James Harden became a star in Houston, and now he's ready to call the city home. Harden signed a four-year, "supermax" extension Saturday, a whopper of a deal that guarantees Harden about $228 million over the next six seasons and makes it the richest contract in league history. The extension alone tacks another $170 million or so — depending on how the salary cap escalates — on to a contract that still had two more years and nearly $60 million remaining. It's a mammoth deal befitting one of the league's brightest stars, which is exactly what the Beard has become in five seasons with the Rockets.
The Toronto Raptors have made a pair of deals as they try to avoid significant luxury tax penalties. Three people with knowledge of the moves say the Raptors have shipped veteran DeMarre Carroll to the Brooklyn Nets in a salary dump and acquired C.J. Miles in a sign-and-trade with Indiana for Cory Joseph. The Nets also receive a future first- and second-round pick from the Raptors for Justin Hamilton. Carroll had two years and $30 million left on his current contract.
First overall pick Markelle Fultz will miss the rest of the NBA summer league with a sprained left ankle suffered in Saturday's game. Fultz had just signed a contract earlier in the day and delivered eight points in 15 minutes before he appeared to roll the ankle. He was helped off the court by teammates and taken for X-rays.
MLB: The Brewers enter the All-Star break on a 9-2 run after Travis Shaw and Stephen Vogt homered in a 5-3 win over the Yankees in New York. Shaw unloaded a three-run blast in the top of the first, one inning before Vogt hit a solo shot. Chase Headley had a go-ahead, three-run homer taken away by replay in the sixth inning.
Brad Miller launched a tiebreaking, two-run homer in the eighth to help the Rays beat Boston for the third time in four days, 5-3. Miller came through one inning after Dustin Pedroia ripped a two-run shot that gave the Red Sox a 3-2 lead. Bosox lefty David Price was in line to get the win after yielding two runs and five hits over six innings. The Rays now share second place with the Yankees, 3 ½ games behind the Red Sox.
Matt Wieters drove in three runs and the Nationals earned a four-game split by clobbering the Braves, 10-5. Daniel Murphy and Anthony Rendon each had two hits and RBIs for Washington, which leads the NL East by 9 ½ games over Atlanta. Nats manager Dusty Baker said starter Joe Ross left the game due to triceps tenderness after surrendering three runs over 3 1/3 innings.
Homers by Tommy Pham, Paul DeJong and Luke Voit powered the Cardinals to a 6-0 romp over the Mets. Lance Lynn tossed three-hit ball over seven innings and faced just two batters over the minimum. The win puts St. Louis in a second-place tie with the Cubs in the NL Central, 5 ½ games behind the Brewers.
Freddy Galvis slammed two of the Phillies' six home runs and Jerad Eickhoff worked five scoreless innings to lead a 7-1 rout of the Padres. Rookie Nick Williams began the long-ball barrage with his first in the majors. Cameron Rupp, Odubel Cabrera and Aaron Altherr went deep to help Eickhoff get his first win following an 0-7 start.
Major League Baseball has announced seven replacement players for Tuesday's All-Star game at Miami.
Mariners second baseman Robinson Cano, Rays starting pitcher Chris Archer and Blue Jays reliever Roberto Osuna have been added to the American League roster, as have Astros reliever Chris Devenski, Twins reliever Brandon Kintzler and Tigers outfielder Justin Upton. Dodgers pitcher Alex Wood was selected to the National League squad. They are replacing seven players who are on the disabled list or won't be active because they are scheduled to pitch Sunday.
Indians manager Terry Francona has undergone a procedure to correct an irregular heartbeat that sidelined him for a few games and will prevent him from managing in the All-Star Game next week. The 58-year-old Francona had been experiencing dizziness, fatigue and a rapid heart rate for several weeks.
TENNIS: Men's top seed Andy Murray and No. 4 Rafael Nadal are among those advancing to the fourth round at Wimbledon. Murray dropped a set before the defending Wimbledon champ came through a difficult fourth set to beat Fabio Fognini 6-2, 4-6, 6-1, 7-5. Fognini led 5-2 in the fourth set and had five set points, but Murray won the final five games to reach the fourth round. Nadal beat Karen Khachanov 6-1, 6-4, 7-6 on Centre Court. If he reaches the final at the All England Club, the two-time Wimbledon champion will take over from Murray as the top-ranked player in the world.
Women's 10th seed Venus Williams was the lone American singles player to advance Friday, joining second seed Simona Halep, fourth seed Elina Svitolina and French Open champ Jelena Ostapenko in Round 4. Victoria Azarenka has extended her Grand Slam comeback into the second week, seven months after giving birth to her first child. She beat Heather Watson in three sets.
NHL: New York Rangers defenseman Kevin Klein has retired after 12 NHL seasons. He played 627 games for the Rangers and Predators, scoring 38 goals and 154 points. Klein was bothered by back spasms last season, limiting him to 14 points in 60 regular-season games.
PGA: PGA Tour rookie Xander Schauffele has earned his first victory by rallying to win the Greenbrier Classic by one stroke over Robert Streb.
Schauffele closed with a 3-foot birdie putt for a 3-under 67 that left him 14 under for the tournament. He emerged as the winner after Streb and third-round leader Sebastian Munoz dueled for first place most of the final round. Streb came up short on a birdie chip to give Schuffele the win.
Katherine Kirk sank a 10-foot putt for birdie on the final hole to close out a one-stroke victory over Ashleigh Buhai at the Thornberry Creek LPGA Classic in Wisconsin. Kirk entered the final round with a four-shot lead over Buhai before shooting a 2-under 70. She finished 22 under in her third LPGA Tour title and first in 152 starts since 2010.
CYCLING: Chris Froome remains the overall leader through the 9th Stage of the Tour de France, 18 seconds ahead of Fabio Aru as he seeks his fourth title in cycling's biggest event. Froome's teammate Geraint Thomas crashed during one of the stage's early descents and was taken to a local hospital with a suspected broken collarbone. The last descent of the day featured seven climbs and saw a terrifying high-speed crash involving Richie Porte, who had been fifth overall but is now out of the race.
INDYCAR: Helio Castroneves earned his first victory in three years by dominating Sunday's IndyCar race at Iowa Speedway. The 42-year-old Castroneves led 217 of 300 laps in giving powerhouse Team Penske its first victory on Iowa's short oval in 11 tries. It was the 30th career win for Castroneves and his first since the Belle Isle doubleheader in June 2014 at Detroit. He had finished second eight times since his last victory. J.R. Hildebrand was a career-best second, followed by Ryan Hunter-Reay, Will Power and Graham Rahal.
SOCCER: Wayne Rooney began his pro soccer career with Everton, and it appears he'll end it there as well. Everton says it has worked out a two-year contract with Rooney, who rejoins the club after 13 years with Manchester United. Rooney moved from Everton to United for 27 million pounds in 2004 and went on to become United's all-time top scorer. He is also England's record scorer. The 31-year-old Rooney lost his place on United's team last season in Jose Mourinho's first year in charge.
Copyright 2017 Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
