Tuesday Sports in Brief

MLB

SAN DIEGO (AP) - The New York Yankees landed the biggest prize of the free agent market, adding Gerrit Cole to their rotation with a record $324 million, nine-year contract on Tuesday night, a person familiar with the deal told The Associated Press.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the agreement had not been announced.

Cole’s deal established marks for pitchers in total dollars, topping the $245 million, seven-year contract Stephen Strasburg finalized a day earlier to remain with the World Series champion Washington Nationals.

Its $36 million average is a record for any player.

A 29-year-old right-hander, Cole was baseball’s most dominant pitcher for much of 2019 and helped the Houston Astros come within one win of their second World Series title in three seasons.

-By Baseball Writer Ronald Blum.

SAN DIEGO (AP) - Shortstop Didi Gregorius is reuniting with manager Joe Girardi in Philadelphia, agreeing with the Phillies on a $14 million, one-year contract, a person familiar with the deal told The Associated Press.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity Tuesday because the agreement, first reported by the New York Post, had not been announced.

Gregorius spent the last five years with the New York Yankees, the first three playing for Girardi as Derek Jeter’s successor at shortstop.

Gregorius’ 2019 debut was delayed until June 7 after Tommy John surgery on Oct. 17, 2018, to repair an elbow ligament torn during Game 2 of the AL Division Series at Boston. The left-handed hitter batted .238 with 16 homers and 61 RBIs this year, leaving him with a .264 average, 110 homers and 417 RBIs in eight major league seasons.

-By Baseball Writer Ronald Blum.

SAN DIEGO (AP) - Doing their best to keep as much of their World Series roster intact as possible, the Washington Nationals announced they re-signed catcher Yan Gomes and infielder Howie Kendrick on Tuesday, a day after bringing back Stephen Strasburg for $245 million.

Gomes agreed to a $10 million, two-year contract with salaries of $4 million next year and $6 million in 2021. Kendrick is guaranteed $6.25 million under a deal that includes a $4 million salary next year and a $6.5 million mutual option for 2021 with a $2.25 million buyout.

The 32-year-old Gomes split catching duties in 2019 with Kurt Suzuki and hit .223 with 12 homers and 43 RBIs in his first season in Washington.

Kendrick, 36, batted .344 with 17 home runs and 62 RBIs during the regular season, then was a major reason the Nationals won the franchise’s first championship. He is expected to spend time at first base and second base next season.

SAN DIEGO (AP) - The San Francisco Giants bolstered their infield Tuesday by acquiring Zack Cozart and prospect Will Wilson from the Los Angeles Angels for a player to be named or cash.

Cozart, if healthy after missing significant time in 2019 with shoulder and neck injuries, can play second or provide versatility behind third baseman Evan Longoria.

Wilson was the Angels’ first-round draft pick this year at No. 15 overall. The middle infielder batted .275 in rookie ball.

San Francisco also announced it signed right-hander Kevin Gausman to a $9 million, one-year contract. One of the top priorities for president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi was finding a starting pitcher during this week’s winter meetings. The team had planned to speak with left-hander Madison Bumgarner, but there were few signs that a reunion was imminent.

Gausman can earn an additional $1 million in performance bonuses, $250,000 each for 18, 22, 26 and 30 starts.

SAN DIEGO (AP) - Outfielder Adam Jones and the Orix Buffaloes of Japan’s Pacific League have agreed to an $8 million, two-year contract.

The longtime Baltimore Orioles star played with the Arizona Diamondbacks last season, hitting .260 with 16 homers and 67 RBIs.

The move to Japan means the 34-year-old Jones may now be able to play for the United States at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. He made a memorable catch for the U.S. at the 2017 World Baseball Classic, robbing Manny Machado of a home run at Dodger Stadium.

SAN DIEGO (AP) - Baseball is going swoosh.

Nike’s logo will be on the upper right chest of Major League Baseball jerseys this year, a far a more prominent position than the Majestic Athletic logo previously on sleeves.

A 10-year agreement announced last January replaced a deal announced in December 2016 for Under Armour to take over from Majestic. The online sportswear retailer Fanatics will manufacture and distribute licensed versions of the Nike uniforms and training wear to consumers.

Majestic had manufactured MLB batting practice jerseys since 1982 and had been the exclusive supplier of game uniforms since 2005. Before that, uniforms were manufactured by Majestic, Russell Athletic and Rawlings.

SAN DIEGO (AP) - The San Diego Padres and Arizona Diamondbacks will play each other in April in Major League Baseball’s first regular-season games in Mexico City.

The commissioner’s office said Tuesday the two games on April 18 and 19 will be at Alfredo Harp Helú Stadium, a 20,000-capacity ballpark that opened last March. Arizona will be the home team for both games, which originally were scheduled for Phoenix.

Spring training games were played in Mexico City in 2001, 2003, 2004 and 2016 at Fray Nano and Foro Sol.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

NEW YORK (AP) - Top-ranked Louisville, No. 4 Maryland and No. 18 Butler were knocked from the ranks of the unbeaten on Tuesday night.

At Madison Square Garden in New York, Davide Moretti scored 18 points and hit successive 3-pointers that helped Texas Tech knock off Louisville 70-57.

Louisville became the fourth top-ranked team to lose this season, joining Michigan State, Kentucky and Duke.

At State College, Pennsylvania, Penn State became the fifth unranked team to beat a top-5 program, getting 15 points and 11 rebounds from Mike Watkins in a 76-69 win over Maryland.

