Thursday’s Sports In Brief

BASEBALL

NEW YORK (AP) - Miguel Cabrera took a trot, eventually, in the snow at Comerica Park. Mookie Betts started the champion Los Angeles Dodgers with a hit at Coors Field. And the Bleacher Creatures did their thing at Yankee Stadium.

All-Stars on the diamond for opening day, fans in the socially distanced stands eager to cheer them.

Along with the hits, runs and errors, there was a stark reminder of what baseball went through last year.

The New York Mets’ game in Washington - a prime pitching matchup between Jacob deGrom and Max Scherzer -was postponed because of a COVID-19 outbreak. Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo later said three players had tested positive for the virus and a fourth was considered a “likely positive.”

Major League Baseball had 45 games postponed because of the coronavirus last season during the shortened, 60-game schedule, when fans weren’t allowed. No games were lost in spring training this year, but that streak didn’t last long.

At Fenway Park, the opener between the Boston Red Sox and Baltimore was called because rain was in the forecast. They’ll start up Friday instead.

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) - Astros shortstop Carlos Correa says he hasn’t seriously discussed a long-term deal with Houston and plans to seek a big payday in free agency next offseason.

Correa said last week he turned down a $120 million, six-year offer and said Thursday he’s also declined a $125 million, five-year bid - paltry compared to the $341 million, 10-year deal shortstop Francisco Lindor agreed to with the New York Mets on Wednesday night. Lindor and Correa were both eligible for free agency after this season.

The 26-year-old Correa set a deadline of opening day to reach an agreement. He’ll earn $11.3 million this year.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) - Roy Williams has a Hall of Fame resume filled with more than 900 wins and three national championships in a career leading two of of the most storied programs in college basketball.

So it came as a surprise when the 70-year-old Williams announced his retirement and said it was more because of what he doesn’t have: the conviction that he is still the right coach to lead North Carolina.

During a long, thoughtful news conference on the Smith Center court bearing his name, Williams described himself as a coach who was bothered by losses and by his own mistakes over the past two difficult seasons. One of those saw the only losing record of his career and the other, this season, saw Williams coaching a young group playing amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Williams had long said he would coach as long as his health remained good.

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Luka Garza knew what everyone expected before returning for a final run as Iowa’s unquestioned star.

Pressure? Garza felt it, all right, enough to know his mental health required the same attention as his game.

The 6-foot-11, 265-pound senior was selected The Associated Press men’s college basketball national player of the year after finishing second last season. He was the runaway choice for the award, receiving 50 of 63 votes from AP Top 25 voters.

Ayo Dosunmu, who led Illinois to the Big Ten Tournament title and a No. 1 NCAA seed, was second with six votes, followed by Oklahoma State freshman Cade Cunningham with three. Gonzaga’s Corey Kispert and Baylor’s Jared Butler each earned two votes.

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) - Texas snatched Chris Beard away from Big 12 rival Texas Tech to revive a men’s basketball program starved for postseason success.

By bolting to Austin, its seems Beard left some rough feelings out on the high plains of the Lone Star State.

Texas didn’t announce the hire until after Texas Tech athletic director Kirby Hocutt discussed it in a mid-afternoon conference that dripped with frustration after news of the move began to leak.

Hocutt said Tech officials had engaged Beard about a long-term contract, but never had an opportunity to counter the Texas offer. The Tech AD said Beard told him he was ready for a new challenge.

Texas did not immediately release terms of Beard’s deal with the Longhorns, but it was clear the school has coveted the coach who led the Red Raiders to an NCAA Tournament runner-up finish two years ago.

GOLF

SAN ANTONIO (AP) - Camilo Villegas chipped in twice to highlight a nine-birdie round that earned him an 8-under 64 and the first-round lead at the Valero Texas Open.

Sung Kang, a 33-year-old South Korean, is two shots back with Cameron Tringale after each carded 66 at TPC San Antonio’s Oaks Course. Jordan Spieth, whose struggles the past three years appear to be subsiding after four top-10 finishes the past two months, sits three back (67) with Seung-Yul Noh and Hideki Matsuyama.

Phil Mickelson dropped to 15 shots back when he had a 10 on the 18th hole - he took two penalty shots and another three strokes trying to get away from a greenside stream - and ended with a 79.

RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. (AP) - Michelle Wie West was back on a major championship leaderboard at the ANA Inspiration. So was Shanshan Feng in her first tournament in 16 months.

Playing for the second straight week after a 21-month break, Wie West shot a 2-under 70, leaving her four strokes behind leader Patty Tavatanakit after the morning wave.

Feng birdied three of her last five holes for a bogey-free 67 in the morning The Chinese star hadn’t played a competitive round since November 2019 because of the coronavirus pandemic and a recent visa delay.

She got a break on the par-3 17th - her eighth hole of the day - when she hit a chip too hard and it slammed against the flagstick and in for birdie.

Wie West was in the second group off the 10th tee, opening to little fanfare with no spectators at Mission Hills for the 50th edition of the event. Wie West first played the event in 2003, tying for ninth at age 13.

Wie West three-putted for bogey on 10, nearly aced the 13th for a birdie, and made three straight long birdie putts on Nos. 10-12. She missed a 2-foot par putt on No. 6 and parred the final three. Last week in Carlsbad, she missed the cut in the Kia Classic with rounds of 81 and 74.

HOCKEY

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) - The Vancouver Canucks have had their games postponed through April 6.

The announcement by the NHL comes a day after Vancouver’s game against the Calgary Flames was postponed because two Canucks players and a member of the coaching staff were entered into the league’s COVID-19 protocol.

Pending test results in the coming days, the NHL says it is expected that the Canucks will be able to return to game action April 8, with no practices before April 6.

The decision was made by the NHL’s, NHLPA’s and club’s medical groups.

TENNIS

MIAMI (AP) - In her first match at this year’s Miami Open, Ash Barty was one point from elimination. Now she’s one win from becoming a repeat champion.

The top-ranked Barty returned to the final by beating No. 5 seed Elina Svitolina 6-3, 6-3. Barty will play for the title Saturday against No. 8 Bianca Andreescu, who swept the final four games to beat No. 23 Maria Sakkari 7-6 (7), 3-6, 7-6 (4) in a match that ended at 1:35 a.m.

On the men’s side, unseeded 20-year-old Sebastian Korda’s breakthrough run ended with a quarterfinal loss to No. 4 Andrey Rublev, 7-5, 7-6 (7). Korda, slowed in the second set by a left thigh injury, was the youngest American to make the men’s quarterfinals in Miami since Robbie Ginepri in 2003.

Rublev and Hubert Hurkacz of Poland will play in their first semifinal at a top-level ATP event when they meet Friday night. Hurkacz advanced by rallying past second-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas 2-6, 6-3, 6-4. Robert Bautista Agut will face Jannik Sinner in the first semifinal Friday,