PRESS BOX
IN BRIEF
BASEBALL: The Padres agreed to terms with four-time All-Star 2B Ian Kinsler on a two-year contract . ... A’s 3B Matt Chapman had surgery on his left shoulder, his second operation this offseason, and is expected to begin swinging a bat in six weeks. ... RHP Jimmy Nelson agreed to a one-year, $3.7 million contract with the Brewers after missing all of last season due to shoulder surgery . ... C James McCann agreed to a one-year, $2.5 million contract with the White Sox, reports said . ... Joan Steinbrenner, wife of late Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, died at 83 in Tampa, Fla.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL: Kentucky RB Benny Snell Jr., who had three straight 1,000-yard rushing seasons, will skip his senior year to enter the NFL draft but will play for the Wildcats on New Year’s Day against Penn State in the Citrus Bowl . ... Tennessee LB Quart’e Sapp will bypass his final season of eligibility to enter the NFL draft . ... Former Maryland coach DJ Durkin is spending time with the Alabama football staff but hasn’t been hired, coach Nick Saban said . ... Indiana freshman DB Jamar Johnson faces a charge of resisting law enforcement after his arrest on campus for allegedly smoking marijuana . ... Minnesota extended coach P.J. Fleck’s contract by one year through the 2023 season . ... North Carolina State named assistants Des Kitchings and George McDonald as co-offensive coordinators.
GOLF: David Lipsky took a one-shot lead into the weekend at the Alfred Dunhill Championship in Malelane, South Africa. He shot a 66 and was at 8-under 136, one stroke ahead of Scott Jamieson (66) and Marc Warren (67). Ernie Els (67) was four shots behind.
OLYMPICS: The USOC selected Salt Lake City to bid for an upcoming Winter Olympics, most likely 2030. Salt Lake, which hosted in 2002, still has many venues in place, some of them upgraded . ... Russian bobsled gold medalist Alexander Zubkov and four others have been suspended for doping at the Sochi Olympics.
SOCCER: Dave Sarachan, who oversaw the U.S. men’s national team on an interim basis for a year after its failure to qualify for the World Cup, is the front-runner to become head coach of seconddivision North Carolina FC, the Washington Post reported . ... Toronto FC sent backup goalkeeper Clint Irwin to the Colorado Rapids for a secondround pick (39th overall) in the 2019 draft . ... Boca Juniors will not renew the contract of coach Guillermo Barros Schelotto after losing to fierce rival River Plate in the Copa Libertadores final . ... UEFA fined AC Milan $13.6 million and threatened the club with a one-season ban from European competition for breaking financial fair-play rules . ... Valencia forward Goncalo Guedes will be sidelined for about two months after surgery on his abdomen.
ALSO: The International Ski Federation intends to strip Stefan Luitz of his first World Cup win for using an oxygen mask. Racing in a giant slalom this month in Beaver Creek, Colo., that started at an altitude of 10,340 feet, Luitz used an oxygen tank between runs . ... Augustana University in Sioux Falls, S.D., will pursue a move to NCAA Division I . ... Ariarne Titmus broke a world record in the women’s 400-meter freestyle at the world short-course swimming championships in Hangzhou, China.