PRO BASKETBALL
DALLAS (AP) — Luka Doncic has his co-star, and the Dallas Mavericks are set for their season essentially to start over after trading for Kyrie Irving.
The blockbuster deal with Brooklyn sending the mercurial Irving to the Mavericks became official, two days before what figures to be his Dallas debut at the Los Angeles Clippers.
Dallas also gets Markieff Morris in a trade that sent Spencer Dinwiddie, Dorian Finney-Smith, a 2029 first-round draft pick and two second-round choices to the Nets.
When the All-Stars get on the court together, Doncic and Irving instantly become one of the NBA’s top duos in a tightly packed Western Conference.
PHOENIX (AP) — Mortgage executive and former Michigan State guard Mat Ishbia is the new majority owner of the Phoenix Suns and WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury, after the NBA’s board of governors approved his plan to purchase the controlling stake of those franchises from Robert Sarver.
The league announced the approval, saying the transaction will be finalized later this week. The vote was 29-0, with the Cleveland Cavaliers abstaining, according to a person who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the final decision had not yet been announced publicly.
Ishbia agreed on Dec. 20 to the deal, one that put the total value of the Suns and Mercury at $4 billion. Ishbia and his brother Justin said then that they would be acquiring more than 50% of the franchises, which includes the entirety of the embattled Sarver’s share as well as some holdings from minority partners.
Mat Ishbia will be the Suns’ governor, Justin Ishbia will be alternate governor. They now can assume those roles just days before Thursday’s NBA trade deadline, and with the Suns squarely in the middle of the Western Conference playoff race.
— By David Brandt and Tim Reynolds
PRO FOOTBALL
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Vikings hired Brian Flores as their defensive coordinator, their first step toward trying to revive a once-dominant unit that ranked among the NFL’s worst last season.
Flores was a senior defensive assistant and linebackers coach this season for Pittsburgh, after three years as head coach in Miami.
Prior to being hired by the Dolphins, Flores was an assistant for 11 seasons for New England, the last eight on the defensive side. The Patriots won four Super Bowls during his time there, which included four years as a scout. The last of those was in the 2018 season, which was Flores’ first as the defensive play-caller.
After he was fired by the Dolphins, Flores, who is Black, filed a class-action lawsuit alleging racial discrimination by the team and the NFL. The case is still tied up in the court system.
PHOENIX (AP) — Seven-time Pro Bowl receiver A.J. Green retired after 12 seasons in the NFL.
The 34-year-old spent a decade with the Cincinnati Bengals before signing with the Arizona Cardinals for the last two seasons of his career.
Selected by the Bengals with the No. 4 overall pick of the 2011 draft out of Georgia, Green was a Pro Bowl selection in each of his first seven seasons, topping 1,000 yards receiving six times.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Tom Brady will not go immediately from the playing field to the broadcast booth.
Brady told Colin Cowherd during an episode of “The Herd” on FS1 and Fox Sports Radio that he will not start his broadcasting career with Fox until the 2024 season.
The seven-time Super Bowl champion — who retired last week after a 23-year career with the New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers — signed a 10-year deal with Fox last May to become the network’s top analyst when he decided to quit playing for good.
GOLF
PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. (AP) — Justin Rose took all the drama out of a long week with three quick birdies that sent him to a three-shot victory in the wind-delayed AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, ending four years without winning and making him eligible for the Masters.
Rose played it safe down the closing holes, finishing with four simple pars for a 6-under 66, three shots clear of Brendon Todd (65) and Brandon Wu (66).
Rose finished at 18-under 269 and won for the 11th time on the PGA Tour, and his 23rd title worldwide over the last two decades.
The 42-year-old from England had not won since Torrey Pines in 2019, when he was No. 1 in the world. He had fallen well out of the top 50. Rose has been eligible for every major dating to the 2010 British Open, and that streak was in jeopardy until winning.
SKIING
MERIBEL, France (AP) — Mikaela Shiffrin missed what looked like a certain gold medal on the opening day of the world championships, skiing out of the women’s combined race with the finish in sight.
Shiffrin straddled the third-to-last gate in her slalom run while appearing to be close to beating first-run leader and eventual winner Federica Brignone of Italy.
Shiffrin was competing in her first major event since failing to win a medal in six starts at last year’s Beijing Olympics.
The American is having a standout season on the World Cup circuit, where she has won 11 races, including five slaloms, from 23 starts and looks to be on the way to her fifth overall title — generally regarded the most important prize in ski racing.
SOCCER
Manchester City was accused by the Premier League of providing misleading information about its finances over a nine-year period when the club was attempting to establish itself as a force in English and European soccer following its takeover by Abu Dhabi’s ruling family.
The explosive development came after a four-year investigation by the world’s most popular soccer league in the wake of leaked club emails and documents from City officials, published by German magazine Der Spiegel in 2018. The documents showed the extent of the schemes to allegedly cover up the true source of income in a bid to comply with financial regulations.
The Premier League has financial fair play rules designed to ensure clubs essentially spend what they earn from deals that are assessed for being at legitimate market value. The case could lead to a fine or a worse punishment, like a deduction in points.
The league released a long statement detailing a list of about 80 alleged breaches of its financial rules by City from 2009-18, the first nine full seasons under Abu Dhabi ownership. In that time, the team won three Premier League titles — in 2012, 2014 and 2018 — in what has become the most successful period in City’s 143-year history.
TENNIS
DALLAS (AP) — Wild-card entry Jack Sock opened with a 7-6 (2), 4-6, 6-4 victory over Ilya Ivashka at the Dallas Open, setting up a second-round meeting with top-seeded fellow American Taylor Fritz.
The eighth-ranked Fritz is back for the second Dallas Open after losing in the semifinals as the top seed in the inaugural edition of the indoor hard-court event last year.
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