#SportsReport: Albany Arena Football Team Gets Name

NBA:

LeBron James became the youngest player ever with 30,000 career points, but LaMarcus Aldridge scored 30 points to lift the San Antonio Spurs over the slumping Cleveland Cavaliers 114-102 on Tuesday night. James had 28 points while becoming the seventh member of the 30,000-point club, yet he couldn't keep the Cavaliers from dropping their 10th in 13 games. James was recognized by the arena before the second quarter and got a standing ovation from Spurs fans. James patted his heard and said "thank you so much." The 33-year-old James joined Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (38,387 points), Karl Malone (36,928), Kobe Bryant (33,643), Michael Jordan (32,292), Wilt Chamberlain (31,419) and Dirk Nowitzki (30,808) on the list.

Kyle Kuzma scored 17 of his 28 points in a phenomenal fourth quarter, and the surging Los Angeles Lakers sent the Boston Celtics to their fourth consecutive loss, 108-107. Los Angeles nearly gave it away by missing four free throws in the final 20 seconds, but Marcus Smart missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer for the Eastern Conference-leading Celtics. Kyrie Irving scored 33 points for the Celtics, who opened a four-game road trip by extending their longest losing streak in nearly two years.

Russell Westbrook made a go-ahead layup with 3.3 seconds left to help the Oklahoma City Thunder rally from a 15-point second-half deficit and beat the Brooklyn Nets 109-108. The lead changed hands six times in the final 2:23. Brooklyn went ahead 108-107 on a driving layup by Spencer Dinwiddie with 7.8 seconds left, but Westbrook answered with his own. After three timeouts, Dinwiddie missed a 3-point attempt at the buzzer, with the Thunder's Andre Roberson guarding him closely.

NHL:

Andrew Cogliano and Adam Henrique capped Anaheim's four-goal first period and the Ducks went on to a 6-3 victory over the struggling New York Rangers. Ryan Getzlaf had a goal and an assist, Corey Perry added a goal and an assist, and Rickard Rakell and J.T. Brown also scored to help Anaheim win for the fourth time in six games. John Gibson stopped 41 shots. New York goalie Henrik Lundqvist was pulled after giving up three goals on seven shots over the first 16:21.

Brad Marchand had a goal and an assist, and the Boston Bruins continued surging toward the All-Star break with a 3-2 victory over the New Jersey Devils. Patrice Bergeron and Riley Nash also scored for the Bruins, who won their fourth straight and improved to 13-0-4 in their last 17 games. Tuukka Rask stopped 37 shots as Boston won again despite being outshot 39-24.

Jack Eichel had a goal and three assists, Ryan O'Reilly scored twice and the Buffalo Sabres earned an easy 5-0 victory over the Edmonton Oilers. Sam Reinhart had a goal and two assists and Zemgus Girgensons also scored for the last-place Sabres, who won their second game in a row for just the second time this season. Robin Lehner made 33 saves for his second shutout.

NFL:

Bob Costas won't be working the Super Bowl for NBC next month. The longtime broadcaster was not included in the network's lineup for the NFL title game telecast from Minneapolis on Feb. 4, leading to speculation that Costas' comments about head injuries in football might have affected the decision. During an appearance at the University of Maryland in November, he said of football: "the reality is that this game destroys people's brains. Dan Patrick and Liam McHugh will host the broadcast. Costas says they have been hosting NFL coverage all season and it wouldn't be right for him "to parachute in and do the Super Bowl." Costas hosted NBC's Super Bowl pregame coverage in 1986, 1989, 1993, 2009, 2012 and 2015.

Trey Flowers has been one of the most consistent players for the Patriots on defense this season. He sat out two games late in the season with a ribs injury, but still led the team with 6½ sacks during the regular season. He's remained a steadying presence in the postseason, with eight tackles and a sack through New England's first two victories.

