Update on the latest sports
APNBA-RAPTORS-FLORIDA
Raptors to call Tampa home for rest of season
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — The Toronto Raptors aren’t going back to Toronto this season. The team said Thursday it will stay in its adopted home of Tampa, Florida, because of ongoing challenges related to the coronavirus pandemic and how that affects the process of crossing the border between the U.S. and Canada.
The Raptors are 6-5 in their “home” building this season, Amalie Arena, which they’re sharing with the Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning.
Toronto made the move south last fall, knowing Thursday’s decision was a real possibility. The land border with Canada remains closed to nonessential travelers who are not Canadian citizens. And Canada requires those entering the country to isolate for 14 days, which wouldn’t be feasible for NBA teams. The Canadian government has also strongly discouraged nonessential travel for any reason.
Tampa also has the reigning Super Bowl champion Buccaneers, and the Tampa Bay Rays played in the World Series last season.
MLB-NEWS
Buehler, Dodgers avoid arbitration with $8M, 2-year deal
UNDATED (AP) — Walker Buehler (BYOO’-lur) and the World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers have avoided a salary arbitration hearing scheduled for Thursday. They’ve agreed to an $8 million, two-year contract that would escalate to more than $12 million if he starts regularly this year and wins a Cy Young Award.
Buehler had been eligible for arbitration for the first time. The 26-year-old right-hander was the Dodgers’ ace in helping them win their first World Series title since 1988.
In other MLB news:
— Right-hander David Phelps and the Toronto Blue Jays have agreed to a $1.75 million, one-year contract, according to a person familiar with the negotiations. Phelps went 2-4 with a 6.53 ERA in 22 relief appearances with Milwaukee and Philadelphia last season.
—The Chicago Cubs have added another outfielder, agreeing to a $1.5 million, one-year contract with Jake Marisnick. The move is pending a physical. Marisnick will make $1 million this season. There is a $4 million mutual option for 2022 with a $500,000 buyout. The 29-year-old Marisnick hit .333 with two homers and five RBIs in 16 games with the New York Mets last year, but he is known more for his defense in center field.
— The Pittsburgh Pirates have signed veteran catcher Tony Wolters to a minor league deal that includes an invitation to spring training. Wolters will compete for a backup job behind Jacob Stallings. Wolters is 28 and spent the first five seasons of his big-league career in Colorado. He hit .238 with seven home runs and 123 RBIs in 391 games with the Rockies.
— The Cleveland Indians will give free agent Ben Gamel a shot to win one of their open outfield jobs. The team and Gamel agreed to a minor league contract with an invitation to big league spring training camp. The 27-year-old has played 442 major league games for the Yankees, Mariners and Brewers. Gamel spent the past two seasons with Milwaukee.
— The major league season is scheduled to open April 1 with the New York Yankees hosting Toronto and Detroit hosting Cleveland to start a full schedule of 15 games. Major League Baseball announced its initial 2021 schedule in July and updated it Thursday with game times. The schedule envisions every team playing its first game on the same day for the first time since 1968. Nationally televised openers include Tigers-Yankees, Dodgers-Rockies, Mets-Nationals and White Sox-Angels.
—Seven Negro Leagues have been recommended for major league status by a task force of the Society for American Baseball Research. The announcement followed Major League Baseball’s decision on Dec. 16 that it was reclassifying the Negro Leagues to majors. They had been excluded in 1969 when a baseball records committee identified six official major leagues dating to 1876. Willie Mays could be credited with 17 hits from his 1948 season with the Alabama Black Barons. Monte Irvin could see his career average climb from .293 to .304. The Negro Leagues began to dissolve one year after Jackie Robinson broke MLB’s color barrier with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947.
NHL-NEWS
Edmonton player in COVID protocol
UNDATED (AP) — The NHL says an Edmonton Oilers player has gone into COVID protocol and the start time for the team’s game at Montreal scheduled for Thursday night has been pushed back an hour to allow for the completion of test results for other members of the organization.
The league’s seven teams in Canada had been without a virus-related disturbance until now. There have so far been 35 games postponed, all in the three U.S. divisions.
In other NHL news:
— Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Connor Murphy could be sidelined for two weeks with a right hip injury. Andrew Shaw is facing an uncertain future after another head injury. Murphy missed Tuesday’s 2-1 overtime win at Dallas, and team physician Michael Terry says he is expected to miss 10 to 14 days. The Blackhawks are following the concussion protocol with Shaw after coach Jeremy Colliton said he was elbowed in the face. Shaw, a key part of two Stanley Cup titles in Chicago, missed much of last season with a serious head injury.
— The Columbus Blue Jackets have activated goaltender Elvis Merzlikins off injured reserve. Merzlikins, 26, had been sidelined by an upper-body injury since he got hurt during practice on Feb. 3. He is 2-2-1 with a 2.76 goals-against average and a .913 save percentage in six games this season. Columbus also recalled defenseman Andrew Peeke from its taxi squad ahead of its game at Chicago.
