Diamondbacks opt to re-sign Gurriel

The Arizona Diamondbacks are keeping outfielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr. on a $42 million, three-year contract that includes a club option for 2027, according to a person familiar with the deal. The person spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity Sunday because the deal hasn’t been officially announced. He can opt out of his new deal after the second season. Gurriel, 30, came to the Diamondbacks in a trade with the Blue Jays last offseason and was a mainstay in the lineup during their unexpected run to the World Series. He made his first All-Star team while batting .261 with 24 homers and 82 RBIs. The righthanded batter played solid defense in left field and was popular with fans — in no small part because of his hair, which he dyed bright purple. Gurriel signed a $22 million, seven-year deal with the Blue Jays after defecting from Cuba with his older brother Yuli in 2016.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL Bronny, USC dropped

A dominant performance by the Auburn men’s basketball team served as a reminder that neither USC nor Bronny James are a finished product. Aden Holloway scored 15 points with six assists and Jaylin Williams had 14 points to help Auburn beat USC, 91-75. The Tigers (8-2) controlled the game most of the way in the first road appearance for James in a packed Auburn Arena with dozens of NBA scouts watching. Boogie Ellis led USC (5-5) with 22 points, but the Trojans dropped their third straight game, while James — son of NBA superstar LeBron James — continues to work his way back to form after suffering cardiac arrest in July. James, who didn’t speak to reporters after the game, scored 5 points in 14 minutes, making 3 of 4 free throws late. “He’s improved, but it’s a little unfair to him to be judging him every possession right now,” Trojans coach Andy Enfield said . . . Angel Reese scored 25 points with 14 rebounds and Aneesah Morrow had 16 points and 14 rebounds as the No.7 LSU women’s team slogged its way to an 81-36 victory over Northwestern State (4-6) in Baton Rouge, La. It was the 11th straight win for the defending national champion Tigers (11-1). Reese earned her third consecutive 20point performance in the last four games since she returned from a four-game suspension imposed by LSU coach Kim Mulkey. The Tigers closed the third period with a 24-5 run to lead, 60-26. Mulkey was ejected with 4:56 left and LSU leading by 39 points after she was given two technicals for protesting a charge against Morrow.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL Syracuse lands QB

Quarterback Kyle McCord, who started every game this season for Ohio State, announced he is transferring to Syracuse. McCord passed for 3,170 yards, 24 touchdowns, and 6 interceptions in his third season at Ohio Sate, but first as a starter for the seventh-ranked Buckeyes (11-1). He was a four-star recruit out of Philadelphia and a high school teammate of Ohio State All-America receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. McCord is the latest transfer addition for new Syracuse coach Fran Brown. The former Georgia assistant has also received transfer commits from former Bulldogs receivers Jackson Meeks and Zeed Haynes. Georgia has had 15 scholarship players enter the transfer portal during the December window . . . Trey Benson, Florida State’s leading rusher, will enter the NFL Draft and is opting out of the Orange Bowl. Benson made the announcement Sunday on his Instagram account. One of the Seminoles’ top defensive tackles, Fabien Lovett, also announced on X (formerly Twitter) that he would enter the draft; Lovett didn’t clarify if he was opting out of the Dec. 30 bowl game against Georgia.

SKIING Odermatt streak at 5

Marco Odermatt claimed a record-matching fifth straight World Cup giant slalom victory but his win at Alta Badia in Italy was by a more slender margin than the two-time defending overall World Cup champion is used to. Odermatt heaved a sigh of relief as the Swiss star crossed the line with a combined time just 0.19 seconds faster than Filip Zubcic, who could only shake his head and smile wryly. Zubcic had seemed set for a first victory in nearly three years and yelled in joy after a perfect run down the Gran Risa saw the Croatian finish more than two seconds ahead of Žan Kranjec. But Odermatt — the Olympic, world, and World Cup champion in giant slalom — had led after the first run and also laid down a strong second one to claim his 14th victory in the past 20 World Cup races in the discipline . . . Federica Brignone dominated to win a World Cup super-G in Val d’Isere, France, and trim the gap in the overall standings to Mikaela Shiffrin, who was one of many top skiers to fail to finish. Brignone beat Kajsa Vickhoff Lie by almost a half-second, finishing 0.44 ahead of the Norwegian skier. Shiffrin failed to finish after missing a turning gate on a blind section that troubled several athletes. Olympic champion Lara GutBehrami also skied out. Shiffrin, who skipped Saturday’s downhill on the Saslong course, still leads the overall World Cup standings where she is bidding for a record-tying sixth title. However, the American skier saw her lead cut to 63 points ahead of 2020 champion Brignone, who is enjoying her best start to a season.

MISCELLANY Copley heads to IR

Goaltender Pheonix Copley was placed on the NHL’s long-term injured reserve list by the Los Angeles Kings after suffering a lower-body injury during Friday’s practice. He did not make the trip to Seattle for Saturday’s game as the Kings defeated the Kraken, 3-2, in a shootout. By going on long-term IR, Copley will miss a minimum of 10 games . . . Madisen Skinner had 16 kills and Ella Swindle became the fourth true freshman setter to lead her team to a national championship as Texas defended its NCAA women’s volleyball title by dominating No. 1 overall seed Nebraska, 3-0, in Tampa, Fla.