NHL:
In the NHL, Arizona beat Anaheim 3-2 and it was Florida over St. Louis 2-1.
Calgary has acquired defenseman Michael Stone from Arizona for a third-round pick in the 2017 draft and a conditional fifth-round draft choice in 2018. Stone has a goal and eight assists in 45 games with the Coyotes this season and will be counted on to help shore up Calgary's defense as it makes a playoff push. The Flames entered Monday's games a point up on Winnipeg for the second Western Conference wild-card spot.
The NHL has suspended Winnipeg defenseman Jacob Trouba for two games for an illegal check to the head of Ottawa's Mark Stone. The incident came in the Jets win Sunday, when Trouba hit Stone with an elbow to the head. Stone did not return to the game, but has joined the Senators for their upcoming road trip.
NBA:
The Sacramento Kings and New Orleans Pelicans have confirmed the trade news that almost overshadowed Sunday's NBA All-Star game. The Kings have dealt 6-foot-11 DeMarcus Cousins to the Pelicans in a five-player, two-draft-pick swap. The Pelicans also get Omri Casspi and give up Tyreke Evans, rookie Buddy Hield, Langston Galloway and first- and second-round draft picks this summer. Cousins ranks fourth in the league in scoring at 27.8 per game. He's also grabbing 10.6 rebounds a game, which is right around his average during a 6 ½-year career that had been spent entirely with Sacramento.
NCAA:
There's no change among the top three in the latest Associated Press men's basketball poll. No. 1 Gonzaga claimed 59 of 65 first-place votes after improving to 28-0. Second-ranked Villanova picked up five first-place votes, while No. 3 Kansas took the other. Arizona moved up to fourth after Baylor dropped two games last week. Fifth-ranked UCLA is followed by Oregon, Louisville, North Carolina, Baylor and Duke. Meanwhile, Connecticut remains the unanimous No. 1 team in the AP women's poll after extending its record winning streak to 101 games. Maryland is second, ahead of Mississippi State, Baylor and Notre Dame.
UConn survived one of the toughest tests of its winning streak to remain Number 1 in The Associated Press women's basketball poll. The Huskies narrowly edged Tulane on Saturday, five days after beating Number 6 South Carolina for their 100th consecutive victory. Next up for UConn tomorrow is Temple, which earned its first ranking since March 13th, 2006, entering the poll yesterday at Number 23.
Alabama has hired New England Patriots assistant Brian Daboll as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban announced yesterday that Daboll will replace Steve Sarkisian, who ran the offense in the national championship game before leaving for the same job with the Atlanta Falcons.
Maryland junior center Michal Cekovsky will miss the remainder of the season with a fractured left ankle suffered in Sunday's loss at Wisconsin. The 7-foot-1 Slovakian averaged 7.6 points and 2.8 rebounds in 17 games off the bench for the 24th-ranked Terrapins this season. Cekovsky missed 10 games this season with other injuries.
NFL:
The Jacksonville Jaguars have released veteran defensive lineman Jared Odrick in a move that saves $8.5 million against the salary cap. Odrick was due a $2 million roster bonus and would have had $3.5 million of his $6.5 million salary for 2017 guaranteed had he still been on the roster March 13. He appeared in 22 games over two seasons with the Jags, missing most of last year because of a shoulder injury.
MLB:
Nick Swisher has arrived as a New York Yankees guest spring training instructor and Alex Rodriguez is on deck. Swisher worked with outfielders yesterday during his first day. A-Rod is set make his initial appearance today. Rodriguez and Swisher were also guest instructors with the Yankees instructional league team last fall.
New York Mets team captain David Wright isn't sure how an intangible issue like character factors into wins and losses and the divisional race in the National League East, but the career-long Met is impressed by the leadership qualities in the clubhouse around him. The Mets have assembled a clubhouse full of players who have taken on leadership roles.
Mitch Moreland knows he's likely the only new player in Boston's lineup since David Ortiz retired at the end of last season. He's just not listening to those who say he needs to replace Big Papi's lofty production. The 31-year-old first baseman, who signed a $5.5-million, 1-year deal with the Red Sox during the offseason, says "there's no replacing that guy."
Horse Racing:
Former Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes winner Charismatic was found dead in his stall Sunday at a thoroughbred retirement farm in Kentucky. Preliminary results from a necropsy indicate that the 21-year-old chestnut colt suffered a fractured pelvis, which caused the horse to hemorrhage. Charismatic's bid to win the Triple Crown in 1999 came to a disappointing end with a dramatic leg injury near the finish line at the Belmont Stakes.
PGA:
The British Open is headed back to Royal St. George's in 2020. The announcement was made by The Royal & Ancient, which organizes the world's oldest major. The course in southeast England will be hosting the British Open for the 15th time, and for the first time since 2011 when Darren Clarke lifted the claret jug. A few of the previous winners at Royal St. George's are Walter Hagen, Henry Cotton, Bobby Locke, Sandy Lyle and Greg Norman.
It was just a formality but Dustin Johnson has reached the top of the world golf rankings for the men. He moved to No.1 after his win at the Genesis Open over the weekend. Johnson tops Jason Day, Rory McIlroy, Henrik Stenson and Hideki Matsuyama. Other highly ranked Americans are Jordan Spieth in the sixth spot, Justin Thomas eighth, Rickie Fowler and Bubba Watson 14th and 15th and Phil Mickelson 23rd.
World Snowshoe Championships:
A snowy first three weeks of February is good news for the Adirondack hosts of the World Snowshoe Championships, being held in the United States for the first time later this week.
Organizers say they're expecting more than 300 athletes to compete Saturday in the event being held in the village of Saranac Lake. Previous world championships have been held in Japan, Canada and several European nations.
The inaugural U.S. event will include the World Championship and Junior World Championship, with athletes from 21 American states and 11 nations competing.
Much of the action, including the 5-kilometer and 10K races, will be held at Dewey Mountain, where recent snowstorms have established a deep base.
The weekend kicks off with an athlete's parade on Broadway to the town hall for the opening ceremony.
©2017 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
