BASEBALL
HOUSTON (AP) — Houston’s Justin Verlander and Miami’s Sandy Alcantara were unanimous selections for the Cy Young Award.
It’s the second time the winners in both leagues were unanimous since the award began in 1956, following Detroit’s Denny McLain in the American League and St. Louis’ Bob Gibson in the National League in 1968.
The 39-year-old Verlander, who also won the AL award in 2019 after winning both MVP and the Cy Young in 2011, is the 11th player to win it three times. He also won unanimously in 2011.
Verlander led the majors with a 1.75 ERA — the lowest of his 17-year career — after missing almost all of the previous two seasons recovering from Tommy John surgery. He’s the fourth AL pitcher with two unanimous victories, joining Roger Clemens (1986, 1998), Pedro Martinez (1999, 2000) and Johan Santana (2004, 2006).
Verander led the Astros to the best record in the AL, and while the postseason doesn’t count for the award, he got his first career World Series win in Game 5 as Houston beat Philadelphia in six games.
Alcantara had a 2.28 ERA while pitching a major league-best 228 2/3 innings and six compete games. It’s the first Cy Young for the 27-year-old from the Dominican Republic, who becomes the first Marlins player to receive the honor.
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — All-Star left-hander Tyler Anderson is moving across Los Angeles, leaving the Dodgers for a $39 million, three-year contract with the Angels.
The 32-year-old is coming off the best season of his major league career, going 15-5 with a 2.57 ERA for the 111-win Dodgers with a pitch selection including one of the majors’ best changeups.
SEATTLE (AP) — The Seattle Mariners made one of the first big moves of the offseason by acquiring outfielder Teoscar Hernández from the Toronto Blue Jays for right-handed reliever Erik Swanson and minor league lefty Adam Macko.
Hernández hit .267 with 25 home runs and 77 RBIs in 131 games last season. He was an All-Star starter in 2021 and finished that season hitting .296 with 32 homers and 116 RBIs.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) — Virginia canceled its scheduled home football game Saturday against No. 23 Coastal Carolina in the wake of a weekend shooting on campus that left three players dead and another wounded.
The school said it has not determined if the Cavaliers will play their traditional final regular-season game at Virginia Tech on Nov. 26.
A former player, Christopher Darnell Jones Jr., is accused of opening fire Sunday night on a bus that was returning from a field trip, killing starting wide receiver Lavel Davis Jr., reserve wide receiver Devin Chandler and linebacker D’Sean Perry. Jones, facing three counts of second-degree murder, two counts of malicious wounding and additional gun-related charges, is being held without bond.
PRO FOOTBALL
BEREA, Ohio (AP) — Deshaun Watson practiced with the Cleveland Browns for the first time since his 11-game NFL suspension started in August.
Watson, who was accused of sexual misconduct by more than two dozen women in Texas, returned to the field with his teammates for the first time since Aug. 30, 12 days after the three-time Pro Bowl quarterback reached a settlement with the league, agreeing to his multi-game ban, a $5 million fine and to undergo treatment and counseling.
As long as he meets requirements, Watson can play Dec. 4 when the Browns visit Houston, which drafted him in 2017. Watson spent four seasons with the Texans before he demanded a trade and was eventually dealt to Cleveland in March for a slew of draft picks, including three first-rounders.
THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. (AP) — Quarterback Matthew Stafford is expected to play for the Los Angeles Rams this weekend after missing one game in the NFL’s concussion protocol.
Stafford participated fully in practice Wednesday and the Super Bowl-winning veteran is on track to come out of the protocol in time to play at New Orleans on Sunday, coach Sean McVay said.
Stafford sat out of the Rams’ 27-17 loss to Arizona last Sunday. He entered the protocol two days after the previous week’s loss at Tampa Bay.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — A judge has dismissed NFL kicker Josh Lambo’s lawsuit against the Jacksonville Jaguars in which Lambo sought back pay and damages for emotional distress caused by former head coach Urban Meyer.
Judge Gilbert Feltel Jr., of the Florida 4th Circuit Court in Duval County, dismissed the suit without prejudice on Nov. 8. He gave Lambo 21 days to amend and refile the complaint. Lambo’s attorney, Betsy Brown, said Wednesday she intends to do so.
TENNIS
CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — The Australian government confirmed Thursday that Novak Djokovic had been granted a visa to compete in the Australian Open in January a year after he was deported over his stance against COVID-19 vaccination.
The 21-time Grand Slam singles champion had his visa canceled on public interest grounds on Jan. 14 and lost an appeal against deportation in the Full Federal Court. The 35-year-old from Serbia is clear to compete at the Australian Open, which runs from Jan. 16-29 in Melbourne.
Djokovic is playing at the ATP Finals in Turin, Italy, this week, and said he was informed of the Australian government’s decision Tuesday.
SOCCER
NEW YORK (AP) — New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced plans for a 25,000-seat stadium for Major League Soccer’s New York City Football Club on an underdeveloped parcel of land adjoining the New York Mets’ home.
The $780 million stadium, slated to open in 2027 in the Queens neighborhood known as Willets Point, will anchor a 23-acre redevelopment project that will also include 2,500 units of affordable housing, a new public school and a hotel, officials said. NYCFC has played the majority of its home games at Yankee Stadium since joining the league in 2015.
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