forward Lauri Markkanen to miss two to four weeks because of a sprained right shoulder. The Bulls say an MRI confirmed he has a sprained acromioclavicular joint.
Markkanen was hurt Friday at Orlando when he was fouled by Magic forward Gary Clark early in the third quarter.
Markkanen is averaging a career-high 19.1 points and 6.1 rebounds coming off a disappointing season. He missed seven consecutive games early in the season because of COVID-19 protocols.
In other NBA moves:
— The Brooklyn Nets have made another addition to their frontcourt by signing Noah Vonleh. The 6-foot-10 forward has played for six previous teams after being the No. 9 pick in the 2014 draft by Charlotte. He has averaged 5.0 points and 5.2 rebounds in 335 games. Vonleh most recently played for Denver last season. His best season was with the New York Knicks in 2018-19, when he averaged 8.4 points and 7.8 rebounds.
NHL-MAPLE LEAFS-SIMMONDS
Simmonds out until mid-March
TORONTO (AP) — The NHL-leading Toronto Maple Leafs will be without Wayne Simmonds until mid-March.
The team announced that the bruising winger is set to miss six weeks after suffering a broken wrist in Saturday’s 5-1 victory over the Vancouver Canucks. The 32-year-old Simmonds scored twice in the game but took a clearing attempt off his left arm in the third period. The injury was looked at by a trainer on the bench before Simmonds headed to the locker room for more treatment.
The Toronto native scored five times in his last six outings.
Elsewhere in the NHL:
— Dallas Stars goaltender Anton Khudobin says he’s back to normal with the team after being held out of a game as discipline for being late to practice. Khudobin was back on the ice Monday. The goalie says all is fine and settled after talking to his coaches. He says he was late to practice Saturday after not sleeping well throughout the night. He then woke up late after not hearing his alarm. Coach Rick Bowness didn’t allow him to dress out for Sunday’s game against Chicago. Bowness says the situation is over, calling it yesterday’s news.
—Edmonton’s CFL team has a shortlist of seven candidates for its new name. And, like the old name, fans want an apt alliterative approach. The seven names listed as possibilities in an online survey released Monday are: Elk, Evergreens, Evergolds, Eclipse, Elkhounds, Eagles and Elements. Edmonton dropped the name Eskimos last year and now goes by Edmonton Football Team or EE Football Team.
FBC-IOWA STATE-CAMPBELL CONTRACT
Iowa State gives Matt Campbell new contract through 2028
AMES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa State coach Matt Campbell has agreed to a new eight-year contract through 2028 after leading the Cyclones to the Big 12 championship game last season.
The school did not release terms of the contract. The Cyclones are coming off their most successful season in school history. They were 9-3 overall and first in the Big 12 at 8-1. They lost to Oklahoma in the conference championship game, then beat Oregon in the Fiesta Bowl. Iowa State also agreed to provide Campbell a total of $3 million for staff salary enhancements over the next three years.
In other FBC news:
—Washington State starting quarterback Jayden de Laura has been suspended from the team after his arrest in Pullman, Washington, on suspicion of driving under the influence. The Spokesman-Review reports that the 19-year-old de Laura was arrested on a misdemeanor DUI charge early Saturday. According to police, de Laura was pulled over at 2:13 a.m. after driving through a stop sign and subsequently driving the wrong way. De Laura won the starting quarterback job as a freshman last fall.
RONALDO-RAPE CASE-VEGAS
Ruling keeps Ronaldo hush-money case with US judge in Nevada
LAS VEGAS (AP) — A U.S. appeals court is letting a federal judge in Nevada decide claims by a woman suing soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo over a $375,000 rape case hush-money settlement reached more than a decade ago. U.S. District Judge Jennifer Dorsey said last September she would decide whether Kathryn Mayorga was mentally fit to enter the confidentiality agreement with Ronaldo’s representatives in 2010. Mayorga’s attorney appealed part of Dorsey’s ruling that said a dispute over the legality of the agreement was eligible for arbitration. Mayorga says she was raped by Ronaldo in Las Vegas in 2009. His lawyers say the two had consensual sex.
