Rangers’ Hamilton may need more knee surgery
Slugger Josh Hamilton left Texas Rangers camp in Surprise, Ariz., to travel to Houston on Sunday, facing the possibility of another knee surgery in his bid to return to the major leagues.
Hamilton will be examined Monday by Dr. Walt Lowe, who performed reconstructive surgery on the former American League most valuable player’s left knee last June. The Rangers acknowledge Hamilton might require arthroscopic surgery. If he does, he would likely be out four to six weeks and then need a minor league rehab assignment.
Hamilton, 35, was examined by Lowe in Houston last Wednesday after his knee flared up in running drills. The former Angels outfielder was given a platelet-rich plasma injection to alleviate discomfort and returned to camp Thursday, but experienced discomfort after riding a stationary bike. Hamilton, a five-time All-Star who signed a minor league deal in December, played just one game in the minors last year while recovering from surgery.
Baltimore outfielder Michael Bourn suffered a broken right ring finger while catching a football during a workout and will be out for four weeks, making it unlikely the speedy 34-year-old will be ready for the Orioles’ April 3 opener.
Baltimore Ravens safety Matt Elam was arrested in Miami Beach on suspicion of possession of marijuana, possession of marijuana with the intent to deliver or sell and possession of a controlled substance, oxycodone.
The Western Conference-leading Minnesota Wild acquired center Martin Hanzal from Arizona in a trade that will send three draft picks, including a first-round choice this year, and minor leaguer Grayson Downing to the Coyotes. Minnesota also gets center Ryan White and a 2017 fourth-round pick. Hanzal has 16 goals and 10 assists this season and was considered one of the top players available ahead of Wednesday’s NHL trade deadline.
Former NHL enforcer Andrew Peters was suspended as coach of a youth hockey team pending a Buffalo, N.Y., police investigation into his role in an on-ice brawl Saturday during a game between his 15-and-under team the Junior Sabres and a team from Hamilton, Canada. A video posted on YouTube shows the fight escalating into the Sabres’ bench with Peters, 36, attempting to separate the players. At one point he appears to shove a Hamilton player backward onto the ice.
Mikaela Shiffrin used a stunning slalom run at Crans Montana, Switzerland, to clinch her first Alpine combined win and add to her lead in the overall World Cup standings. The 21-year-old American was seventh after the super-G portion but made it up in her favorite discipline and extended her advantage in the overall standings to 300 points over Slovenia’s Ilka Stuhec.
Norwegian skier Kjetil Jansrud secured the men’s World Cup super-G season title with a seventh-place finish in Kvitfjell, Norway. Peter Fill of Italy won the race.
Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert was fined $25,000 for making physical contact with an official during Friday’s game against Milwaukee . . . . The Dallas Mavericks signed forward Ben Bentil and guard Quinn Cook to 10-day contracts.
Four-time Olympic middle-distance champion Mo Farah of England refuted a report in the London-based Sunday Times that leveled fresh accusations involving his coach Alberto Salazar, who has been accused of skirting anti-doping rules while training some of his athletes at the Nike Oregon Project. Farah maintained he has always competed cleanly, never broken anti-doping rules and has “done nothing wrong.” Salazar is under investigation by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency.
In English soccer, Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s late goal sealed a 3-2 victory over Southampton that clinched the League Cup for Manchester United. The victory made Jose Mourinho the first manager in United history to win a trophy in his first season.