MLB-TIGERS/MARTINEZ
Tigers reportedly keep Martinez
DETROIT (AP) β Victor Martinez is staying put.
Multiple reports say the Detroit Tigers have reached agreement on a four-year, free-agent deal with the 35-year-old designated hitter, keeping him in the middle of their lineup following perhaps the best season of his career.
Martinez hit .335 with 32 home runs and 103 RBIs to help Detroit earn its fourth straight AL Central title, a streak that began after the Tigers signed him as a free agent before the 2011 season.
The switch-hitting Martinez has hit over .300 in eight of his last nine seasons, not counting 2012, which he missed because of a knee injury.
MLB-CY YOUNG
Kershaw wins Cy Young again
NEW YORK (AP) β It’s another shutout for Clayton Kershaw.
The Los Angeles Dodgers ace is a unanimous winner for his third NL Cy Young Award after throwing a no-hitter and leading the majors in victories and ERA. Kershaw earned the pitching prize for the second year in a row, getting all 30 first-place votes in balloting by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. Kershaw went 21-3 with a 1.77 ERA for the NL West champions, which also puts him in the running to become the first pitcher to sweep MVP and Cy Young honors since Bob Gibson in 1968.
Cleveland’s Corey Kluber is the AL Cy Young Award winner, edging Seattle’s Felix Hernandez. He received 17 of 30 first-place votes and 169 points compared to Hernandez’s 13 firsts and 159 points. Kluber went 18-9 with a 2.44 ERA in his first full major league season while compiling 269 strikeouts, two behind league leader David Price.
MLB-DOMICAN-TAVERAS
Official: Tavares drunk when he crashed and died
SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) β An official in the Dominican Republic says St. Louis Cardinals rookie outfielder Oscar Taveras was drunk at the time of his fatal car crash last month in his Caribbean homeland.
A spokeswoman for the Dominican attorney general’s office told The Associated Press toxicology reports showed Taveras had a blood-alcohol level five times the country’s legal limit when he lost control of his car Oct. 26.
Taveras hit .239 with three homers and 22 RBIs in 80 games this year.
NBA-SCHEDULE
Trail Blazers use strong first half to rip Nuggets
UNDATED (AP) β The Portland Trail Blazers could have been excused for a poor start on Wednesday after storming back from a 23-point deficit to win the previous night. Instead, they lit up the Nuggets for 84 points in the first half of a 130-113 rout at Denver.
Damian Lillard finished with 27 points and a season-high nine assists for the Blazers, who were one basket away from matching the team record for points in a half. Robin Lopez scored 15 of his 19 points by intermission.
The Blazers shot 51 percent from the floor, including a red-hot 16-for-33 from 3-point range.
The Nuggets absorbed their sixth straight loss despite Ty Lawson’s 32 points.
Also in the NBA:
β The Houston Rockets are 7-1 after James Harden provided a game-high 23 points and 10 assists in the Rockets’ 113-101 win at Minnesota. Dwight Howard had 22 points and 10 rebounds, while Trevor Ariza (ah-REE’-zah) added 19 points.
β John Wall had 27 points and 11 assists as Washington held off Detroit 107-103. Rasual Butler shot 7-for-8 from the field and had 18 points for the Wizards, including a pair of free throws that capped the scoring with four seconds left.
β Atlanta beat Utah 100-97 behind Paul Millsap’s 30 points and 17 rebounds. Jeff Teague (teeg) chipped in 17 points and Kyle Korver nailed a 3-pointer that snapped a 97-all tie with 58 seconds left.
β Chris Copeland contributed 17 points and hit the go-ahead layup in the final minute of the Indiana Pacers’ second straight win, 81-75 at Miami. The Pacers outrebounded the Heat 53-38, with Roy Hibbert delivering 15 boards to go with his 16 points. Donald Sloan finished with 15 points for Indiana.
β Oklahoma City has its first victory in six road games after Reggie Jackson and Anthony Morrow each scored 28 points to lead the Thunder’s 109-94 triumph at Boston. Jackson has scored 57 points over his last two games to help the Thunder overcome the losses of stars Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook.
β Gerald Green came off the bench to score 28 points as Phoenix rallied to beat Brooklyn 112-104 after trailing by 19. Isaiah Thomas added 17 points off the bench for the Suns, who won despite allowing the Nets to shoot 71 percent in the first half.
β Anthony Davis had 25 points, 12 rebounds and six blocked shots as New Orleans downed the Los Angeles Lakers 109-102. Tyreke Evans had 19 points and 11 assists, while Ryan Anderson and Jrue (juh-ROO’) Holiday each had 17 points for the Pelicans.
β It’s a six-game losing streak for the New York Knicks after Evan Fournier torched them for a career-high 28 points in Orlando’s 97-95 victory at Madison Square Garden. Nikola Vucevic (VOO’-seh-vihch) added 20 points and 13 rebounds for the Magic.
NBA-CLIPPERS/GRIFFIN
Clippers star accused of battery
LAS VEGAS (AP) β Los Angeles Clippers star Blake Griffin is facing a misdemeanor battery charge stemming from a scuffle with a man in a Las Vegas Strip nightclub last month.
Court records show the 25-year-old Griffin is due for arraignment Dec. 8 before a Las Vegas justice of the peace on a charge that could get him up to a year in jail.
Las Vegas police had said they were investigating a man’s claim that Griffin grabbed him, took his cellphone and slapped him after the man took a photo early Oct. 19 at Tao nightclub at the Venetian resort.
