49ers acquire No. 3 draft spot from Miami
The San Francisco 49ers made a big move to grab their quarterback of the future by trading up with Miami to acquire the No. 3 pick in next month’s draft.
The 49ers announced Friday they are trading their No. 12 pick along with firstround picks in 2022 and 2023 and their compensatory third-rounder in 2022 to get the third overall pick.
The Dolphins then immediately traded the 12th pick, the 123rd pick and their own 2022 firstrounder to Philadelphia for the No. 6 and No. 156 picks in the draft, the Eagles said.
The trade by the 49ers puts them in position to draft a quarterback with Zach Wilson, Justin Fields and Trey Lance all possibilities. Jacksonville is expected to take Trevor Lawrence first and the New York Jets also could take a quarterback at No. 2.
Drafting a quarterback would likely lead to the end of Jimmy Garoppolo’s tenure in San Francisco either in a trade this season or after a year if the 49ers opt to keep a veteran to help ease the transition for a rookie QB.
• The Chargers found Justin Herbert’s experienced backup. Veteran quarterback Chase Daniel agreed to terms to join the Chargers, the team announced.
Daniel, 34, is signing a one-year deal and has $1.5 million in guarantees remaining from his previous contract with the Detroit Lions, according to ESPN. Daniel, who’s heading into his 13th NFL season, appeared in four games for the Lions last season.
Daniel has played in 69 career games with five starts and won Super Bowl XLIV with the New Orleans Saints as a rookie backup for Drew Brees in 2009.
Now, Daniel will look to deliver championship results with Herbert, the reigning Offensive Rookie of the Year. The Chargers quarterback room also includes Easton Stick, the team’s fifth-round pick of the 2019 draft.
Daniel is reuniting with Chargers coach Brandon Staley and offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi. Daniel and Staley were together in 2018 when Staley was the Chicago Bears’ outside linebackers coach. Lombardi was Daniel’s quarterbacks coach with the Saints from 2009-’12 and again in 2017.
Daniel has also played for the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles.
• The Tampa Bay Buccaneers agreed to a one-year, $3.25 million contract to bring free agent running back Leonard Fournette back for next season.
• The Chicago Bears signed former Kansas City Chiefs running back and Super Bowl 54 star Damien Williams to a one-year contract, giving them depth to go with David Montgomery. Williams, who opted out last season because of COVID-19 concerns and to spend time with his mother as she battled stage 4 cancer, was released by the Chiefs on March 16.
• 49ers defensive tackle Kevin Givens is facing an assault charge for an incident last month in a Baltimore hotel. Givens allegedly beat a man on Feb. 21, resulting in a second-degree misdemeanor assault charge. Givens is named as a defendant in District Court of Baltimore records.
A trial date has been scheduled for April 26.
• New Orleans Saints cornerback Marshon Lattimore was arrested Thursday in his hometown of Cleveland on suspicion of possessing a loaded handgun that had been reported stolen, police said.
Lattimore was a passenger in a car pulled over Thursday night for “multiple traffic violations,” said Sgt. Jennifer Ciaccia, a spokesperson for the Cleveland Police Department.
Lattimore possessed a loaded Glock handgun that was reported stolen in the city of Euclid in suburban
Cleveland, Ciaccia said. He is also suspected of failing to inform an officer he was carrying a concealed weapon.
Lattimore, who has no criminal record and was not formally charged, is “fully cooperating” with police, his lawyer said in a statement.
• Las Vegas signed free agent receiver Willie Snead to a one-year deal.
Correa says he balked at Astros’ $120M offer
Houston Astros shortstop Carlos Correa says he turned down an offer for a $120 million, six-year contract covering 2022-27 and is not sure whether there will be a deal before his deadline of opening day next week.
Correa has an $11.3 million salary this year and can become a free agent after the World Series.
“The way things are looking, I don’t know right now,” Correa said. “The first offer I thought it was really low, and if that’s how they feel about me and that’s where we stand, then I guess I will go out there and play and try to win another championship for the city of Houston and then explore free agency.”
Also, pitcher Lance McCullers Jr. and the Astros finalized an $85 million, fiveyear deal covering 2022-26.
