Update on the latest sports
APNBA SCHEDULE-ROCKETS-HORNETS
Ball, Hornets use strong 4th quarter to beat Rockets 119-94
UNDATED (AP) — LaMelo Ball made a career-high seven 3-pointers and finished with 24 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds, and the Charlotte Hornets beat the short-handed Houston Rockets 119-94 for their second straight win.
Miles Bridges had another strong outing with 19 points and 10 rebounds, and Gordon Hayward added 19 points for the Hornets, who opened the fourth quarter on a 19-1 run to blow open a tight game. Victor Oladipo had 21 points for the Rockets, who lost for only the third time in 10 games. The Rockets played without John Wall, Eric Gordon and Christian Wood.
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.
—Indiana Pacers assistant coach Bill Bayno has resigned. The 58-year-old Bayno says he’s stepping away because of personal and health reasons. The longtime NBA assistant joined Indiana’s staff in 2016 and was a holdover from former coach Nate McMillan’s staff. He went 94-60 in five seasons as the head coach at UNLV and lost all three games he coached at Loyola Marymount before resigning in January 2009 because of health reasons.
NFL-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.
—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.
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.
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 (SHOH’-hay oh-TAH’-nee) 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.
In other MLB news:
—Left-hander Sean Doolittle and the Cincinnati Reds have finalized a $1.5 million, one-year contract. Cincinnati also announced a minor league deal with infielder Dee Strange-Gordon, who will report to big league spring training. The 34-year-old Doolittle had been with Washington since July 2017 and helped the Nationals win their first World Series title in 2019. The two-time All-Star was 0-2 with a 5.87 ERA in 7 2/3 innings over 11 relief appearances during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. The 32-year-old Strange-Gordon spent the past three seasons with Seattle and hit .200 in 75 at-bats last year.
—Seven-inning doubleheaders and runners on second base to start extra innings will return as experiments for a second straight season under an agreement for 2021 health protocols reached Monday between Major League Baseball and the players’ association. The deal did not include last year’s experimental rule to extend the designated hitter to the National League or expanded playoffs. After allowing 16 teams in the postseason last year instead of 10, MLB has proposed 14 for this year before withdrawing that plan last month. Last year’s expanded playoffs agreement did not come together until hours before the season’s first pitch.
NHL SCHEDULE-HURRICANES-BLUE JACKETS
Roslovic scores late goal, Blue Jackets beat Hurricanes 3-2
UNDATED (AP) — Jack Roslovic scored the tiebreaking goal late in the third period, Joonas Korpisalo had 22 saves and the Columbus Blue Jackets beat the Carolina Hurricanes 3-2. Columbus earned a split of the teams’ back-to-back series.
Scott Harrington and Cam Atkinson also scored for the Blue Jackets, who weren’t sharp for much of the night but still got their second win in three games. With the score tied 2-2, Roslovic split two defenders and beat Alex Nedeljkovic with a backhand with 4:36 left. Nino Niederreiter and Brock McGinn scored for the Hurricanes, who lost for the third time in 10 games.
In other action on the ice Monday:
Casey Cizikas (sih-ZEE’-kuhs) and Matt Martin scored 2:05 apart in the third period to help Semyon Varlamov and the New York Islanders beat the New York Rangers 2-0 at Madison Square Garden. Varlamov made 30 saves for his third shutout this season — second against the Rangers — as the Islanders won their second consecutive game. Islanders coach Barry Trotz earned his 850th victory, passing Ken Hitchcock for third place on the NHL’s career list. Igor Shesterkin stopped 28 shots, but the Rangers’ four-game point streak ended.
—Tyler Ennis scored the go-ahead goal early in the third period and goaltender Mike Smith made 27 saves in his season debut as the Edmonton Oilers beat the Ottawa Senators 3-1. Josh Archibald scored into the empty net with 1:10 remaining after Connor McDavid won the puck in his own end. Leon Draisaitl also scored for Edmonton. Evgenii Dadonov scored for Ottawa.
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:
—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.
AUSTRALIA OPEN
A win is a win: ’20 Australian champ Kenin gets by in 2 sets
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Sofia Kenin struggled in her first match as a defending champion at a Grand Slam tournament. The 22-year-old from Florida dealt with jitters at the Australian Open even though she was facing an opponent who’s never won a tour-level match. Eventually Kenin managed to beat 133rd-ranked Australian wild-card entry Maddison Inglis 7-5, 6-4 on Day 2 at Melbourne Park. Inglis fell to 0-6 for her career. Kenin managed to avoid becoming the first woman since Jennifer Capriati in 2003 to lose in the first round at the Australian Open a year after winning the championship. Also winning Tuesday was Garbiñe Muguruza, the 2020 runner-up to Kenin.
In other Tuesday action:
—Rising star Andrey Rublev of Russia has won his opening match at the Australian Open, beating Yannick Hanfmann of Germany 6-3, 6-3, 6-4. Rising star Andrey Rublev of Russia has won his opening match at the Australian Open, beating Yannick Hanfmann of Germany 6-3, 6-3, 6-4.
—Seventeen-year-old Carlos Alcaraz of Spain was impressive in his highly anticipated Grand Slam debut match, defeating Dutch qualifier Botic Van de Zandschulp in the first round of the Australian Open 6-1, 6-4, 6-4. The 141st-ranked Alcaraz has been compared to Rafael Nadal and is coached by former No. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero.
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.
