NBA-NEWS
Rondo shelved
UNDATED (AP) — Cavaliers guard Rajon Rondo will miss at least two weeks with a sprained toe, the latest injury to hit Cleveland’s backcourt.
Rondo sprained his right big toe in the fourth quarter of Cleveland’s loss at Detroit on Thursday.
The 36-year-old Rondo was acquired earlier this season after Ricky Rubio tore a knee ligament. He joins guards Caris LeVert and Collin Sexton on the sidelines, with Darius Garland receiving fewer minutes because of a bone bruise in his back.
Also around the NBA:
— Heat forward Jimmy Butler has been fined $25,000 for violating league rules regarding media interview access and for his noncompliance with the resulting NBA investigation. The league says the punishment stems from Butler’s failure to comply with his media availability obligations during the NBA All-Star weekend, including after the game on Sunday.
— Knicks guard Derrick Rose had another procedure on his right ankle Friday. The 33-year-old point guard had recently begun practicing fully after he had surgery on the ankle in December. No timetable was given for Rose’s return and coach Tom Thibodeau said he had no details other than the procedure had gone well.
MLB-LOCKOUT
Commissioner joins talks on 86th day of lockout
JUPITER, Fla. (AP) — There’s encouraging news coming out of major league contract negotiations with the lockout in its 86th day.
Baseball players and owners took a first step toward salvaging opening day, nearing agreement Friday on an amateur draft lottery. Talks included a surprise one-on-one meeting between Commissioner Rob Manfred and union head Tony Clark.
While an agreement on the draft was not complete, talks appeared to gain momentum for the first time.
Talks will continue Saturday. Major League Baseball has set a Monday deadline for a deal that would ensure a 162-game season and allow openers to take place as scheduled on March 31.
The sides met three times Friday, in addition to the session between Manfred and Clark. That came after four straight days of largely fruitless negotiating sessions that focused on exchanging proposals in areas of relative minutia.
NHL-NEWS
Pens lose Matheson
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Mike Matheson is out indefinitely with an upper-body injury sustained in Thursday’s loss to New Jersey.
Matheson has seven goals and 14 assists in 50 games this season while paired with Chad Ruhwedel (ROO’-wee-dul).
Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan said Matheson is “week to week.”
Elsewhere around the NHL:
— The Arizona Coyotes have signed defenseman Dysin Mayo to a three-year contract. Terms of the deal were not announced. The 25-year-old Mayo has three goals and three assists in 42 games with Arizona this season. A fifth-round NHL draft pick in 2014, Mayo became the eighth defenseman in franchise history to score in his debut and leads the team with 83 blocked shots and the team’s defensemen with 63 hits. He played 258 career American Hockey League games before getting his first NHL playing time this season.
NFL-NEWS
Panthers agree to terms with free agent TE Ian Thomas
UNDATED (AP) — The Carolina Panthers have announced they’ve agreed to a three-year contract with unrestricted free agent tight end Ian Thomas. The deal is worth $16.95 million and includes $8 million in guaranteed money, according to a person who spoke to The Associated Press.
Thomas is considered a strong blocking tight end and had 18 receptions for 188 yards last season. His most productive year as a receiver came as a rookie in 2018 when he caught 36 passes for 333 yards and two touchdowns.
In other NFL news:
— Former Auburn and San Diego Chargers running back Lionel James has died at 59 after a lengthy illness. James played five seasons with the NFL’s Chargers after being drafted in the fifth round in 1984. He set an NFL record with 2,535 all-purpose yards in 1985 after leading the Chargers in rushing, receiving and kickoff and punt return yardage.
— Virginia lawmakers are advancing a measure intended to lure the Washington Commanders to the state. The lawmakers are prepared to allow the team to forgo what could be $1 billion or more in future tax payments to help finance a potential new football stadium. The Commanders are tied to a lease for Maryland’s FedEx Field through 2027.
UKRAINE INVASION-SPORTS
UEFA moves Championship League final to Paris
UNDATED (AP) — Paris will be hosting soccer’s Champions League final on May 28.
