NBA:
In the NBA, Toronto bested Atlanta 104-96, San Antonio topped Chicago 109-101, Denver beat Phoenix 116-98, and it was Cleveland over the Lakers 120-108.
NHL:
In the NHL, New Jersey blanked San Jose 3-0, Montreal edged Buffalo 3-2, Carolina skated by Boston in overtime 3-2, Florida tripled up Ottawa 6-2, Detroit beat Winnipeg 3-2, and it was Edmonton over Minnesota 2-1.
NFL:
Two people familiar with the decisions tell The Associated Press that the New York Jets have agreed in principle to sign free-agent running backs Matt Forte and Khiry Robinson, and re-sign running back Bilal Powell. The people spoke on condition of anonymity because the Jets had not announced the signings.
Tom Brady has signed his two-year contract extension with the Patriots that will give him a $28 million signing bonus. Although Brady will earn only $1 million in base salary next season and in 2017, the bonuses will increase his cap hit to $14 million in each of those seasons.
The signing of free agents continues in the NFL:
— The Raiders have agreed to a four-year, $40 million deal with former Kansas City cornerback Sean Smith. His agent has confirmed the deal. Smith has allowed opponents to catch fewer than 60 percent of passes for all seven of his NFL seasons and gives the Raiders the starter they needed alongside David Amerson.
— The Chiefs have begun to announce their wave of free-agent signings, starting with veteran linebacker Tamba Hali and defensive tackle Jaye Howard. Hali agreed to a three-year deal to remain with Kansas City on Tuesday, while Howard reached a two-year deal to stay with the Chiefs on Wednesday.
— The Bengals have signed starting safety George Iloka and offensive tackle Eric Winston to new contracts. The club says it is also working on a deal with cornerback Adam "Pacman" Jones. He has posted on social media that he would get a three-year deal to stay with the team.
— The Dallas Cowboys have added their first free agent, signing former Philadelphia defensive lineman Cedric Thornton on a four-year contract worth up to $18 million. The addition comes a day after the Cowboys re-signed middle linebacker Rolando McClain as they attempt to shore up their defense.
— The Falcons have re-signed defensive end Adrian Clayborn to a two-year contract and have added former Miami end Derrick Shelby with a four-year deal. A day after making former Cleveland center Alex Mack the NFL's highest-paid player at his position, the Falcons turned their attention to shoring up a pass rush that's ranked no higher than 28th in sacks since 2012.
— The Falcons have also filled a big spot on their offense, reaching terms with former Cincinnati receiver Mohamed Sanu on a five-year contract. He will compete with Justin Hardy for the No. 2 receiver role behind All-Pro Julio Jones.
— Philadelphia has agreed on a two-year contract with linebacker Nigel Bradham. The 26-year-old is the third former Bills player to join the Eagles this week. All three played for new Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz when he held that position in Buffalo in 2014.
— The Steelers have their replacement for retired tight end Heath Miller. Pittsburgh has signed former San Diego tight end Ladarius Green to a four-year deal. The 25-year-old is coming off a career year with the Chargers in which he set personal bests in receptions, yards receiving and touchdown receptions.
— Tampa Bay has addressed a need created by Logan Mankins' retirement by signing former Seattle guard J.R. Sweezy to a five-year deal. A seventh round draft pick by the Seahawks in 2012, Sweezy starting 49 of 59 regular-season games and 10 postseason games for Seattle.
— The Detroit Lions have signed free agent cornerback Johnson Bademosi. He has been a special teams standout for Cleveland. He played for the Browns the past four seasons.
— The Seattle Seahawks continue to focus on retaining their own free agents by agreeing to terms with wide receiver Jermaine Kearse. Kearse and the Seahawks reached agreement on a three-year deal. He's the third player Seattle has brought back this week. Seattle previously agreed to deals with defensive tackle Ahtyba Rubin and cornerback Jeremy Lane. Last season, Kearse had 49 receptions for 685 yards and five touchdowns in the regular season. He had another 14 catches and two touchdowns in the postseason.
