MORNING ROUNDUP

Ovechkin to skip NHL All-Star Weekend

Alex Ovechkin will skip the NHL’s All-Star Weekend in San Jose to get some extra rest and serve an automatic one-game suspension.

The Washington Capitals announced Ovechkin’s decision Wednesday, hours before the league unveiled the full All-Star rosters. The team said the NHL’s leading goal-scorer wants to take advantage of the adjoining bye week to prepare for the second half of the season.

Washington’s final game before the All-Star break is Jan. 23 at Toronto. The All-Star game is Jan. 26, and the Capitals don’t play again until Feb. 1 against Calgary.

Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly confirmed Ovechkin must miss either the game before or after the All-Star break. The NHL recently instituted an automatic one-game suspension for players who chose not to participate in All-Star Weekend, except in cases of injury.

Pro wrestling interviewer dies

Eugene “Mean Gene” Okerlund, whose deadpan interviews of pro wrestling superstars like “Macho Man” Randy Savage, The Ultimate Warrior and Hulk Hogan made him a ringside fixture in his own right, has died. He was 76.

World Wrestling Entertainment announced Okerlund’s death on its website Wednesday. Okerlund’s son, Tor Okerlund, told The Associated Press that his father died early Wednesday at a hospital in Sarasota, Florida, near his home in Osprey, Florida, with his wife, Jeanne, by his side.

Tor Okerlund said his father, who had undergone three kidney transplants, fell a few weeks ago “and it just kind of went from bad to worse.”

Twins sign Cruz to one-year deal

With an opening for a designated hitter and a need for more power in the lineup, the Minnesota Twins found quite a fit on the free agent market with a sixtime All-Star in Nelson Cruz.

They’ll be counting on his impact beyond the middle of the batting order. There’s a clubhouse filled with still-developing players who could use his wisdom, too.

The Twins signed Cruz to a one-year, $14.3 million contract that comes with a $12 million club option for 2020, formalizing Wednesday their addition of a player whose 203 home runs over the previous five seasons are the most in the major leagues during that span.

Mariners reach deal with Japanese pitcher

Japanese left-hander Yusei Kikuchi has finalized four-year contract with the Seattle Mariners that guarantees $50 million and includes club options that would be make it worth $103 million over seven seasons.

Seattle announced the agreement Wednesday, just ahead of the deadline for the 27-year-old to sign with a major league club or be forced to return to Japan for another season.