Paul set to return for Warriors vs. Wizards
The Warriors will begin their four-game trip to the East Coast with a full roster.
Chris Paul, the 12-time AllStar point guard, is listed as available to play on Tuesday in Washington after missing almost two months with a broken hand. Head coach Steve Kerr will have a complete array of rotation players to deploy to begin a stretch of away games against the Wizards, Knicks, Raptors and Celtics.
Paul's return to the lineup will give Golden State a second-unit backcourt of two future Hall of Famers: Paul and Klay Thompson. But it will also give Kerr even more options to consider for the closing lineup, with those two and Brandin Podziemski probably most often competing for one spot.
Paul has been sidelined since Jan. 5, when he suffered a fractured left hand while going for a long rebound. The 38-year-old has dealt with that same or similar injury several times during his 19-year career.
MLB DODGERS SAY OHTANI WILL MAKE HIS SPRING DEBUT >>
Spring training Sho-time starts Tuesday with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Shohei Ohtani will make his exhibition debut with the Dodgers when he serves as the designated hitter for Los Angeles on Tuesday against the Chicago White Sox.
Los Angeles has been taking it slowly with the twoway star, who signed a record $700 million, 10-year contract during the offseason. The two-time MVP is coming off right elbow surgery last September that will keep him from pitching this year.
JOSÉ DELEÓN, MLB PITCHER FOR 13 SEASONS, DIES AT AGE 63 >> José DeLeón, a major league pitcher for 13 seasons who led the National League in strikeouts for the St. Louis Cardinals in 1989, has died. He was 63.
Los Leones del Escogido, DeLeón's team in the Dominican Winter League, said he died Sunday evening at a hospital in Santo Domingo. The team said DeLeón had health issues without giving further information.
DeLeón was 86-119 with a 3.76 ERA in 264 starts and 151 relief appearances for Pittsburgh (1983-86), the Chicago White Sox (1986-87, 1993-95), St. Louis (1988-92), Philadelphia (1992-93) and Montreal (1995). The righthander struck out 1,594 in 1,897 1/3 innings.
College basketball
HOUSTON RISES TO NO. 1 IN AP TOP 25 AHEAD OF PURDUE, UCONN >> Now it is Houston's turn at the top of The Associated Press Top 25 men's college basketball poll.
The Cougars moved to No. 1 for the first time this season in Monday's latest poll, climbing one spot to end the six-week stay of reigning national champion Connecticut. Houston (24-3) became the fifth team to hold the top spot this season.
Purdue rose one spot to No. 2, while the Huskies' loss to Creighton dropped them to third in a poll that included South Florida cracking the rankings for the first time in program history.
Tennessee moved up a spot to No. 4 for its highest ranking of the season, followed by Marquette. Arizona, Kansas, Iowa State, North Carolina and Duke rounded out the top 10. TEXAS RISES TO NO. 3 IN WOMEN'S AP TOP 25 BEHIND SOUTH CAROLINA, OHIO STATE >> Texas rose to its highest ranking in more than a year in The Associated Press Top 25 women's basketball poll Monday after another week of shakeups amongst the top teams.
The Longhorns moved up two spots to No. 3 after four of the top seven teams lost at least one game last week.
South Carolina remained the unanimous No. 1 team, receiving all 35 votes from the national media panel, after routing Alabama and Kentucky. Ohio State was second in the poll. The Buckeyes clinched a share of the Big Ten title with their 14th consecutive win on Sunday.
Stanford was fourth after splitting a pair of home games against Arizona and Arizona State. Despite the loss to the Wildcats, the Cardinal clinched at least a share of their 27th Pac-12 regular-season championship.
Virginia Tech moved up three spots to fifth.