UNDATED (AP) — A person familiar with the agreement tells The Associated Press the Kansas City Chiefs are bringing back linebacker Drue Tranquill on a three-year, $19 million contract. The person requested anonymity because the team had not announced the deal on Thursday night. Tranquill will turn 29 in August. He signed with the Chiefs relatively late last offseason after spending the previous four years with the AFC West-rival Los Angeles Chargers. Tranquill emerged as an important contributor for the league’s second-ranked defense, making 4 1/2 sacks while helping the Chiefs win their second straight Super Bowl.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Derrick Henry is back in the gym eager to prove turning 30 is just a number that shouldn’t affect the four-time Pro Bowl running back’s value on the NFL’s open market. The challenge is that the man who organized a group chat among the league’s top running backs last summer is about to find out his worth and exactly what teams are willing to pay for proven experience with a bigger salary cap. Henry has company with stars such as Saquon Barkley, Josh Jacobs and Tony Pollard all poised to hit the market next week as well. Will some team show them big money? Or will they have to be patient and take less?
UNDATED (AP) — College football’s early signing period will move up three weeks from mid-December to the week preceding conference championship games, starting in 2024. The Collegiate Commissioners Association, which oversees and administers the National Letter of Intent program that schools and recruits use to make verbal commitments official and binding, announced the change. The start of the traditional signing period will remain on the first Wednesday of February and continue to run through April 1. The CCA also said it is considering creating a third summer signing period that would being in June of 2025.
UNDATED (AP) — Fox will expand its coverage of college football with a package of Friday night games. The schedule of games, which will include matchups from the Big Ten, Big 12 and Mountain West conferences, likely won't be announced until late May or early June after conferences and the networks hold their selection meetings. The college football package will fill a void for Fox on Friday nights during the fall when WWE’s “Friday Night SmackDown” moves to USA Network in October. A couple games could air on Fox in September with “SmackDown” moving to FS1, which is what happened during the baseball playoffs and World Series.
LAS VEGAS (AP) — The Oakland Athletics return to Las Vegas this weekend for exhibition games against Milwaukee, their first appearance since announcing the relocation to what the team envisions as its future home city. The games at Las Vegas Ballpark, home of the franchise’s Triple-A Aviators, feature an A’s team planning a new regular-season ballpark on the Strip it hopes will open in 2028. The Nevada Legislature enacted $380 million in funding for a $1.5 billion stadium and baseball owners unanimously approved the relocation in November. Close to a sellout crowd is expected in the 10,000 capacity ballpark for the Saturday afternoon game.
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Shane Lowry knows he's playing good golf. He also knows he has a horrible record at Bay Hill. Good golf mattered more in the Arnold Palmer Invitational. Lowry opened with a 66 on Thursday and has a one-shot lead. That not only is his best score at Bay Hill, he had never broken 70 the previous five times he played. Lowry had a share of the 54-hole lead last week, so he knows his form is good. He leads by one shot over Hideki Matsuyama and Justin Lower. Jordan Spieth had another wild day of bogeys and birdies and shot 69.
THURSDAY SCORES
TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Final (5)Arizona 88 UCLA 65
Final Washington 74 (18)Washington St. 68
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
INTERLEAGUE
Kansas City at Colorado 3:10 p.m. (Canceled)
Final Tampa Bay 3 Philadelphia 2
Final Atlanta 3 Boston 2
Final Houston 6 St. Louis 3
Final Milwaukee 8 Chicago White Sox 2
Final Texas 7 Arizona 5
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Cleveland at Oakland 3:05 p.m. (Canceled)
Final Seattle 5 L.A. Angels 0
Final Toronto 5 Detroit 4
Final Detroit 11 N.Y. Yankees 5
NATIONAL LEAGUE
L-A Dodgers at San Francisco 9:05 p.m. (Canceled)
Final N.Y. Mets 3 Washington 1
Final Chicago Cubs 2 Cincinnati 2
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Final Detroit 118 Brooklyn 112
Final Minnesota 113 Indiana 111
Final Dallas 114 Miami 108
Final Phoenix 120 Toronto 113
Final Sacramento 131 San Antonio 129
Final Chicago 125 Golden State 122
Final Denver 115 Boston 109
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Final Philadelphia 2 Florida 1
Final Columbus 4 Edmonton 2
Final Washington 6 Pittsburgh 0
Final New Jersey 4 St. Louis 1
Final Calgary 6 Tampa Bay 3
Final Carolina 4 Montreal 1
Final Boston 4 Toronto 1
Final Nashville 4 Buffalo 2
Final Minnesota 5 Arizona 2
Final Vancouver 3 Vegas 1
Final N-Y Islanders 7 San Jose 2