ROBOT UMPIRES MOVING UP TO AAA

Robot umpires have been given a promotion and will be just one step from the major leagues this season.

Major League Baseball is expanding its automated strike zone experiment to Triple-A, the highest level of the minor leagues.

MLB’s website posted a hiring notice seeking seasonal employees to operate the Automated Ball and Strike system.

The independent Atlantic League became the first American professional league to let a computer call balls and strikes at its AllStar Game in July 2019 and experimented with ABS during the second half of that season. It also was used in the Arizona Fall League for top prospects in 2019, drawing complaints of its calls on breaking balls.

There were no minor leagues in 2020 due to the pandemic, and robot umps were used last season in eight of nine ballparks at the Low-A Southeast League.

More baseball

Locked out players plan to make a counteroffer to management on Monday, 11 days after clubs gave the union a proposal when the snail-paced negotiations resumed following a 42-day break. The players’ association asked Major League Baseball to schedule the negotiating session.

Sports and courts

Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Willie Gay was charged with misdemeanor criminal damage to property after he broke a vacuum and other items during an argument, putting his status for Sunday’s divisional round playoff game against the Buffalo Bills in question.

Gay pleaded not guilty and was expected to be released from jail later in the day. The total of damaged property amounted to $225, police said.

• An independent arbitrator ruled that UConn improperly fired former men’s basketball coach Kevin Ollie and must pay him more than $11 million within the next 10 business days, Ollie’s lawyer said.

Deaths

Bob Goalby, who won the 1968 Masters without having to go to a playoff when Roberto De Vicenzo infamously signed for the wrong score, died. He was 92. Goalby’s death Wednesday in his hometown of Belleville, Ill., was confirmed by the PGA Tour and by Bill Haas, his great nephew.

• Leland E. Byrd, a former athletic director at West Virginia and the Mountaineers’ first 1,000-point scorer in basketball, died, the university said. He was 94.

Soccer

Diogo Jota stepped up in Mohamed Salah’s absence with two goals to lead Liverpool to a 2-0 victory at Arsenal and into a League Cup final against Chelsea.

• Defending champ Algeria was dumped out of the African Cup of Nations in the group stage with a 3-1 loss to an Ivory Coast team that overwhelmed at times and announced itself as a contender for the titl.

Colleges

NCAA member schools voted to ratify a new, streamlined constitution, paving the way for a decentralized approach to governing college sports that will hand more power to schools and conferences. The vote was overwhelmingly in favor, 801195, and was the main order of business at the NCAA’s annual convention.

• California football coach Justin Wilcox signed an extension through the 2027 season.

Also

The Point Loma Nazarene basketball teams both lost. At Irvine, the women (8-7, 3-5 PacWest) fell 69-57 to Concordia (8-6, 6-3). Meanwhile, the men (9-8, 5-4) were beaten by Chaminade (8-8, 6-4) 73-71 on a 3-pointer in the final seconds at home.

• ESPN has joined the increasing number of media companies that will not be sending reporters to next month’s Beijing Olympics due to continued concerns about rising COVID-19 cases worldwide and China’s strict policy about those who test positive.

• The World Rugby Sevens Series rescheduled its U.S. stop from March to August due to the COVID-19 pandemic.