NFL-NEWS
The 52nd Superbowl kicks off at 6:30 p.m. Sunday in Minnesota as the New England Patriots take on the Philadelphia Eagles.
Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski remained in the concussion protocol for New England's first Super Bowl practice in Minnesota yesterday. Patriots coach Bill Belichick said Gronkowski took part in non-contact drills and is "working his way back." Quarterback Tom Brady practiced fully, wearing black tape on his injured right hand.
Everyone except defensive tackle Tim Jernigan participated in Eagles practice, according to a pool report. Jernigan has an illness that coach Doug Pederson said is a "24-hour deal."
— Fox and the NFL have agreed to a five-year deal for Thursday night football games. Those games previously were televised by CBS and NBC, two of the league's other network partners. But Fox announced Wednesday that it will televise 11 games between Weeks 4 and 15, with simulcasts on NFL Network and Fox Deportes.
NBA NEWS
Marcus Morris came off the bench to score 20 points, but he left in the final minute of the third quarter after landing hard following a dunk.
The outcome puts the Atlantic Division leaders 1½ games ahead of Toronto at 37-15 and drops the Knicks to 23-29.
— LeBron James scored 24 points and Jae Crowder drained a go-ahead 3-pointer with 1:21 remaining as the Cavaliers escaped with a 91-89 victory against the Heat. Miami shot a miserable 3-for-28 from beyond the arc and was almost as bad at the foul line, hitting just 14 of 25.
— CJ McCollum scored a franchise-record 28 points in the first quarter and finished with a career-high 50 before sitting out the fourth quarter of the Trail Blazers' 124-108 romp over the Bulls. Portland led by as many as 29 in its fourth straight win.
— Spencer Dinwiddie contributed 27 points and D'Angelo Russell added 22 as the Nets dumped the 76ers 116-108. Rookie Jarrett Allen had 16 points and 12 boards for the Nets, who went on an 11-0 run early in the fourth quarter and ended a four-game slide.
— Indiana's Myles Turner scored 15 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and hit the go-ahead free throws with 34 seconds left in a 105-101 decision over the Grizzlies. Bojan Bogdanovic and Darren Collison each had 21 points in the Pacers' third straight win.
— Kemba Walker nailed a career-high nine 3-pointers while scoring 38 points in the Hornets' 123-110 win against the Hawks. Dwight Howard had 20 points and 12 rebounds for Charlotte, while teammate Nicolas Batum had a triple-double of 10 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists.
— Marreese Speights scored 21 points in his second start of the season, and Evan Fournier added 19 in the Magic's fourth win in their last 24 games, a 127-105 thumping of the Lakers. Orlando shot 18 for 32 from beyond the arc and moved a half-game ahead of Atlanta as the two teams try to avoid the league's worst record.
— Rookie forward Josh Jackson matched his season best with 21 points and the Suns halted a five-game losing streak by beating the struggling Mavericks, 102-88. T.J. Warren chipped in 20 points and Devin Booker had 15 as Phoenix handed Dallas its fifth consecutive loss and eighth in nine games.
The Washington Wizards could be without one of their two top players until late March. Point guard John Wall is expected to miss about six to eight weeks after having arthroscopic surgery on his left knee. If Wall is sidelined for two months, he would sit out more than 25 games and return for the last half-dozen or so of the regular season. Wall's 19.3 points and 9.3 assists per game rank second on the Wizards in both categories.
— Suns guard Isaiah Canaan broke his left ankle in a gruesome injury during Wednesday's game against the Mavericks. The ankle gave way on a hard, awkward landing following an uncontested layup. His left foot was pointing in the wrong direction as his body tumbled to the floor.
— Pelicans All-Star DeMarcus Cousins has undergone surgery to repair his ruptured left Achilles tendon. His surgeon says Cousins is expected to make a full recovery, but the team hasn't set a timeline for his return. Cousins was averaging 25.2 points, 12.9 rebounds and 5.4 assists before suffering the season-ending injury.
— Guard J.J. Redick is back in Philadelphia's lineup after missing seven games with an injured left fibula. Redick ranks second on the team in scoring this season, averaging 17.3 points.
