MLB
The St. Louis Cardinals have agreed to acquire All-Star third baseman Nolan Arenado from the Colorado Rockies in a trade needing approvals before it can be finalized, a person familiar with the swap tells The Associated Press.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity Friday night because the trade had not yet been finalized.
Arenado, an eight-time Gold Glove winner, signed a $260 million, eight-year deal with Colorado in February 2019 and is owed $199 million for the six remaining seasons.
Colorado would pay St. Louis a large amount of cash as part of the trade, the person said, and Major League Baseball must approve a cash transaction of more than $1 million.
The 29-year-old Arenado has hit .293 with an .890 OPS over eight seasons, averaging 35 home runs and 114 RBIs per 162 games. Aided in part by hitter-friendly Coors Field, he’s led the National League in home runs three times and led the majors in RBIs twice.
NEW YORK (AP) - Ken Griffey Jr. has been hired as a senior adviser to baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred.
The Hall of Fame outfielder will work in baseball operations and on youth baseball development. He is tasked with improving diversity at amateur levels, Major League Baseball said Friday,
Griffey will work as an MLB ambassador at youth initiatives and at its special events, including the postseason and the All-Star Game.
OBITUARY
PHILADELPHIA (AP) - John Chaney, one of the nation’s leading basketball coaches and a commanding figure during a Hall of Fame career at Temple, died Friday. He was 89.
The university said he died after a short, unspecified illness. He celebrated his birthday last week.
Chaney led Temple to 17 NCAA Tournament appearances over 24 seasons, including five NCAA regional finals. Chaney had 741 wins as a college coach. He was twice named national coach of the year and his teams at Temple won six Atlantic 10 conference titles.
NFL
HOUSTON (AP) - David Culley has been hired as the coach of the Houston Texans.
The longtime assistant gets his first head coaching job for a team in turmoil with a source telling The Associated Press this week that star quarterback Deshaun Watson has requested a trade.
The 65-year-old Culley becomes the fourth coach in Texans history, replacing Bill O’Brien, who was fired after the team opened the season 0-4.
GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) - Green Bay defensive coordinator Mike Pettine won’t return to the team next season and special teams coordinator Shawn Mennenga has been fired after the Packers’ second straight NFC championship game loss last Sunday.
Both departures were first reported by NFL Network.
Pettine had been the Packers’ defensive coordinator for three seasons - taking over one year before coach Matt LaFleur’s arrival. Mennenga had been special teams coordinator for each of LaFleur’s two seasons as head coach.
NHL
NEW YORK (AP) - The NHL suspended Minnesota Wild forward Kevin Fiala for three games without pay Friday for boarding Los Angeles Kings defenseman Matt Roy.
The players were chasing a loose puck into the corner in the second period Thursday night when Fiala shoved Roy from behind, sending him face-first into the boards. Roy was down for several minutes before being helped off the ice and did not return.
Fiala was assessed a five-minute major and game misconduct. He’ll forfeit $77,586.
SOCCER
Major League Soccer has extended its deadline for negotiating adjustments to the existing collective bargaining agreement until Feb. 4 and warned it is prepared to lock out players if a deal isn’t reached by then.
The league set the new deadline of 11:59 p.m. EST, Feb. 4 after the Major League Soccer Players Association submitted a proposal just hours ahead of the original deadline. The union proposed extending the current collective bargaining agreement with the league through the 2026 season.
The league’s proposal includes paying players their full salaries in 2021 in exchange for an extension through the 2027 season.
WOMEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL
NEW YORK (AP) - Army women’s basketball coach Dave Magarity will retire at the end of the season.
Magarity, who turned 71 this past Tuesday, has coached over 1,000 games in his 40-plus years in men’s and women’s basketball. Earlier this month, Magarity coached against his daughter, Maureen, who is the head coach of Holy Cross. She won both of the games they played. This was the first coaching matchup of a father and daughter in Division I history.
OLYMPICS
TOKYO (AP) - Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, despite growing uncertainty as coronavirus cases rise at home, renewed his determination Friday to host the postponed Tokyo Olympics this summer as a symbol of human victory over the pandemic.
Suga, speaking from Tokyo at a virtual meeting of the World Economic Forum, also called for a transparent investigation by the World Health Organization into the pandemic, saying it is key to learning lessons to prepare for future pandemics. He also promised to expand an initial $130 million contribution to a fund to help developing countries acquire coronavirus vaccines.
COURTS
NEW YORK (AP) - A former soccer federation president for El Salvador was sent to New York City on Friday to face U.S. corruption charges in the long-running FIFA bribery scandal.
Salvadoran authorities had arrested Reynaldo Vasquez in 2016 as part of an international roundup of top officials of soccer’s governing body. He had denied the charges while putting up a failed extradition fight in El Salvador.
Vasquez, 65, made a remote court appearance Friday in New York where he pleaded not guilty to racketeering conspiracy charges. He was ordered held without bail.
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