NFL:
On Thursday Night Football, Atlanta beat Tampa Bay 43-28.
Researchers say they've found a traumatic brain disease in former Eagles and Patriots fullback Kevin Turner, who was the lead plaintiff in a concussion lawsuit against the NFL. The doctors announced the results of their study yesterday at a conference at Boston University. They say Turner developed chronic traumatic encephalopathy over 25 years, playing from youth football up through the NFL.
Buffalo Bills running back LeSean McCoy expects to play at Seattle on Monday night after testing his injured left hamstring in practice. McCoy said "I'm ready to roll" in noting how good he felt physically and mentally during practice yesterday. It was his first time back on the field since aggravating the injury in a 28-25 loss at Miami on October 23rd.
NBA:
In the NBA, Cleveland topped Boston 128-122, Milwaukee won against Indiana 125-107, Denver bested Minnesota 102-99, Golden State beat Oklahoma City 122-96, and it was Orlando over Sacramento 102-94.
Jerry Colangelo, says he won't seek a third term as chairman of USA Basketball. He says in the future he will spend his time focusing on his role as managing director of the men's national team program. Colangelo issued a release saying he will concentrate on the transition from coach Mike Krzyzewski to Gregg Popovich and building the player pool for the competition cycle through the 2020 Olympics. Colangelo is the only person to serve two terms as chairman. USA Basketball's board of directors will elect a new chairman at its annual meeting later this month.
NHL:
In the NHL, the Rangers beat Edmonton 5-3, Boston topped Tampa Bay in a shootout 4-3, Florida edged New Jersey 4-3, Toronto beat Buffalo 2-1, Philadelphia won against the Islanders in a shootout 3-2, Dallas tripled up St. Louis 6-2, Chicago blanked Colorado 4-0, Ottawa blanked Vancouver 1-0, Arizona beat Nashville in a shootout 3-2, Calgary defeated San Jose 3-2, and it was the Kings over Pittsburgh 3-2.
NCAA:
Harvard University is suspending its men's soccer team for the rest of the season over sexual comments made about members of the women's soccer team. University President Drew Faust said in a statement last night that an investigation into the 2012 team found that their "appalling" comments were not isolated and have continued through the current season. The soccer team is currently in first place in the Ivy League.
In college football, Ohio beat Buffalo 34-10 last night. Quinton Maxwell passed for 236 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 50 yards and another score for Ohio. The Bobcats scored on the first play from scrimmage and pulled away with the help of Buffalo's early mistakes.
Arizona forward Ray Smith will sit out a third straight season after tearing his right ACL for the second time in a year. Smith was injured in the No. 10 Wildcats' exhibition game against College of Idaho on Tuesday. That was his first game since tearing both of his ACLs over the previous two seasons.
Arizona forward Ray Smith will sit out a third straight season after tearing his right ACL for the second time in a year. Smith was injured in the No. 10 Wildcats' exhibition game against College of Idaho on Tuesday. That was his first game since tearing both of his ACLs over the previous two seasons.
MLB:
That Chicago Cubs' curse-breaking victory over the Cleveland Indians in Game 7 was also a big hit in the Neilsen ratings. Game 7 reached 40 million viewers, making it the most-watched World Series game since 1991. The Nielsen company said the World Series as a whole averaged 23.4 million viewers. That was the most popular World Series since another curse-breaking year, when the Boston Red Sox beat the St. Louis Cardinals in 2004 to end a long drought. This was the Cubs' first World Series championship since 1908. The Cubs did it in thrilling fashion, topping the Indians 8-7 in 10 innings for their third straight victory after trailing 3-1 in the series.
The newly-crowned World Series-champion Cubs will be honored on Friday with a parade in Chicago. The celebration will start about 10 a.m. local time when the official parade leaves Wrigley Field and heads for downtown Chicago. The route will travel along the city's famed Michigan Avenue and then along Columbus Drive near Lake Michigan before heading to Grant Park. President Obama wants to get in on the fun. He has invited the team to the White House for a celebration before he leaves office in January.
