MLB-
Joe Girardi is out as New York Yankees manager after 10 seasons. The team made the announcement Thursday. A person familiar with decision says Yankees general manager Brian Cashman recommended that Girardi not return. Girardi succeeded Joe Torre after the 2007 season and led the team to a World Series title in 2009 but has fallen short each year since.
Right-hander Chase Anderson and the Milwaukee Brewers have agreed to an $11.75 million, two-year contract, a deal that includes a pair of club options and could be worth $31.85 million over four seasons.
General manager David Stearns said Thursday that the 29-year-old right-hander showed last season he has the "capability to lead the rotation."
Anderson went 12-4 with a 2.74 ERA in 25 starts this year and set career highs for wins and strikeouts (133). Eligible for salary arbitration for the first time, he earned $2.45 million after an arbitrator picked the team's offer rather than his $2.85 million request.
Anderson has gone 17-5 with a 2.69 ERA in 37 starts dating to July 25, 2016.
Milwaukee acquired Anderson from Arizona in five-player trade in January 2016.
Carl Willis has been hired as the pitching coach for the Cleveland Indians to replace Mickey Callaway, who left to manage the New York Mets. This will be the second stint with the Indians for Willis, who served as the team's pitching coach from 2003-09. He spent the past two seasons at Boston. The 56-year-old Willis is a former major league pitcher who has worked with former Cy Young winners like CC Sabathia, Cliff Lee, Felix Hernandez and Rick Porcello.
In other MLB news:
— The Chicago Cubs have parted ways with pitching coach Chris Bosio as part of a major shakeup to Joe Maddon's staff. The Cubs also hired Chili Davis as their hitting coach, replacing replaces John Mallee. Brian Butterfield will be the new third base coach for Chicago, replacing Gary Jones.
— Three teams named new pitching coaches. The Minnesota Twins have named Garvin Alston, who was Oakland's bullpen coach last season. And the Indians have hired Carl Willis, who spent the past two seasons with the Red Sox. Also, former Washington Nationals pitching coach Mike Maddux has been hired by the St. Louis Cardinals.
— The San Francisco Giants have moved hitting coach Hensley Meulens to bench coach on Bruce Bochy's staff, having previously reassigned pitching coach Dave Righetti to the front office last week in a major reshuffling following a last-place finish in the NL West. Former bench coach Ron Wotus is going to third base coach, while Matt Herges is the new bullpen coach. First base coach Jose Alguacil will stay in his spot. Also, Phil Nevin won't be back.
— The Arizona Diamondbacks have promoted Jerry Narron to bench coach, replacing Ron Gardenhire, who was hired to manage the Detroit Tigers. Narron is in his second year with the Diamondbacks.
— The Milwaukee Brewers have signed infielder Eric Sogard to a one-year contract. He was eligible to become a free agent after the World Series. The 31-year-old batted 2.73 with three home runs and 18 RBIs in 94 games during his first season with Milwaukee in 2017. He missed all of 2016 with a left knee injury.
— Houston Astros manager A.J. Hinch says there was "no altercation" at a hotel in California this week at the World Series after a TMZ Sports report that he argued with bar patrons. Pasadena police say they responded to a report of a verbal spat between members of Astros management and hotel patrons after Houston lost Game 1 to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday night. There were no arrests and no summonses issued. Hinch wasn't identified by name.
NFL SCHEDULE-DOLPHINS-RAVENS
Joe Flacco threw a touchdown pass before being knocked from the game with a concussion, and the Baltimore Ravens frustrated quarterback Matt Moore and the Miami Dolphins in a 40-0 victory Thursday night.
Alex Collins ran for a career-high 113 yards, and Baltimore (4-4) returned two interceptions for touchdowns in the most lopsided shutout in franchise history.
In the midst of one of his best performances of the season, Flacco was struck in the helmet by Miami linebacker Kiko Alonso while sliding at the end of an impromptu run. Flacco's helmet flew off his head, and the 10-year quarterback appeared dazed as he struggled to his feet.
The play occurred with 3 minutes left in the second quarter. Alonso was flagged for unnecessary roughness, providing Baltimore with a first down that ultimately turned into a touchdown.
News from around the NFL:
— A person familiar with the situation says the New England Patriots linebacker Dont'a Hightower will miss Sunday's game against the Los Angeles Chargers and is facing season-ending surgery on his right shoulder. The surgery will be for a torn pectoral muscle. Hightower left Sunday's win over Atlanta in the second half with the shoulder issue and sat out the first practice of the week on Wednesday. He's missed two games this season with a knee injury.
— The Arizona Cardinals have placed quarterback Carson Palmer on injured reserve after he underwent surgery for a broken left arm. The move means Palmer would not be able to play until the next-to-last game of the season, Dec. 24 at home against the New York Giants.
— The Detroit Lions have signed tackle Dan Skipper to the active roster from the practice squad and released tackle Bryce Harris. The Lions also announced Thursday that they have signed tackle Storm Norton to the practice squad. Skipper is a 6-foot-9, 317-pound rookie who played collegiately at Arkansas. He spent the start of this season on the Dallas Cowboys' practice squad.
