PGA:
The opening round of the 80th Masters starts this morning. There's a forecast for some overnight rain which would help slow down the fast greens. Defending champ Jordan Spieth is back as part of an 89-man field, the smallest since 2002.
Arnold Palmer will be on the first tee for Thursday's ceremonial opening shot of the Masters, but he won't be swinging a club. The 86-year-old Palmer said his health wasn't good enough to join Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player when they hit tee shots at the first hole to open the first major of the year, but the King will be there for the ceremony.
NBA:
In the NBA, Washington beat Brooklyn 121-103, Charlotte topped New York 111-97, Boston won against New Orleans 104-97, Dallas edged Houston 88-86, Portland beat Oklahoma City 120-115, the Clippers bested the Lakers 91-81, Indiana beat Cleveland 123-109, and it was Detroit over Orlando 108-104.
Philadelphia 76ers general manager Sam Hinkie has quit after turning the organization into one of the worst teams in NBA history. Hinkie didn't even last three full seasons and leaves the Sixers with the worst record in the league at 10-68. His power was weakened in December when the Sixers hired longtime NBA executive Jerry Colangelo as chairman of basketball operations.
NHL:
In the NHL, Detroit blanked Philadelphia 3-0, Columbus blasted Toronto 5-1, and it was Edmonton over Vancouver 6-2.
MLB:
In baseball, in the American League, the Yankees bested Houston 16-6, Cleveland edged Boston 7-6, Tampa Bay won against Toronto 5-3, Seattle beat Texas 9-5, Baltimore doubled up Minnesota 4-2, and it was Oakland over the White Sox 2-1.
In the National League, Milwaukee defeated San Francisco 4-3, Colorado beat Arizona 4-3, Pittsburgh won against St. Louis 5-1, Cicinnati edged Philadelphia 3-2, Washington beat Atlanta 3-1, and it was the Dodgers over San Diego 7-0.
In interleague play, Detroit beat Miami 7-3.
Jacqueline Parkes is resigning as Major League Baseball's chief marketing officer, a job she has held since 2008. A daughter of former New York Mets team physician Dr. James Parkes, she started at MLB in 1985 as director of advertising and promotions after working at Jim Henson Productions. She launched Jackie Robinson Day and Roberto Clemente Day promotions along with awareness events on Mother's Day for breast cancer and Father's Day for prostate cancer. MLB said Wednesday her resignation is effective May 1 and it will not immediately seek to fill her position.
Meanwhile:
John Oliver has put more "riff-raff" in the premium seats at Yankee Stadium. Two young women dressed in unicorn costumes and two others in shark costumes sat in the second row behind home plate Wednesday night, the latest fans to win high-priced tickets for 25 cents apiece from HBO's "Last Week Tonight with John Oliver" after promising to dress like "riff-raff" at the ballpark.
Oliver is looking to shake things up during New York's season-opening series this week against Houston. Claiming the Yankees are elitist, the comedian is selling premium seats for a quarter to fans who pledge to dress as though they don't belong there.
Two male fans wore yellow and green Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles outfits in the Legends Suites luxury seats at Tuesday's game. After the Yankees announced that fans no longer could print tickets at home, chief operating officer Lonn Trost explained on radio station WFAN in February that someone buying a discounted ticket from a resale service "may be someone who has never sat in a premium location, so that's a frustration to our existing fan base."
NFL:
A group of New England Patriots fans is suing the NFL in an effort to recover the first-round draft pick taken from the team as punishment for the "Deflategate" scandal. The seven fans include a season ticket holder from Connecticut who says the scandal has left his 7-year-old daughter disillusioned and a Florida man who says the NFL's sanctions have caused him stress and lost sleep.
A person with knowledge of the deal says the Oakland Raiders agreed to a two-year contract with free-agent safety Reggie Nelson. The 32-year-old Nelson is coming off his best season, having tied for the NFL lead with eight interceptions last season for Cincinnati.