The Double-A franchise of the New York Mets has a new nickname, the Rumble Ponies. Fans made the choice in a vote, and results were released Thursday at an elementary school in Binghamton. Rumble Ponies topped five other nicknames in the running: Bullheads, Gobblers, Stud Muffins, Timber Jockeys and Rocking Horses. Team owner John Hughes asked fans to submit their ideas for the new nickname, and the six finalists were announced in April. The franchise shared the nickname of the parent club since moving to Binghamton in 1992.
Major League teams are able to start announcing contract moves now that the World Series is over. Several clubs wasted no time reshaping their 40-man rosters.
The Angels and Tigers have pulled off the first trade of the offseason. Los Angeles has acquired outfielder Cameron Maybin from Detroit for pitcher Victor Alcantara. The Angels also announced they will exercise the $9 million contract option on Maybin, who batted a career-best .315 with four homers, 43 RBIs and 15 stolen bases in 94 games for the Tigers this year.
The Rangers have exercised their $5.25 million club option for next year on catcher and midseason pickup Jonathan Lucroy. The two-time All-Star hit .276 with 11 homers and 31 RBIs in 47 games for the Rangers after being acquired from Milwaukee. The Rangers say they will extend a $17.2 million qualifying offer to All-Star outfielder Ian Desmond but won't do likewise with first baseman Mitch Moreland or right-hander Colby Lewis.
The Phillies have declined their $23 million contract option on longtime first baseman Ryan Howard. The 2006 NL MVP was the last remaining member of Philadelphia's 2008 World Series championship team.
The Nationals have exercised their $12 million club option for 2017 on left-hander Gio Gonzalez's contract. The 31-year-old was 11-11 with a 4.57 ERA this season, throwing 177 1/3 innings in 32 starts. He has won at least 10 games in each of his five seasons with Washington.
San Francisco has picked up the $7 million contract option on pitcher Matt Moore, who was acquired at the trade deadline from Tampa Bay. The move means the Giants will pretty much have their rotation back for 2017, featuring Moore, Madison Bumgarner, Johnny Cueto, Jeff Samardzija.
Reliever Fernando Rodney is a free agent after the Miami Marlins declined his $2 million option. The 39-year-old Rodney had a 5.89 ERA and eight saves in 39 games for the Fish.
Seattle has picked up the $7 million option on outfielder Seth Smith for the 2017 season, while declining the option on catcher Chris Iannetta (eye-ah-NEH'-tuh). The Mariners also reinstated Nathan Karns from the 60-day disabled list and lost outfielder Nori Aoki (NOHR'-ee ah-OH'-kee) to Houston in a waiver claim.
Outfielder Jay Bruce's $13 million option has been picked up by the New York Mets, who also exercised an option on infielder Jose Reyes for next year's major league minimum.
The White Sox declined a $3 million club option on reliever Matt Albers, who was 2-6 with a 6.31 ERA in 58 appearances last season.
The Cardinals have given manager Mike Matheny a three-year contract extension. The Cardinals have averaged 92 wins per season since Matheny took over after Tony La Russa retired following the World Series-winning 2011 season. The Cards were in the playoffs each of their first four seasons under Matheny before missing them this year.
The new general manager of the Twins is Thad Levine, who was the assistant GM for the Texas Rangers for the last 11 seasons. The 44-year-old previously worked for the Colorado Rockies and Los Angeles Dodgers. Levine will work under new chief baseball officer Derek Falvey as they attempt to revive a franchise that was a club-worst 59-103 this year.
The Boston Red Sox have exercised their 2017 option on designated hitter David Ortiz "as a formality," even though he has said he will retire. The team also exercised its option on right-hander Clay Buchholz and declined the option on catcher Ryan Hanigan. Ortiz spent the last season on a farewell tour after announcing that he would retire at the age of 40.
Outfielder Jay Bruce's $13 million option has been exercised by the New York Mets, who also exercised an option on infielder Jose Reyes for next year's major league minimum. Bruce was an All-Star for the third time this year, hitting .265 with 25 homers and 80 RBIs for Cincinnati before the Mets acquired him on August 1st.
PGA:
Rod Pampling is the leader of the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open in Las Vegas after flirting with a 59 in the opening round. Pampling had to settle for an 11-under 60 following pars on his last two holes, but his two eagles and seven birdies allowed him to match the TPC Summerlin record. It was the lowest score of his career, topping the 10-under 61 he fired last year. Brooks Koepka and John Huh shot 62, and Billy Horschel had a 64.
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