PRO BASKETBALL
MIAMI (AP) - LeBron James cannot currently envision a scenario where he leaves the Miami Heat this summer, though he still plans to assess his needs and his future at the end of the season.
James made the comments in a wide-ranging interview with NBA TV. The Heat star can choose to become a free agent after this season by exercising an option in the contract he signed when he arrived in Miami during the summer of 2010.
Asked by interviewer Steve Smith if he can picture himself being anywhere else, James did not seem to hesitate before answering.
James discussed several topics in the interview, including what his current sources of motivation are, ways he thinks his game can still improve, how he handles expectations, the struggles of his first season in Miami and his background growing up in Akron, Ohio.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Injured Oklahoma City Thunder point guard Russell Westbrook will return Thursday against the Miami Heat, his teammate, Kevin Durant said in a recent interview with Grantland’s Bill Simmons.
Westbrook has missed 27 games since having surgery on Dec. 27 to deal with swelling in his injured right knee - the third procedure in nine months.
The three-time NBA All-Star tore the lateral meniscus in his right knee during the second game of the playoffs last April. Westbrook underwent an operation after that injury and had another procedure on Oct. 1 to remove a loose stitch.
Oklahoma City went 20-7 this season without him.
BASEBALL
BALTIMORE (AP) - A person familiar with the situation says free-agent pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez and the Baltimore Orioles have agreed to a contract, pending a physical.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal had not been completed and the club had not made an announcement.
Several media outlets reported earlier that the sides had reached an agreement, which is reportedly for about $50 million over four years.
Jimenez went 13-9 with a 3.30 ERA in 32 starts for Cleveland last season. He turned down a $14.1 million qualifying offer from the Indians, so Baltimore would have to forfeit its first-round draft pick (17th overall) to sign him.
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) - The Colorado Rockies’ new closer is an old familiar face. On the first day of spring training, 41-year-old LaTroy Hawkins was given the job by manager Walt Weiss.
Hawkins was a member of the Rockies in 2007 when they lost to Boston in the World Series. He saved 13 games last season for the New York Mets.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) - Jameis Winston was in North Texas to accept the Davey O’Brien Award as the nation’s top college quarterback. The Florida State star also managed a side trip to nearby Arlington to visit the Dallas Cowboys’ AT&T Stadium.
That’s where the 2013 Heisman Trophy winner and the Seminoles will open their national title defense against Oklahoma State in August. Oh, and that’s also where the first College Football Playoff championship game will be played next January.
But for now, Winston is setting his sights on helping the school win its first college baseball title following 21 appearances in the College World Series.
PRO FOOTBALL
OWINGS MILLS, Md. (AP) - As a 20-year-old fresh out of college, Terrell Suggs never intended to spend his entire NFL career with one team. Now the Pro Bowl linebacker embraces the idea of going the distance as a Baltimore Raven.
Suggs signed a four-year extension that saves the Ravens salary cap room and puts Suggs in position to finish his career in Baltimore.
Suggs, 31, signed a six-year deal in 2009 that expired after the 2014 season. Now he’s signed through 2018. He was expected to count $12.4 million against the salary cap. With his new deal, that figure becomes a far more manageable $7.8 million.
OWINGS MILLS, Md. (AP) - The Baltimore Ravens intend to talk to Ray Rice before deciding how to deal with the running back’s arrest in a New Jersey casino.
Atlantic City police say Rice was arrested early Saturday morning after an argument with his fiancee turned physical.
Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome said he’s waiting to get all the details before deciding what action to take, if any.
Atlantic City police said Rice and Janay Palmer were both arrested on simple assault charges and were released on a summons after an incident at the Revel Casino.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) - A Nebraska athletic department spokesman said women’s basketball coach Connie Yori was fighting an infection and was dehydrated when she collapsed during the 17th-ranked Cornhuskers’ game against Indiana on Sunday.
School spokesman Jeff Griesch said in a statement that Yori is resting at home. The team didn’t practice and Yori is scheduled to meet with the media on Tuesday.
The 50-year-old Yori collapsed in front of the Nebraska bench with about 12 minutes left in Sunday’s game. Medics attended to her, and she walked off the court under her own power. She received further treatment in the athletic training room at Pinnacle Bank Arena before being evaluated at a hospital and released.
TENNIS
DELRAY BEACH, Fla. (AP) - Spaniard Feliciano Lopez rallied past American Sam Querrey in the first round of the Delray Beach Open.
The sixth-seeded Lopez, who last played this event when he lost in the 2002 quarterfinals, ousted Querrey 4-6, 6-2, 6-3. Lopez, ranked No. 27 in the world, next faces Frenchman Adrian Mannarino, who advanced with a straight-set win over American Jack Sock.
Mannarino’s 6-4, 6-2 win on the stadium court at the Delray Beach Tennis Center was his first in three matches against Sock this season.
Three Americans, including Wayne Odesnik, the No. 1 seed in the qualifying draw, earned spots in the main bracket. Odesnik advanced with a 7-6 (5), 6-4 win against Mischa Zverev of Germany. Joining him in the main draw are fellow Americans Steve Johnson and Rhyne Williams. Gastao Elias of Portugal is the other qualifier.
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