Off the wire
FOOTBALL Rodgers to sit out
Aaron Rodgers is done for the season. The Green Bay Packers put their star quarterback on injured reserve Tuesday, a day after they were eliminated from playoff contention. Rodgers missed seven games after breaking his right collarbone Oct. 15 against Minnesota.
He returned Sunday, but the Packers lost 31-24 at Carolina. Atlanta’s victory against Tampa Bay on Monday night ended Green Bay’s eight-year run of consecutive postseason berths. Brett Hundley will get the start for Green Bay in Saturday’s home game against the Vikings. Joe Callahan was signed as his backup. The Packers also released fullback Joe Kerridge from the active roster and quarterback
Jerod Evans from the practice squad. 8 Steelers in Pro Bowl
The Pittsburgh Steelers lead the NFL in one category this season: most
Pro Bowl players. Antonio Brown, Le’Veon Bell and Ben Roethlisberger are among eight Steelers selected for the all-star game. They will be joined Jan. 28 in Orlando, Fla., by tackle Alejandro Villanueva, guard David DeCastro, center Maurkice Pouncey, kicker Chris Boswell and linebacker Ryan Shazier, who is injured. The Philadelphia Eagles and New Orleans Saints each placed six players in the game in balloting announced Tuesday.
Suspension reduced
The NFL reduced linebacker
Thomas Davis’ suspension from two games to one after his appeal. The league announced the reduced ban Tuesday. Davis was suspended Monday after his helmet-to-helmet hit on Green Bay Packers wide receiver Davante Adams. Hearing officer James Thrash, appointed jointly by the NFL and the players union, heard the appeal. Davis can return to play in Carolina’s regular-season
finale Dec. 31 against Atlanta. Carolina (10-4) can clinch a playoff spot Sunday with a victory against Tampa Bay (4-9). Adams left Sunday’s 31-24 loss to Carolina in the third quarter with a concussion after being blindsided by Davis after a Carolina interception. Davis was penalized 15 yards but not ejected. Davis, the 2015 NFL Walter Payton Man of the Year, was visibly upset on the sideline after the play. He tweeted an apology to Adams on Monday.
Source: Kiffin extended
A person familiar with the negotiations said Lane Kiffin and Florida Atlantic have agreed on a six-year extension through 2027. The person said the additional length of the deal is the only new element already agreed upon. The person spoke to The Associated Press on Tuesday on condition of anonymity because the contract has not been signed or made public by either side. Kiffin had four seasons remaining on his existing deal, one that pays him $950,000 annually with a buyout that started at $2.5 million and decreases each year. Financial terms for the additional years are still being negotiated. Kiffin and FAU took a 10-3 record
into Tuesday night’s Boca Raton Bowl, which the Owls won easily over Akron. FAU won nine games in the previous three seasons combined, and Kiffin led the Owls to a Conference USA championship. Kicker declares for draft Florida’s Eddy Pineiro, the most accurate kicker in program history, is leaving school early and entering the NFL Draft. The fourthyear junior from Coral Gables made the announcement via Twitter on Tuesday. Pineiro made 29 of his last 30 field-goal attempts, including 17 of 18 this past season. His 94.4 percent success rate in 2017 led the nation. He converted 38 of 43 fieldgoal attempts (88.4 percent) in two seasons, tops in program history.
BASEBALL
Braves drop Gonzalez Adrian Gonzalez has been released by the Atlanta Braves and is a free agent. Atlanta acquired the 35-year-old as part of Saturday’s five-player trade that sent outfielder Matt Kemp to the Los Angeles Dodgers and immediately designated him for assignment and placed him on waivers. Gonzalez waived his no-trade clause after the Braves agreed to cut him from their roster, and he was formally released Monday.
Atlanta is set at first base with Freddie Freeman. Los Angeles also traded starting pitchers
Scott Kazmir and
Brandon McCarthy, and infielder
Charlie Culberson to Atlanta along with $4.5 million due May 1. National League Rookie of the Year Cody Bellinger took over at first base for the Dodgers when Gonzalez went on the disabled list with a herniated disk in his back last season. Gonzalez gets $21.5 million in the final year of his contract, and a team signing him to a big league contract would owe just the minimum $545,000, with Atlanta paying the remainder. Hundley back with Giants Catcher Nick Hundley has agreed to a $2.5 million, one-year contract to remain with the San Francisco Giants. The 34-year-old hit .249 with 9 home runs and 35 RBI in 303 plate appearances last season. He threw out 13 of 49 runners attempting to steal. He has a .249 career average with 81 home runs and 340 RBI. San Francisco announced the agreement Tuesday. TENNIS Bartoli ends retirement Marion Bartoli, the 2013 Wimbledon champion, said she is coming out of retirement and returning to the tennis tour next season. The 33-year-old Frenchwoman made the announcement via a Twitter post Tuesday. “Hi, guys. I have something to tell you: I am coming back. … It’s going to be a huge challenge,” Bartoli said in a video she put on Twitter. “I have still a lot of practice ahead of me, but I am hoping to be ready for March and the Miami Open.” Bartoli mentioned three events she is particularly looking forward to: the French Open, the Fed Cup and Wimbledon. She won her only Grand Slam title while seeded No. 15 at the All England Club four years ago. Less than two months later, after losing a match at another tournament, she abruptly retired from professional tennis.