NBA:
In the NBA, Toronto beat Boston 114-106, Atlanta won against Brooklyn 117-97, Houston topped Charlotte 121-114, Milwaukee bested San Antonio 109-107, Utah defeated Cleveland 100-92, Portland won against the Lakers 108-87, Golden State beat Miami 107-95, Sacramento topped Detroit 100-94, and it was Washington over Chicago 101-99.
New York Knicks guard Derrick Rose has been fined by the team after he missed Monday's loss to New Orleans for what he says were family reasons. Rose is expected to be in uniform for tonight's game in Philadelphia. The 2011 NBA MVP is averaging 17.3 points this season but had been on the bench for the fourth quarters of the previous two games before Monday.
NHL:
In the NHL, Buffalo beat Philadelphia 4-1, Boston topped St. Louis 5-3, Nashville edged Vancouver in overtime 2-1, Chicago slid past Detroit in overtime 4-3, San Jose bested Edmonton 5-3, Anaheim blanked Dallas 2-0, and it was Carolina over Columbus 5-3.
Rookies Auston Matthews of Toronto and Patrik Laine from Winnipeg are among the players selected for the NHL All-Star Game at Staples Center. The rosters also include Washington's Alex Ovechkin, Pittsburgh's Evgeni Malkin, John Tavares of the Islanders and Chicago teammates Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews and Duncan Keith. Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby, Edmonton's Connor McDavid, Nashville's P.K. Subban, and Montreal's Carey Price already were chosen by fans to be captains of their respective teams.
NCAA:
A pair of Heisman Trophy finalists announced yesterday that they are skipping their senior season and entering the NFL draft. Michigan linebacker Jabrill Peppers is expected to be chosen in the first round after winning the Hornung Award as the nation's most versatile college football player. Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson is also giving up his final year of eligibility after guiding the Tigers to a 32-3 as a starter and winning the national championship against Alabama on Monday.
In college women's basketball, top-ranked UConn tied its own NCAA record with its 90th consecutive win, routing Number 20 South Florida 102-37 last night. Saniya Chong scored 20 points to lead six players in double figures for the Huskies, who matched the streak Geno Auriemma's program set between November of 2008 and December of 2010.
Elsewhere Siena beat Iona 58-46.
Baylor is No. 1 in The Associated Press men's basketball poll for the first time ever, but it could be a short stay. No. 10 West Virginia has handed Baylor its first loss of the season as Nathan Adrian broke out of a shooting slump with a career-high 22 points in an 89-68 pounding of the Bears. Jevon Carter had 17 points for the Mountaineers, who opened the second half on an 11-3 run and led by as many as 26.
Meanwhile Virginia Tech beat Syracuse 83-73.
In other top-25 finals:
— No. 2 Kansas is in position to take over the top spot in the poll after Frank Mason scored 19 of his 28 points in the second half of the Jayhawks' 81-70 win at Oklahoma. Josh Jackson scored 16 points and Devonte' Graham added 13 for the Jayhawks, who trailed by nine at halftime before posting their 15th straight win. Kansas could become the No. 1 team if it beats Oklahoma State on Saturday.
— Third-ranked Villanova rolled to victory by making 15 of its first 20 shots in the second half of a 79-54 rout of No. 15 Xavier. Kris Jenkins and Josh Hart scored 20 points apiece for the 16-1 Wildcats, whose five-week run atop the poll ended with a loss at Butler last week.
— Malik Monk scored six points in the final 32 seconds as sixth-ranked Kentucky escaped with an 87-81 triumph at Vanderbilt. Isaiah Briscoe had a team-high 23 points, De'Aaron Fox had 22 and Monk finished with 18 to help the Wildcats get to 14-2 overall and 4-0 in the SEC.
— Florida State ran its winning streak to a school-record 11 games as Xavier Rathan-Mayes scored 18 of his 21 points in the second half of the ninth-ranked Seminoles' 88-72 victory over No. 7 Duke. Dwayne Bacon and Terance Mann had 13 points apiece in helping FSU open its ACC schedule with four straight wins for the first time in program history.
— Keith Stone came off the bench to score a team-high 14 points as 23rd-rated Florida downed Alabama, 80-67.
— Keenan Evans capped his 18-point performance by hitting a go-ahead layup with 15 seconds left to send Texas Tech past No. 25 Kansas State, 66-65.
NASCAR:
Joe Gibbs Racing is losing its top driver. Two people with knowledge of the situation tell The Associated Press that Carl Edwards is walking away from the final year of his contract, telling Gibbs just before Christmas that he no longer wants to compete. The racing team is expected to announce Edwards' decision and name reigning Xfinity Series champion Daniel Suarez as the replacement driver at separate news conferences tomorrow.
It appears that Carl Edwards has made his final left turn in NASCAR competition. Two people with knowledge of the situation have told The Associated Press that Edwards is retiring from the sport less than two months after nearly winning his first Cup championship. Joe Gibbs Racing has scheduled a pair of news conferences Wednesday during which Edwards is expected to announce he is giving up the sport immediately and that reigning Xfinity Series champion Daniel Suarez will replace Edwards in the No. 19 Toyota.
FIFA:
FIFA will expand the World Cup from 32 to 48 teams for the 2026 tournament, which is likely to be held in North America. President Gianni Infantino's favored plan has been unanimously approved by the FIFA Council and will consist of 16 three-team groups, with the top two in each group advancing to the second round. FIFA projects the 16 additional matches with bring in the equivalent of $1 billion extra income at current rates from broadcasting and sponsor deals, plus ticket sales.
NFL:
New England Patriots receiver Danny Amendola says he's "feeling good" and hasn't had any setbacks while recovering from an ankle injury that has sidelined him for the past month. Amendola spoke to reporters yesterday for the first time since suffering the injury late in the Patriots' win over the Rams on December 4th. He missed the final four games of the regular season.
MLB:
Suspended relief pitcher Jenrry Mejia and the New York Mets went through the formality yesterday of agreeing to a one-year contract worth $1,976,000, money he will not ever receive. Mejia was given a lifetime ban from baseball last year after his third positive test under the major league drug program.
The Los Angeles Dodgers have finalized their five-year, $80 million contract with closer Kenley Jansen. The right-hander was selected to the All-Star game for the first time last year before finishing the regular season 3-2 with a career-high 47 saves and a 1.83 ERA and 104 strikeouts. Jansen also tossed scoreless ball in six of his second postseason appearances.
Tennis:
Maria Sharapova will return from her 15-month doping ban at a tournament in Germany in April. The five-time Grand Slam titlist has been given a wild-card entry into the tournament, which will be her first official competition since she tested positive for meldonium at last year's Australian Open. The 29-year old Sharapova will be eligible to return on April 26, the third day of main-draw play. She's won the Stuttgart tournament three times.
Soccer:
Rocco B. Commisso, the chief executive of Mediacom Communications Corp. and a former soccer player at Columbia, has purchased majority ownership of the North American Soccer League's New York Cosmos and will become the club's chairman. The Cosmos relaunched with the second-tier league in 2013 under CEO Seamus O'Brien and won titles in 2013, 2015 and 2016. The league is contracting from 12 teams last fall to eight this year. The 67-year-old Commisso was co-captain of Columbia's 1970 team that made the Lions' first appearance in the NCAA playoffs, and the university's soccer stadium was named after him in 2013. Featuring Pele, Franz Beckenbauer and Giorgio Chinaglia, the Cosmos played in the old NASL from 1971-84 and folded in 1985.
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