MLB:
The Toronto Blue Jays beat a New York Yankees split squad 11-4 yesterday. New York closer Aroldis Chapman and Toronto slugger Jose Bautista both made their spring training debuts. Chapman hit Bautista with a pitch in the fifth, when the left-hander gave up a run, hit two batters and walked two others during two-thirds of an inning. Chapman reached 99 mph and was consistently around 96-97 — 17 of his 26 pitches were balls.
The Baltimore Orioles tied a New York Yankees split squad 4-4 yesterday. Starlin Castro had three hits and three RBIs for the Yankees: an RBI double that scored Jacoby Ellsbury and a two-run single. Bryan Mitchell allowed four hits, including Jones' home run, in three innings.
The New York Mets beat the St. Louis Cardinals 7-2 yesterday. Noah Syndergaard allowed one hit in three scoreless innings in his spring training debut. Syndergaard, who finished fourth in NL Rookie of the Year voting last year, retired his first eight batters. He struck out two and walked none.
The Minnesota Twins beat the Boston Red Sox 8-2 yesterday. David Price gave up consecutive homers in the middle inning of his Boston debut. Signed as free agent to a $217 million, seven-year contract to bolster a staff with the AL's second-worst ERA last year, the 30-year-old left-hander threw 53 pitches in three innings, mostly fastballs.
St. Louis shortstop Jhonny Peralta has undergone surgery for a left thumb injury. He will most likely miss about 10-to-12 weeks. Offseason acquisition Jedd Gyorko is likely to get the first chance to fill in at shortstop. The Cardinals also have utility man Greg Garcia and prospect Aledmys Diaz in camp.
OBIT:
Bill Gadsby, a Hall of Fame defenseman who played 20 seasons in the NHL for Chicago, Detroit and the New York Rangers, has died. He was 88. Lynn Anderson, director of communications for Beaumont Hospital of Farmington Hills, confirmed that Gadsby died Thursday.
Gadsby played 1,248 games from 1946-66 for the Blackhawks, Rangers and Red Wings, reaching the Stanley Cup finals with Detroit in 1963, 1964 and 1966. He later coached the Red Wings for just over a season, going 35-31-12. Gadsby had 130 goals, 438 assists and 1,539 penalty minutes. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1970. In 1958-59 with the Rangers, Gadsby set what was then a record for assists by a defenseman with 46.
MLS:
New York Red Bulls defender Ronald Zubar and Vancouver Whitecaps defender Christian Bolanos have been suspended for one game each and fined undisclosed amounts for rough play. The MLS Disciplinary Committee announced the sanctions Thursday.
Zubar was penalized for a serious foul play that endangered the safety of an opponent in the 47th minute of the Red Bulls' 2-0 season-opening loss to Toronto FC on Sunday. Bolanos also was sanctioned for a serious foul play in the 62nd minute of the Whitecaps' 3-2 loss to Montreal on Sunday.
Also, New York City FC defender Frederic Brillant was fined an undisclosed amount for violating the league's policy of hands to the face, head or neck of an opponent in the 52nd minute Sunday in a 4-3 victory over Chicago. The league rescinded Houston Dynamo coach Owen Coyle's dismissal late in a 3-3 tie against New England on Sunday, making him eligible to coach against FC Dallas on Saturday.
NCAA:
In college men’s basketball, the America East tournament championship game is scheduled for this Saturday at 11 a.m. Stony Brook will take on Vermont for the championship spot.
The ECAC men’s hockey tournament resumes this weekend when Rensselaer will take on Harvard in a best of three series. No. 1 seed Quinnipiac takes on Cornell. St. Lawrence sees Clarkson.
The NCAA will distribute an extra $200 million to Division I schools in the spring of 2017 to be used by members for funding benefits for athletes. The NCAA announced that its board of governors had approved the one-time supplemental distribution. Athletics departments can use the money to help pay for full-cost-of-attendance scholarships and provide unlimited meals for athletes. Schools can also create endowments and start or expand health care and academic programs.
