NBA:
In the NBA, Boston won against Toronto 109-104, the Knicks topped Brooklyn 95-90, Detroit beat New Orleans 118-98, Miami bested Atlanta 116-93, Indiana defeated Orlando 98-88, Cleveland beat Minnesota 125-97, Dallas won against Philadelphia 113-95, Utah beat Milwaukee 104-88, the Clippers bested Phoenix 124-114, Memphis topped Denver 119-99, Chicago beat Oklahoma City 128-100, and it was Golden State over Charlotte 126-111.
Kirk Hinrich, Mario Chalmers, Lance Stephenson, and Jordan Farmar are among the players who tried out for the Cleveland Cavaliers yesterday as the team tries to find a veteran presence for their backcourt. The search comes after LeBron James questioned last week whether the front office was satisfied with one championship, calling the team's roster "top heavy." The Cavs have dropped seven of their last 11 games since opening the season 28-8.
NHL:
In the NHL, Washington topped Boston 5-3, Calgary beat Minnesota 5-1, and it was Los Angeles over Colorado 5-0.
Mike Yeo has become head coach of the St. Louis Blues a few months earlier than scheduled. He has been promoted following the dismissal of Ken Hitchcock, who ranks fourth on the NHL's all-time wins list for coaches and led the Blues to playoff appearances in each of his five full seasons behind their bench. Yeo takes over a squad that has dropped five of its last six to fall into a virtual tie with Calgary for the eighth and final Western Conference playoff berth, just one point ahead of three other teams.
The Pittsburgh Penguins say forward Conor Sheary is out 4 to 6 weeks due to an upper-body injury. Sheary is enjoying a breakout year in his second season with the Pens, ranking third on the team with 17 goals and fourth with 35 points. He has spent much of the season on a line with captain Sidney Crosby.
NFL:
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell commented on the state of the Oakland Raiders during his Super Bowl news conference yesterday, saying "there's a great deal more work to be done" before the team can move to Las Vegas. Goodell was asked about the Raiders after both casino magnate Sheldon Adelson and a backup financier, Goldman Sachs, pulled out of the stadium deal this week. The league is supposed to decide on the Las Vegas move in March.
Tom Brady hopes his mother will be in the stands on Super Bowl Sunday despite dealing with an undisclosed health issue. The New England Patriots quarterback acknowledged yesterday that his mother Galynn Brady has been ill, but wouldn't provide any details.
Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald has confirmed he will return for his 14th NFL season. The 33-year-old Fitzgerald led the NFL with 107 receptions last season. The Cardinals are still awaiting confirmation from quarterback Carson Palmer about his future plans.
The New York Jets have hired former Cardinals assistant Stump Mitchell as their running backs coach. Mitchell served in the same role the last four seasons with Arizona, including working with Jets coach Todd Bowles from 2013-14 on Cardinals coach Bruce Arians' staff.
NCAA:
Alabama was one of the big winners on college football's national signing day. The 247Sports composite rankings says the Crimson Tide are the signing day champs for the seventh straight season as they grabbed six five-star recruits. Ohio State, Georgia, Southern California and Florida State round out the top five schools, according to the rankings.
In college women's basketball, UConn beat Temple for its 96th consecutive win with a 97-69 victory last night. Napheesa Collier had 25 points and 10 rebounds. Katie Lou Samuelson added 24 points for the Huskies, who won their 35th consecutive game on the road, surpassing their own NCAA record.
Meanwhile Marist topped Siena 70-59 and UAlbany beat UMass Lowell 79-60.
In college men's basketball, La Salle beat UMass 88-78 last night to end a three-game skid. B.J. Johnson scored 28 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and made all 10 of his free throws, and Jordan Price added 21 points with five assists for La Salle. Rashaan Holloway scored 19 points for UMass, which has lost four straight.
UAlbany shot 60 percent from the floor in the second half to run away from UMass-Lowell 90-77 last night. David Nichols scored 24 points and dished a career-high eight assists, and Joe Cremo added 23 points with five assists for Albany. Jahad Thomas scored 26 points and Ryan Jones added 18 with five assists for UMass-Lowell.
