Chargers find replacement for Henry, reaching deal with Cook

COSTA MESA — The Chargers have found their replacement for Hunter Henry as they agreed to terms on a one-year contract with tight end Jared Cook on Thursday.

Cook, who spent the past two seasons with New Orleans, will be going into his 13th season, but he has played some of his best football the past three years. He had 37 receptions for 504 yards and seven touchdowns last season.

In 2018, Cook made it to the Pro Bowl for the first time when he set career highs for catches (68) and yards (896) along with six touchdowns for the Raiders. He also went to the Pro Bowl with the Saints in 2019 after having a career-high nine TDs.

Over the past three years, his 22 touchdown receptions rank second in the league among tight ends. His deal with incentives could earn him $6 million.

New offensive

coordinator Joe Lombardi knows Cook from his time in New Orleans.

The Chargers were in the market for a tight end after Henry signed with the New England Patriots. Henry, who spent five years with the Bolts, was one of Justin Hebert’s favorite options last season with 60 receptions and four touchdowns.

Matt Jones ties course record with 61 in Honda Classic

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — Matt Jones’ opening round at the Honda Classic was remarkable.

He was remarkably unimpressed. Jones tied the course record Thursday on a typically windy day at PGA National with a bogey-free 9-under 61 giving him a three-shot lead. He matched the mark set by Brian Harman in the second round in 2012, and was one shot better than the final-round 62 that Tiger Woods posted that year.

“That’s an incredible round of golf,” said Lee Westwood, who opened with an even-par 70. “Could be the round of the year, 61 around here, when it’s flat calm, impressive. But when there’s a 15-, 20-mile-an-hour wind blowing, greens are fast, a lot of crosswinds, that’s an incredible round of golf.”

All told, there have been roughly 6,000 tournament rounds at the Honda since it moved to PGA National in 2007. None was better than the one Thursday from Jones, an Australian ranked No. 83 in the world.

He seemed most unfazed afterward. “I play golf for a living,” Jones said. “I mean, I should be able to shoot a good golf score occasionally. It doesn’t happen as much as I want. But yes, I’m very happy with it. I was very calm, I was very relaxed out there. I’m normally a bit more amped-up and hyped-up and I had a different goal this week, to be a little more calm than normally and walk slower.”

NBA tells teams rules will be relaxed for vaccinated persons

The NBA is relaxing some of its health and safety protocols for individuals who are fully vaccinated, changes including fewer mandated coronavirus tests, no quarantine requirements following contact tracing issues and even the ability to visit restaurants again.

Only one team — the New Orleans Pelicans — has publicly acknowledged a team-wide vaccination effort so far, doing so this past weekend after state rules in Louisiana were amended and made it possible for the team to start the process for players, coaches and staff. No one in the NBA will be considered fully vaccinated until two weeks after receiving the final vaccine dose.

Once that happens, rules for some of those individuals will change, the NBA said in a memo sent early Thursday to teams and obtained by The Associated Press. Daily point-of-care testing will not be required for players or head coaches prior to entering team facilities, nor will testing still be required on days off.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said at the All-Star Game earlier this month that changes would be in store for those who choose to get the vaccine.

NCAA basketball players use

biggest stage to deliver message

INDIANAPOLIS — A social media effort to raise awareness about inequities in college sports by some prominent basketball players came with calls for rules changes and requests for meetings with the NCAA president and lawmakers.

The players who got #NotNCAAProperty trending on social made no threats of protests at tournament games, which start Thursday night and will have millions of viewers all weekend.

Following a year of activism in sports that included NBA players shutting down the playoffs after a police shooting, it seems fitting that college athletes would use March Madness to get a message across.

NCAA Vice President of Basketball Dan Gavitt, who communicates frequently with coaches, said Thursday he was not aware of any plans for players protests that could interfere with tournament games being played.

Lawsuit says deputies shared grisly Bryant photos

LOS ANGELES — Kobe Bryant’s widow, Vanessa Bryant, on Wednesday posted the names of four Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies she alleges shared graphic photos from the site of the helicopter crash that killed her husband, their daughter, Gianna, and seven others.