Illinois pulled off the upset of the day in college basketball tournament play. The 15-18 Illini shocked No. 20 Iowa 68-66 in the Big Ten Tournament. Malcolm Hill hit the tie-breaking jumper with 1:14 to go to help fend off a furious Hawkeyes rally.
Elsewhere:
— Notre Dame continues its recent domination of No. 19 Duke with an 84-79 win over the Blue Devils in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals. V.J. Beachem scored 19 for the Fighting Irish who have won five of the teams' last six meetings. Next up for the Irish is an ACC semifinal date with North Carolina.
—No. 7 North Carolina shot a sizzling 58.9 percent from the field in an 88-74 win over Pittsburgh in the ACC Tournament. Joel Berry II pace the 26-6 Tar Heels with 20 points on 7-of-8 shooting.
— Fourth-ranked Virginia topped Georgia Tech 72-52 to reach the ACC semifinals. ACC player of the year Malcolm Brogdon led the Cavaliers with 26 points on 10 of 15 shooting.
__ No. 11 Miami reached the ACC semifinals against Virginia by holding off Virginia Tech 88-82. Sheldon McClellan scored 21 for the 'Canes. Miami shot 57 percent from the field.
— Top-ranked Kansas got 21 points from Perry Ellis in an 85-63 win over Kansas State in the Big 12 Tournament quarterfinals. The Jayhawks improved to 28-4 and will next take on Baylor.
— Sixth-ranked Oklahoma reached the Big 12 semifinals by holding off 21st-ranked Iowa State 79-76. Buddy Hield hit for 39 for the Sooners, who next take on West Virginia. Hield's 39 is the second-most in Big 12 Tournament history
— Devin Williams had 18 points and 11 rebounds to lead a balanced West Virginia attack, and the ninth-ranked Mountaineers never trailed in an 86-66 victory over TCU to reach the semifinals of the Big 12 Tournament.
— Chris Boucher had 19 points and 11 rebounds to help No. 8 Oregon withstand a late flurry to hold off Washington 83-77 in the Pac-12 Tournament quarterfinals. Andrew Andrews scored 10 of his 19 points during a second half run that saw the Huskies cut an 11-point deficit to two points.
— Also in the Pac-12, No. 12 Utah held off Southern California 80-72 to reach the semifinals. Kyle Kuzman was 11 of 12 from the field in leading the Utes with 23.
— Third-ranked Villanova advanced to the Big East Tournament semifinal with an 81-67 win over Georgetown. Josh Hart scored 25 points in the win while Ryan Arcidiacono added 19 points and six assists. The top-seeded Wildcats are 28-4.
— Also in the Big East, fifth-ranked Xavier slapped Marquette 90-72. Trevon Bluiett matched his career high with 24 points.
— No. 15 Arizona beat Colorado 82-78 in a Pac-12 quarterfinal. Allonzo Trier scored 23 points. Ryan Anderson had 17 points and 11 rebounds for the 25-7 Wildcats, who play eighth-ranked Oregon Friday.
— No. 22 Baylor beat No. 23 Texas 75-61 in the Big 12 Tournament. Taurean Prince keyed the attack for the Bears with 24 points and 13 rebounds. Rico Gathers added 13 points for Baylor which is now 22-10.
— And No. 24 California advanced to the Pac-12 semifinal against Utah by beating Oregon State 76-68. Ivan Cobb led the Golden Bears with 21 points and 15 assists.
The Ivy League will join the list of conferences with post-season basketball tournaments. The league will add men's and women's conference tournaments for the 2017 season that will determine automatic berths for the NCAA Tournament. The Ivy League had traditionally sent its regular season champion to the tournament.
Eddie Jordan is out as coach after three seasons as men's basketball team at Rutgers. Rutgers went just 7-25 this season with one win in conference play. Jordan held the job for three seasons and was 29-68. The Scarlet Knicks were 3-35 in conference play in their first two seasons in the Big Ten.
PGA:
Keegan Bradley, Ken Duke and Charles Howell III share the after the opening round of the Valspar Championship after opening with 4-under 67s. Chesson Hadley is a shot back. Defending champion Jordan Spieth opened with a 5-over-76.
