MLB:
Catcher Mike Piazza and outfielder Ken Griffey Jr. have been elected to baseball's Hall of Fame and will be inducted in Cooperstown this summer. Griffey was on a record 99.3 percent of the 440 ballots, and Piazza was selected on 83 percent. Jeff Bagwell missed election by 15 votes and Tim Raines by 23.
All-Star outfielder Alex Gordon has agreed to a four-year, $72 million contract to remain with the World Series champion Kansas City Royals. Gordon hit .271 last season with 13 homers, 18 doubles and 48 RBIs in 104 games for the Royals last season. The four-time Gold Glove winner is a lifetime .269 hitter with 134 home runs and 523 runs batted in since reaching the majors in 2007.
Elsewhere:
— Former AL Rookie of the Year Neftali Feliz and the Pirates have agreed to a $3.9 million, one-year contract. He was 1-2 with a 4.58 ERA in 18 appearances for the Rangers last year, became a free agent in July after he was designated for assignment, then signed Detroit and went 2-2 with a career-worst 7.62 ERA in 28 1/3 innings.
— Free-agent first baseman Chris Carter has agreed to a one-year, $2.5 million contract with the Milwaukee Brewers. Carter became a free agent when the Houston Astros declined to offer him a contract in December.
— A person familiar with the negotiations says infielder Kelly Johnson is back with the Braves after agreeing to a one-year, $2 million contract. He hit .275 with nine homers with Atlanta last season before he was traded to the Mets on July 24.
NBA:
In the NBA, New York topped Miami 98-90, Toronto bested Brooklyn 91-74, Detroit won against Boston 99-94, Dallas beat New Orleans 100-91, Denver won against Minnesota 78-74, San Antonio defeated Utah 123-98, Phoenix trumped Charlotte 111-102, Oklahoma City topped Memphis 112-94, the Clippers won against Portland 109-98, Cleveland bested Washington 121-115, and it was Indiana over Orlando 95-86.
NHL:
In the NHL, Montreal beat New Jersey 2-1, Chicago topped Pittsburgh 3-1, Vancouver won against Carolina 3-2, Colorado bested St. Louis in overtime 4-3, and it was Toronto over Anaheim 4-0.
The NHL has named the final 40 players to take part in a new 3-on-3 tournament at All-Star weekend later this month in Nashville, Tennessee. Leading goal-scorer Jamie Benn of the Stars and Dallas Stars teammate Tyler Seguin (SAY'-gihn) headlined the All-Star selections for the Central Division, which will have top point-getter Patrick Kane of the Blackhawks as captain.
The division-leading Washington Capitals and Florida Panthers each have three players expected to go, as do the host Nashville Predators. Pittsburgh star Sidney Crosby is not among the final 40. He's ranked 36th in the league in points after a slow start. The Penguins' captain has 22 points in his past 20 games. All 30 teams have at least one representative.
NCAA:
In college women's basketball, top-ranked UConn beat Tulsa 95-35 last night for its 49th consecutive win. Saniya Chong made her first start in more than a year, and scored 18 points for UConn. Morgan Tuck scored 16 of her 18 points in the first half, and the three-time defending national champions had five players in double figures.
In men’s college basketball, UMass-Lowell beat Hartford 80-76 last night. Matt Harris scored 14 of his 16 points in the game's last six minutes including the go-ahead layup with 50 seconds for UMass-Lowell. Tyler Livingston finished with 13 points for Hartford.
Yale defeated NJIT 83-65 last night for its third straight win. Makai Mason matched his career high with 24 points for Yale. Nick Victor added 16 points. Yale remains perfect at home, now at 4-0. Damon Lynn scored 22 to lead NJIT.
Meanwhile:
Third-ranked Maryland remains unbeaten since losing at North Carolina in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge.
Jake Layman dropped in 18 points and the Terrapins used runs of 10-0 and 12-2 to build a 46-18 lead in an 88-63 rout of Rutgers. The Terps also scored 18 straight points to go ahead by 40 in the second half of their eighth straight win.