The Union of European Football Associations announced on Friday, one day after saying it was moving the game from St. Petersburg following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. It also decided that Russian and Ukrainian clubs and national teams in UEFA (yoo-AY’-fah) competitions will have to play at neutral venues until further notice.
In other moves influenced by the Russian attack:
— The International Olympic Committee is urging sports bodies to cancel or move all events they plan to hold in Russia and Belarus and stop using the countries’ flags and national anthems. Volleyball and shooting both have world championships scheduled to be held in Russia. There is also a World Cup qualifying playoff match against Poland scheduled for March 24 in Moscow.
— Russian-born Alex Ovechkin (oh-VECH’-kin) has made a plea for peace while talking with reporters after the Washington Capitals left wing practice in Philadelphia. The Moscow native said he has family and “lots of friends in Russia and Ukraine” and hopes the attack will end soon. Ovechkin has been a vocal supporter of Russia President Vladimir Putin. In 2017, Ovechkin launched the “Putin team” he said was not related to the election the following year but rather a show of support for his country.
— Formula One says it won’t hold a race in Russia this year. The Russian Grand Prix had been scheduled for Sochi on Sept. 25. F1, its governing body FIA and the teams agreed not to race there. F1 says in a statement “it is impossible to hold the Russian Grand Prix in the current circumstances.”
— The International Ski Federation announced Russia will not host any more of its World Cup events this winter.
— The European curling championships scheduled to be held in November in Perm, Russia, will be relocated.
— The International Tennis Federation canceled all events taking place in Russia indefinitely. The Dubai Championships on Friday saw Russian player Andrey Rublev write “No War Please” on a TV camera moments after winning a match.
NCAA-MARIJUANA
NCAA raises THC levels for tests, proposes lesser penalties
UNDATED (AP)— The NCAA has relaxed the amount of THC an athlete can have to trigger a positive test, and is recommending less-stringent penalties for athletes who do test positive for marijuana. The threshold levels for THC, which is the active ingredient in marijuana, will go from 35 nanograms per milliliter to 150 nanograms per milliliter, which the NCAA says is in line with the World Anti-Doping Agency’s levels.
The threshold-level change is effective immediately and is retroactive to drug tests taken in the fall.
Marijuana is legal in some form — medical, recreational or both — in the majority of U.S. states.
PGA-HONDA CLASSIC
Berger leads after another 65
PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Daniel Berger fired his second straight 5-under 65 for a three-shot lead through two rounds of the Honda Classic.
Berger’s 10-under 130 tied the third-lowest score through 36 holes since the Honda moved to PGA National in 2007.
First-round leader Kurt Kitayama eagled the par-5 18th as darkness was closing in, finishing a round of 69 and ending the day tied for second at 7 under with Chris Kirk. Mark Hubbard was another shot back at 6 under, as was Adam Svensson.
HORSE RACING-BAFFERT SUSPENSION
Baffert suspension sticks
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky’s racing director has denied trainer Bob Baffert’s request to stay his suspension by stewards in their ruling that also disqualified Medina Spirit as Kentucky Derby winner.
Kentucky Horse Racing Commission stewards on Monday suspended Baffert for 90 days, effective March 8 through June 5. They also stripped the now-deceased Medina Spirit of the victory for testing positive for the steroid betamethasone following the Derby last May 1.
OBIT-AUSTRALIA-JOHN LANDY
John Landy, pursuer of Bannister’s 4-minute mile, dies at 91
UNDATED (AP) — John Landy, an Australian runner who dueled with Roger Bannister in a bid to become the first person to run a four-minute mile, has died. He was 91.
Landy took up competitive running to help him get fit to play Australian rules football. Within 12 months he was on the Australian team for the 1952 Helsinki Olympics. A few years later he was vying with Englishman Bannister in pursuit of the mile record.
Bannister made it first, running 3 minutes, 59.4 seconds at Oxford, England on May 6, 1954. Less than two months later, Landy improved on Bannister’s world record in a time of 3:57.90.
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