• Pitchers Iván Nova and Héctor Rondón were released from minor league contracts by the Philadelphia Phillies as was catcher Jeff Mathis.
• Second baseman Joe Panik was told by the Toronto Blue Jays that he will be added to the major league roster.
• The Cincinnati Reds released Dee Strange-Gordon.
• Minnesota Twins bench coach Mike Bell, the younger brother of Cincinnati Reds manager David Bell, died Friday of kidney cancer. He was 46.
Russian women dominate at worlds
A sweep of the women’s medals further stamped Russian dominance of these World Figure Skating Championships in Stockholm.
Yet the two American women did just enough to earn a third berth at next year’s Olympics.
Three-time national champion Anna Shcherbakova made her first appearance at worlds golden despite finishing second to countrywoman Alexandra Trusova in the free skate. Shcherbakova, who turns 17 Sunday, won the short program.
Elizaveta Tuktamysheva, the 2015 world champion, earned silver in her return to the event, ahead of Trusova. It was the second 1-2-3 finish in the modern era, matching the United States with Kristi Yamaguchi, Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan in 1991.
This year’s Americans got exactly what they needed to grab a third spot for the Beijing Games. Karen Chen, repeating her fourth-place showing of 2017 with exactly the same prize being sought, and U.S. champion Bradie Tennell, who was ninth, needed a total of 13 places or less. Bingo.
Even though she fell on two jumps, and two-footed a landing on another, Trusova won the free skate basically because of the unprecedented difficulty of her program, flawed as it was. Her presentation wasn’t outstanding either, but Trusova became the first woman to land multiple quads at worlds by nailing two of the five she attempted.
That vaulted her from 12th to third and was a clear indication the judges favored technical bravery over artistic brilliance.
Shcherbakova had both, but seemed stunned as her marks revealed victory. She appeared to need confirmation from her coaches that the gold was hers.
Chen scored a personalbest 134.23 in the free skate, but her overall total of 208.63, also a career high, didn’t get her close to the podium. Still, the team reward was uplifting for the 2017 U.S. gold medalist.
Tennell’s underwhelming performance dropped her to ninth. Tennell cut short on a combination, under-rotated another jump and showed little spark.
Earlier, Russia extended its dominance at these championships when Victoria Sinitsina and Nikita Katsalapov took the rhythm dance. They were in front of U.S. champions Madison Hubbell and Zach Donohue by 2.10 points, with fellow Americans Madison Chock and Evan Bates exactly three points behind the leaders, heading into today’s free dance.
Osaka streak at 22
No. 2-ranked Naomi Osaka won her 22nd match in a row, beating Ajla Tomljanovic 7-6 (3), 6-4 in the second round at the Miami Open. Osaka hasn’t lost in more than a year, and her streak includes her fourth Grand Slam title at the Australian Open last month.
Daniil Medvedev, seeded No. 1 on the men’s side, needed less than an hour to beat 37-year-old Yenhsun Lu 6-2, 6-2.
Three seeded men lost — No. 8 David Goffin, No. 9 Grigor Dimitrov and No. 30 Reilly Opelka. Goffin, a semifinalist in 2016, was upset by James Duckworth 6-3, 6-1. Dimitrov was swept by Cameron Norrie 7-5, 7-5. No. 30 Reilly Opelka lost to Alexei Popyrin 6-4, 6-2.
Other seeded women winning in straight sets included No. 6 Karolina Pliskova, No. 12 Garbiñe Muguruza, No. 16 Elise Mertens, No. 21 Elena Rybakina and No. 29 Jessica Pegula.
Marquette gets Smart
Shaka Smart is leaving Texas to return to his home state to coach Marquette.
Marquette’s hiring comes a week after it fired Steve Wojciechowski and Smart’s Texas team was upset 53-52 by Abilene Christian in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
• It appears Florida coach Mike White will be an active shopper in the burgeoning transfer portal.
Forward Osayi Osifo announced plans to play elsewhere, becoming the fourth player in three days to leave White’s program. The Gators also lost top assistant Jordan Mincy, who took the head coaching job at nearby Jacksonville University.
Point guard and leading scorer Tre Mann entered the NBA draft Wednesday. Guards Noah Locke and Quin Glover entered the transfer portal Thursday.