QB Smith to retire from NFL
Alex Smith retired Monday after making an improbable comeback from a gruesome broken leg, saying he’s ready to leave the NFL but believing he’s still able to play quarterback.
Smith made the announcement on Instagram a few weeks shy of his 37th birthday.
Smith earned AP’s comeback player of the year honors for getting back on the field last season, two years removed from an injury that required 17 operations.
Tom Brady expects to be ready for June minicamp with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as he recovers from offseason knee surgery . ... AllPro special teams player George Odum and wide receiver Zach Pascal each signed one-year tenders to stay with the Indianapolis Colts . ... The Las Vegas Raiders signed unrestricted free-agent cornerback Rasul Douglas . ... An attorney for Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson accused the 22 women who have filed lawsuits alleging they were sexually assaulted or harassed by the NFL player during massages of lying . ... A sheriff ’s office in Louisiana issued an arrest warrant for Seattle defensive end Aldon Smith, for second-degree battery, two days after he signed a one-year contract with the Seahawks . ... The NFL said it will partner with iHeartMedia in launching a podcast network.
UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin said players at the 12 clubs setting up their own Super League could be banned from the European Championship and next year’s World Cup.
Multiplier, a 7-year-old gelding running for the 37th time, was euthanized Monday as the result of injuries suffered in the Tokyo City Cup at Santa Anita on Sunday. He suffered a fracture of the right front ankle.
— John Cherwa
The NHL suspended Vancouver Canucks defenseman Alexander Edler for two games for kneeing Toronto forward Zach Hyman. Edler also will forfeit $103,448 under the terms of the collective bargaining agreement and will be eligible to return Saturday.
The UCLA and USC women’s soccer teams received top-eight seeds as the NCAA announced brackets for its Division I championships, which will be played in Cary, N.C., and surrounding areas. The third-seeded Bruins (12-1-2) will open play April 30 at noon against the Campbell/Iowa winner. The eighth-seeded Trojans (73-3) will open against either Mississippi or Bowling Green at 3 p.m., also on April 30 . ... Loyola Marymount (60-2), the only local team in the 36-team men’s field, kicks off May 2 at 10 a.m. against Marquette (8-2-1). Championship games for both tournaments are slated for May 17. — Eric Maddy
Guard Tierra Ruffin-Pratt, who started 43 of 51 games in two years with the Sparks, was waived as the team announced its 15-player training camp roster. Ruffin-Pratt averaged a careerlow 2.9 points with 2.1 rebounds last season.
ESPN college basketball analyst Bob Valvano, the brother of late North Carolina State men’s basketball coach and broadcaster Jim Valvano, said on social media that he has leukemia, an aortic aneurysm and some kidney damage.