Vinatieri ready to go for record
INDIANAPOLIS — The NFL’s oldest player is going to try to break the league’s career scoring record. If Adam Vinatieri gets his way, it might not be the only record to fall. On Thursday, the 45-year-old kicker signed a one-year contract to stay with the Indianapolis Colts — a deal he insists may not be his last. Financial details were not immediately available, though his salary is believed to be in the neighborhood of last season’s $3 million. During a conference call, Vinatieri noted he will receive a $250,000 bonus if he makes 88 percent of his field-goal attempts next season after barely missing out on a bonus for making 90 percent in 2017. But money isn’t the reason Vinatieri returned. He is playing well, wants to win and needs 58 points to surpass Hall of Famer Morten Andersen as the league’s top scorer of all time. “I know 57, 58 points away is definitely within reach this year if I stay healthy and all that,” said Vinatieri, who has scored 2,487 points and said he very much wants to “break that record wearing a Colts helmet.” Late last year, Vinatieri made clear his intentions that he wanted to play a 24th pro season and his preference was to stay in Indianapolis, where he has developed deep roots since joining the Colts as a free agent in 2006. General manager
Chris Ballard quickly let Vinatieri know the team wanted him back, which made the Colts’ first major offseason move pretty simple. Vinatieri acknowledged hiring Frank Reich as coach also helped persuade him to come back. Reich takes over a team that went 4-12 in 2017 and played without top quarterback
Andrew Luck the entire season. Vinatieri won three Super Bowls with the New England Patriots and a fourth championship with the Colts in his first year with the team.
› Kirk Herbstreit will take
Jon Gruden’s place on ESPN’s coverage of the NFL draft. ESPN announced Thursday that Herbstreit will be part of the primetime coverage of the first round April 26 at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Herbstreit will be joined by host Trey Wingo, draft analyst Mel Kiper and NFL analyst Louis Riddick. The second and third rounds are April 27, and rounds four through seven are April 28. Herbstreit is the lead analyst for ESPN’s “Saturday Night College Football” and the “College GameDay” pregame show. Gruden left his job as analyst on ESPN’s “Monday Night Football” in January to return to coaching with the Oakland Raiders. Gruden joined ESPN in 2009 and had been part of draft coverage since 2010.
BASKETBALL
› CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Cavaliers will again have a No. 22, and he looks eerily familiar. Larry Nance Jr. will get to honor his father by wearing his dad’s retired jersey number with the Cavs, who worked with the NBA to make the unique tribute possible. “My dad’s jersey will get to stay retired in the rafters, so, I couldn’t be happier with it,” Nance said Thursday night before making his home debut with the Cavs, who recently acquired him in a trade with the Los Angeles Lakers. “I’m thrilled. I’ve been wearing 22 my whole life, and to get to wear it for the Cleveland Cavaliers is beyond a dream come true.” He will begin wearing No. 22 next week. For now, he’ll be No. 24, the number he chose after he was obtained from the Lakers. His father’s number was retired by the Cavs in 1995. Larry Nance Sr. spent eight seasons with Cleveland and was a fan favorite because of his shot-blocking and dunking skills.
› The Sacramento Kings want to bring the NBA AllStar Game to California’s capital for the first time. Team owner Vivek Ranadive, Mayor Darrell Steinberg and tourism officials are set to submit an application to the league today for hosting the game in 2022 or ‘23. Getting the game would cap a remarkable comeback for Sacramento, which nearly lost its franchise to Seattle in 2013 before Ranadive bought the team and put together a deal to build a state-of-the-art arena downtown. Winning the bid won’t be easy. The Golden State Warriors want the game for their new arena in downtown San Francisco that is set to open for the 2019-20 season. Milwaukee is also bidding, with its new arena set to open next season.
SOCCER
› Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter has endorsed Morocco’s 2026 World Cup bid while banned from soccer roles for financial misconduct. Blatter tweeted Thursday that “Morocco would be the logical host! And it is time for Africa again!” The 2010 World Cup was staged in South Africa. Referencing the rival joint bid from the United States, Canada, and Mexico, Blatter tweeted “co-Hosting rejected by FIFA after 2002.” That’s when the World Cup was in South Korea and Japan. Blatter’s 17-year reign as FIFA president ended in disgrace in 2015 amid the fallout from American prosecutors charging dozens of soccer officials with corruption, including World Cup vote buying. He is serving a six-year ban from soccer after the discovery of an uncontracted salary of $2 million to one-time adviser Michel Platini.