NFL:
Josh McDaniels has backed out of a deal to become the Indianapolis' Colts new coach, a decision that shocked the franchise hours after it announced his hiring. The Colts confirmed McDaniels' decision after reports emerged that the Patriots' offensive coordinator had opted to stay in New England with coach Bill Belichick.
Meanwhile, Matt Patricia is the new head coach of the Detroit Lions after spending the last six seasons as the Patriots' defensive coordinator. Patricia, a 1996 graduate of RPI in Troy, New York, was on coach Bill Belichick's staff for 14 seasons, much of that while Lions general manager Bob Quinn was part of New England's personnel department. Former head coach Jim Caldwell was fired last month after the Lions missed the playoffs despite a 9-7 record. Detroit was eight games over .500 under Caldwell.
New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski can be heard on a 911 call calmly telling a dispatcher that his home was burglarized while he was at the Super Bowl. Police in Foxborough, Massachusetts, released a portion of the call on Tuesday. The police report redacted all details of what was taken.
Patriots cornerback Malcolm Butler says he didn't miss a curfew or do anything off the field that would have hurt New England's chances of winning the Super Bowl before he was benched for the game. In a statement released Tuesday on Twitter and Instagram, Butler says reports of misconduct off the field are "ridiculous." He says he visited with family every night while in Minneapolis. Butler didn't play a snap on defense in the Patriots' loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.
The Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles will choose last, following the New England Patriots in this spring's NFL draft. The order was set after the Eagles beat the defending champion Patriots 41-33 on Sunday. Cleveland had the worst record in the league at 0-16 and will pick first in the opening round April 26 in Arlington, Texas. The Browns, New York Giants (3-13), Indianapolis (4-12), and Houston (4-12) hold the first four choices. Cleveland owns Houston's top pick. Denver will pick fifth and the New York Jets sixth after finishing with 5-11 records.
NBA:
Knicks All-Star Kristaps Porzingis has torn the ACL in his left knee. Porzingis was hurt in the second quarter of New York's loss to Milwaukee on Tuesday night. He dunked with 8:46 left in the half and landed awkwardly, crashing to the court and holding his left knee. He was eventually helped up and taken to the locker room.
Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 23 points, jumping over Tim Hardaway Jr. for one high-flying slam, and the Milwaukee Bucks beat the New York Knicks 103-89 in a game that featured a knee injury to Kristaps Porzingis. Porzingis tore his ACL after crashing to the ground following a successful dunk with 8:46 left in the second quarter.
James Harden scored 36 points, surpassing 15,000 for his career, and the Houston Rockets beat the Brooklyn Nets 123-113 for their fifth straight victory. Chris Paul added 25 points for the Rockets, who kept right on rolling in their first game since their nationally televised romp in Cleveland on Saturday. Both teams made 16 3-pointers. DeMarre Carroll scored 21 points for the Nets, who've lost seven of eight.
Kyle Lowry scored 23 points, and C.J. Miles had 20 and the Toronto Raptors routed the Celtics 111-91, snapping Boston's winning streak at four. DeMar DeRozan scored 15 points, Delon Wright had 14 and Fred VanVleet 10 as Toronto led by as many as 29 and won its fifth straight home meeting over Boston, closing to within a game of the conference-leading Celtics.
In NBA news:
— The Brooklyn Nets have traded center Tyler Zeller to Milwaukee for guard Rashad Vaughn and a second-round pick. The Nets say they will get the pick this June if it falls between Nos. 31-47. If not, it will go to Brooklyn in 2020. Zeller signed with the Nets last summer after spending the three previous seasons with Boston. He averaged 7.1 points and 4.6 rebounds and had recently been replaced in the starting lineup by rookie Jarrett Allen.
— Detroit Pistons center Willie Reed has been suspended for six games by the NBA after the league investigated the circumstances involving a domestic incident that resulted in his arrest. Reed was arrested last August on a misdemeanor battery charge involving his wife. He entered a pretrial diversion program Oct. 16 to resolve the charge against him.
— A person with direct knowledge of the injury says Dallas Mavericks guard Seth Curry will have surgery for a stress fracture in his lower left leg that has sidelined him all season. The season-ending procedure is planned because the injury wasn't healing fast enough on its own. The 27-year-old younger brother of Golden State star Stephen Curry was coming off his best season, his first with the Mavericks.
— The Los Angeles Lakers have been fined $50,000 for violating the NBA's tampering rule. League officials responded to an ESPN interview in which team president Earvin "Magic" Johnson praised the skills of Milwaukee star Giannis Antetokounmpo. It's the third time in less than a year the Lakers have been disciplined for tampering.