MLB:

Outfielder Curtis Granderson and the Toronto Blue Jays have finalized a $5 million, one-year contract. The three-time All-Star wore a Blue Jays T-shirt in a video posted to his Twitter timeline Tuesday and wrote he was "thrilled" to announce he'll be playing north of the border this season.

Alex Rodriguez is taking over for Aaron Boone again, this time moving into the ESPN booth for Sunday Night Baseball. The former star slugger will become a rare, two-network announcer as he continues to work as a studio analyst for Fox Sports in the postseason. Rodriguez fills the ESPN spot held last season by Boone, who was hired to manage the New York Yankees. In 2004, Rodriguez took over for Boone as the third baseman on the Yankees.

New York Mets chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon defended the team's offseason spending, saying more moves are likely before opening day and during the season. New York started last season with a $157 million payroll for its 40-man roster. The Mets cut it to $149 million as the team faded from contention following a series of injuries that caused it to hire a new director of performance and sports science from the U.S. Army. Jim Cavallini had worked in special operations.

Banned:

Former top Astros prospect Jon Singleton and Houston pitcher Dean Deetz have been suspended after testing positive for banned drugs. Deetz became the first player penalized this year under the major league drug program. Singleton was the eighth under the minor league program.

The commissioner's office announced the penalties Tuesday. Deetz drew an 80-game ban for a positive test of Dehydrochlormethyltestosterone, a performance-enhancing substance.

Deetz has never played in the majors but is on Houston's 40-man roster. In a statement released by the players' union, Deetz said, "I have no idea how I could possibly have tested positive."

Singleton was banned 100 games after a third positive test for a drug of abuse. The 26-year-old first baseman played 114 games for Houston in 2014-15, hitting .171 with 14 home runs. Singleton spent last year at Double-A, batting .205 with 18 homers. Prior to reaching the majors, in an interview with The Associated Press, Singleton spoke of his battle to overcome marijuana and alcohol abuse.

Arena Football:

The Albany Arena Football League franchise will be named the Albany Empire. The announcement was made and the team logo revealed Tuesday night at the Palace Theater. The team begins play in the spring. It isn’t the first Albany Empire. An Albany LGBT Soccer Club shares the same name as the new arena football team.

NCAA:

Syracuse and its thin roster needed a break, and the Orange got one at a most opportune time. The Orange will be coming off a seven-day hiatus following a home win over Pittsburgh when Syracuse hosts Boston College on Wednesday night.

Tennis:

The U.S. Tennis Association says Serena Williams will return to competition for the first time in more than a year at the country's Fed Cup matches against the Netherlands next month. Williams has not played an official match since winning the Australian Open in January 2017 for her 23rd Grand Slam singles title. She was pregnant during that tournament and gave birth to a daughter on Sept. 1.

Joining Williams on U.S. captain Kathy Rinaldi's roster announced Tuesday is older sister Venus, a seven-time major champion. The siblings have not played on the Fed Cup team together in three years. Also on the team: CoCo Vandeweghe, a semifinalist at the Australian Open and U.S. Open last year. A fourth member of the U.S. squad will be announced next week. The U.S. won last year's Fed Cup. The matches against the Netherlands will be held on an indoor hard court in Ashville, North Carolina, on Feb. 10-11.

Olympics:

A judge says a Michigan sports doctor who assaulted Olympic gymnasts and other female athletes will get his sentence Wednesday, the seventh day of an extraordinary court hearing. More than 150 women and girls have talked in court about being molested by Larry Nassar or had their statements read by others. Judge Rosemarie Aquilina will hear a few more Wednesday before sentencing Nassar in Lansing, Michigan. He faces a minimum prison term of 25 to 40 years for assaulting victims with his hands. Nassar worked for Michigan State University and USA Gymnastics, which trains the best gymnasts. An 18-year-old, Emily Morales, says she believes in forgiveness. She looked at Nassar and asked him to apologize. He did. She replied with, "Thank you." Meanwhile, a senior member of Michigan State University's governing board says President Lou Anna Simon won't resign due to the Nassar scandal.

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