— Former La Salle and NBA forward Rasual Butler and his wife have been killed in a single-vehicle rollover crash in Los Angeles early this morning. Police say in a statement that Butler was speeding before his vehicle jumped a curb, hit three parking meters and a concrete wall before flipping over twice and stopping inside a shopping mall parking lot. Butler was drafted in 2002 by the Miami Heat and played for a total of eight NBA teams including the Los Angeles Clippers, Chicago Bulls and San Antonio Spurs.
TOP 25 BASKETBALL
Add another victory to Virginia's ledger as the second-ranked Cavaliers picked up their 13th in a row. Kyle Guy scored 22 points and the Cavs improved to 21-1 overall and 10-0 in the ACC by topping Louisville, 74-64 at Charlottesville. Ty Jerome added 16 points and Devon Hall 12 for the Cavaliers, who are enjoying their best conference start since 1980-81. Freshman Marco Anthony scored 10 points in 18 minutes, receiving added playing time after backup guard Nigel Johnson was given a three-game suspension for a violation of team rules.
— Third-ranked Purdue ran its winning streak to 18 games as Isaac Haas had 20 points and nine rebounds in a 75-67 decision over Maryland. Carsen Edwards scored 17 points and helped the Boilermakers hold the Terrapins to three baskets in the first 12 minutes, allowing Purdue to take a 27-14 lead.
— Miles Bridges delivered 23 points and nine rebounds in No. 5 Michigan State's 76-68 comeback over Penn State. The Spartans moved to 21-3 by wiping out a 12-point deficit over the final 15 ½ minutes, one game after trailing by 13 at halftime of a victory at Maryland.
— Jacob Evans III finished with 18 points and provided big baskets while eighth-ranked Cincinnati was erasing an 18-point deficit in an 80-70 win over Houston. Gary Clark had 14 points and 10 boards for the Bearcats, who have won 13 straight overall and 38 in a row at home.
— Ninth-ranked Arizona still leads the Pac-12 after Deandre Ayton furnished 25 points and 11 boards in a 100-72 laugher against Washington State. Allonzo Trier added 24 points and helped the Wildcats shoot 61 percent in their 13th consecutive win over the Cougars.
— Keenan Evans capped his career-high 38-point night by nailing the winning jumper just before the buzzer, giving No. 10 Texas Tech a 73-71 overtime triumph versus Texas. Evans provided six points in the extra session after missing a potential winning free throw with 3.4 seconds left in regulation.
— No. 15 West Virginia fell for the fifth time in six games as Donovan Jackson poured in 25 points and Lindell Wigginton added 22 in Iowa State's 93-77 thumping of the Mountaineers. Cameron Lard scored 18 points with 13 rebounds to help the Cyclones improve to 3-6 in the Big 12.
— No. 18 Tennessee clobbered LSU 84-61 behind James Daniel III's 17 points off the bench. The Vols shot 12-for-25 from 3-point range, with Daniel hitting five of his seven attempts.
COLLLEGE BASKETBALL-ARIZONA STATE-HURLEY
— Arizona State and basketball coach Bobby Hurley have agreed to a one-year contract extension. If approved by the Arizona Board of Regents, the package increases his compensation and runs through 2023. The Sun Devils went 12-0 in their non-conference portion of the schedule this season to reach No. 3 in the AP Top 25 this season, matching the program's highest ranking. Although they are just 4-5 in the Pac-12, they are in position for their first NCAA Tournament appearance in four years.
MLB-NEWS
— A person with knowledge of the agreement says catcher Alex Avila has signed a two-year, $8.25 million contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks. The 31-year-old Avila fills a roster spot vacated by catcher Chris Iannetta, who signed with Colorado after spending last season sharing the Arizona catching duties. Last season, Avila hit .264 with 14 home runs and 49 RBIs with the Detroit Tigers and Chicago Cubs.
—The New York Mets have shipped lefty reliever Josh Smoker to the Pirates for minor league left-hander Daniel Zamora and cash. Smoker was designated for assignment last weekend to clear a roster spot after the Mets re-signed free agent infielder Jose Reyes.
