BASEBALL
Medlen gets $8.5M contract
Former Atlanta Braves right-hander Kris Medlen has agreed to an $8.5 million, two-year contract with the Kansas City Royals after missing last season recovering from Tommy John surgery. Medlen will make $2 million next year and $5.5 million in 2016 under the agreement announced Thursday and could earn up to $10 million in performance bonuses based on starts and innings. The deal includes a 2017 option with a $1 million buyout. The 29-year-old went 14-12 with a 3.11 ERA in 2013, his only full season as a starter, and went 4-0 with a 1.00 ERA in his last five starts. Medlen, who hurt his elbow in spring training, also missed most of the 2011 season while he was rehabbing from Tommy John surgery.
• The Oakland Athletics have acquired left-hander Eury De La Rosa from the Arizona Diamondbacks for cash. Oakland made the announcement Thursday, the latest trade in another offseason full of them for General Manager Billy Beane. The A's designated right-hander Fernando Rodriguez for assignment to clear room on the 40-man roster. Right-hander Jorge De Leon, who was designated for assignment Dec. 9, has been released. De La Rosa, 24, began the 2014 season with Class AAA Reno and posted a 2.52 ERA in 36 relief appearances before being called up by Arizona July 5. He then went 2-0 with a 2.95 ERA in 25 games for the Diamondbacks. He allowed only two home runs in 36 2/3 innings.
• A South Florida man who admitted working as a black market chemist has pleaded guilty to federal charges stemming from the Major League Baseball scandal over performance-enhancing substances. Brazilian citizen Paulo Berejuk pleaded guilty Thursday to conspiracy to distribute testosterone. Investigators say Berejuk was the main supplier for Anthony Bosch, who ran the now-closed Biogenesis of America clinic that supplied banned substances to MLB players and other athletes. Berejuk faces a reduced prison sentence of up to three years because he agreed to cooperate with prosecutors. The maximum sentence is 10 years. Bosch previously pleaded guilty and is awaiting sentencing. Several others are charged in the case, including Yuri Sucart, a cousin of New York Yankees star Alex Rodriguez. Rodriguez has admitted to using substances supplied by Bosch.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
CB Ekpre-Olomu out
Oregon Coach Mark Helfrich confirmed Thursday that the third-ranked Ducks will be without star cornerback Ifo Ekpre-Olomu when they face Jameis Winston and Florida State in their playoff game next month. Helfrich acknowledged the senior All-America's college career is over after he suffered an undisclosed injury during a noncontact drill Tuesday. But a person with knowledge of the injury had previously told The Associated Press on Wednesday that Ekpre-Olomu had hurt his right knee. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the program does not discuss injuries. Ekpre-Olomu has been a cornerstone of the Ducks' secondary with 63 tackles, two interceptions and six pass breakups this season.
• Faculty members at the University of Alabama at Birmingham have drafted a no-confidence resolution against the president following his decision to kill the school's football program. A document released Thursday accuses UAB President Ray Watts of failing to share governance of the university with faculty members. The resolution cites a series of moves including the recent decision to disband athletic programs at UAB. The Faculty Senate is scheduled to vote on the document during a special meeting on Jan. 15. While only symbolic, a no-confidence vote could undermine Watts' ability to lead the university of more than 18,000 students. Protests erupted on campus this month as officials considered whether to end football at UAB. Watts explained the decision by saying football would cost the school $49 million over five years.
• Oklahoma State's contract dispute with Texas assistant Joe Wickline hit courtrooms in two states Thursday. Wickline lost an early effort to get the case dismissed and lawyers for both sides say Texas coaches, administrators and players could be called to testify about who is calling the plays for the Longhorns. Oklahoma State and Wickline sued each other in Oklahoma and Texas over what Oklahoma State considers a breach of contract. At issue is whether Wickline is calling plays for Texas. Oklahoma State wants Wickline to pay the school nearly $600,000, arguing he took a lateral move to Texas, not a promotion, as specified in his contract. A judge in Oklahoma allowed the school's case to proceed. A judge in Texas did not rule on Wickline's countersuit against the school.
HOCKEY
More mumps?
Forward Lee Stempniak of the New York Rangers will be isolated from the team for five days while being tested for the mumps virus that is spreading through NHL locker rooms. Stempniak, 31, who joined the Rangers last summer as a free agent, would be the third Ranger to contract mumps after forwards Tanner Glass and Derick Brassard. Glass missed four games, returning Dec. 8. Brassard was sent home Sunday from the team's trip to Western Canada, but is expected back on the ice today, Coach Alain Vigneault said. The Rangers (15-10-4) have a home-and-home series with the Carolina Hurricanes this weekend before hosting the Washington Capitals on Tuesday before the league's three-day Christmas break. The outbreak has affected at least 15 NHL players, including the Pittsburgh Penguins' Sidney Crosby and members of the Anaheim Ducks, the Minnesota Wild and the New Jersey Devils. Two on-ice officials have had confirmed cases and several St. Louis Blues players were sidelined with suspected cases.
BASKETBALL
Rondo main cog in Celtics-Mavs trade
BOSTON — The Celtics traded point guard Rajon Rondo to Dallas on Thursday night, cutting ties with the last remnant of Boston’s last NBA championship while giving Dirk Nowitzki and the Mavericks a chance at another title.
The Celtics will send Rondo and forward Dwight Powell to Dallas for Jae Crowder, Brandan Wright, Jameer Nelson and two draft picks, according to a person with knowledge of the deal. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because the trade was not official yet.
Boston will acquire a first-round pick in next year’s draft and a second-rounder in 2016. The Celtics have eight first-round picks in the next four years, picking them up in trades for Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce and even Coach Doc Rivers as it sheds the pieces of the new Big Three that earned the franchise its unprecedented 17th NBA title in 2008.
The Mavericks get a pass-first point guard — a four-time all-star — to team with Nowitzki, Monta Ellis and Chandler Parsons in what they hope will make them a contender again. Dallas is 19-8 but in third place in the Southwest Division and sixth in the Western Conference.
The Mavericks, who won their only NBA title in 2011, have not won a playoff series since.
The deal has been years in the making, with the Celtics shopping Rondo every time a coach grows tired of his moods or his contract expectations grow too large for their budget. But every previous time Boston management decided that the offers weren’t enough.
Rondo, 28, joined the rebuilding Celtics as the 21st overall pick out of Kentucky in 2006 and became the point guard for an NBA champion in his second year when Boston acquired Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett the next summer. He helped the Celtics reach the NBA finals again two years later.
Rondo has averaged 11 points, 8.5 assists and 4.7 rebounds over his career. He missed the second half of the 2012-13 season and the first half of last season to have reconstructive knee surgery, and then reportedly fell in the shower in Las Vegas on the eve of training camp and missed all of the preseason.
In 22 games this season for Boston, Rondo had an NBA-best 10.8 assists per game and also averaged 8.3 points and 7.5 rebounds.
Sports on 12/19/2014