Alvarado, Phillies avoid arbitration with 1-year deal
Reliever Jason Adam became the fourth Tampa Bay player to go to a salary arbitration hearing this year, asking a panel for $1,775,000 on Friday while the Rays argued for $1.55 million.
Philadelphia reliever José Alvarado avoided arbitration, agreeing to a one-year deal for $3.45 million. He had filed for $3.7 million and the Phillies’ $3.2 million.
The panel that heard Adam’s case is expected to issue a decision Saturday.
Alvarado went 4-2 with a 3.18 ERA and two saves in 59 relief appearances. He had a 5.56 ERA in 12 postseason appearances for the NL champions, getting the win in the Game 5 pennant-clincher against San Diego. Alvarado failed to hold a one-run lead in the sixth inning of World Series Game 6, relieving Zack Wheeler with two on and giving up a long three-run homer to Houston’s Yordan Alvarez. The Astros went on to a 4-1 victory that won the title.
Eleven players remain scheduled for hearings, which run through Feb. 17, including Philadelphia reliever Seranthony Domínguez.
Golf
TIGER WOODS RETURNS TO RIVIERA TO PLAY FIRST EVENT OF YEAR >> Tiger Woods is returning to competition for the first time without the use of a cart since July, announcing Friday he will play at the Genesis Invitational in Los Angeles.
Woods was hopeful of playing next week’s tournament at Riviera, where he is the host of an event that typically had the strongest field of the West Coast swing even before it became elevated with a $20 million purse.
The uncertainty came from a bout with plantar fasciitis as he was preparing to play in December. That kept him from playing in his Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas. He played a made-for-TV exhibition over 12 holes and the PNC Championship with his son. Both times he was allowed to ride in a cart.
NBA
SIAKAM, EDWARDS, FOX ADDED TO ALL-STAR GAME ROSTER >> Toronto forward Pascal Siakam, Minnesota guard Anthony Edwards and Sacramento guard De’Aaron Fox have been added to the player pool for the All-Star Game as injury replacements.
Commissioner Adam Silver’s office announced the picks Friday, after they were first reported by ESPN.
Siakam, Edwards and Fox replace Golden State’s Stephen Curry, New Orleans’ Zion Williamson and Phoenix’s Kevin Durant — all of whom are injured and will be unable to play in the Feb. 19 game at Salt Lake City.
Auto racing
NASCAR CHAMPION KYLE BUSCH RETURNS TO XFINITY SERIES >> Kyle Busch will end a one-year break and drive in NASCAR’s secondtier Xfinity Series for Kaulig Racing this season.
Busch won 102 races over 362 starts in the series and continued to drop down and race in the developmental level even as he became a champion at the Cup level. NASCAR eventually restricted in 2020 the number of Xfinity races a regular Cup driver could compete in each season. Busch, who made the jump to Richard Childress Racing this season, raced just five times each of his last two seasons.
NFL
THOMAS, REVIS HEADLINE NEW PRO FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME CLASS >> Joe Thomas gave fans of the new version of the Cleveland Browns something they could finally celebrate.
The six-time All-Pro offensive lineman will join lockdown cornerback Darrelle Revis as inductees into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on their first try, becoming the first Browns Hall of Famer from the team’s inglorious expansion era.
“It’s really special for me because the franchise has endured some really tough times,” Thomas said. “But those fans are so loyal and passionate, and they still show up and it still is their identity that they’re Browns fans. It’s great for all of Browns Nation.”
Since returning to the NFL in 1999, the Browns have had two playoff berths, one playoff win and the worst record in the league — including an 0-16 season in Thomas’ last year in the NFL.
Thomas and Revis join a new class of Hall of Famers announced Thursday that also includes return finalists DeMarcus Ware, Zach Thomas and Ronde Barber. Senior candidates Joe Klecko, Chuck Howley and Ken Riley, along with coaching candidate Don Coryell also got voted into the Hall and will be inducted in Canton, Ohio, this summer. FAVRE SUES AUDITOR, SPORTSCASTERS IN DEFAMATION CASE >> Retired NFL quarterback Brett Favre filed lawsuits Thursday in Mississippi, accusing the state auditor and two national sportscasters of defaming him in public discussions about the misspending of welfare money that was supposed to help some of the poorest people in one of the poorest states in the nation.
The lawsuit against Auditor Shad White says the Republican “has carried out an outrageous media campaign of malicious and false accusations against Brett Favre — the Hall of Fame quarterback and native son of Mississippi — in a brazen attempt to leverage the media attention generated by Favre’s celebrity to further his own political career.”
In a separate lawsuit against former NFL player Shannon Sharpe, Favre said Sharpe made “egregiously false” statements about him on the Fox Sports talk show “Skip and Shannon: Undisputed,” including that Favre “stole money from people that really needed money.”
And in another lawsuit against retired NFL player Pat McAfee, Favre said McAfee had used “outrageous falsehoods” that included calling Favre a “thief” who was “stealing from poor people in Mississippi.”
FOX CORP SAYS IT’S ARRANGED SUPER BOWL INTERVIEW WITH BIDEN >> After a day of mixed signals, President Joe Biden will be sitting down for a pregame interview for the Super Bowl, which is being broadcast by Fox on Sunday.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre had initially said that Biden had been “looking forward” to an interview with the little-known streaming service Fox Soul, but that Fox opted out.
Fox Soul was started in 2020, and it’s geared toward Black viewers.
Later in the day, a Fox Corp. spokesperson said the interview was back on.
Boxing
RUSSIA-RUN BOXING BODY CALLS ON US FIGHTERS OT DEFY BOYCOTT >> The president of the International Boxing Association is offering financial support to boxers who defy a U.S.-initiated boycott of the upcoming world championships, which he said was decided by people “worse than hyenas and jackals.”
USA Boxing and the Irish Boxing Association said this week they will not send teams to the women’s worlds next month or the men’s championships in May. They cited longstanding governance issues at the IBA, which is suspended from the Olympics, and the IBA’s decision to allow Russia and its ally Belarus to compete with flags and anthems after the invasion of Ukraine.
High school sports
FLORIDA BACKS OFF ATHLETE MENSTRUAL DATA >> Florida has backed off its effort to force athletes to give their high schools information about their menstrual cycles after the debate sparked opposition nationwide, and now, the state is facing questions about whether the plan was based on politics or policy.
Doctors often ask students about their periods to figure out whether they are healthy enough to compete. But the issue exploded when the Florida High School Athletic Association proposed using a form that called for providing that information directly to schools, rather than just to health providers.
Critics questioned whether there were political motives as Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis weighs a run for the presidency. Opposition to abortion and transgender female athletes are core GOP tenants, and DeSantis has signed bills on both issues.