MLB
A person familiar with the deal tells The Associated Press that first baseman Pete Alonso is staying with the New York Mets, agreeing to a $54 million, two-year contract. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the agreement was subject to a successful physical. Alonso gets a $10 million signing bonus and gets salaries of $20 million this year and $24 million in 2026. He can opt out after the 2025 season to become a free agent again. New York also offered a $71 million, three-year deal with salaries of $27 million in 2025 and $22 million in each of the following two seasons, with the ability to opt out after each of the first two years, the person said.
The former interpreter for baseball star Shohei Ohtani is expected to be sentenced for bank and tax fraud. He stole nearly $17 million from the Japanese athlete’s bank account. Ippei Mizuhara is scheduled to appear Thursday in federal court in Santa Ana, California. Mizuhara pleaded guilty last year to bank and tax fraud. He stole the money to cover his growing gambling bets and debts with an illegal bookmaker as well as other expenses. Prosecutors are asking for a sentence of four years and nine months. His lawyer is asking for a sentence of one and a half years.
NBA
Jordan Poole scored 19 points to lead the Washington Wizards to a 119-102 win over the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday night. Poole was one of six Wizards (9-41) to finish in double-figure scoring as Washington won its third straight game. Kyshawn George and Corey Kispert each had 17 while Bub Carrington chipped in 16. Keon Johnson scored 25 points and Cam Johnson added 17 for Brooklyn (17-34).
Tyler Herro scored 30 points Wednesday, and Bam Adebayo had 18 points and 13 rebounds as the Miami Heat defeated the Philadelphia 76ers, 108-101, on the night the Heat traded Jimmy Butler to Golden State. The game played out amid online reports in the first half that Butler would be traded to the Warriors. Butler was suspended by the team for the game, and Josh Richardson, also reportedly part of the deal, was out with a foot injury. Tyrese Maxey scored 31, his seventh straight scoring at least 30 points. Kelly Oubre Jr. added 15 points and 11 rebounds. The 76ers forced 22 turnovers but couldn’t capitalize on them.
Victor Wembanyama broke a tie with a free throw with 2.4 seconds left and De’Aaron Fox scored 24 points in his first game for San Antonio, leading the Spurs to a 126-125 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday night. Fox arrived from Sacramento in a three-team trade Sunday and started in his San Antonio debut as Wembanyama’s new point guard. Wembanyama, who also had 24 points, intentionally missed the second free throw, denying Atlanta the opportunity for an inbounds play. Trae Young missed a last-second 3-pointer. Wembanyama added 12 rebounds. Fox matched his season high with 13 assists. Young had 32 points with 12 assists for Atlanta. Onyeka Okongwu had a career-high 30 points.
Victor Wembanyama broke a tie with a free throw with 2.4 seconds left and De’Aaron Fox scored 24 points in his first game for San Antonio, leading the Spurs to a 126-125 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday night. Fox arrived from Sacramento in a three-team trade Sunday and started in his San Antonio debut as Wembanyama’s new point guard. Wembanyama, who also had 24 points, intentionally missed the second free throw, denying Atlanta the opportunity for an inbounds play. Trae Young missed a last-second 3-pointer. Wembanyama added 12 rebounds. Fox matched his season high with 13 assists. Young had 32 points with 12 assists for Atlanta. Onyeka Okongwu had a career-high 30 points.
Darius Garland hit a 31-foot 3-pointer at the buzzer to give the Cleveland Cavaliers a 118-115 win over the Detroit Pistons. The Cavaliers, playing without All-Star Donovan Mitchell who missed the game with a shoulder contusion, overcame nine points from Detroit’s Cade Cunningham in 11 seconds. Cunningham tied the game with three free throws five seconds left. Garland rushed down the court and hit the winning shot from just inside the center-court logo. Evan Mobley had 30 points for Cleveland and Garland added 25. Cunningham had 38 points, nine assists and seven rebounds.
Jaren Jackson Jr. scored 32 points, Ja Morant had 16 of his 26 in the third quarter and the Memphis Grizzlies won their fourth straight game, routing the Toronto Raptors 138-107 on Wednesday night. Making his first professional appearance in his home city, Grizzlies rookie Zach Edey had 13 points and 14 rebounds for his eighth double-double and third in three games. Memphis scored a franchise-record 155 points in Dec. 26 home win over Toronto, including 78 in the first half. The Grizzlies didn’t match that mark Wednesday, but a season-high 85 points in the second half got them close. Jamal Shead, Ochai Agbaji and Ja’Kobe Walter each scored 14 points for the Raptors.