In Waco, Texas, Mark Vital blocked Kamar Baldwin’s potential go-ahead shot with 1.5 seconds left and No. 11 Baylor held on to beat Butler 53-52.

PLAINVIEW, Texas (AP) - Wayland Baptist senior guard J.J Culver became one of a handful of college basketball players to score 100 or more points in a game, reaching the century mark in a 124-60 win over Southwestern Adventist on Tuesday night.

Culver hit 34 of 62 shots, 12 of 33 from 3-point range and was 20 for 27 on free throws to finish with an even 100 points for the NAIA Pioneers. He also had nine rebounds, five steals, two blocked shots and an assist.

Culver is the first college player to score at least 100 since Jack Taylor of Grinnell College, who scored an NCAA-record 138 points in a game in 2012 and followed that up with a 109-point effort in 2013.

Culver’s total is the second-highest in NAIA history. The NAIA record is 113 points by Clarence “Bevo” Francis for Rio Grande (Ohio) in 1954.

NFL

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) - New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick says neither he nor his coaching staff has watched any video footage shot by an in-house production team now at the center of an NFL investigation for inappropriately filming the Cincinnati Bengals’ sideline at a recent game.

Belichick said during a conference call Tuesday he was not involved and had no knowledge of what took place during Sunday’s Bengals-Browns game in Cleveland. Belichick said he wasn’t informed of it until Monday afternoon.

In a statement posted on Twitter and the team website Monday night, the Patriots said a three-person crew producing a web series titled “Do Your Job” “inappropriately filmed the field from the press box” as part of a feature on the scouting department. The filming took place “without specific knowledge of league rules,” the statement said.

The Patriots’ statement also said that while they were granted credentials for the crew from the Browns, “our failure to inform the Bengals and the league was an unintended oversight.” When confronted, the team said the crew “immediately turned over all footage to the league and cooperated fully.”

ASHBURN, Va. (AP) - Washington Redskins cornerback Simeon Thomas has been suspended four games for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy.

The league announced Thomas’ suspension Tuesday that extends through the end of this season and Week 1 of 2020. Thomas is suspended without pay during that time.

Thomas became a surprise contributor in the Redskins’ secondary this season. He has played in 12 games and moved up the depth chart after the coaching staff decided to bench veteran cornerback Josh Norman.

The 26-year-old was a sixth-round pick of the Browns in 2018 out of Louisiana.

OLYMPICS

GENEVA (AP) - Sports punishments imposed on Russia this week closed one big body of work for the World Anti-Doping Agency.

Now, the sports lawyers can enter the field - yet again, in a doping scandal that has raged since 2014.

A Russian legal challenge seems certain after Russia’s anti-doping agency was suspended by the global watchdog Monday using powers gained only last year.

Russian President Vladimir Putin already said “we have the grounds to appeal,” and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev urged national sports authorities to take up the fight.

A four-year ban on Russia’s identity at Olympic Games and world championships is the main sanction for state tampering with data from the Moscow testing laboratory.

Athletes implicated in doping or whose data was manipulated will be barred from those major events. Russia also cannot bid for or be awarded rights to host those events, WADA’s executive committee agreed.

A hearing before the Court of Arbitration for Sport is expected early next year in Lausanne, Switzerland.

NHL

DALLAS (AP) - The Dallas Stars fired second-year coach Jim Montgomery on Tuesday for what the team called unprofessional conduct.

General manager Jim Nill said Montgomery had acted inconsistently with “core values and beliefs of the Dallas Stars and the National Hockey League.” He did not elaborate.

Nill said he became aware Sunday of an act by Montgomery and that the decision to relieve the coach of his duties came after an internal investigation that included discussions with the team’s general counsel. While again not going into detail, Nill said it was not a criminal act, and had no connection to present or past players.

Nill, who hired Montgomery, called the incident a “total surprise.”

Rick Bowness, who came on an assistant coach with Montgomery, was named interim head coach for the remainder of the season, starting with Tuesday night’s home game against the New Jersey Devils.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

NEW YORK (AP) - Vince Young put up dizzying dual-threat numbers at Texas before it was common in college football.

Arkansas’ Darren McFadden was one of the first great running backs to get swept aside as college football became dominated by the wave of dual-threat quarterbacks who followed Young.

Lorenzo White was a standout at Michigan State in the days when running backs were college football’s biggest stars, but his best season came as a sophomore back when Heisman Trophy winners were always upperclassmen.

Young, McFadden and White were among 13 players and two coaches inducted into College Football Hall of Fame on Tuesday night at the National Football Foundation’s awards dinner in New York.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) - Former Memphis coach Mike Norvell says he won’t coach the Tigers in the Cotton Bowl now that he’s taken the Florida State job.

Norvell said Tuesday in a letter to Memphis fans that the transition to a new job made him unable to coach the Cotton Bowl. The 15th-ranked Tigers (12-1) face No. 13 Penn State (10-2) on Dec. 28 in Arlington, Texas.

Norvell was introduced as Florida State’s coach Sunday, one day after he led Memphis to a 29-24 victory over No. 23 Cincinnati in the American Athletic Conference championship game. Ryan Silverfield, a co-offensive coordinator on Norvell’s Memphis staff, has been named the Tigers’ interim head coach while athletic director Laird Veatch oversees a search for Norvell’s permanent replacement.

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