Olympics:
Congress has responded to the sex abuse scandal involving sports doctor Larry Nassar by sending President Donald Trump legislation that requires governing bodies for amateur athletics to swiftly report claims of abuse to law enforcement. Nassar returns to court today to face another prison sentence for molesting gymnasts after being sentenced last week to 40 to 175 years behind bars.
Pyeongchang 2018:
The International Olympic Committee says it has mistakenly invited a banned Russian athlete to the Pyeongchang Games as a coach. The IOC says it has canceled the invitation for Sergei Chudinov, who was banned from the Olympics for life in November when the IOC's disciplinary commission ruled he was part of a Russian doping scheme at the 2014 Sochi Games. Chudinov was fifth in the men's skeleton in Sochi and later became a coach for the Russian national skeleton team. The IOC says "he has since been declared ineligible for an invitation." Chudinov had been the only invited skeleton coach listed in Russian Olympic Committee records. Russian athletes must compete under a neutral flag in Pyeongchang as part of the IOC's sanctions for doping.
Tokyo 2020:
The price tag for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics keeps going up despite attempts to rein in the spending. Over the last year, organizers have shifted several venues away from central Tokyo and have looked for existing facilities instead of building new ones. However, in the last week Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike has explained that the city will need to more than double the billions it is already budgeting to stage the games. The International Olympic Committee and Tokyo organizers contest this, saying the city's added costs are for many projects that would have been done — with or without the Olympics.
In late December, Tokyo Olympic organizers said the games would cost 1.35 trillion yen, which is about $12.4 billion at the present exchange rate of 109 yen to the dollar. But at a news conference last Friday, Koike said the city would spend an added 810 billion yen ($7.5 billion), bringing total games-related spending to 2.16 trillion yen (roughly $20 billion). Tokyo's winning bid in 2013 was listed at 730 billion yen, about one-third of the list price now.
NBA:
Kristaps Porzingis scored 28 points, Enes Kanter had 20 points, 20 rebounds and five assists, and the Knicks completed a New York City sweep of the Brooklyn Nets with a 111-95 victory. The Knicks returned home from their longest road trip of the season in new uniforms but their same old dominance of the Nets, with their fourth victory in four tries this season.
Kevin Love left Cleveland's game at Detroit during the first quarter with a broken left hand. He had X-rays at the arena, which the Cavaliers say showed a non-displaced fracture in his fifth metacarpal. The team says his status will be updated after additional examination in Cleveland. The Cavs lost to the Pistons, 125-114.
NFL:
Super Bowl 52 will be played comfortably under the translucent U.S. Bank Stadium roof on a dry artificial turf. That leaves the New England Patriots and Philadelphia Eagles without worries of traction trouble or kick-altering winds. The NFL grounds crew still faced some challenges, with wintry weather outside and a run to the NFC championship game by the host Minnesota Vikings. That kept the league from taking over the stadium until mid-January.
New England Patriots star tight end Rob Gronkowski says he expects to play in Sunday's Super Bowl against the Philadelphia Eagles. Gronkowski has been in the league's concussion protocol after taking a hit from Jacksonville's Barry Church in the AFC championship game. He made his first public appearance last night while playing former teammate and current Eagles running back LeGarrette Blount in a game of "Madden 18" at the Mall of America.
Patriots starters Dion Lewis, Danny Amendola and Patrick Chung will be facing their former team in Sunday's Super Bowl when they play Philadelphia. All three look back on their experiences in Philadelphia differently, but have played their best football since being rejected early in their careers by the Eagles.
Carson Wentz made the rounds along Radio Row at last year's Super Bowl and promised himself he'd back for this one. He's here, but only as a cheerleader. Wentz will watch backup Nick Foles take the snaps against the Patriots because of a knee injury that ended his season in Week 14.
Kansas City has agreed to trade quarterback Alex Smith to Washington, a move that spells the end of Kirk Cousins' time with the Redskins and hands the Chiefs' job to Patrick Mahomes. Two people with direct knowledge of the deal confirmed the move to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the transaction can't be completed until the start of the new league year in March.
Buffalo Bills coach Sean McDermott continues shuffling his staff by hiring former Houston Texans defensive backs coach John Butler to replace Gill Byrd, who was fired after one season. Butler spent the past four seasons in the same role with the Texans before being fired after their season ended. He previously worked as a coach at the college level and has ties to McDermott.
NCAA:
Jeff Dowtin had 19 points and 10 assists, and No. 22 Rhode Island escaped with an 85-83 win over Massachusetts after the Minutemen botched an intentional missed free throw in the final seconds. The Rams led by three with 1.8 seconds left when UMass' Luwane Pipkins went to the free-throw line. Pipkins made the first shot and missed the second on purpose, but he was called for a lane violation while grabbing the rebound. Rhode Island has won 13 straight games.
Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh is serving as an analyst during NBC's Super Bowl coverage. Harbaugh will provide insights during the pregame, halftime and post-game of Sunday's matchup between the Eagles and Patriots. It will be the second time that Harbaugh has been a guest Super Bowl analyst for NBC.
North Carolina says freshman guard Jalek Felton has been suspended from school. The school says the suspension means he is "not currently eligible to participate" in any university activities. It didn't release further details citing federal privacy laws. North Carolina coach Roy Williams says he was not involved in Felton's suspension and had nothing to do with how it has been handled.
NHL:
Adam Henrique scored twice and the Anaheim Ducks ended Boston's 18-game point streak with a 3-1 victory over the Bruins. Jakob Silfverberg also scored for the Ducks, the first team to beat the Bruins in regulation since Washington's 5-3 win Dec. 14 at Boston.
Taylor Hall scored in his first game after missing three with an injury to his right hand, and the New Jersey Devils snapped a four-game skid with a 3-1 win over the Buffalo Sabres. Kyle Palmieri scored an empty-netter and added an assist, and Miles Wood also scored for the Devils.
MLB:
A runner would be put on second base at the start of the 11th inning of the All-Star Game and each additional inning, according to the latest pace-of-game proposal by Major League Baseball. The experiment also would be used in the 10th inning of spring training games, according to the Jan. 9 proposal obtained by The Associated Press. Spring training games would be capped at 10 innings. MLB is not considering using the rule in any games that count.
Soccer:
English winger Jack Harrison has been transferred from Major League Soccer's New York City FC to Manchester City, which is owned by the same parent company. Harrison has been lent to Middlesbrough of the second-tier League Championship through the end of this season. He made his debut for England's Under-21 team last year. Harrison had 14 goals in 59 matches during two seasons with NYC, which is part of City Football Group.
Westminster Kennel Club:
In the Year of the Dog, which one will have its day at the Westminster Kennel Club show? About 3,200 dogs are getting ready for America's most prominent canine competition, set for Feb. 10, 12 and 13. As it happens, this year's Best in Show winner will hold the title during the Chinese zodiac's Year of the Dog, which begins Feb. 16. While the televised show centers on picking the top purebred dog, a record 29 mixed-breed dogs are expected at Westminster's agility contest.
High School Basketball:
Joseph Girard III, a junior at Glens Falls High School in New York, scored 44 points last night to become the state’s all-time scoring leader among high school hoops, passing Indiana Pacers’ Lance Stephenson’s original high school record. Newschannel 13 reports Girard II now has 2,952 career points.
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