OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — A person familiar with the situation tells Sports Betting News that the Oklahoma City Thunder have agreed to sign guard Norris Cole for the remainder of the season.
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The Ottawa Senators have acquired forward Viktor Stalberg from the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for a draft pick.
Adrian Peterson, Minnesota’s all-time leading rusher and a first-team All-Pro pick in four of his 10 seasons with the Vikings, will be an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his career when the market opens next week. The Vikings as expected said Tuesday they will not exercise their option for 2017 on Peterson’s contract, which called for him to make $18 million. The Vikings left the door open for Peterson to return to the team that drafted him in 2007 with the seventh overall pick, only at a much lower price.
All Giants left-hander Madison Bumgarner was trying to do in Tuesday afternoon’s 9-5 loss to the Padres was get his work in and get ready for the season. And no, he didn’t have a game plan against San Diego’s hitters, and no, it didn’t matter that he was facing a National League West opponent.
DETROIT (AP) — The Detroit Red Wings have traded defenseman Brendan Smith to the New York Rangers for second- and third-round picks.
Late in fourth quarter action, Russell Westbrook grabs the rebound, leads the break, draws the foul and banks in the shot for the and-1 to put the Thunder up on the Jazz.
MEXICO CITY – Rory McIlroy had lunches with Tiger Woods and USGA executive director Mike Davis last week, and shot 65 at Seminole on Saturday, part of a spirited match in which McIlroy and business manager Sean O’Flaherty took on World No. 1 Dustin Johnson and TaylorMade rep Keith Sbarbaro. (They halved the team match.) So he’s been busy. What McIlroy hasn’t done the last six weeks is play a torneo de golf, as the locals call golf tournaments here, but the former World No. 1 will swing back into action at this week’s WGC-Mexico Championship at Club de Golf Chapultepec. “Good to go,” McIlroy said of the rib injury. “I’m still strapping it up and still being a little bit, not protective but careful. I’m making sure I’m really warmed up before going out to play, a little bit of kinesio tape there just to help support it. I’ve been working through the bag the last seven to 10 days and it feels really good.” Although he’s dropped to third in the world ranking, McIlroy could vault back to the top spot with a victory, depending on where Dustin Johnson finishes. Second-ranked Jason Day is not here, having pulled out earlier this week with a double ear infection. Adam Scott last week stated that McIlroy is better, not just more accomplished, than any of the other top 10 players in the world who have been hoisting trophies in his absence. Alas, McIlroy who said he appreciated the “very nice compliment,” knows he still has to prove it. Last season saw the 27-year-old Irishman finish with a flourish as he won the Dell Technologies Championship and then the TOUR Championship to win the FedExCup. In so doing, he had salvaged what had been an otherwise unremarkable year, but just as he was gearing up to perhaps amplify that sonic boomlet in 2017 he suffered a stress fracture in his ribs, possibly by testing out too many new clubs after Nike announced it was getting out of the golf equipment business. “For the first 10 days after the injury I didn’t really do anything,” McIlroy said. “I tried to sit in a good posture and not really move too much. After that I’ve been on the putting green. There’s no excuse for my short game not to be sharp this week.” He missed two events in the Middle East, and two on the PGA TOUR (Genesis Open, The Honda Classic). Meanwhile, McIlroy was acutely aware of what was happening without him, a “who’s who in the world of golf” — McIlroy’s words — parading into the winner’s circle. First came Justin Thomas, 23, going back-to-back in Hawaii. Hideki Matsuyama, who turned 25 last weekend, won the Waste Management Phoenix Open as he raced to a big lead in the FedExCup standings. Spieth, 23, captured the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am; Johnson, 32, vaulted to No. 1 in winning the Genesis Open; and finally Fowler, 28, at The Honda Classic. “It’s been a really great group of guys that have won the last few weeks,” McIlroy said, “and it’s been a little bit tough for me, even though most of those guys are my friends, it’s tough to be sitting at home watching those guys doing what they’re doing when you can’t get out here.” This will mark McIlroy’s first PGA TOUR start since he tied for fourth at the WGC-HSBC Champions last Oct. 30, and his first start anywhere since he lost a sudden-death playoff to Graeme Storm at the South Africa Open on Jan. 15. “I guess I’ve played two events in 17 weeks,” McIlroy said. “I saw it on Twitter.” So he could be excused for being one of the first players on the driving range Tuesday, his caddie J.P. Fitzgerald at his side while his father Gerry chatted with a few writers nearby. As if savoring his return to competitive action, McIlroy signed autographs during and after his nine-hole practice round with Tommy Fleetwood, unperturbed by the small scrum of fans. McIlroy sauntered to the short game practice area and ate some lunch before sitting with the world’s media for his scheduled news conference, where, in a wide-ranging interview, he expounded on the match featuring himself and Dustin Johnson. “I snuck it by him a couple of times, which was quite nice to see,” McIlroy said. “Just sort of told me that my speed was there. “I haven’t played competitively for six or seven weeks, but the last time I did play competitively I played all right,” he added, “so hopefully I can just pick up where I left off.”
Rory sees Tiger, doesn’t offer return date
While Latavius Murray may hope to land in the most lucrative situation possible, his quarterback doesn’t want him to search far for a new gig.
The new England Patriots will not use the franchise tag on star linebacker Dont’a Hightower, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported Tuesday.
