Off the wire

TENNIS

Raonic rolls No. 1 seed Milos Raonic opened with an easy victory Tuesday in his first appearance at the Delray Beach Open. Raonic, the fourthranked player in the world, defeated American qualifier Tim Smyczek 6- 1, 6- 4. The 26- year- old Canadian advanced to a second- round match against 59th- ranked Borna Coric of Croatia, who beat Santiago Giraldo of Colombia 6- 2, 6- 3. No. 3 seed Jack Sock defeated Radu Albot 6- 4, 7- 6. Sock, the 21st- ranked player in the world and top American, was challenged by his opponent from Moldova. Albot was up 2- 1 in the tiebreaker before Sock won six consecutive points, finishing the match with a strong forehand down the line. Sock plays next against 99thranked Spaniard Guillermo GarciaLopez, who defeated Dustin Brown of Germany 6- 3, 6- 3.

Bellucci in upset Thomaz Bellucci upset top- seeded Kei Nishikori 6- 4, 6- 3 in the first round of the Rio Open, thrilling the home crowd on Carnival week in Rio de Janeiro. Nishikori, who lost the Argentina Open final on Sunday on clay, smashed his racket on the red clay after losing Tuesday’s first set. It didn’t get any better. He was broken in the first game of the second and never really recovered. In another first- round match, No. 4- seeded Pablo Carreno Busta of Spain defeated Brazil’s Joao Souza 6- 3, 6- 2. No. 2 Dominic Thiem of Austria played late against Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia.

BASKETBALL

Lakers- Rockets swap The Los Angeles Lakers have swung their first deal of the Magic Johnson era, agreeing to send Lou Williams to the Houston Rockets for Corey Brewer and a future draft pick. Brewer’s agent Wallace Prather confirmed the terms of the trade, which were first reported Tuesday by Yahoo Sports. Neither team immediately revealed the trade publicly. Williams announced he was leaving Los Angeles on Twitter, saying “Thanx for the love L. A., I’ve enjoyed my stay.” Williams led the Lakers in scoring at 18.6 points per game, playing off the bench. Brewer was averaging 4.2 points for Houston.

The trade came hours after the Lakers announced the firing of general manager Mitch Kupchak and put Johnson in charge of basketball operations — part of a massive front office shake- up.

BASEBALL

MLB to give players notice Major League Baseball intends to give the players’ association the required one- year advance notice that would allow management to unilaterally change the strike zone, install pitch clocks and limit trips to the pitcher’s mound starting in 2018. Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred made the announcement Tuesday after union head Tony

Clark said he did not foresee players agreeing to the changes for 2017. Under baseball’s labor contract, management can make changes to playing rules only with agreement from the union — unless it gives one year notice. With the one year of notice, management can make changes on its own. Manfred said while he prefers an agreement, “I’m also not willing to walk away.”

Wieters, Nats agree Free- agent catcher Matt Wieters and the Washington Nationals have an agreement in principle on a $ 10.5 million contract for 2017, pending a physical, according to a person familiar with the deal. The contract also includes a player option for 2018 worth $ 10.5 million, the person said, speaking to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity on Tuesday because nothing had been announced yet. Wieters, 30, has a .256 career batting average with 117 home runs and 437 RBI over eight seasons. Last year, Wieters hit .244 with 17 home runs and 66 RBI in 124 games, playing on a $ 15.8 million qualifying offer. He was not given a $ 17.2 million qualifying offer this offseason by the Orioles and became a free agent.

Ankiel drank before starts

Rick Ankiel said he drank vodka before his first two starts in 2001 to quell anxiety after throwing five wild pitches in one inning during the previous season’s playoffs. Ankiel detailed his experience during an interview on a St. Louis radio station Monday. Ankiel was an emerging star with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2000 before his ruinous postseason debut. He pitched the first game of an NL Division Series against Atlanta and became the first major leaguer with five wild pitches in one inning. The next season, he was “scared to death” before his first start against Randy Johnson and Arizona, and said vodka “tamed the monster.” He pitched five innings and got the victory. He also drank before his next start but said “anxiety took over the alcohol” that time, and the yips came back. He said he didn’t drink before games after that.

FOOTBALL

Steelers assistant fined Pittsburgh Steelers assistant coach Joey Porter has been fined $ 300 after pleading guilty to a disorderly conduct citation stemming from a dispute with a bar bouncer and a police officer last month. Porter entered the plea Tuesday in City Court in Pittsburgh. He originally faced more serious charges, including aggravated assault, for allegedly grabbing the officer’s wrists outside a South Side bar after a bouncer denied him entrance Jan. 8. The county prosecutor had dropped the most serious charges, saying surveillance video didn’t support them. However, the city’s Citizens Police Review Board, police union and brass all have said the charges were warranted. The officer involved in the dispute was at the hearing but didn’t comment.