THE HOT CORNER

1 PRO BASEBALL: The Twins and Carlos Correa made a mutual decision that the shortstop will skip the World Baseball Classic for family reasons, with his wife expecting a baby during the tournament. The Twins said Correa will not participate with the Puerto Rico national team for the event, which begins March 8.

PRO BASEBALL: 2

The Nationals avoided arbitration with outfielder Victor Robles, agreeing to a oneyear contract worth $2,325,000 with a club option for 2024. Robles is one of only a few players left from Washington’s 2019 World Series championship team.

PRO FOOTBALL: Kirk Cousins

3 was the quarterback for the third and final flag football game at the Pro Bowl on Sunday for a reason. NFC coach Eli Manning wanted Cousins in that spot to decide the overall winner, and the Vikings QB responded by throwing three TD passes to rally the NFC to a 35-33 win over the AFC in the Pro Bowl Games and end that conference’s five-game losing streak. Cousins completed 15 of 19 for 150 yards in the reformatted all-star contest, which gave the NFC the victory after earlier flag games and skills competitions.

PRO SOCCER: American coach Jesse Marsch was fired by Leeds after nearly a year in charge of the Premier League team. Leeds hasn’t won any of its last seven games in the league and has dropped into 17th place in the 20-team division, only out of the relegation zone on goal difference. Marsch was hired in February last year as a replacement for Marcelo Bielsa, who got Leeds promoted to the Premier League after an absence of 16 years.

PRO HOCKEY: The New York

5

Islanders signed center Bo Horvat to an eight-year contract less than a week after acquiring him in a trade with Vancouver. Horvat’s deal is worth $68 million and carries a $8.5 million salary cap hit through the 2030-31 season.