NBA:
Indiana beat New York 108-105, Cleveland bested Charlotte 114-103, Golden State won against Miami 118-112, Toronto topped Minnesota 114-105, Detroit defeated Philadelphia 111-91, Memphis blasted the Lakers 128-119, Chicago trumped Washington 109-104, Oklahoma City won against Dallas 116-103, Denver bested the Clippers 87-81, and it was San Antonio over Sacramento 108-92.
NHL:
In the NHL, Boston topped Pittsburgh 5-1, Montreal edged Washington 4-3, Colorado skated past San Jose in a shootout 4-3, and Anaheim blanked Buffalo 1-0.
MLB:
The Baltimore Orioles apparently have acquired a new outfielder, but they still aren't sure about their starting rotation.
The Birds appear ready to sign free-agent outfielder Dexter Fowler, who hit .250 with 17 home runs, 46 RBIs and 20 stolen bases for the Cubs last season. Orioles center fielder Adam Jones says he has spoken with Fowler and says Fowler is excited about joining the team.
Meanwhile, the Birds are awaiting results of a physical on Gallardo, who accepted a three-year, $35 million pact last weekend. The deal has since been reworked to a two-year, $22 million package with an $11 million option.
Also in the majors:
— Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton will start the season on the disabled list because of an injured left knee. The 2010 AL MVP will be on crutches for seven-to-10 days and is projected to need eight weeks of recovery time. He had surgery on the knee twice last year and experienced soreness after reporting to spring training last week.
— Major League Baseball has reduced the suspension of Mets reliever Hansel Robles from three to two games after he agreed to drop his appeal. Robles was penalized for throwing near the head of a Philadelphia batter last September after both teams had been warned. He will miss the Mets' first two games of the season in Kansas City.
FIFA:
Candidates are making their final pitches to secure votes for Friday's election to succeed Sepp Blatter as FIFA president. The first confederations meeting Thursday were the CONCACAF and Oceania regions.
Outsider Tokyo Sexwale, a former Robben Island political prisoner, says "I have come this far. I am used to obstacles." The South African adds that "FIFA is a house broken and needs to be repaired" but stressed "football is not broken."
The favorite is Asian soccer confederation president Sheikh Salman. UEFA general secretary Gianni Infantino, former FIFA vice president Prince Ali of Jordan and former FIFA official Jerome Champagne are also in the running. Blatter decided to step down amid investigations into widespread wrongdoing in soccer.
NCAA:
In college men's basketball, Saint Joseph's beat Massachusetts 74-57 last night. Isaiah Miles had 20 points, nine rebounds and three assists to lead Saint Joseph's. Donte Clark's led UMass with 20 points, and Jabarie Hinds added 19.
Albany beat UMass-Lowell 86-61 last night. Greig Stire scored 16 points and added 15 rebounds to help lead Albany. Jahad Thomas led UMass-Lowell with 14 points and seven rebounds. Dontavious Smith finished with 11 points.
Vermont held off New Hampshire for a 73-67 win last night. Trae Bell-Haynes hit 3 of 4 from 3-point range and finished with 16 points, while Cam Ward scored 11 with five assists for Vermont. Jaleen Smith scored 16, while Ronnel Jordan and Jacoby Armstrong had 15 points apiece for New Hampshire.
Fairfield held off Siena's late rally in a 76-69 win last night to move into a third-place tie with the Saints in Mid-American Athletic Conference play. Tyler Nelson and Matija Milin each scored 16 points for Fairfield.
Florida State men's basketball coach Leonard Hamilton has been given a two-year extension through 2018-19. The winningest coach in the program's history is in his 14th season at the school and has a 252-184 record. The new contract will run until the end of the 2018-19 season.
Yale says captain Jack Montague has left the team and will not return this season to the Ivy League leaders. The school has declined to detail why Montague has been absent from the squad for the last two weeks, other than to say it was for personal reasons. The Yale Daily News reports the senior guard has withdrawn from the university.
In college women's basketball, freshman Katie Lou Samuelson matched her season-high with 21 points to lead UConn to an 88-41 rout of SMU last night that secured the Huskies' third consecutive American Athletic Conference regular-season championship. Breanna Stewart added 14 points and UConn extended the third longest winning streak in NCAA and team history to 64 games.
NFL:
New York Jets coach Todd Bowles says he had a non-cancerous, golf ball-sized tumor removed from his throat shortly after the team's season concluded. Newsday and NJ Advance Media report that Bowles revealed the procedure to a few media members after a news conference at the NFL scouting combine Wednesday. Tests revealed the growth was benign but caused him some trouble swallowing because it was pressing against the artery in his neck.
A Louisiana appeals court has upheld a civil judge's ruling that New Orleans Saints and Pelicans owner Tom Benson was mentally competent when he ousted relatives from ownership positions with his NFL and NBA clubs and appointed his third wife as his primary successor. Benson's estranged daughter and her children have been trying to reverse the owner's moves. Their attorney says his clients are considering filing an appeal to the Louisiana Supreme Court.
A person familiar with the decision says Saints all-time leading receiver Marques Colston has been informed he'll be released by the club after 10 years of service. The 32-year-old Colston owns Saints receiving records for catches with 711, yards with 9,759 and touchdowns with 72.
In other NFL news:
— 49ers general manager Trent Baalke says he expected quarterback Colin Kaepernick to be back with the team next season. Kaepernick lost his starting job to Blaine Gabbert last season after going 2-6. Kaepernick is expected to get a shot at winning back the starting job under new coach Chip Kelly, who prefers mobile quarterbacks.
The 49ers have signed defensive tackle Quinton Dial to a three-year contract extension through 2019. The 25-year-old Dial was a fifth-round pick by the Niners out of Alabama in 2013 and had 59 tackles and 2.5 sacks last season while starting 15 games.
Golf:
Following reports on social media that his recovery from back surgery has not gone well, Tiger Woods has posted a video of him swinging a 9-iron in a golf simulator. The 13-second video Woods posted on Twitter shows him dressed in shorts and golf shoes taking a smooth swing.
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