Off the wire

FOOTBALL Saints RB Kamara indicted

A grand jury in Nevada has indicted New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara, Cincinnati Bengals newly acquired cornerback Chris Lammons and two others on two criminal counts in connection with an alleged beating at a Las Vegas nightclub last February. The Clark County grand jury handed up the indictment in Las Vegas on Wednesday on the same two battery charges prosecutors filed last year against the NFL players and two other men, KLAS-TV in Las Vegas first reported Thursday. Kamara was arrested Feb. 6, 2022, after he played in the NFL Pro Bowl at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. Police say he told officers he punched a man after he thought he had done something to someone in his group and was trying to run away.

Giants re-sign WR Hodgins

The New York Giants re-signed wide receiver Isaiah Hodgins, who was scheduled to become an exclusive rights free agent next month. Hodgins was one of the Giants’ biggest surprises this season as they ended a five-year postseason drought and made it to the divisional round of the NFC playoffs, losing to conference champion Philadelphia. The 24-year-old Hodgins was claimed off waivers from Buffalo on Nov. 2 and quickly became a favorite target of Daniel Jones in New York’s offense. Hodgins finished with 33 receptions for 351 yards in just eight regular-season games, and tied Richie James for the most touchdown catches with four.

BASKETBALL Celtics reward Mazzulla

Joe Mazzulla has been so steady guiding the Celtics through a franchise-shaking crisis that their turbulent offseason has taken a back seat to their championship aspirations. The team rewarded him by turning a temporary opportunity of a lifetime into a permanent one. Boston named Mazzulla its fulltime head coach on Thursday, removing the interim tag he had held since stepping in for Ime Udoka in the preseason. Udoka initially was given a yearlong suspension before training camp for having an inappropriate relationship with a woman in the organization. The 34-year-old Mazzulla, previously an assistant under Udoka, will now replace his former boss, who is no longer with the team. Mazzulla is the NBA’s youngest head coach.

SOCCER U.S. women earn 2-0 win

Mallory Swanson scored a pair of first-half goals and the United States beat Canada 2-0 Thursday night in Orlando, Fla., in a SheBelieves Cup match clouded by a labor dispute between the Canadian players and their federation. The Canadian women wore purple shirts during the pregame national anthems that read “Enough Is Enough.” Before kickoff, U.S. players linked arms with their Canadian counterparts in the center circle in a show of solidarity. Canada’s women are negotiating for a new collective bargaining agreement that would give them equal pay with their male counterparts. They say they haven’t yet been paid for 2022.

SKIING Shiffrin wins GS gold

Mikaela Shiffrin won her seventh career Alpine world championships gold medal on Thursday, taking the giant slalom in Meribel, France, in the Alps. Federica Brignone of Italy and Ragnhild Mowinckel of Norway finished second and third. Shiffrin took the lead after the first run by 12-hundredths of a second over Tessa Worley of France, the local favorite. Worley fell on the second run, giving Shiffrin some breathing room. Skiing on a course that was rough because of melting snow caused by a temperature near 50 degrees, Shiffrin made an error near the bottom. She put up only the 12th-fastest time on the second run, skiing slower than Brignone and Mowinckel. But her combined time was good enough for the win by 12-hundredths of a second.

HORSE RACING Trainer John Veitch dies

John Veitch, who trained Alydar to narrow losses in all three Triple Crown races against rival Affirmed in 1978 during a Hall of Fame career, has died, his family said Thursday. He was 77. Veitch died Tuesday of natural causes at home in Lexington, Ky., said Michael Veitch, his second cousin. During his training career from 1974 to 2003, Veitch had 410 winners from 2,340 starts and earnings of $20,097,980, according to Equibase.