49ers’ Verrett returns on 1-year deal
Cornerback Jason Verrett and the San Francisco 49ers have renewed their annual, short-term-commitment vows.
For the third time in as many years, Verrett agreed to a one-year deal, this one the priciest yet to keep him from leaving in free agency.
Verrett will earn $5.5 million with a chance to add another $1 million if he makes his first Pro Bowl since 2014, according to the NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. Verrett turned down a multi-year offer in hopes of scoring a bigger payday next year, when the salary cap is expected to balloon as opposed to this year’s pandemic-related reduction.
MLB
GIANTS ASSIGN 25 PLAYERS TO MINOR LEAGUE CAMP >> The Giants reassigned 25 players to minor league camp, including nearly all of the organization’s top prospects who received invitations to major league spring training.
Catcher Joey Bart, infielder Marco Luciano and outfielder Hunter Bishop were among the players sent to minor league camp, which won’t begin until April, but there was one notable top prospect who was not cut on Monday.
Outfielder Heliot Ramos,
arguably the top offensive performer in camp this spring, will remain in major league spring training after going 9-for-21 with three home runs and six RBI in limited Cactus League action.
Men’s basketball
GONZAGA COMPLETES SEASON-LONG RUN AT NO. 1 >> Gonzaga opened the season at No. 1. The Bulldogs never let go of that ranking.
Now, after a start-tofinish run atop The Associated Press men’s college basketball poll, coach Mark Few’s Bulldogs are focused on trying to become the first unbeaten national champion in more than four decades.
The Bulldogs (26-0) received all 60 first-place votes to stay atop Monday’s final poll, becoming the first team since Kentucky in 2014-15 to be No. 1 in every poll and the 14th overall. Gonzaga, named the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament on Sunday, will try to become the first unbeaten national champion since Indiana in 1976.
INDIANA FIRES MILLER, RAISES PRIVATE MONEY TO COVER BUYOUT >> Archie Miller’s $10.3 million buyout was one of college basketball’s priciest.
Indiana athletic director Scott Dolson decided keeping Miller would prove even more costly to the storied program.
Dolson fired Miller on Monday, armed with enough cash from private donations to cover the buyout and ready to answer a fan base angered by four straight mediocre seasons.
The Hoosiers haven’t been to the NCAA Tournament since 2016, haven’t been to the Elite Eight since 2002 and haven’t won a national championship since 1987 — the longest drought between titles in school history.
Women’s basketball
UCONN COACH AURIEMMA TESTS POSITIVE FOR CORONAVIRUS >> UConn women’s basketball coach Geno Auriemma has tested positive for the coronavirus and is isolating at home, the school announced, hours before it was expected to be named the top seed in the NCAA Tournament.
The Hall of Famer received a positive result from a COVID-19 test taken on Sunday and is not experiencing any symptoms, the school said.
The team’s head physician said contact tracing protocols revealed that Auriemma did not have close contact with any other team member since Friday. All other Tier 1 members of the team and staff tested negative for the virus on Sunday and Monday, the school said.
UCONN FINISHES NO. 1 IN WOMEN’S AP TOP 25 FOR 16TH TIME >> In one of the most unconventional seasons ever, UConn finished in a familiar place — at No. 1 in The Associated Press women’s college basketball poll.
It’s the 16th time that the Huskies have completed the regular season as the top team in the poll. They received 23 first-place votes on Monday from a national media panel of 30 voters.
There were five different teams ranked No. 1 this season — the second most in the poll’s history. Stanford, which spent six weeks atop the Top 25, finished at No. 2; the Cardinal received five first-place votes.
Iditarod
SEAVEY MATCHES MOST WINS BY A MUSHER >> Dallas Seavey won the pandemicshortened Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, matching the most wins ever by a musher.
Seavey brought his 10 dogs across the finish line near the community of Willow, Alaska, with a healthy lead over the second place musher, Aaron Burmeister.
It was the fifth title for Seavey, who matched the five-win threshold that only one other musher has accomplished. Rick Swenson won his five titles between 1977 and 1991.