Texans release WR
The Houston Texans have released veteran wide receiver Demaryius Thomas, whose 2018 season ended when he tore his left Achilles tendon.
FOOTBALL Demaryius Thomas released
The Houston Texans have released veteran wide receiver Demaryius Thomas, whose 2018 season ended prematurely when he tore his left Achilles tendon. Thomas played seven games for Houston last season, making 23 receptions for 275 yards and 2 touchdowns. He was acquired in October from Denver for a fourth-round draft pick in April. The Texans and Broncos also switched seventh-round selections. The injury occurred in Houston’s next-to-last game. He would have made $14 million in the upcoming season, the last of his contract signed with the Broncos. For his nine pro seasons, Thomas has 688 catches for 9,330 yards with 62 touchdowns. He has made four Pro Bowls and won the 2015 NFL title with the Broncos.
Bills sign OL Long
The Buffalo Bills have started addressing their offensive line needs by signing Spencer Long to a three-year contract. The addition made Tuesday came a week after the New York Jets cut Long to free up nearly $6.5 million from next season’s salary cap. Long, 28, has 44 starts in 53 career games over 5 seasons. He spent his first four seasons in Washington, which selected him in the third round of the 2014 draft out of Nebraska. Long has versatility in having played both center and left guard. Both are positions of need for the Bills, who had difficulty replacing the offseason losses of starting center Eric Wood and left guard Richie Incognito. Injuries to Long’s right hand, which he uses to snap with, led to him struggling at center with the Jets. He eventually moved to left guard after James Carpenter sustained a season-ending knee injury. The Bills also re-signed cornerback Lafayette Pitts to a one-year contract. Pitts was mostly used on special teams during his first full season in Buffalo last year.
Simmons tears ACL
Mississippi State defensive lineman Jeffery Simmons tore the ACL in his left knee while working out last weekend. The 6-foot4, 300-pound Simmons, a potential first-round pick in April’s NFL Draft, released a statement on Twitter on Tuesday. He said he was going through position drills while training in Boca Raton, Fla., when the injury occurred. He said he will have surgery early next week. Simmons recently earned third-team Associated Press All-America honors after finishing his junior season with 63 tackles, including 17 for a loss. He also had seven quarterback hurries. Simmons was arrested before he came to Mississippi State in 2016 after a fight in which he was caught on video standing over a woman and punching her. He eventually was found guilty of malicious mischief and pleaded no contest to a simple assault charge.
ABC to televise combine
The NFL scouting combine will be televised on broadcast TV for the first time. ABC will be presenting a two-hour special March 2 from Indianapolis that will feature drills by quarterbacks and wide receivers. The combine workouts run from March 1-4 and also will be televised by NFL Network. ABC also will combine with ESPN to televise all three days of the draft April 25-27 from Nashville.
BASEBALL Posada joining Marlins
Jorge Posada will be joining the Miami Marlins’ front office as a special adviser to Derek Jeter, according to a person with knowledge of the negotiations.
The person spoke Tuesday to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because Posada’s hiring has not been publicly announced. Jeter is entering his second season as the Marlins’ CEO. Posada batted .273 with 275 home runs and 1,065 RBI in parts of 17 seasons with the Yankees. He also was the batter when the Marlins recorded their final out to beat the Yankees in the 2003 World Series, hitting a soft grounder toward first base and being tagged out by pitcher
Josh Beckett to end the game and give then-Florida its second world championship.
Mets, deGrom set deadline
National League Cy Young Award winner Jacob deGrom wants to hear the New York Mets’ best pitch on a multiyear contract by opening day — and the team thinks that’s a good call, too. New General Manager Brodie Van Wagenen, who was deGrom’s agent before switching sides at the bargaining table last fall, told reporters Tuesday at spring training that there’s “no reason for a distraction to carry into the regular season.” He said the club will continue discussions with deGrom this spring and see where they lead. That leaves about six weeks to get a deal done before the Mets’ season opener March 28 at Washington. However, deGrom cannot become a free agent until after the 2020 season, so the sides could always reopen negotiations next offseason. Last month, the Mets and deGrom agreed to a $17 million, one-year contract to avoid arbitration — a record-setting raise of $9.6 million over his 2018 salary.
BASKETBALL
No tampering by Lakers The NBA said Los Angeles Lakers President Magic Johnson did not break any league tampering rules when he spoke about Philadelphia 76ers point guard Ben Simmons earlier this week. The NBA’s relatively quick-moving investigation was initiated after it was revealed that Simmons wanted to meet with Johnson to talk about the art of being an elite point guard. Johnson complimented Simmons publicly on Sunday. “I love his game. I love his vision,” Johnson said. But since that was in response to a media inquiry, the NBA said Johnson was permitted to make such comments. The Lakers have been fined for tampering violations twice since 2017, those violations costing the team a combined $550,000.
HOCKEY Malkin suspended 1 game
Pittsburgh center Evgeni Malkin has been suspended one game for high-sticking Philadelphia’s Michael Raffl late in the Penguins’ 4-1 victory over the Flyers on Monday night. The league announced the suspension on Tuesday after a hearing between Malkin and the league’s department of player safety. Raffl and Malkin were tangled up in the neutral zone in the third period with Raffl engaging Malkin physically while Raffl battled for the puck. When the two players broke apart, Raffl punched Malkin in the back of the head and Malkin retaliated by swinging his stick in Raffl’s direction. Malkin received a 10-minute match penalty for the infraction. The league called Malkin’s swing “intentional.”
SOCCER England’s Banks, 81, dies
Gordon Banks, the World Cup-winning England goalkeeper who was also known for blocking a shot from Pele that many consider to be the greatest save in soccer history, has died. He was 81. English soccer club Stoke, one of Banks’ former teams, posted a statement from his family on Twitter on Tuesday. “It is with great sadness that we announce that Gordon passed away peacefully overnight,” the statement on Twitter said. “We are devastated to lose him but we have so many happy memories and could not have been more proud of him.” No cause of death was given. Known for his reflexes, Banks was one of English soccer’s most revered players after helping the team win the 1966 World Cup on home soil. He conceded only one goal in five games before England beat West Germany 4-2 in the final at Wembley Stadium. Four years later at the next World Cup in Mexico, Banks scurried across his line and dived to his right in an attempt to stop a downward header from Pele. Banks managed to reach the low ball his right hand and scoop it over the crossbar. “Pele actually shouted ‘Goal’ as he headed it,” Banks later said.