Anthony Edwards scored 49 points, including 20 in the third quarter, as the Minnesota Timberwolves beat the short-handed Chicago Bulls 127-108. Coby White had 20 points, and Nikola Vucevic had 10 points and 11 rebounds for Chicago. Edwards hit six 3-pointers and was 17 of 18 from the free-throw line. He added nine rebounds. He tied Kevin Garnett for the second-most 30-point games and tied Karl-Anthony Towns for the most 40-point games in team history. Naz Reid had 22 points and 10 rebounds, and Rudy Gobert added 10 points and 15 rebounds for Minnesota.
Michael Porter Jr. tied a career high with 39 points on the eve of the trade deadline, Nikola Jokic added 38 and the Denver Nuggets beat the struggling New Orleans Pelicans 144-119 for their fourth straight win. Porter was 16 of 23 from the field, including five 3-pointers, and had 12 rebounds. His name has been mentioned in trade speculation ahead of Thursday’s deadline, but coach Michael Malone recently dismissed the notion. Zion Williamson finished with 28 points for the Pelicans, who lost their seventh straight game.
Jordan Clarkson scored 31 points and Keyonte George added 26 to lead the Utah Jazz to a 131-128 victory over the Golden State Warriors. Isaiah Collier added 20 points and 11 assists. Walker Kessler chipped in 15 points and 18 rebounds and John Collins added 19 points. Stephen Curry led Golden State with 32 points and seven assists. Brandin Podziemski added a career-high 29 points and Buddy Hield chipped in 18. Golden State played with a shortened rotation after trading for Jimmy Butler earlier in the day.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander isn’t just putting up MVP numbers — he’s posting historic ones. He scored 50 points as the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Phoenix Suns 140-109 Wednesday night. The Thunder said Gilgeous-Alexander became the ninth player in NBA history to score at least 50 points on three or more occasions in a seven-game span. The list includes Hall of Famers Michael Jordan, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Kobe Bryant, Wilt Chamberlain and Elgin Baylor. Gilgeous-Alexander called his success the byproduct of a bigger goal. The Thunder have the league’s best record at 40-9, and they want to win an NBA title.
Franz Wagner had 31 points, Paolo Banchero added 23 and the Orlando Magic beat Sacramento 130-111 on Wednesday night to spoil Zach LaVine’s Kings debut and end a four-game losing streak. LaVine had 13 points. He went from Chicago to Sacramento on Sunday in a three-team trade that sent De’Aaron Fox from the Kings to San Antonio. Anthony Black added 15 points for the Magic, and Goga Bitadze and Cole Anthony had 14 each. Orlando also ended a seven-game road losing streak. Domantas Sabonis had 21 points and 13 rebounds for Sacramento, and DeMar DeRozan added 19 points. The Kings had won seven in a row at home.
Jimmy Butler has gotten his wish. He’s being traded out of Miami. The Heat and the Golden State Warriors have agreed on a deal that sends Butler to the Bay Area, a person with knowledge of the talks said Wednesday. The trade ends a Miami era for Butler that will be remembered first for two trips to the NBA Finals and then three suspensions toward the end of a hostile breakup.
The Los Angeles Lakers are acquiring center Mark Williams from the Charlotte Hornets in a trade for rookie Dalton Knecht, Cam Reddish and two draft picks, a person with knowledge of the deal tells The Associated Press. The person spoke on condition of anonymity Wednesday night because the latest trade by the busy Lakers hasn’t been finalized. The Hornets are also getting the Lakers’ first-round pick in 2031 and a draft pick swap in 2030 in exchange for Williams, one of the NBA’s most compelling young centers.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 50 points and the NBA-leading Oklahoma City Thunder routed the Phoenix Suns 140-109 on Wednesday night to improve to 40-9. Gilgeous-Alexander became the ninth player in NBA history to score at least 50 points three times in a seven-game span. He had a career-high 54 against Utah on Jan. 29 and 52 at Golden State a week ago. Phoenix’s Kevin Durant sat out with a sprained left ankle. The 36-year-old All-Star forward remains 26 points short of 30,000 for his career. Oklahoma City’s fans still got a show. Several times, they serenaded Gilgeous-Alexander with the “M-V-P! M-V-P!” chants once reserved for Durant as the former Thunder star watched from the Phoenix bench. Bradley Beal led Phoenix with 25 points
De’Aaron Fox had a quick description of his first game as the point guard for 7-foot-3 Victor Wembanyama. Fox said the big San Antonio center is “different” and “special.” It was a winning combination in Fox’s debut with the Spurs. Fox scored 24 points and matched his season high with 13 assists and Wembanyama’s go-ahead free throw with 2.4 seconds remaining gave the Spurs a 126-125 victory over the Atlanta Hawks. Fox was acquired by San Antonio from Sacramento in a three-team trade Sunday. Fox fit in quickly with his new team.