—The Tampa Bay Rays have fired the team physician after a video posted on YouTube included accusations of sexual abuse with a teenager who worked for him about a decade ago. The team announced Tuesday it severed ties with Michael Reilly. The video was posted by the woman, now 26, on Jan. 17. Reilly denied the abuse allegations in a statement.
— Former major league outfielder Oscar Gamble has died of a rare tumor of the jaw at age 68. Gamble hit over 200 home runs and was recognizable during his playing days for an Afro that spilled out of his helmet. Gamble spent seven seasons with the New York Yankees in two stints, playing for AL pennant winners in 1976 and 1981.
NHL-SCHEDULE
In the NHL, the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Rangers 4-0 and the Florida Panthers topped the Buffalo Sabres 4-2.
Several Washington Capitals ended long scoring droughts as the team padded its lead in the NHL's Metropolitan Division. Chandler Stephenson scored twice and the Caps moved six points ahead of the Penguins by downing the Flyers, 5-3 in Washington. Stephenson had gone 28 games without a goal before netting a pair during a 47-second span of the second period, tying the game 2-2. Andre Burakovsky provided the go-ahead goal on a power play to end his 10-game goal drought. T.J. Oshie's power-play goal ended his 13-game goal swoon.
The Capitals rallied after No. 2 pick Nolan Patrick and Travis Konecny beat Braden Holtby in the first 7:50.
— Justin Holl scored in his NHL debut to cap the scoring the Maple Leafs' 5-0 thrashing of the Islanders. Travis Dermott also notched his first NHL goal to back Frederik Andersen, who stopped 28 shots in his fourth shutout of the season and 14th of his career.
— Justin Abdelkader scored in the seventh round of a shootout and Petr Mrazek turned back 30 shots as the Red Wings nipped the Sharks, 2-1. Mrazek was perfect until Kevin Lebanc beat him with 4:59 left in regulation.
NHL-NEWS
Center Mike Fisher is coming out of retirement and will rejoin the Nashville Predators for his 18th NHL season as they try to win the Stanley Cup. General manager David Poile says Fisher has some unfinished business and wants to help the Predators win two more games than they did last year when they lost the Stanley Cup Final in six games to Pittsburgh. The Predators will sign Fisher officially before the Feb. 26 trade deadline for the stretch run.
— Devils forward Taylor Hall has been fined $5,000 for a boarding penalty against Sabres forward Kyle Okposo in New Jersey's 3-1 victory on Tuesday. The fine is the maximum allowable under the current collective bargaining agreement.
KOREAS-OLYMPICS
North Korean skiers and skaters have arrived at a South Korean airport to participate in the Winter Olympics that has brought a temporary lull in tensions surrounding the North's nuclear program.
The North's 32-member delegation included 10 athletes who were invited to participate in the alpine and cross-country skiing, figure skating and shot-track speed skating events at the Pyeongchang Games.
Twelve North Korean female ice hockey players are already in the South practicing with their South Korean teammates for a unified Olympic team.
The Koreas have been planning several conciliatory gestures during the Olympics Seoul sees as an opportunity to revive meaningful communication with the North after a period of animosity and diplomatic stalemate over its nuclear weapons and missiles program.
WORLD CUP-WOMEN'S DOWNHILL TRAINING
Bad weather on Thursday left Lindsey Vonn with only one downhill training session for the final World Cup races ahead of the Pyeongchang Olympics.
Organizers first delayed training by half an hour as they lowered the start because of fog in the upper part of the Kandahar course, then called it off as soon as it started to rain. Weather conditions were expected to improve for the final training on Friday. The races consist of a two-run sprint downhill on Saturday, followed by a regular downhill the next day.
Vonn, the 2010 Olympic downhill champion, has won seven World Cup races in the German resort, including two downhills in the past two seasons.
The Pyeongchang Games start next Friday, with the women's downhill scheduled for Feb. 21.
Local
Tomorrow, the UAlbany men’s and women’s basketball teams face the New Hampshire Wildcats and on Friday, the RPI men's hockey team will play the Raiders at Colgate.
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