Bolting to L.A.
Report: Chargers ready to move
Just as they did in their very first season in 1960 in the old American Football League, the Chargers plan on playing football in Los Angeles again.
According to ESPN, the team is to announce as early as Thursday that they are returning to the City of Angels, ending a 55-year stay in San Diego. The Chargers have called a staff meeting Thursday morning, a team employee said. The employee said the topic of the meeting hadn’t been divulged.
The Chargers have notified Roger Goodell of their plans to relocate for the 2017 season, but a source said the team has yet to send a formal relocation letter to the NFL.
2 SEATTLE DEALS
Jerry Dipoto made his 11th trade of the offseason, and the Mariners GM feels it rounded out the team’s roster with his top target.
“I’ve probably spent more time through the course of our offseason trying to acquire Drew Smyly than any other thing that we’ve done,” Dipoto said Wednesday.
Seattle made a pair of deals that ultimately landed Smyly, a pitcher Dipoto thinks will fill out the Mariners starting rotation. Seattle also landed a potential key reliever, getting right-hander Shae Simmons from the Atlanta Braves.
The Mariners acquired outfielder Mallex Smith from Atlanta, then sent him to Tampa Bay along with infielder Carlos Vargas and lefthander Ryan Yarbrough for Smyly. l Reliever Carter Capps has agreed to a $987,500, one-year contract with the Padres to avoid arbitration.
l The World Series champion Chicago Cubs have accepted President Barack Obama’s invitation and will visit the White House on Monday.
FORDHAM WINS
Javontae Hawkins had 17 points on 7-of-12 shooting and nine rebounds, Joseph Chartouny scored 11 with nine boards, four assists and five steals and Fordham used a late run to beat Davidson on the road, 60-54.
l Markus Howard had 22 points and Katin Reinhardt made four free throws in the final 29 seconds of overtime to help host Marquette beat Seton Hall, 89-86. Seton Hall trailed 74-67 with 46 seconds left before using a 10-3 run to force overtime. Khadeen Carrington scored the final seven points of that burst, including a pull-up jumper that tied it with 2.7 seconds left.
l Kentan Facey scored a career-high 23 points and pulled down 10 rebounds to lead host UConn to its second straight conference win, 73-59, over Temple.
FURYK TO CAPTAIN U.S.
Jim Furyk was appointed as the U.S. captain for the 2018 Ryder Cup in France, where his team will try to win on European soil for the first time in 25 years.
MANNEH CLOSES IN ON U.S. TEAM
Kekuta Manneh has become a U.S. citizen, moving the Vancouver Whitecaps forward closer to eligibility for the men’s national team. U.S. Soccer announced Manneh received his citizenship Wednesday. Manneh still must receive a waiver from FIFA to play for the U.S. team, since he was previously called in for Gambia’s under-20 team.