Bryant’s Instagram posts include images of portions of her lawsuit, which was amended to include the names of deputies Joey Cruz, Rafael Mejia, Michael Russell and Raul Versales. The suit alleges that Cruz shared photos of Kobe Bryant’s body with a bartender and the others passed around ”gratuitous photos of the dead children, parents, and coaches.”

None of the deputies were directly involved in the investigation of the crash or had any legitimate purpose in taking or passing around the grisly photos, the suit contends.

“We will refrain from trying this case in the media and will wait for the appropriate venue,” Sheriff Alex Villanueva tweeted. “Our hearts go out to all the families affected by this tragedy.”

Kobe Bryant and the others were killed Jan. 26, 2020, when the helicopter they were aboard crashed west of Los Angeles in the hills of Calabasas.

Doughty, Kopitar lead LA Kings’ 4-1 rout of slumping Blues

LOS ANGELES — Drew Doughty, Carl Grundström and Trevor Moore scored in a dominant first period, leading the Los Angeles Kings to a 4-1 victory over the St. Louis Blues on Wednesday night.

Moore had a goal and an assist for his first multipoint game of the season, while captain Anze Kopitar scored an empty-net goal from the opposite goal line and added an assist. Cal Petersen made 19 saves to end his five-start losing streak for the Kings, who looked sharp in just their third win in 10 games.

Los Angeles and St. Louis were scheduled for two consecutive games at Staples Center this week, but Monday’s game was postponed after a blizzard stranded the Kings in Denver, where they had just lost back-to-back games to the Avalanche.

Mike Hoffman scored and Jordan Binnington stopped 20 shots for the well-rested Blues, who have lost five straight. Despite having the previous three days off, St. Louis got off to a timid start in the first period and eventually failed to earn a point for only the second time in nine games.

Doncic, Mavs answer, earn split with Clippers in 105-89 win

DALLAS — Luka Doncic scored 42 points and the Dallas Mavericks earned a split of a two-game set against their firstround playoff opponent from last season, beating the Los Angeles Clippers 105-89 on Wednesday night.

Josh Richardson scored 14 points and was a defensive spark as the Mavericks answered a 109-99 loss two nights earlier and won the season series, 2-1. The other Dallas victory was by 51 points in LA three games into the season in December. The Clippers beat the Mavs in six games last summer in the NBA’s playoff bubble.

Paul George had 28 points for the Clippers, including a pair of 3-pointers in the final minute of the third quarter that cut a 12-point deficit in half going to the fourth.

Doncic, who scored 29 points in the first half, took over again in the fourth quarter, assisting on a 3 for Jalen Brunson’s first points of the game and hitting a fadeaway jumper and a 3 to get the lead back to 12 at 87-75.

Kawhi Leonard scored 20 points while Marcus Morris Sr. had 11 in his second consecutive start but was just 1 of 9 from 3-point range while the Clippers shot 28% (9 of 32) from long range.

Yankees, Mets allowed to start seasons with 20% capacity

NEW YORK — The New York Yankees and Mets will be allowed to start the season with a maximum 20% capacity.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced at a news conference Thursday that the Yankees could have up to 10,850 fans for their April 1 opener against Toronto at Yankee Stadium and the Mets could have up to 8,384 for their April 8 home opener against Miami at Citi Field.

Attendees will have to provide proof of immunization against COVID-19 or a negative COVID-19 test. That requirement will be re-evaluated in mid-May.

Patriots’ Chung retires after 11 seasons, 3 Super Bowl rings

BOSTON — Saying “it’s time to start a new life,” New England Patriots safety Patrick Chung announced Thursday he is retiring from the NFL after 11 seasons and three Super Bowl rings.

In an Instagram post, the 33-year-old thanked coach Bill Belichick and team owner Robert Kraft for drafting him out of Oregon in 2009.

“I’m in tears writing this, but I’ve decided to hang up the cleats,” Chung wrote. “Bill, for teaching me life on and off the field, I will not forget that.”

Chung had two stints in New England. His first ended in 2012 when he signed a three-year deal with the Eagles. But he stayed in Philadelphia for only one season before re-signing with the Patriots in 2014. He won a ring his first season back in Foxborough and two more in 2016 and 2018. He opted out in 2020 because of COVID-19, citing concerns for his pregnant girlfriend, a son with asthma and an elderly father.