NBA:
In the NBA, Cleveland beat New York 96-86, Indiana edged Boston 100-98, Atlanta bested Brooklyn 101-87, Washington won against San Antonio 102-99, Houston defeated Orlando in overtime 119-114, Milwaukee trumped Philadelphia 91-87, Toronto beat Oklahoma City 103-98, Portland defeated Utah 108-92, Phoenix topped Sacramento 118-97, and it was Golden State over the Clippers 112-108.
NHL:
In the NHL, Pittsburgh edged Vancouver 3-2, Winnipeg doubled up Toronto 4-2, St. Louis skated by Chicago in overtime 6-5, and it was Anaheim over Florida in a shootout 3-2.
The New Jersey Devils and the Prudential Center have hired David Collins as the organization's executive vice president and chief financial officer. Devils and Prudential Center chief executive Scott O'Neil announced the hiring yesterday, saying Collins brings more than 20 years of experience across a broad spectrum of businesses and industries to the organization.
NFL:
On Thursday Night Football, Cleveland is in Cincinnati at 8:25.
New York Giants defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul sounds like he's ready to play Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but the decision is up to the team's medical staff. Pierre-Paul injured his right hand in a July 4th fireworks accident. He picked up his workload at practice yesterday, and seems confident he will be able to return to his Pro Bowl form.
Ryan Fitzpatrick will start at quarterback for the New York Jets against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday. Coach Todd Bowles says Fitzpatrick was a full participant at practice yesterday, despite dealing with a torn ligament in his left thumb. Bowles says there remains some concern about Fitzpatrick's thumb, but the team hopes he continues to progress this week.
Former New England Patriots player Aaron Hernandez will not attend a Florida trial later this month for a lawsuit filed by a friend who says Hernandez shot him in the face. Documents filed this week in federal court in Miami show that the trial of Alexander Bradley's lawsuit will begin November 30th, without Hernandez. He's serving a life prison sentence for the 2013 killing of Odin Lloyd. He also stands accused of gunning down two men outside a Boston nightclub in 2012.
Quarterback Johnny Manziel is getting another chance to start for the Cleveland Browns, and it will be against a familiar opponent. Manziel will play Thursday against Cincinnati while Josh McCown sits out with a sore shoulder and injured ribs. In his first NFL start last season, Manziel was chased, sacked, intercepted and taunted by the Bengals in a 30-0 embarrassment. This will be the second start this season for Manziel, who won against Tennessee in Week 2.
MLB:
It’s official now, the New York Mets have rewarded manager Terry Collins with a two-year contract, following the club's first World Series appearance since 2000. The sides finalized the deal Tuesday, and announced it at a news conference yesterday, three days of the Mets' season ended with a stinging loss to Kansas City.
The New York Yankees have sold the contract rights of right-hander Chris Martin to the Nippon Ham Fighters in Japan for $750,000. The 6-foot-8 Martin was 0-2 with one save and a 5.66 ERA in 24 appearances for New York this year. He made 16 appearances for Colorado in 2014 and has a career 6.19 ERA.
NCAA:
The NCAA is reporting that the UConn men's basketball team has a graduation rate of just 20 percent, by far the lowest among the teams in the preseason Top 25. It's actually an improvement for UConn, which reported a 17 percent graduation rate last year and an 8 percent graduation rate just two seasons ago. The national average for men's basketball is a graduation rate of 77 percent.
Atlanta, Santa Clara, California, and New Orleans have been selected to host College Football Playoff national championship games from a group of nine cities or regions that were vying for the event. Atlanta will be the site of the championship game scheduled for January 2018. Santa Clara will host the January 2019 title game and New Orleans will be the site of the January 2020 College Football Playoff championship game.
Video Games:
The head of a Rhode Island House committee looking into the state's $75 million deal with failed video game company 38 Studios says she's invited former Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling to testify. Representative Karen MacBeth says if he doesn't come, she'll follow up with a subpoena. Schilling is one of several people being sued by the state's economic development agency over the deal.
NASCAR:
Matt Kenseth will have the appeal of his two-race suspension imposed by NASCARheard on Thursday. Kenseth has been suspended for the next two races for intentionally wrecking Joey Logano in Sunday's race at Martinsville. He was retaliating after being wrecked by Logano a few weeks ago at Kansas.
Baseball Moves:
One of the National League's top pitchers has put himself on the market.
Zack Greinke (GREHN'-kee) has opted out of the final three years of his contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers, giving up a guaranteed $71 million to become a free agent again. The 32-year-old right-hander was 19-3 with a major league-best 1.66 ERA this season, striking out 200 in 222 2/3 innings.
Greinke left the Angels at the end of the 2012 season and signed a $147 million, six-year contract with the Dodgers. He helped the Dodgers win three straight NL West titles but they failed to reach the World Series.
The Dodgers are expected to give him a tender offer on Friday, which Greinke likely will reject. However, the move would give the team a first-round draft pick should Greinke sign elsewhere.
In other moves around the majors:
— Kansas City Royals All-Star outfielder Alex Gordon has declined his player option for next season and will test free agency for the first time. The four-time Gold Glove winner has spent his entire nine-year career with the Royals, who drafted him second overall in 2005. Gordon hit .271 with 13 home runs and 48 RBIs in 104 games during the regular season.
— The Royals have declined mutual options on right fielder Alex Rios and starting pitcher Jeremy Guthrie. The 34-year-old Rios had a $12.5 million option with a $1.5 million buyout, while the 36-year-old Guthrie had a $10 million option with a $3.2 million buyout.
— The Los Angeles Angels have declined their $7 million contract option for next season on outfielder David Murphy. The 10-year veteran was a dependable contributor while batting .265 with five homers, starting as a designated hitter and then platooning in left field.
— The San Diego Padres have declined to exercise their $7.5 million option on left-hander Cory Luebke, who has had two reconstructive elbow operations since 2012. Luebke was 10-12 with a 3.25 ERA from 2010-12.
— Milwaukee has exercised its $8 million option on the contract of first baseman Adam Lind. He hit .277 with 20 homers and 87 RBIs for the Brewers.
— The White Sox have declined a $10 million option on shortstop Alexei Ramirez. The 34-year-old has played his entire career with Chicago after leaving Cuba and is a .273 hitter with 109 homers and 542 RBIs in eight seasons.
— Cleveland has declined its $3 million option for next season on veteran outfielder Ryan Raburn (RAY'-burn). He hit .301 with eight homers and 29 RBIs in 82 games this year.
— The Mets have given manager Terry Collins a two-year extension through 2017. The team announced the new deal three days after they were beaten in the World Series by Kansas City.
— The Reds have promoted Dick Williams from assistant GM to general manager. The move is part of a succession plan for 64-year-old Walt Jocketty, who will stay on as director of baseball operations for one more year before moving into an advisory role.
©2015 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.