The Washington Wizards have agreed to trade center Jonas Valanciunas to the Sacramento Kings for Sidy Cissoko and second-round draft picks in 2028 and 2029. The Wizards announced the trade Wednesday night. The Kings just acquired the 6-foot-6 Cissoko from San Antonio in the three-team deal that sent De’Aaron Fox to the Spurs and Zach LaVine from Chicago to Sacramento. The 32-year-old Valanciunas is averaging 11.5 points and 8.2 rebounds this season despite playing a career-low 20.1 minutes per game.
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Artturi Lehkonen scored the tiebreaking goal with 14.7 seconds left and Mackenzie Blackwood made 33 saves and the Colorado Avalanche defeated the New York Rangers 5-4. Defenseman Cale Makar scored twice and assisted on the winning goal while Jack Drury and Juuso Parssinen also scored for the Avalanche, who won for the first time since acquiring Martin Necas and Drury in a trade Friday that sent top Colorado scorer Mikko Rantanen to the Carolina Hurricanes. Necas and Avalanche captain Nathan MacKinnon each had two assists.
Connor McDavid set up Zach Hyman in overtime, and the Edmonton Oilers beat the Chicago Blackhawks 4-3. Hyman redirected McDavid’s pass for the power-play goal at 1:36. It was Hyman’s 19th goal and McDavid’s 49th assist of the season. Leon Draisaitl and Jeff Skinner each had a goal and an assist as Edmonton won for the fifth time in seven games. Viktor Arvidsson also scored and Calvin Pickard made 29 saves. The Oilers were coming off an overtime victory at St. Louis on Tuesday night.
Kevin Fiala had two goals, Warren Foegele scored on a penalty shot, and the Los Angeles Kings beat the Montreal Canadiens 6-3. Vladislav Gavrikov, Brandt Clarke and Trevor Moore also scored for the Kings, who have won 11 of their past 12 home games. Darcy Kuemper made 18 saves. Mike Matheson and Alexandre Carrier also scored for the Canadiens, who have lost six of seven. Jakub Dobes made 32 saves.
TRANSGENDER ATHLETES
President Donald Trump is ready to take his fight against transgender athletes to the International Olympic Committee. Trump wants the IOC to “change everything having to do with the Olympics and having to do with this absolutely ridiculous subject” ahead of the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles. Trump made the remarks while signing an executive order designed to keep men out of women's sports. The order empowers both the office of the Secretary of State and the Department of Homeland Security to take steps to attempt to prevent international transgender female athletes from competing in the United States.
President Donald Trump has signed an executive order designed to prevent transgender athletes from participating in girls' or women’s sports. The order gives federal agencies wide latitude to ensure entities that receive federal funding abide by Title IX in alignment with the Trump administration’s view, which interprets “sex” as the gender someone was assigned at birth. It is the latest aggressive shift by the Republican president’s second administration in how the government views transgender people and their rights. Trump has already ordered the government to define sex as only male or female.
NFL
Colorado coach Deion Sanders said in a segment of his new television series that he "couldn’t coach pro ball.” In his show, “We Got Time Today” that streams on Tubi, Sanders chatted with former Dallas Cowboys teammate and fellow Hall of Famer Troy Aikman about an array of topics. They reminisced about their Super Bowl experience and touched on Sanders’ chat with Cowboys owner Jerry Jones concerning the Dallas head coaching vacancy. The team ended up hiring Brian Schottenheimer. Sanders pointed out the differences at practices from their time to now.
MEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Duke 83 Syracuse 54
WOMEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL
UMass 81 St. Bonaventure 54
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
The University at Albany’s football coach is departing after 11 years, including a trip to the 2023 national semifinals. The SUNY program announced Wednesday Greg Gattuso will depart for an assistant coaching position at Penn State, his alma mater. Gattuso was just the second Great Danes coach since the program went to the varsity level in the 1970s, succeeding Bob Ford.
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