AP Sports

Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn agrees to terms with Jets to be head coach, AP source says

A person with knowledge of the hiring says the New York Jets and Aaron Glenn have agreed to terms on making the Detroit Lions defensive coordinator their head coach. Glenn oversaw the Lions’ defense the past four years and beat out 15 other candidates for the job as the Jets went through an extensive search to find their next coach. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the team had not yet announced the hiring. ESPN first reported that Glenn agreed to coach the Jets.

Winter storm causes rescheduling of NBA and college games across the South

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The NBA and multiple college basketball conferences postponed games in response to winter weather that broke snowfall records in some southern states and coated others with a mix of snow and ice. Wednesday night’s NBA contest between the Milwaukee Bucks and the Pelicans was called off a day after Winter Storm Enzo dumped about a foot of snow in New Orleans. LSU’s fifth-ranked women’s basketball team was unable to fly on Wednesday to South Carolina. So the Southeastern Conference chose to postpone the Tigers’ game at the No. 2 Gamecocks from Thursday until Friday evening. The Sun Belt conference also changed tip-off times for four men’s basketball games.

Josh Allen looks to break through in fourth playoff meeting against Patrick Mahomes

The near annual playoff matchups between Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen are hardly unprecedented. The one-sided nature of the postseason rivalry between the two star quarterbacks is more unusual. Mahomes’ Kansas City Chiefs will host Allen and the Buffalo Bills in the AFC title game on Sunday night for the fourth postseason matchup between the QBs in the past five seasons. Mahomes has come on top in the first three, winning the 2020 AFC title game and 2021 divisional round matchup at home and then a divisional roundup last season in Buffalo.

Bucs OC Liam Coen withdraws from consideration for Jaguars’ coaching job, AP source says

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Tampa Bay offensive coordinator Liam Coen is no longer a candidate to be Jacksonville’s next head coach. A person familiar with the decision says Coen pulled his name out of consideration and will sign a new contract with the Buccaneers. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because neither side has disclosed the decisions publicly. Coen was scheduled for an in-person interview on Wednesday with Jaguars owner Shad Khan, general manager Trent Baalke and others. The move upends Jacksonville’s search, which had been narrowed to Coen, Las Vegas defensive coordinator Patrick Graham and former New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh. Graham and Saleh are scheduled for in-person interviews on Thursday and Friday.

Raiders hire Bucs assistant general manager John Spytek as their GM, AP source says

HENDERSON, Nev. (AP) — The Las Vegas Raiders hired Tampa Bay Buccaneers assistant general manager John Spytek to be their GM, a person with knowledge of the situation tells The Associated Press. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the hire has not been announced. Spytek replaces Tom Telesco. He was fired along with coach Antonio Pierce. The Raiders are still searching for a new coach. Raiders minority owner Tom Brady finished his playing career as the Bucs quarterback. He is believed to have had a hand in the hiring.

Dodgers announce deal with prized Japanese pitcher Roki Sasaki, who gets $6.5 million signing bonus

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Dodgers have announced their deal with prized Japanese pitcher Roki Sasaki, agreeing to a minor league contract with a $6.5 million signing bonus. A 23-year-old right-hander whose fastball tops 100 mph, Sasaki announced his intention to sign with the Dodgers on Friday and was to be introduced at a news conference Wednesday at Dodger Stadium. He joined fellow Japanese stars Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto on the Dodgers in a decision many baseball executives long expected. Sasaki had until Thursday to finalize a contract.

Mike Tirico will be lead play-by-play announcer when NBC begins its NBA coverage next season

Mike Tirico has been selected as NBC’s lead play-by-play announcer when it begins its coverage of the NBA next season. The move is not a surprise, since many expected that to happen when NBC agreed to an 11-year contract with the NBA last summer. Tirico was part of ESPN and ABC’s coverage of the league until moving to NBC in July 2016. He also called six NBA Finals on ESPN Radio. According to research from the 506 Sports Archive, Tirico called 313 regular-season and playoff games on ESPN and ABC. Tirico also calls the “Sunday Night Football” package, which will include next year’s Super Bowl.

AP’s all-College Football Playoff team features an all-Ohio State offensive backfield

Ohio State’s run to its first national championship in a decade enabled the Buckeyes to dominate the Associated Press’ all-College Football Playoff team. Ohio State has 11 players on the team. Buckeyes make up the entire offensive backfield with Will Howard at quarterback and TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins at running back. The AP changed the way it put together its postseason all-star teams this season as college football introduced an expanded 12-team playoff that had some schools playing as many as four postseason games. The AP released an all-bowl team Jan. 7 for players who competed in non-playoff bowl games.

Carlos Beltrán is on the verge of Hall of Fame induction, and next year’s ballot is wide open

It now appears it’s a question of when, not if, Carlos Beltrán will be voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Next year could be his time. The ballot is wide open. Beltrán fell 19 votes short of the needed 75% for induction this year. It was only his third year on the ballot. So the graceful outfielder is in good shape to make it eventually. Next year should work in Beltrán’s favor because there probably won’t be any first-ballot inductees coming onto the ballot.

Spurs-Pacers games in Paris have a notable absence, with Gregg Popovich recovering at home

PARIS (AP) — Indiana’s Rick Carlisle has coached more games against San Antonio’s Gregg Popovich than anyone else. They’ve had 87 head-to-head matchups, including playoffs. Thursday was supposed to be No. 88. It won’t happen, and nobody knows when or if Popovich will be back on the Spurs’ sideline. Popovich’s absence is a glaring one in Paris this week for the pair of NBA matchups between the Pacers and Spurs on Thursday and Saturday. He is back home, recovering from a November stroke.