Contact us

Twitter: @FreemanSports; Email: sports@freemanonline.com; Phone: 845-331-5000, ext. 5; Fax: 845-331-3557. Email: rrosner@freemanonline.com Phone: 845-400-1225. Twitter: @RonRosner Brian Hubert, Reporter: bhubert@freemanonline.com; Phone: 845-400-1211; Twitter: @brianatfreeman Mike Stribl, Reporter: mstribl@freemanonline.com; Phone: 845-400-1231; Twitter: @MStribl

»Jeff Gordon is among the new nominees up for induction into the NASCAR Hall of Fame next year.

The four-time NASCAR champion was added to the list of 20 nominees in the first year Gordon was eligible. He retired from full-time competition after the 2015 season with 93 career Cup victories. He is currently an analyst for Fox Sports.

Also added to the list this year were Harry Gant, a driver whose career spanned two decades and two series, four-time championship winning crew chief Kirk Shelmerdine, and car owners John Holman and Ralph Moody.

The nominees were selected by a committee consisting of representatives from NASCAR, the NASCAR Hall of Fame, track owners from major facilities and historic short tracks, as well as Fox commentator Mike Joy.

Outfielder Jon Jay agreed to a $3 million, oneyear contract with the Kansas City Royals, a deal that allows him to earn an additional $1.5 million in performance bonuses.

Jay, who turns 33 on March 15, hit .296 with two homers and 34 RBIs in 141 games last season with the Chicago Cubs, including 13 for 40 (.325) as a pinch hitter.

His deal, announced Tuesday, is a large cut from his $8 million salary last year.

Jay did not commit an error in 141 chances last season and has gone 141 games without an error since April 15, 2016. As a left-handed hitter, he was attractive to the predominantly right-handed-hitting Royals.

The NFL’s salary cap will be $177.2 million, more than $10 million above last season.

Teams must be below that figure when the league season begins on March 14.

While the cap went up from $167 million, it did not surge the way it did the previous year, increasing by nearly $12 million.

Under the current labor agreement reached in 2011, the cap steadily has gone up from $120 million that year to $120.6 million, then to $123 million, then to $133 million in 2014. It was $143.28 million in 2015.

The larger increases resulted in great part from the league’s broadcast contract revenues.