AP Sports

Update on the latest sports 3/7/2023

Ex-Raider Derek Carr agrees to 4-year contract with Saints

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The New Orleans Saints say former Raiders quarterback Derek Carr has agreed to a four-year contract. A person familiar with the situation said the deal could be worth up to $150 million. The person spoke to The Associated Press about the contract’s value on condition of anonymity because financial terms were not released. Carr turns 32 this month. He played nine seasons for the Raiders and holds team records for yards and touchdowns passing. Saints coach Dennis Allen was the Raiders’ coach when the team selected Carr in the second round of the 2014 draft. Las Vegas released Carr on Feb. 14 to avoid guaranteeing him $40.4 million of his contract over the next two years.

Seahawks, QB Geno Smith reach agreement on 3-year deal

RENTON, Wash. (AP) — The Seattle Seahawks have agreed to terms with quarterback Geno Smith on a three-year contract that keeps the AP comeback player of the year in the Pacific Northwest. The contract is the first big payday in Smith’s career. He will go into 2023 as the presumptive starter with the Seahawks and a chance to build upon his success from last year. Smith was one of the feel-good stories in the league last season, leading Seattle to a 9-8 record and a playoff berth. He threw for 4,282 yards, a career best and a franchise record. He also led the NFL in completion percentage.

MLB shift limits raising batter spirits and averages so far

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Major League Baseball’s new limits on infield shifts are raising batter spirits this spring. They might be bosltering batting averages, too. Batting averages across the league are up slightly from last spring training, from .259 to .263. Left-handed hitters seem to be benefitting most, with their collected average up from .255 to .274. Sluggers like the New York Yankees’ Anthony Rizzo are enjoying taking at-bats without a wall of defenders in shallow right field. Rizzo says that “young left-handed hitters will be introduced to the 3-4 hole that’s been gone for about seven to eight years.”

Liverpool fans to get refunds after Champions League chaos

MANCHESTER, England (AP) — UEFA will refund Liverpool fans who bought tickets for last season’s Champions League final because of the chaos that occurred outside the stadium in Paris. The governing body of European soccer says a scheme has been set up to reimburse all 19,618 tickets purchased by Liverpool fans for the match against Real Madrid. There were crushes outside the Stade de France and innocent supporters were doused by pepper spray and tear gas. Refunds will also be paid out to Real Madrid supporters and neutral fans who meet certain criteria.An independent investigation published last month found UEFA mostly responsible for the security failures which “almost led to disaster.”

NFL combine a TV spectacle, moneymaker; value under scrutiny

The NFL combine is winding down and it’s clear the annual scouting event that’s evolved into a made-for-TV spectacle continues to be a required stop on the road to a pro football career amid concerns it can be a demeaning process with diminishing value. The combine, which launched in 1982 mainly to bring prospects to one location so teams can gather medical information, is a moneymaking machine for the league and another interview/audition for players and a job fair for unemployed coaches looking for a new opportunity. Opinions vary on how necessary it is today.

Brady, Brown prove combine flops can become NFL stars

Boston College defensive end Mike Mamula didn’t have much of an impactful NFL career with the Philadelphia Eagles. But he was a trailblazer in the league nonetheless. He was among the first prospects to train specifically for the drills he’d perform in at the NFL’s annual scouting combine in Indianapolis. He killed it and rocketed up the draft board later that year. Now just about every prospect targets the annual gathering of teams and its future stars in hopes of increasing their draft stock. But the combine isn’t the be-all end-all as Orlando Brown Jr. and Tom Brady can attest.

Acing combine tests doesn’t necessarily foretell NFL stardom

The staple tests at the NFL combine consist of the 40-yard dash, the 225-pound bench press, the vertical and broad jumps, the three-cone drill and the 20-yard shuttle. Acing any one of them can vault a prospect up the draft board. But killing it at the combine doesn’t necessarily foretell NFL stardom. Some of those who posted top-five all-time scores at one or more of the drills never even got drafted and in a few cases they didn’t even play a single snap in the NFL.

Houston, UCLA, Kansas top latest AP Top 25; Duke back in

UCLA has climbed to No. 2 behind Houston in the latest Associated Press men’s college basketball poll. The Cougars earned 58 first-place votes to remain on top for a third straight weekl. The Bruins’ move to No. 2 represented their highest ranking this season. They received the other three first-place votes. Kansas, Alabama and Purdue rounded out the top five. Texas A&M climbed six spots to No. 18 for the week’s biggest jump. No. 21 Duke, No. 24 Creighton and No. 25 Missouri were this week’s new additions. Providence, Pittsburgh and Maryland fell out.

South Carolina No. 1 for 37th straight week, Iowa now No. 2

South Carolina remains No. 1 in The Associated Press women’s basketball poll for a 37th consecutive week. That breaks a second-place tie with Louisiana Tech for the longest streak all time. Only UConn has a longer run atop the poll with 51 consecutive weeks. Big Ten Tournament champion Iowa moved up five spots to No. 2, its highest ranking since 1994. Indiana, Virginia Tech and Stanford round out the top five. Washington State jumped in at No. 22 after winning the Pac-12 Tournament. Tennessee also joined the poll at No. 24. South Florida and Iowa State fell out.

Red Sox infielder Justin Turner hit in face by pitch

FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) — Boston Red Sox infielder Justin Turner needed 16 stitches after he was hit in the face by a pitch during a spring training game against the Detroit Tigers. The 38-year-old Turner fell to the ground after getting drilled by right-hander Matt Manning. Medical personnel rushed to the plate, and Turner was bleeding and had a towel on his face as he walked off the field. Turner’s wife, Kourtney, posted to Instagram that the infielder had “16 stitches and a lot of swelling but we are thanking God for no fractures & clear scans.”