Friday Sports in Brief

SOCCER

PARIS (AP) - the Women’s World Cup opened, and the hosts at least made their presence felt on the field on Friday night in front of French President Emmanuel Macron.

FIFA’s monthlong women’s soccer showpiece opened with France beating South Korea 4-0 in front of 45,261 fans at Paris Saint-Germain’s stadium.

The use of the city’s second-largest stadium - rather than the Stade de France where French men opened and ended the European Championship three years ago - underscores the ongoing quest for greater gender equality.

The 24-team tournament started against the backdrop of a widening prize money gap between the men’s and women’s World Cup.

FOOTBALL

NEW YORK (AP) - The New York Jets hired Philadelphia Eagles executive Joe Douglas to be their general manager.

Douglas, the Eagles’ vice president of player personnel, was one of four candidates interviewed twice by New York for the vacancy. He met with team officials last Saturday and Sunday, and again earlier this week.

The team announced the hiring on its Twitter page Friday night.

Douglas was widely considered the favorite to land the job because he has previous work experience with Jets coach Adam Gase, who served as the team’s acting GM and was heavily involved in the search process.

Douglas was Chicago’s director of college scouting in 2015, when Gase was the Bears’ offensive coordinator.

Douglas replaces Mike Maccagnan, who was surprisingly fired last month after four seasons.

HOUSTON (AP) - The Houston Texans have abruptly fired general manager Brian Gaine less than 18 months after he took the job.

The team announced the move Friday with a statement from team owner Cal McNair, who said only that “while the timing may be unusual, this decision was made in the best interest of the organization in our quest to build a championship team.”

Gaine was hired to replace Rick Smith in January 2018. The Texans went 11-5 in his first season in charge after he spent the 2017 as vice president of player personnel for the Buffalo Bills.

Senior vice president of football administration Chris Olsen will run the team’s football operations while the Texans search for a new general manager.

BASEBALL

MIAMI (AP) - Left-hander Dallas Keuchel says he doesn’t expect to need much time tuning up in the minors before he joins his new team, the Atlanta Braves.

The team confirmed Friday night that the 2015 American League Cy Young Award winner had agreed to a one-year contract. He’s scheduled to pitch Saturday for Triple-A Gwinnett.

During a conference call, Keuchel said he has been pitching seven innings in simulated games in Southern California.

Keuchel’s contract is for about $13 million. He went 12-11 with a 3.74 ERA in 34 starts last season for Houston and turned down a $17.9 million qualifying offer in November.

A two-time All-Star, Keuchel is 76-63 with a 3.66 ERA in seven major league seasons, all with the Astros.

CHICAGO (AP) - Free-agent closer Craig Kimbrel has agreed to a contract with the Chicago Cubs.

The team said Friday he has passed his physical. Contract terms were not disclosed.

The addition plugs a major hole for Chicago, which has been beset by blown saves. Brandon Morrow is going slowly after he had a setback in his recovery from offseason elbow surgery, and Pedro Strop just returned after being sidelined by another hamstring injury.

The 31-year-old Kimbrel has 333 career saves and a 1.91 ERA over nine seasons with Atlanta, San Diego and Boston. The hard-throwing right-hander also is averaging an exceptional 14.7 strikeouts per nine innings for his career.

BASKETBALL

MILWAUKEE (AP) - The Milwaukee Bucks have signed general manager Jon Horst to a multiyear extension.

The deal was announced Friday. Horst is one of the front-runners for NBA executive of the year, along with Denver’s Tim Connelly, the Clippers’ Lawrence Frank and Toronto’s Masai Ujiri.

Milwaukee went 60-22 this season for the NBA’s best record and the franchise’s first 60-win season since the 1980-81 campaign. The Bucks also advanced past the first round of the playoffs for the first time since 2001, losing to the Raptors in the Eastern Conference finals.

In two seasons since Horst took over, the Bucks have a 104-60 record.

HOCKEY

NEW YORK (AP) - The NHL has suspended St. Louis Blues forward Ivan Barbashev for one game for an illegal check to the head of Boston Bruins forward Marcus Johansson during Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final.

The check occurred 5:24 into the first period of St. Louis’ 2-1 victory Thursday night.

The 23-year-old Barbashev has played in each of the Blues’ 24 playoff games this year. He has three goals and three assists in the postseason.

The NHL’s department of player safety announced the suspension on Friday.

The Blues can clinch the franchise’s first championship with a victory in Game 6 on Sunday night in St. Louis.

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) - The Buffalo Sabres re-signed leading scorer Jeff Skinner to an eight year, $72 million contract in addressing one their most pressing offseason needs.

Skinner becomes the team’s second-highest paid player behind captain Jack Eichel in a deal reached Friday night, and three weeks before the forward was eligible to become an unrestricted free agent. The ninth-year player who has now topped 30 goals four times had been considered a key piece for a rebuilding team since Buffalo acquired him in a trade with Carolina in August.

The just-turned 27-year-old led Buffalo with a career-best 40 goals and finished third on the team with 63 points in 82 games.

Negotiations began in January, with Skinner expressing a desire to stay in Buffalo. Aside from his production and bond he developed with Eichel, Skinner also enjoyed playing closer to his hometown of Toronto, about a two-hour drive from Buffalo.

NASCAR

SAG HARBOR, N.Y. (AP) - Former NASCAR CEO Brian France pleaded guilty Friday to driving while intoxicated in New York’s Hamptons last year.

Suffolk County District Attorney Timothy Sini said the 56-year-old France pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor and was ordered to complete 100 hours of community service and undergo alcohol counseling.

If he meets the requirements, the charge will be reduced to a traffic violation.

France, of Ormond Beach, Florida, was arrested in Sag Harbor on Aug. 5, 2018, after running a stop sign. Police said his blood alcohol level was 0.18%, more than double the legal limit.

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