— A person with direct knowledge of the decision has confirmed to The Associated Press that the Buffalo Bills have granted retired receiver Anquan Boldin permission to explore the possibility of being traded to another team. The Bills hold the rights to Boldin after they signed him to a one-year contract on Aug. 7. The 37-year-old player abruptly retired two weeks later by saying he wanted to focus on his charitable causes and social justice issues.
— J.J. Watt has announced plans for how the more than $37 million he raised in the wake of Hurricane Harvey will be distributed. The Houston Texans defensive end will divide $30.15 million of the donations between Americares, Feeding America, SBP and Save the Children.
— NFL spokesman Joe Lockhart says the league expects Colin Kaepernick to be invited to the next meeting between owners and players to discuss social justice initiatives. Lockhart says the meeting probably will take place next week.
NFL Sunday Lineup
Oakland Raiders at Buffalo Bills , 1:00
LA Chargers at New England Patriots, 1:00
Atlanta Falcons at New York Jets, 1:00
San Francisco 49ers at Philadelphia Eagles, 1:00
Pittsburgh Steelers at Detroit Lions, 8:30
The NY Giants have a bye this week.
NBA SCHEDULE-HAWKS-BULLS
Lauri Markkanen scored 11 of his 14 points in the second half, including a key 3-pointer with 48.5 seconds left, and the Chicago Bulls beat the Atlanta Hawks 91-86 for their first win of the season. Markkanen also grabbed 12 rebounds, leading a dominant rebounding effort for Chicago. Robin Lopez had 16 points and eight rebounds and reserve David Nwaba finished with 15 points and 11 boards, helping the Bulls to a whopping 62-40 advantage on the glass.
Other NBA finals:
— Marc Gasol had 25 points and 13 rebounds, Mike Conley added 22 points and the Memphis Grizzlies held on for a 96-91 victory over the Dallas Mavericks. Memphis held a 20-point lead in the third quarter. The Mavericks cut into the lead behind Wesley Matthews, who finished with 18 points and made four 3-pointers in the period.
— Al Horford had 27 points and nine rebounds, and the Boston Celtics beat the Milwaukee Bucks 96-89. Kyrie Irving added 24 points and seven assists for Boston. The game was played at the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena, formerly known as the MECCA, which served as the Bucks' home from 1968 until the team moved into the Bradley Center in 1988.
— DeMarcus Cousins immediately scored after winning the opening tip and never stopped on the way to 41 points and 23 rebounds, and the emotional big man dominated his old team to rally the New Orleans Pelicans past the Sacramento Kings 114-106. Cousins took the crowd at Golden 1 Center on a trip down memory lane, then left them with some heartache after a spectacular performance.
— Blake Griffin made a 3-pointer as time expired and the Los Angeles Clippers remained unbeaten with a 104-103 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers. Griffin scored 16 of his 25 points during the fourth quarter. DeAndre Jordan had seven points and 18 rebounds for Los Angeles, which at 4-0 is one of two unbeaten teams remaining in the NBA. All five Portland starters scored in double figures
NHL SCHEDULE-COYOTES-RANGERS
Pavel Buchnevich scored twice and added an assist, rookie Boo Nieves had three assists and the New York Rangers beat the winless Arizona Coyotes 5-2 Thursday night.
Michael Grabner had two goals, Chris Kreider also scored and Ondrej Pavelec stopped 27 shots to help the Rangers get just their third victory of the season in the finale of a season-high six-game homestand.
New York shook up its line combinations and played with a traditional lineup consisting of 12 forwards and six defensemen for the first time in a week. It helped the Rangers beat Arizona for the eighth straight time, dating back to March 24, 2014.
In other NHL finals:
— Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov became the seventh set of teammates in NHL history to start the season with point streaks of at least 11 games, and the surging Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Detroit Red Wings 3-2 on Thursday night. Kucherov got his 12th goal in the first period, and setup Stamkos' power-play goal from the low left circle that put Tampa Bay up 2-1 at 6:22 of the third. Tampa Bay's Andrei Vasilevskiy made 29 saves.
— Danton Heinen scored both goals and Anton Khudobin made 36 saves to lift the Boston Bruins to a 2-1 win over the San Jose Sharks on Thursday night. Joe Thornton scored for San Jose, which went 0 for 6 on the power play. The Sharks had one in the final two minutes after Brandon Carlo went off for slashing and got three shots while creating havoc in front of Khudobin but couldn't capitalize.
— Radim Vrbata recorded his seventh career hat trick to lift the Florida Panthers over the Anaheim Ducks 8-3. Evegenii Dadanov scored two goals and Vincent Trocheck and Aleksander Barkov each had a goal and two assists for the Panthers while Owen Tippett, the youngest player in the NHL at 18, scored his first career goal. Kalle Kossila scored his first NHL goal for Anaheim and Andrew Cogliano and Logan Shaw also scored.