A New York Jets receiver has testified at his civil assault trial that fights inside a Manhattan nightclub annoyed him even before his wife was struck in the face by a bottle. Brandon Marshall testified briefly Wednesday after a California woman accused him of punching her in the face outside the club in March 2012. Christin Myles of Chino, California, is seeking unspecified damages, saying she suffers lasting injuries. Marshall was never charged with a crime.
Marshall's lawyer says his client never punched Myles. The 32-year-old wide receiver's testimony resumes Thursday. Also, in testimony read into the record, former NFL receiver Michael Anthony Sims-Walker said he offered to take any blame for the encounter to protect his friend Marshall. But he said neither of them punched any women that night.
NCAA:
The Frozen Four starts today when No. 1 Quinnipiac takes on Boston College at 5 p.m. in Tampa Bay. At 8:30 p.m. North Dakota goes up against Denver.
UConn star Morgan Tuck says she will forgo an extra year of eligibility and make herself available for the WNBA draft. The WNBA draft is April 14.
Former UConn basketball player Donyell Marshall has been hired as head coach at Central Connecticut. Marshall replaces Howie Dickenman, who retired following a 4-25 season, his 20th season at the school. Marshall played for 15 seasons in the NBA. He also has been an assistant coach in both professional and college basketball.
Kentucky point guard Tyler Ulis says he will enter the NBA draft, becoming the third Wildcat over the past week to announce his intention to turn pro. Ulis was an Associated Press first-team All-American and the AP Southeastern Conference's top player. He averaged 17.3 points, 7 assists and a team-high 37 minutes per game and broke John Wall's single-season school record for assists with 246.
Meanwhile, Duke guard Grayson Allen says he is returning to school for his junior season. Allen has averaged 13.1 points and made 40 percent of his 3-pointers in two seasons. He was a third-team AP All-America selection as a sophomore while finishing the season with 25 straight double-figure scoring performances.
Vanderbilt has lured Bryce Drew away from his alma mater at Valparaiso to coach the Commodores men's basketball team. Drew will be Vanderbilt's 27th head coach. He succeeds Kevin Stallings who left Vandy to take the head coaching job at Pittsburgh last month. Stallings is Vanderbilt's all-time winningest coach. Drew just won a school-record 30 games in his fifth season as head coach at Valparaiso. He is 124-49 overall with two NCAA Tournament berths in his tenure.
The University of Vermont has hired a new athletic director. Jeff Schulman was announced to the top position yesterday in a ceremony in Patrick gym.
Soccer:
The United States routed Colombia 7-0 last night in East Hartford, Connecticut, in the American women's first exhibition since five players filed a wage-discrimination action against the U.S. Soccer Federation. Allie Long scored her first two international goals. Crystal Dunn, Mallory Pugh, Carli Lloyd, Tobin Heath and Christen Press also scored for the Americans, who are preparing for this summer's Olympics.
Tennis:
In an unprecedented step, the International Tennis Hall of Fame has expelled Grand Slam doubles champion Bob Hewitt, who was convicted in South Africa last year of rape and sexual assault. The Hall of Fame announced its decision yesterday. Hewitt was inducted in 1992. He's the first member expelled.
Boston Marathon:
Public safety officials have outlined a tight security plan for the Boston Marathon three years after two bombs inside backpacks exploded near the finish line. Authorities say there will be up to 5,000 law enforcement officers, enhanced checkpoints and dozens of surveillance cameras along the 26.2-mile route on April 18th.
Tobacco:
New York Mayor Bill De Blasio has signed a bill that bans the use of smokeless tobacco products at all ticketed baseball stadiums, sports arenas and recreation areas. De Blasio signed the bill Wednesday. He said the legislation was important to the health of baseball players and the people of New York.
The City Council passed the bill last month by a vote of 44-3. It was sponsored by Council Member Corey Johnson. Similar bans have already been enacted in Boston, Los Angeles and San Francisco ballparks. Both the Mets and Yankees have said they support the ban. Matthew Myers, President of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, says it sends the message to "young fans that chewing tobacco is dangerous and should not be an accepted part of sports culture."
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