Royals fire Matheny after 65-97 season

Manager Mike Matheny and pitching coach Cal Eldred were fired by the Royals on Wednesday night, shortly after the struggling franchise finished the season 65-97 with a listless 9-2 loss to the Guardians.

This season’s disappointing on-field product led owner John Sherman last month to fire longtime front office executive Dayton Moore, the architect of back-to-back American League champions and the 2015 World Series title team. He was replaced by one of his longtime understudies, J.J. Picollo, who made the decision to fire Matheny hours after the season ended.

Matheny, 52, finished 165-219 with the Royals.

College football: Texas A&M junior QB Max Johnson has a broken bone in his throwing hand and may mis the rest of the season, ESPN reported.

Golf: The Official World Golf Ranking won’t be awarding points to LIV Golf events this year, denying the MENA Tour’s request to immediately add the Saudi-funded series to its schedule. The OWGR said in a statement that the MENA Tour, a developmental tour in the Middle East and North Africa, didn’t give sufficient notice.

NBA: Warriors GM Bob Myers said Draymond Green apologized to the Warrors a day after fighting with teammate Jordan Poole during practice. Myers said any potential discipline would be handled internally.

NFL: Buccaneers QB Tom Brady returned to practice after sitting out Wednesday due to some discomfort in his right shoulder and finger and said he will play Sunday against the Falcons. Brady, 45, suffered the injuries during the Bucs’ 41-31 loss to the Chiefs last weekend.

NHL: The Stars signed forward Jason Robertson to a four-year, $31 million contract after the 23-yearold 40-goal scorer missed the first two weeks of training camp.