NBA:
In the NBA, Boston topped Washington 116-91, Golden State bested San Antonio 120-90, Charlotte edged Sacramento in double overtime 129-128, Detroit beat Utah 95-92, Atlanta won against Denver 119-105, Memphis defeated Orlando in overtime 108-102, Miami bested Chicago 89-84, Houston squeaked by New Orleans 112-111, and it was Cleveland over Minnesota 114-107.
NHL:
In the NHL, Boston edged Philadelphia 3-2, the Rangers doubled up Buffalo 6-3, Detroit topped the Islanders 4-2, Columbus bested Montreal 5-2, Arizona slid past Minnesota in a shootout 2-1, and it was Dallas over Calgary 2-1.
NCAA:
In college men's basketball, Stony Brook trounced Maine 81-54 last night. Carson Puriefoy scored 23 points for Stony Brook. Maine was led by Devine Eke with 11 points. The Black Bears were 5 of 18 on 3-point attempts and shot just over 33 percent overall.
Meanwhile No. 14 Louisville beat Syracuse 71-53.
New Ball State coach Mike Neu hired former Syracuse assistant Tim Daoust as defensive coordinator and former Indianapolis Colts player Kyle DeVan as offensive line coach Monday. Daoust had worked previously at three other Mid-American Conference schools and most recently was the assistant head coach, special teams coordinator and defensive line coach at Syracuse. DeVan and Neu spent last season on the New Orleans Saints' staff. DeVan was Indy's starting right guard in the Super Bowl following the 2009 season. Neu also named Johnny Curtis the linebackers coach, Byron Ellis the director of football administration and Ben Armer the director of strength and conditioning.
NFL:
Tom Brady and the New England Patriots are heading into the offseason following a two-point loss to the Denver Broncos in Sunday's AFC title game. Injuries, mistakes and questionable decision making derailed the Patriots' attempt to be the first team to repeat as champions since they did in the 2003 and 2004 seasons.
Dick's Sporting Goods says it plans to donate unsellable Patriots AFC Championship gear to a nonprofit after the team lost to the Denver Broncos. Dick's tells the Boston Globe that the T-shirts and hats will go to World Vision and be distributed in "countries in need."
Now that their season is over, the Patriots can get back to a topic they like even less than losing to Peyton Manning: Deflategate. A New York appeals court is scheduled to hear the NFL's appeal in the drawn-out legal battle in March.
Pro Bowl:
Buffalo Bills quarterback Tyrod Taylor, center Eric Wood and guard Richie Incognito are heading to the Pro Bowl. The team announced the selections Monday. It's a first for Taylor and Wood and a second trip for Incognito. Taylor and Wood replaced Carolina's Cam Newton and Ryan Kalil because the Panthers are Super Bowl-bound. Incognito is an injury replacement for Arizona's Mike Iupati.
This was Taylor's first season as a starter after spending the previous four years as Joe Flacco's backup in Baltimore. He set a Bills quarterback record with 568 yards rushing while throwing 20 touchdown passes versus six interceptions. Incognito also made the Pro Bowl in 2012. This was his first NFL season since being suspended by Miami in 2013 for his role in a bullying scandal. No team signed Incognito for 2014, and the Bills gave him a one-year deal. Incognito and Wood helped Buffalo lead the NFL with 2,432 yards rushing.
MLB:
The New York Mets plan to retire Mike Piazza's Number 31 this summer. The Mets say they will retire the number on July 30th before a game against Colorado, part of a weekend celebrating the catcher. He will be inducted into baseball's Hall of Fame on July 24th.
First baseman Lucas Duda and suspended reliever Jenrry Mejia have agreed to one-year contracts with the Mets and avoided salary arbitration. Duda agreed at $6.725, up from $4.2 million last year, when he hit .244 with 27 homers and 73 RBIs. Mejia settled at $2.47 million, a cut from his $2.595 salary in 2015.
Elsewhere:
— The Twins and third baseman Trevor Plouffe have avoided going to salary arbitration by agreeing on a $7.25 million, one-year contract. Plouffe hit .244 last season with 22 home runs and a career-high 86 RBIs. He also set career bests in hits with 140 and runs scored with 74.
— The Los Angeles Angels have avoided arbitration with right-hander Garrett Richards, agreeing to a one-year deal worth $6.425 million for the upcoming season. Richards went 15-12 with a 3.65 ERA last season for the Angels.
— The Texas Rangers have agreed to a $3.275 million contract with closer Shawn Tolleson, thus avoiding salary arbitration. Tolleson had 35 saves in 37 chances last season after becoming the closer in late May.
— Outfielder Charlie Blackmon and the Rockies avoided arbitration when they agreed to a $3.5 million, one-year contract. Blackmon made $517,500 last year, when he hit .287 with 17 homers and 58 RBIs mostly from the leadoff spot.
Olympics:
Tamika Catchings, Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi headline the 25 finalists for the U.S. women's basketball Olympics team. The trio has each won three Olympic gold medals and could be trying for a fourth straight in Rio this summer. The U.S. has won an unprecedented five straight gold medals in the Olympics. The U.S. will conduct a training camp next month at UConn.
Tennis:
Top-seed Serena Williams beat Maria Sharapova 6-4, 6-1 to reach the semifinals of the Australian Open. It was Williams' 18th consecutive victory over Sharapova and 19th in 21 career meetings back to 2004. Up next for Williams is fourth-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska, who beat No. 10 Carla Suarez Navarro 6-1, 6-3 to reach a Grand Slam semifinal for the fifth time. She has never won a major.
On the men's side, Roger Federer has advanced to his 39th Grand Slam semifinal, beating Tomas Berdych 7-6 (4), 6-2, 6-4. The No. 3-ranked Federer put on a dazzling display of footwork and shot variety against the No. 6-ranked Czech, improving his record over Berdych to 16-6.
Connecticut:
Andre Agassi and John McEnroe have agreed to play this summer at The Connecticut Open tennis tournament, which has been added as a stop on the tour for over-30 men's players. The New Haven tournament is the final stop on the women's tour before the U.S. Open. It was once a combined men's and women's event, but the ATP left after 2010.
Obit:
Hall of Famer Bobby Wanzer, who starred at point guard for Seton Hall in the 1940s and led the Rochester Royals to their only NBA championship, has died. Wanzer died Saturday at his home outside Rochester at age 94. His family announced his death.
Born in Brooklyn in 1921, Wanzer was a standout for the Pirates for two seasons, 1942-43 and 1946-47, his college career interrupted for three years while he served in the Marines during World War II. In those two seasons, Wanzer led the Pirates to a 40-5 record, including what was then a program-best 24 wins in 1946-47, when he led the team in scoring at 11.6 points per game. After being selected by the Royals with the 10th overall pick of the draft in 1948, the 6-foot Wanzer helped guide the Royals (now the Sacramento Kings) to the 1951 NBA Championship.
Empire State Winter Games:
The 36th edition of the Empire State Winter Games is set to get underway with a four-day torch run starting next Monday. Competition is scheduled through February 7th in Lake Placid, Saranac Lake, Tupper Lake, Paul Smiths and Malone. More than 1,200 athletes are signed up, and organizers hope to have 1,800 registered by next week.
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