WESTBROOK TAKES U-TURN, SKIPS UTAH FOR CLIPPERS
Russell Westbrook was waived by the Utah Jazz on Monday and the nine-time All-Star is expected to sign with the Los Angeles Clippers, according to a published report.
The 34-year-old guard was acquired by the Jazz from the Los Angeles Lakers on Feb. 10. He averaged 15.9 points, 7.4 rebounds and 7.1 assists in 28.7 minutes per game in a rocky tenure with the Lakers.
ESPN reported that Westbrook's agent, Jeff Schwartz of Excel Sports, told the outlet he will sign with the Clippers after completing a contract buyout on the remaining $47 million he's owed on his expiring deal.
The move would reunite Westbrook with Paul George, his former teammate in Oklahoma City. It also allows Westbrook to stay in Los Angeles. He is from the area and starred at UCLA.
Westbrook would join a Clippers team that is fourth in the Western Conference at 3328 coming out of the All-Star break.
The Lakers traded Westbrook and a 2027 first-round draft pick to the Jazz as part of a three-team deal.
More NBA
Meyers Leonard and the Milwaukee Bucks agreed on a 10-day contract, opening the door for the 7-foot center to play in an NBA game for the first time, nearly two years after he used an anti-Semitic slur while playing a video game that was being livestreamed.
Death
A former owner of two NBA teams, an NFL franchise and longtime Texas businessman, Billy Joe “Red” McCombs has died at his home in San Antonio, according to a statement from his family. McCombs was 95.
McCombs owned more than 400 businesses during his lifetime, and the McCombs School of Business at The University of Texas at Austin is named for him. He twice owned the NBA's San Antonio Spurs and between those two ownership stints owned the league's Denver Nuggets and later the Minnesota
Vikings of the NFL.
• The body of Ghana soccer player Christian Atsu, who was found dead Saturday in his collapsed apartment building in the Turkey earthquake, has been repatriated. Atsu's remains arrived in the Ghanaian capital of Accra late Sunday. Reports emerged a day after the earthquake that Atsu had been rescued from the rubble, but they were mistaken.
MLB
The Chicago Cubs added Michael Fulmer to their bullpen, finalizing a $4 million, one-year contract with the right-hander. Fulmer played for Detroit and Minnesota last season, going 5-6 with 3.39 ERA in a career-high 67 appearances.
Local colleges
University of San Diego baseball (3-0-1) earned a hard-fought 16-16 tie with Nebraska (0-3-1), storming back to erase a late-game six-run deficit in a series finale that was shortened to seven innings due to the Cornhuskers' travel arrangements. Jack Costello paced the Toreros' offense with a 2-for-5 performance, homering twice — including a grand slam — to drive in seven runs.
Junior infielder Kevin Sim was named the WCC player of the week after batting a blistering .500 (5-for-10) with three home runs, eight RBIs, a double, two walks, and eight runs scored as the Toreros took three consecutive games
from Nebraska.
• UC San Diego guard Izzy Forsyth, who scored a careerhigh 26 points in one of two strong performances last week, was named Big West women's basketball player of the week.
Horse racing
Steve Asmussen became the first trainer with 10,000 victories in North America on Monday, when Bet He’s Ready won the fifth race at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Ark. Asmussen, 57, already is the all-time winningest trainer in the United States and Canada, having the set mark of 9,446 on Aug. 7, 2021, at Saratoga to surpass Dale Baird.
• Santa Anita has canceled Friday's card due to heavy rain forecast for the area beginning Thursday. Most of the races scheduled for Friday will be brought back as “extras” on Saturday, according to a notice from the racing office.
Also
Midfielder Tyler Boyd signed a one-year contract with the LA Galaxy. This will be Boyd's first appearance in Major League Soccer after playing in New Zealand, Portugal and Turkey.
• Dominic Thiem lost in the first round of the Rio Open, falling to Thiago Monteiro in three sets, 6-1, 3-6, 7-6 (2). The former world No. 3 and 2020 U.S. Open champion came in ranked at No. 96.