NHL:
Adam Henrique scored 1:36 into overtime and the Anaheim Ducks snapped a three-game skid with a 4-3 win over the Buffalo Sabres. The Ducks rebounded in the extra period after allowing the Sabres to tie the game on Ryan O'Reilly's goal with 15 seconds remaining in regulation.
Sean Kuraly and David Krejci scored in the second period, and the surging Boston Bruins rallied for a 3-2 victory over the Detroit Red Wings. Boston is 17-1-4 in its last 22 games and only three points behind NHL-leading Tampa Bay in the Atlantic Division.
Matt Duchene had a goal and two assists as the undermanned Ottawa Senators beat the New Jersey Devils 5-3. Mike Hoffman, Chris DiDomenico, Colin White and Zack Smith also scored for Ottawa.
MLB:
The New York Yankees will open the gates three hours before spring training home games at Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, Florida, allowing fans to watch Aaron Judge and new teammate Giancarlo Stanton take their thwacks during batting practice. Stanton, the big league home run leader with 59 and the NL MVP, was acquired from Miami in December to join Judge, voted AL Rookie of the Year after leading the AL in homers with 52. New York plays its spring training opener against Detroit on Feb. 23.
A person familiar with the deal tells The Associated Press that free agent third baseman Todd Frazier and the New York Mets have agreed on a two-year contract for $17 million. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal is still pending a physical. Frazier turns 32 next week. He hit a combined .213 with 27 home runs and 76 RBIs last season for the Chicago White Sox and New York Yankees.
Baseball players' union head Tony Clark says the number of rebuilding teams and unsigned free agents in a historically slow market "threatens the very integrity of our game." In a telephone interview with The Associated Press, Clark says "a significant number of teams are engaged in a race to the bottom" and "this conduct is a fundamental breach of the trust between a team and its fans." Just 53 of 166 players who exercised their free agency rights last November had announced agreements entering Tuesday, down from 99 of 158 at a similar time last year. J.D. Martinez, Jake Arrieta, Yu Darvish, Eric Hosmer and Mike Moustakas are among the players still looking for a place to play a week before spring training camps open. Seattle general manager Jerry Dipoto said last week more teams may be competing for the top draft pick than for the World Series title.
Olympics:
A 229-member strong, all-female cheering section has arrived from North Korea for the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics. The squad, which features women chosen for their youth, good looks and enthusiasm, has been allowed to root for the North's much smaller contingent of athletes.
Alpine skier Tricia Mangan has been added to the U.S. Olympic team. Mangan is a 20-year-old from New York who finished 19th in a World Cup combined event at Lenzerheide, Switzerland, this month. Mangan joined the roster after Jackie Wiles was ruled out of the Olympics because of a knee injury.
Meanwhile, signs posted around South Korea's Olympic venues are urging extreme caution. And some 1,200 people have been told to stay in their rooms because of norovirus fears. Olympics organizers say the norovirus spread began Sunday when private security workers staying in a section of Pyeongchang started complaining of headaches, stomach pain and diarrhea. Games organizers say that 32 workers are being treated for the contagious virus and are in quarantine, including three foreigners.
Tokyo 2020:
Organizers of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics say they're having no problems raising cash. International Olympic Committee member John Coates, head of the IOC coordination commission for Tokyo, says local organizers have raised $2.9 billion in national sponsorship money. He provided the update to about 100 IOC committee members gathered in Pyeongchang (PYUHNG'-chahng) for meetings prior to the games there, which start Friday.
WNBA:
The New York Liberty are remaining under the control of New York Knicks owner James Dolan and Madison Square Garden for now. The WNBA team was put up for sale in November. An MSG executive confirmed to The Associated Press that Dolan's group has decided to keep the Liberty at this time.
NCAA:
T.J. Gibbs scored 22 first-half points and finished with a career-high 28 as Notre Dame overcame a record-setting effort by Boston College's Jerome Robinson and ended its longest losing streak in nine years with a 96-85 victory over the Eagles. Robinson finished with 46 points, shattering the 40-year-old standard for an opponent at Purcell Pavilion.
UConn Athletic Director David Benedict says the school is committed to complying with NCAA rules and will fight to protect its men's basketball program. But Benedict, who met with reporters Tuesday afternoon for the first time since the school confirmed the program is under investigation, declined to say what the NCAA is investigating or whether any potential violations might be major or minor in nature. Benedict also said the future of coach Kevin Ollie will be evaluated once the season ends.
Kyron Cartwright and Jalen Lindsey sank four free throws in the final seconds to give Providence a 73-69 victory over Georgetown in Big East Conference action. The game was tied at 69 when Georgetown's Jagan Mosely missed a runner in the lane.
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