— Phil Kessel's 300th career goal at 1:07 of overtime lifted the Pittsburgh Penguins to a 2-1 victory over the Winnipeg Jets. Kessel, who also scored the overtime winner against Edmonton on Tuesday, became the 18th American-born player to reach 300 career goals and the second active behind Minnesota's Zach Parise. Conor Sheary scored his fifth for the Penguins, who won for the fifth time in six games. Pittsburgh has won seven of nine since losing the first two games.
— Josh Jooris scored twice, Teuvo Teravainen had a three-point night and the Carolina Hurricanes beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 6-3. Victor Rask scored midway through the second period to give Carolina the lead and Brock McGinn and Jooris added insurance goals in the third. Elias Lindholm and Teravainen also scored for the Hurricanes, who ended a two-game losing skid.
— Eric Staal had a goal and assist, Luke Kunin and Zack Mitchell each scored their first NHL goals, and the Minnesota Wild beat the New York Islanders 6-4. Marcus Foligno, Jason Zucker and Jonas Brodin also scored for Minnesota. Devan Dubnyk stopped 29 shots to win for the second time in six starts this season for the Wild.
— Jean-Gabriel Pageau had a goal and two assists, Erik Karlsson added two assists and the Ottawa Senators beat the Philadelphia Flyers 5-4. The Flyers appeared to score midway through the third period but after a coach's challenge the goal was reversed due to goaltender interference.
— Jonathan Quick stopped 40 shots for his 46th career shutout, Adrian Kempe and Tyler Toffoli scored 11 seconds apart in the first period and the Los Angeles Kings beat the Montreal Canadiens 4-0. Anze Kopitar and Kurtis MacDermid also scored for the Western Conference-leading Kings, who beat the Canadiens 5-2 last week in Los Angeles.
— Matt Benning scored the tiebreaking goal with 2:27 remaining and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins had two goals as the Edmonton Oilers finally found their offensive touch in a 5-4 victory over the Dallas Stars. Connor McDavid and Patrick Maroon also scored for the Oilers, who had scored an NHL-low 15 goals through the first eight games. Cam Talbot stopped 28 shots.
— Sven Baertschi had two goals and an assist to lead the Vancouver Canucks to their fourth straight win, 6-2 over the Washington Capitals. Derek Dorsett, with his team-leading sixth of the season, and Bo Horvat each added a goal and an assist for Vancouver. Thomas Vanek and Markus Granlund also scored, and Brock Boeser added three assists as the Canucks' 29th-ranked power play went 3 for 6. Anders Nilsson made 25 saves for his third victory in four starts.
TOP-25 COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Keller Chryst threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to JJ Arcega-Whiteside with 20 seconds left and No. 20 Stanford survived Bryce Love's absence for a 15-14 come-from-behind victory over Oregon State.
Love, the nation's leader with an average of 198.1 yards rushing per game, tweaked an ankle against Oregon on Oct. 14. The Cardinal (6-2, 5-1 Pac-12) announced that Love would sit out about 90 minutes before the start of the game in Corvallis.
Stanford went for it on fourth-and-10 on the Oregon State 40 with 2:19 left in the game and Chryst hit Kaden Smith with a 25-yard pass to keep the drive alive. After Chryst found Arcega-Whiteside in the end zone, the 2-point conversion failed but Stanford intercepted Oregon State quarterback Darell Garretson's hurl with 3 seconds left to end it.
NHL -DOAN
Former Arizona Coyotes captain Shane Doan is joining the NHL's hockey operations department.
The league announced the hiring of Doan on Thursday. Senior executive vice president of hockey operations Colin Campbell says there isn't a set of responsibilities yet for Doan in his first post-playing job.
The 41-year-old Doan played 21 seasons with the Winnipeg Jets/Coyotes franchise.
PGA-SANDERSON FARMS
Andrew Landry and J.J. Spaun are among five players who shot a 6-under 66 to share the lead after the opening round of the Sanderson Farms Championship in Mississippi.
Smylie Kaufman and 2015 Sanderson Farms winner Peter Malnati are part of a group of four players who are one back after shooting a 67.
The 30-year-old Landry got off to a blazing start at the Country Club of Jackson, shooting 6-under through the first five holes after starting on No. 10. The highlight was on No. 14 when he made eagle from 110 yards on a gap wedge shot that bounced once and into the hole.
Spaun made seven birdies and one bogey. He's in his second year on the tour after having three top 10 finishes last season.
The other co-leaders are Conrad Shindler, Ryan Armour and Wyndham Clark. None of the five leaders have ever won on the PGA Tour.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL-NC STATE-ABU
North Carolina State's Abdul-Malik Abu has suffered a sprained knee ligament.
The team announced the senior forward's injury on its official Twitter account Thursday. Abu won't need surgery for the injury described as a Grade 2 sprain of a medial collateral ligament in one of his knees.
It's unclear whether this will affect Abu's status for the Nov. 10 season opener against VMI.
Abu started 31 games last season, averaging 11.8 points and a team-best 7.0 rebounds.
Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
