NBA:
In the NBA, Charlotte edged New York 95-93, Indiana topped Boston 102-91, Brooklyn bested Houston 106-98, Toronto won against Philadelphia 119-103, Golden State beat Memphis 100-84 to tie a franchise record for most wins, Dallas defeated the Clippers 118-108, Atlanta beat New Orleans 106-98, Denver trumped Milwaukee 103-102, Sacramento beat Detroit 101-92, and it was San Antonio over Portland 113-101.
NHL:
In the NHL, Pittsburgh beat Montreal in a shootout 4-3, and it was Edmonton over Anaheim in overtime 4-3.
NFL:
On Thursday Night Football, Buffalo is in New York to face the Jets at 8:25.
The three NFL cities in line to potentially lose their NFL teams to Los Angeles made thorough and impassioned presentations to the league as a step toward keeping them. Officials from Oakland, San Diego and St. Louis spoke to the league's Los Angeles, stadium and finance committees — all three of which play a role in a potential relocation.
Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater returned to practice just four days after suffering a concussion in Sunday's win over St. Louis. Coach Mike Zimmer says he expects Bridgewater will start in Sunday's game against Oakland. He was knocked out of the game with the Rams on a hit to the head by St. Louis defensive back Lamarcus Joyner.
The New York Jets have lost right guard Willie Colon for the rest of the season due to chronic knee problems. Colon has been replaced in the line-up by Brian Winters.
Olympics:
Hall of Famer and former Olympian Magic Johnson has been named vice chair of the group trying to lure the 2024 Olympic Games to Los Angeles. The winner of five NBA titles with the Lakers says in a statement that Los Angeles is "the best sports town in America." The International Olympic Committee will select the 2024 host in 2017. Los Angeles is competing against Paris, Rome, Hamburg, Germany, and Budapest, Hungary.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has called on sports officials to carry out an internal investigation, in the wake of allegations of extensive state sponsored doping. Putin added that that clean athletes shouldn't be punished for the actions of those who take banned drugs. Putin's comments reflected concerns that Russia's track and field athletes could be hit with a blanket ban for next year's summer Games in Rio de Janeiro. Putin has ordered the investigation to be conducted with full cooperation with international anti-doping bodies.
MLB:
The emergency call for former major league pitcher Tommy Hanson was described by sheriff's officials as an "overdose." The report says Hanson wasn't breathing as rescue crews tried to help him at a friend's home south of Atlanta. They typed "overdose" in a small section titled "crime incident." The 29-year old Hanson died Monday night at an Atlanta hospital. The coroner says that an autopsy began Tuesday and that the cause and manner of death are under investigation.
New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman is following through on his vow to aggressively transform his team this offseason. Cashman has acquired switch-hitting outfielder Aaron Hicks from Minnesota for catcher John Ryan Murphy. He also has dealt infielder Jose Pirela to San Diego for a minor league pitcher. The Yankees have sent catcher John Ryan Murphy to the Twins for switch-hitting outfielder Aaron Hicks. The 26-year-old Hicks, who hit .256 with 11 home runs and 33 runs batted in in 97 games this year, was the14th overall pick in the 2008 amateur draft.
Stephen Strasburg's agent says the Washington Nationals pitcher has had surgery to remove a non-cancerous growth from his back. Agent Scott Boras says Strasburg, who was 11-7 with a career-high 3.46 ERA last season, is "fine now."
The Seattle Mariners have re-signed outfielder Franklin Gutierrez to a one-year contract after a surprisingly productive 2015 season. Gutierrez hit .292 with 15 home runs and 35 RBIs in 59 games with the Mariners.
The Miami Marlins' feud with super-agent Scott Boras has escalated, and the team says he'll be left out of any contract negotiations regarding ace Jose Fernandez. Team president David Samson pledged to exclude Boras after the agent complained about the Marlins' handling of another one of his clients, outfielder Marcell Ozuna.
Minor League:
Free agent left-hander Chad James has been suspended 100 games under baseball's minor league drug program following a second positive test for amphetamines and a third positive test for a drug of abuse. The commissioner's office announced the suspension Wednesday. The 18th overall pick in the 2009 draft by the Miami Marlins, James made 13 relief appearances last season for Double-A Frisco in the Texas Rangers system. He is 22-44 with a 4.51 ERA in six minor league seasons. James' suspension will begin once he signs with another major league organization. There have been 96 suspensions this year under the minor league program, including 38 for drugs of abuse.
Media:
The Dodgers have hired a 27-year-old announcer to join their broadcast booth in 2016, which is expected to be Vin Scully's final season on the air. Joe Davis joins the Dodgers from Fox Sports, where he calls major league baseball and college football and basketball. Davis will call 50 road television games on SportsNet LA with Orel Hershiser and Nomar Garciaparra. Charley Steiner will handle TV play-by-play for the other road games on the team's TV home and join Rick Monday on radio broadcasts. Scully, who turns 88 on Nov. 29, has said he expects next year to be his 67th and last season.
Fantasy Sports:
The New York attorney general's decision that daily fantasy sports betting sites FanDuel and DraftKings are illegal gambling operations is a blow to the companies, but the industry could have more legal headaches yet to come. While the sites have opted not to do business in a handful of states where regulators have made clear they're not welcome, they've been up and running in a number of others where they're legally dubious.
The head of the daily fantasy sports website FanDuel is telling his New York customers that they should keep on entering the company's contests, despite a warning from the state's attorney general that they amount to illegal gambling. FanDuel's Nigel Eccles says its lawyers will try to persuade Attorney General Eric Schneiderman over the next five days that their business is lawful and that its 500,000 customers in the state should be able to keep playing.
Boxing:
The FBI has joined the search for six world championship belts stolen from the International Boxing Hall of Fame in central New York. Canastota Police Chief James Zophy says the FBI's Antiquities Bureau is helping village police with the investigation into last Thursday's early morning break-in at the museum located 20 miles east of Syracuse.
Missing are four belts that belonged to Carmen Basilio and two won by Tony Zale. No value has been placed on the belts. The bureau's Antiquities Bureau specializes in art and cultural property crime and has a team of 16 special agents. Basilio, who died three years ago, was born in Canastota and inspired creation of the hall of fame. He was a welterweight and middleweight champion. Zale, a middleweight champion, died in 1997.
NCAA:
A former college basketball star from New Jersey has been found slain in the back seat of a vehicle in New York City. Police say Wednesday that 35-year-old Michael Wright, of Closter, was last seen Nov. 5. His body was found Tuesday morning covered in what appeared to be trash bags in the Midwood section of Brooklyn.
Police had gone to the area to search for him after a request from New Jersey police. The 6-foot-8 forward played three seasons for the University of Arizona. He was drafted by the New York Knicks in 2001, but was waived before the start of the season. The medical examiner has ruled Wright's death a homicide. There have been no arrests.