AL runners-up Astros reload by adding All-Star closer Hader
Hard-throwing reliever Josh Hader and the Astros agreed to a $95 million, five-year contract. Hader will get a $19 million salary in each of the next five seasons. The five-time All-Star figures to take over as closer and push Ryan Pressly back to a setup role. Houston reached the agreement three days after announcing reliever Kendall Graveman will miss the season after right shoulder surgery.
Burns takes lead with 61
Sam Burns fired a career-low 61 to take a oneshot lead over Michael Kim and a two-shot lead on amateur Nick Dunlap after two rounds at The American Express. Burns was at 17-under-par 127, while Dunlap, an Alabama sophomore, and South Korea’s K.H. Lee were 15 under . . . Cameron Young will take a three-shot lead into the weekend at the Dubai Desert Classic after his 8-under 64. Young was 13-under 131 after two rounds. Secondranked Rory McIlroy, the defending champion, birdied the 18th to get to 10 shots off the lead . . . Lydia Ko played bogey-free for a 5-under 67 as temperatures began to cool in the LPGA’s season opener at the Tournament of Champions at Lake Nona in Orlando, and the New Zealander heads into the weekend alongside Japan’s Ayaka Furue (71) in a share of the 36-hole lead at 8-under 136.
Oldest Masters champ dies
Hall of Fame golfer Jack Burke Jr. has died at age 100. He had been the oldest living Masters champion. Obituary, C9.
Illinois star reinstated
A federal judge reinstated Illinois men’s basketball star Terrence Shannon Jr., who had been suspended since he was charged with rape in Kansas. Shannon, a 6-foot-6-inch guard, missed six games during his suspension. The 14th-ranked Illini have gone 4-2 in his absence. He is averaging 21.7 points . . . The Department of Justice, three more states, and the District of Columbia have joined a lawsuit against the NCAA’s transfer eligibility rule. The federal agency said in its announcement that the NCAA rule on transfers is “an illegal restraint on college athletes’ ability to sell their image and likeness and control their education.” . . . Merrimack men’s basketball led, 38-31, at halftime but lost, 71-65, to Wagner at home. The Warriors (910, 3-2 Northeast Conference) were led by Jacob O’Connell, who posted 26 points and 4 blocks. Jordan McKoy added 11 points for Merrimack, while Jordan Derkack had 8 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists. On Sunday, Merrimack hosts Stonehill, which lost its seventh game in a row. In the 76-69 defeat to Fairleigh Dickinson, Jackson Benigni finished with a game-high 27 points. South Hamilton’s Max Zegarowski added 19 points and eight rebounds for the host Skyhawks (2-18, 0-5).
Capitals extend Protas
The Capitals have signed forward Aliaksei Protas to a five-year extension worth $16.875 million. The 23-year-old has 18 points in 42 games and has helped the team remain in the playoff race . . . MLS club Sporting Kansas City has agreed to part ways with sporting director Gavin Wilkinson after only eight days, citing an “impassioned response from our fans” regarding the controversial hire. Wilkinson, the former president and general manager of the NWSL’s Portland Thorns, was fired by the team in 2022 after separate investigations into the handling of coach misconduct . . . The publisher of Sports Illustrated has notified employees it is planning to lay off a significant portion of the outlet’s staff after its license to use the iconic brand’s name in print and digital was revoked. Once a weekly publication, SI was reduced to biweekly publishing in 2018 and became a monthly in 2020.