— The Boston Bruins will wait to retire pioneering Black hockey player Willie O’Ree’s number until next year so that they can raise his No. 22 banner to the rafters with fans in the building. The NHL said it asked the Bruins and O’Ree to postpone the ceremony until Jan. 18 — 64 years to the day that he became the league’s first Black player. It had been scheduled for next Thursday night before a game against the New Jersey Devils. O’Ree became the first Black player in the NHL when he took the ice for Boston against the Montreal Canadiens on Jan. 18, 1958.
NFL-NEWS
Jaguars unveil Meyer’s 30-person staff
UNDATED (AP) — Jacksonville Jaguars coach Urban Meyer has formally announced his 30-person staff. He spent nearly a month trying to surround himself with assistants who can help him make a successful transition from college to the NFL. The group includes Darrell Bevell as offensive coordinator, Joe Cullen as defensive coordinator, Brian Schottenheimer as passing game coordinator/quarterbacks coach, and Brian Schneider as special teams coordinator. Meyer made most of the hires weeks ago, but waited to announce them until each one signed a contract. Meyer also made former Louisville, Texas and South Florida coach Charlie Strong assistant head coach/inside linebackers coach.
In other NFL news:
— The San Francisco 49ers have announced several coaching staff changes and hires after the departures earlier this offseason of defensive coordinator Robert Saleh (SAH’-luh) and other key assistants to the New York Jets. Johnny Holland has been promoted from outside linebackers coach and run game specialist to take over the entire linebacker group. Inside linebackers coach DeMeco Ryans replaced Saleh as defensive coordinator on coach Kyle Shanahan’s staff. Chris Foerster was promoted from assistant offensive line coach to offensive line coach in place of John Benton, who left for a job on Saleh’s staff.
— The Tennessee Titans have hired Erik Frazier as an offensive skill assistant and Jason Houghtaling as an offensive line assistant. Frazier spent the past two seasons coaching wide receivers and as pass game coordinator for Montana State. Houghtaling was head coach at Wagner between 2015 and 2019.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-COLLEGE SPORTS
More men’s basketball games postponed
UNDATED (AP) — College conferences are still planning to hold basketball tournaments where the winner earns the automatic bid to the NCAAs. But the leagues also have until Feb. 26 to notify the selection committee if there will be any changes in how their bids are awarded.
Some coaches are split on the feasibility of having the tournaments and pandemic concerns could still lead to changes.
The NCAA has mandated that teams must have seven straight days of negative tests prior to arriving in Indiana for the tournament. There must be an additional two negative PCR tests before teams start practice.
In other pandemic-related news:
— The Atlantic Coast Conference has announced that Louisville’s men’s basketball game at Virginia Tech scheduled for Saturday has been postponed due to COVID-19 concerns. The postponement is the fourth in a row for the Cardinals. Head coach Chris Mack is among those who tested positive. The team is following ACC protocols including quarantining and contact tracing. The game has been rescheduled for March 3.
— Saturday’s men’s basketball game between Texas A&M and Florida has been postponed due to a combination of positive COVID-19 tests, contact tracing and quarantining of individuals within the Texas A&M program. It’s the third straight Florida men’s game affected by the coronavirus. The Gators’ second game of the season against LSU last Saturday also was postponed. No makeup date has been decided on for the game with the Aggies. There are just three weeks left in the regular season.
—The Ivy League will allow current senior athletes to play sports as full-time grad students at their current university next year in a break with longstanding policies. The change is a result of COVID-19, which canceled a full year of sports. Athletes must stay at the schools they are currently at to receive this exemption and must be admitted at the grad schools through regular channels. The Ivy League has had a longstanding policy that only permitted undergraduate students to compete on athletic teams.
TENNIS-AUSTRALIAN OPEN
A look ahead at Day 5
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Top-ranked Novak Djokovic (NOH’-vak JOH’-kuh-vich) will take on American Taylor Fritz in one of the high-intensity matches on Day 5 of the Australian Open. Play resumes Thursday evening, U.S. time.
In what should be an entertaining encounter between two young Canadians, No. 11 Denis Shapovalov plays 20th seeded Felix Auger-Aliassime.
U.S. Open champion Dominic Thiem (teem) will face fan favorite Nick Kyrgios (KEER’-ee-ohs). The often-fiery Australian saved two match points in his five-set second-rounder against Frenchman Ugo Humbert. Organizers have scheduled him for the first night match at the same venue against Thiem, last year’s Australian Open runner-up.
In women’s play, Serena Williams takes on Anastasia Potapova and Naomi Osaka is against Ons Jabeur. Jabeur, a 26-year-old Tunisian, became the first Arab woman to reach the quarterfinals of a major when she made the last eight at Melbourne Park in 2020.
SKI-WORLD CUP-WOMEN’S SUPER-G
Gut-Behrami wins elusive gold in worlds opener, Shiffrin 3rd
CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy (AP) — Lara Gut-Behrami has dashed to gold in the women’s super-G at the world championships, winning the only medal missing from her storied career.
The 2016 overall World Cup champion beat Swiss teammate Corinne Suter by 0.34 seconds, living up to her billing as the main favorite after winning the last four super-Gs on the World Cup circuit.
Mikaela Shiffrin took bronze in her first speed race in more than a year. The American missed a chance to win gold as she had the fastest split times but lost balance and got twisted around near the bottom of the course.
Thursday’s super-G was the first race at the worlds after three days of postponements.