Diamond Stone had 15 points and 10 rebounds for the 14-1 Terrapins, who finished without leading scorer Melo Trimble because of hamstring tightness. Rasheed Sulaimon also had 15 points for Maryland.
In other top-25 finals:
— Myles Davis scored 19 points and 10th-ranked Xavier struggled before sending St. John's to its sixth straight loss, 74-66. Jalen Reynolds had 10 points and 13 rebounds for the 14-1 Musketeers.
— No. 11 Villanova got past Seton Hall 72-63 behind Daniel Ochefu's 20 points and 18 rebounds. Josh Hart had 15 points and 10 rebounds to help the Wildcats overcome a 4-for-22 night from 3-point range.
— Matt Thomas scored 22 points and Jameel McKay had 19 with 14 rebounds to carry 13th-ranked Iowa State past Texas Tech 76-69. Georges Niang scored all of his 14 points in the second half as the 12-2 Cyclones avoided their first losing streak of the season.
— Grayson Allen scored 24 points freshman Luke Kennard added 23 as 14th-ranked Duke beat Wake Forest 91-75 to improve to 13-2. Marshall Plumlee finished with a career-high 18 and Brandon Ingram had 17 for the Blue Devils.
— Jalen Jones scored 11 points and provided the go-ahead dunk with 20 seconds left to lead No. 21 Texas A&M over Mississippi State 61-60.
— James Robinson and Jamel Artis scored 18 points apiece and No. 24 Pittsburgh held off Georgia Tech 89-84.
— Charles Cooke scored 18 points and 25th-rated Dayton had 26 points off turnovers in a 93-63 pounding of Massachusetts.
Mississippi football coach Hugh Freeze has received a one-year contract extension and raise that will push his salary to $5 million per year by 2018. His four-year package is worth an average of just over $4.9 million a year, about $600,000 more than he made in 2015. He has a 34-18 record over four seasons with Ole Miss, including a 10-3 mark this season.
NFL:
New York Jets coach Todd Bowles has fired special teams coordinator Bobby April and assistant coaches Steve Hagen and Ron Heller. The moves were announced yesterday after Bowles had season-ending meetings with his coaching staff. The Jets missed the playoffs after a 10-6 season, Bowles' first as coach.
New York Jets defensive end Muhammad Wilkerson says he is having surgery to repair his broken right leg. The first time Pro Bowl selection broke his fibula in the Jets' 22-17 loss at Buffalo last Sunday.
New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady says his right ankle is feeling better. Brady walked without an apparent limp for his media availability yesterday. He says getting the week off before the Patriots' first playoff game will be helpful. The Patriots play Cincinnati, Houston or Kansas City on January 16th.
Florida State kicker Roberto Aguayo says he will declare for the NFL draft and skip his senior season. Aguayo is the most accurate kicker in NCAA history making 96.73 percent of all kicks for the Seminoles. He made all 198 of his extra-point attempts and was 69 of 78 on field goals. Also, Michigan State tackle Jack Conklin, North Carolina State tight end David J. Grinnage, Florida safety Keanu Neal and Oklahoma State defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah say they are leaving school early to enter the draft.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are the latest NFL team to begin a coaching search. The Bucs have fired Lovie Smith after two seasons and an 8-24 record. The Bucs showed some improvement this season with No. 1 overall draft pick Jameis Winston at quarterback and revitalized running back Doug Martin, going 6-10 following a 2-14 record in their first year under Smith. The Buccaneers ranked in the top 10 in total offense and defense for the first time, but they also were 20th in points and 26th in scoring defense.
— Saints coach Sean Payton says he's staying with New Orleans, ending speculation that he could be on the move after consecutive 7-9 seasons. Payton says he can't envision coaching for any other club. He has spent a decade in the job and says he plans on finishing his career in New Orleans.
— Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch is "full go" for returning to practice after being away from the team since undergoing abdominal surgery in late November. If he makes it through the week, Lynch would be the presumptive starter for Sunday's NFC wild-card game against Minnesota.
— The NFL players' union has revoked the license of high-profile agent Ben Dogra and fined him $200,000. The former agent of Adrian Peterson can apply for reinstatement in three years.
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