The Times Herald (Norristown, PA)
Rams star Kupp headed to IR after ankle surgery
Los Angeles Rams receiver Cooper Kupp will have surgery on his sprained right ankle, sidelining the Super Bowl MVP for at least the next four weeks while placed on injured reserve.
Starting left tackle Alaric Jackson will miss the rest of the season because of blood clots, while starting right guard Chandler Brewer will be out for four to six weeks after knee surgery, coach Sean McVay said Tuesday.
Kupp, the AP’s Offensive Player of the Year last season after winning the triple crown of receiving, sprained his ankle in the Rams’ 27-17 loss to Arizona last Sunday. He needs surgery that is likely to sideline the Rams’ top offensive player for several weeks.
Kupp currently is second in the NFL with 75 catches, while his 812 yards receiving and six TD receptions are fifth.
Soccer
FIFA HEAD CALLS FOR WORLD CUP CEASEFIRE IN UKRAINE >> FIFA President Gianni Infantino urged world leaders on Tuesday to call for a ceasefire in Russia’s war against Ukraine during the World Cup that starts this week.
Just days after asking World Cup teams to avoid the political and human rights issues swirling around host nation Qatar and focus just on soccer, Infantino seemed to stray from his own advice on a trip from the Arabian Gulf to Indonesia for the Group of 20 meeting.
The World Cup that starts Sunday could be “that positive trigger,” Infantino said, for seeking peace after nearly nine months of what FIFA described as “conflict in Russia and Ukraine.”
Tennis
NADAL LOSES TO AUGER-ALIASSIME, ON BRINK OF ATP FINALS EXIT >> Rafael Nadal’s error-strewn performance damaged his chances Tuesday of adding the ATP Finals trophy to his glittering list of titles.
The top-seeded Nadal lost 6-3, 6-4 to tournament debutant Felix Auger-Aliassime to leave him with two straight defeats in Turin.
The 36-year-old Nadal has now lost four straight matches for only the second time in his career, following defeats at the U.S. Open and Paris.
DJOKOVIC SET TO BE GRANTED VISA TO PLAY AUSTRALIAN OPEN >> Novak Djokovic is set to be granted a visa to play in next year’s Australian Open despite his high-profile deportation in January.
The Australian Broadcasting Corp. on Tuesday said it had confirmed newspaper reports that the immigration minister had overturned a potential three-year exclusion period for Djokovic.
The Australian Border Force has previously said an exclusion period could be waived in certain circumstances — and that each case would be assessed on its merits.
Hockey
SEDIN TWINS, LUONGO AND ALFREDSSON INDUCTED INTO HALL OF FAME >> Henrik and Daniel Sedin, Canucks teammate Roberto Luongo, former Ottawa Senators captain Daniel Alfredsson, Finnish women’s national team player Riikka Sallinen and Herb Carnegie were welcomed into the Hockey Hall of Fame as the class of 2022 on Monday.
The Sedin twins and Luongo were elected in their first years of eligibility back in June, while Alfredsson had waited since 2017. The induction of the Sedins and Alfredsson increased the number of Swedish players in the hall from four to seven.
Auto racing
TY GIBBS PROMOTED TO REPLAE KYLE BUSCH IN JGR’S CUP CAR >> Ty Gibbs was promoted to NASCAR’s top Cup series on Tuesday in an expected announcement that was void of any celebration as Joe Gibbs Racing continues to mourn the loss of Gibbs’ father.
Coy Gibbs died in his sleep hours after his 20-year-old son won the Xfinity Series championship on Nov. 5 at Phoenix
Raceway. He was 49, the same age as older brother, J.D., when he passed away in 2019.
Joe Gibbs, the NASCAR and NFL Hall of Famer, has lost both his sons a month before their 50th birthdays. Coy Gibbs was vice chairman of his father’s NASCAR team at the time of his death.
College football
USC, UCLA MAY CAUSE BIG 10 SCHOOLS TO EXPAND RECRUITING MAP >> Southern California and UCLA’s pending moves to the Big Ten could give the league’s existing members the opportunity to expand their recruiting maps and pursue more West Coast prospects.
It will take some time for these moves to have that kind of impact.
“I think ultimately it’s probably going to be a little bit of a slow burn,” said Andy Frank, who oversees Penn State’s recruiting department as the Nittany Lions’ director of player personnel.
The numbers bear that out.
Twelve high school juniors or seniors from states with Pac-12 programs have verbally committed to play football at one of the Big Ten’s 14 current member schools. Only four made their decisions after the June 30 announcement that
USC and UCLA would join the Big Ten in 2024.
Baseball
MONTEIRO, ASTROS FINALIZE $34.5M, 3-YEAR CONTRACT >> Reliever Rafael Montero finalized a $34.5 million, three-year contract to remain with the World Series champion Houston Astros, a deal that could be worth $36.75 million over three seasons.
The 32-year-old righthander gets $11.5 million in each of the next three seasons under the deal announced Tuesday.
He can earn $500,000 annually in performance bonuses for games: $100,000 each for 50, 55, 60, 65 and 70 games.
Montero also would get a $250,000 bonus in any season he has 30 games finished.
He would get $50,000 for making the All-Star team, $100,000 for Rivera-Hoffman reliever of the year and $65,000 for finishing second or third for the reliever award.
Montero had a career-low 2.37 ERA, going 5-2 with 14 saves, 73 strikeouts in 68 1/3 innings and a 1.02 WHIP in a career-high 71 games. He was acquired from Seattle before the 2021 trade deadline and is 18-23 with a 4.64 ERA and 29 saves for the New York Mets (201417), Texas (2019-20), Seattle (2021) and Houston.