Vermont beat Maine 74-53 last night. Anthony Lamb scored 15 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Lamb was 7 of 12 from the floor for the Catamounts, who are on an 11-game winning streak. Payton Henson added 13 points and eight rebounds and Ernie Duncan had 10 points and five assists.
Stony Brook bounced back from a loss to unbeaten, America East-leading Vermont by hold on late to earn a 64-61 win over New Hampshire last night. Lucas Woodhouse scored 21 points for Stony Brook. Daniel Dion scored 21 points to lead New Hampshire. Jaleen Smith added 13 points and Tanner Leissner contributed 12.
Holy Cross avoided its first three-game losing streak since November with a 56-50 win over Colgate last night. Robert Champion scored 17 points. The Crusaders opened the year with consecutive losses to South Carolina, Syracuse, and UMass.
Meanwhile Syracuse beat North Carolina State 100-93.
Penn State Abuse:
Penn State's former president and two other ex-administrators have learned they will go to trial next month, nearly six years after the Jerry Sandusky child molestation scandal first became public. A judge set jury selection for March 20 in the criminal trial of former university President Graham Spanier, former Vice President Gary Schultz, and former Athletic Director Tim Curley. All three are charged with endangering the welfare of children.
Trump Golf Course:
A federal judge has ruled that a Florida golf course owned by President Donald Trump must immediately repay $5.7 million to 65 former members who had been denied membership refunds after he bought the club in 2012. District Judge Kenneth Marra ruled that Trump National Golf Club in Jupiter violated contracts the members had signed with the previous owner, Ritz-Carlton. The average payment will be about $87,000 if the ruling is upheld.
MLB:
Outfielder Khris Davis has won his arbitration case with the Oakland Athletics and will get $5 million this year, $350,000 more than the team's offer. Davis was Oakland's regular left fielder in his first season with the team, batting .247 with career highs of 42 home runs and 102 RBIs last year. In the only other arbitration case heard this year, the Red Sox defeated pitcher Fernando Abad on Tuesday.
The Royals and utilityman Brandon Moss have come to terms on a two-year, $12 million contract that includes a mutual option for 2019. The 33-year-old Moss hit .225 with 28 home runs and 67 RBIs in 128 games for the Cardinals last season. He is expected to fill the designated hitter spot vacated by Kendrys Morales, who signed with the Blue Jays as a free agent.
College Football Lawsuit - Baylor:
Baylor's former director of football operations has filed a lawsuit against the school, interim President David Garland and others. Colin Shillinglaw argues that he was unfairly named as contributing to the school's mishandling of student sexual assault complaints. Shillinglaw contends Baylor leaders and others were defamatory in unfairly blaming him when it was the university's public safety officials who were responsible for handling assault complaints. A school spokesman says the suit is without merit. Meanwhile, former Baylor football coach Art Briles has dropped the defamation lawsuit filed against four university officials he accused of making false statements against him. That's according to attorneys in the case.
Tennis – Fed Cup:
Serena Williams, Venus Williams and Angelique Kerber will sit out the first-round Fed Cup matches between the United States and Germany. New U.S. captain Kathy Rinaldi announced her roster on Wednesday for the best-of-five series on Feb. 11-12 in Maui, Hawaii.
The Williams sisters met in the Australian Open final, with Serena winning her 23rd Grand Slam title. Serena also replaced Kerber, who was the Australian Open defending champion, at No. 1 in the WTA rankings this week.
The American team will include Australian Open singles semifinalist CoCo Vandeweghe, Australian Open doubles champion Bethanie Mattek-Sands, Alison Riske and Shelby Rodgers. The German roster includes Laura Siegemund, Andrea Petkovic, Julia Goerges and Carina Witthoeft. The winning country will meet Spain or the Czech Republic in the Fed Cup semifinals in April.
CONCACAF Gold Cup:
This year's CONCACAF Gold Cup final will be played on July 26 at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California. The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football announced first-round sites in December and the site of the final on Wednesday. The 12-nation tournament opens July 7 at Harrison, New Jersey. The United States and defending champion Mexico head a field that includes Canada, Costa Rica, Curacao, El Salvador, French Guyana, Honduras, Jamaica, Martinique and Panama. The final spot will be determined by a playoff between Haiti and Nicaragua in March.
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