Team spokesman Seth Burton says the Clippers are aware of the complaint, but have no immediate comment.
SOC–FIFA-WCup Bids Investigation
FIFA clears Russia and Qatar to host World Cup
GENEVA (AP) β A FIFA judge has cleared Russia and Qatar of corruption in their winning bids for the next two World Cups.
German judge Joachim Eckert formally closed FIFA’s probe into the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bidding contests on Thursday, almost four years after the vote by the governing body’s scandal-tainted executive committee.
Eckert noted wrongdoing among the 11 bidding nations in a 42-page summary of FIFA prosecutor Michael Garcia’s investigations.
However, Eckert ruled that the integrity of the December 2010 voting results was not affected.
No proof was found of longstanding allegations of bribes and voting pacts. Eckert concluded that any rule-breaking behavior was “far from reaching any threshold” to require re-running the contests.
Eckert wants Garcia to prosecute cases against individual FIFA voters and bid staffers.
NFL-RAMS
QB switch
ST. LOUIS (AP) β Austin Davis is out as quarterback of the St. Louis Rams and Shaun Hill is in. Coach Jeff Fisher has benched the struggling Davis to go with the veteran Hill for Sunday’s game against the Denver Broncos. Just a few days ago Fisher said that he was sticking with Davis as the starter for the rest of the season. He made his NFL debut earlier this season after Hill was sidelined with an injury.
Hill began the season as the replacement for Sam Bradford, who was sidelined for the second straight year with a knee injury.
NFL-SEAHAWKS
Miller to IR
RENTON, Wash. (AP) β The NFL champion Seattle Seahawks are placing tight end Zach Miller on injured reserve after he struggled in returning from ankle surgery. Seattle coach Pete Carroll says Miller will need a second surgery to get the problems in the ankle corrected. Miller, who is in his fourth season with the Seahawks, had six receptions for 76 yards in Seattle’s first three games this season.
T25-FLORIDA STATE
Winston hearing pushed back; Williams isn’t charged
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) β A person familiar with Jameis (JAY’-mihs) Winston’s code of conduct case says Florida State has pushed back his hearing to Dec. 1. It was originally scheduled for next week.
The Heisman-winning quarterback is facing a university hearing to determine whether he violated four sections of the code of conduct. A former student said he assaulted her in December 2012.
Meanwhile, the Tallahassee Police Department says Seminoles running back Karlos Williams is not being charged after a domestic battery investigation. Police say they don’t have enough evidence to move forward. Both Williams and the woman involved refused to talk with the police.
NHL-SCHEDULE
Ducks rally…Leafs rip Bruins
UNDATED (AP) β The Anaheim Mighty Ducks regained their offense in the nick of time last night.
Jakob Silfverberg (SIL’-vur-berg) and Ryan Kesler each scored in regulation and the shootout to lift the Ducks past the Kings 6-5 in Anaheim. The Ducks trailed 5-3 until Kesler and Ryan Getzlaf scored in the final 5:40 of regulation. Kesler finished with two goals and an assist for Anaheim, which fired 49 shots after scoring just five times during their three-game winless skid.
Also in the NHL, Phil Kessel scored twice while the Toronto Maple Leafs were building a 5-0 lead by the midway point of a 6-1 rout of the Boston Bruins. Toronto scored four straight goals in the first 10 minutes of the second period, capped by power-play tallies from Tyler Bozak and James Van Riemsdyk (REEMZ’-dyk).
Bruins netminder Tuukka (TOO’-kah) Rask was pulled after surrendering four goals on 16 shots through 23 Β½ minutes.
The win leaves the Leafs and Bruins with 20 points, four behind the East-leading Tampa Bay Lightning.
NHL-DUCKS/MUMPS
Perry, Beauchemin diagnosed with mumps
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) β Anaheim Ducks veterans Corey Perry and Francois Beauchemin (BOH’-sheh-mihn) have been diagnosed with mumps.
A team doctor says Beauchemin has been hospitalized to receive intravenous fluids but has improved. Perry has been cleared of the disease and is free to resume working out today.
Perry missed his fourth straight game, and Beauchemin sat out his second straight when the Ducks hosted the Kings last night.
The Ducks don’t know how the players contracted the disease, but the entire team will receive new vaccinations as a precaution.
HOCKEY-MCDAVID/INJURY
OHL’s top prospect injured
ERIE, Pa. (AP) β Junior hockey star Connor McDavid will miss 5-6 weeks after fracturing a bone in his right hand while playing for the Erie Otters last night. The expected top pick in next year’s NHL draft hurt the hand while taking a swing at a player on the Mississauga Steelheads, an injury that could force him to miss the junior championships next month. The 17-year-old leads the Ontario Hockey League with 16 goals and 35 assists in 18 games.
LPGA-ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
Ko wins award
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) β Lydia Ko has become the youngest player to win the LPGA Tour’s rookie of the year award. The 17-year-old clinched the points-based award with three tournaments remaining on the LPGA Tour schedule. She already has two victories, two runner-up finishes and nine other finishes in the top 10. Laura Baugh was 18 when she won the LPGA Tour rookie of the year in 1973.
AUTO RACING-FOYT/SURGERY
Foyt has triple-bypass
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) β Four-time Indianapolis 500 winner A.J. Foyt is in stable condition at a Houston hospital following triple bypass surgery on his heart Wednesday. A Team spokesman says Foyt is expected to remain hospitalized through next Monday. Foyt was admitted on Monday after complaining of intermittent chest pains.
