FOOTBALL
Eagles trading McCoy
A person familiar with the deal says the Philadelphia Eagles have agreed to trade star running back LeSean McCoy for Buffalo Bills linebacker Kiko Alonso. The person spoke under condition of anonymity Tuesday night because the teams had not announced the deal. ESPN first reported the trade. McCoy had an inconsistent season last year after leading the NFL with 1,607 yards rushing in 2013. Incoming Bills Coach Rex Ryan has said he wants his offense to rely heavily on a running attack. Buffalo is expected to lose C.J. Spiller to free agency next week. Alonso played college football in Oregon under Eagles Coach Chip Kelly. The 2013 second-round draft pick was a contender for NFL defensive rookie of the year. He missed all of last season with a knee injury after while working out in Oregon in July. He is expected to fully recover in time for the 2015 season.
• Jameis Winston is reportedly visiting the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Bucs hold the No. 1 overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft and are strongly considering taking Winston. The trip, which is expected to last through today, according to a report from ESPN, will likely go a long way in determining whether Tampa Bay is comfortable making Winston the face of its franchise. Winston is a special talent at quarterback and exhibited a pro-caliber skill set while at Florida State, but he comes with significant baggage. Because of that, Winston's time in Tampa will primarily be spent with the Glazer family -- the Bucs' owners -- according to ESPN. The visit is considered early by NFL standards, even for a top prospect. Most team visits are not conducted until early April, about a month before the draft. But the Bucs are likely doing a more exhaustive background check on Winston because he is a polarizing and often controversial figure. Bucs Coach Lovie Smith said Winston had not been ruled out because of off-field issues when asked about the quarterback at the NFL Scouting Combine last month. However, he added the Bucs were still doing more research on Winston. "We just take all the information we can possibly get at this point, it's early, keep in mind it's just at the combine and we have a lot more research and we'll do that," Smith said.
• Wide receiver Cole Beasley is going to remain with the Dallas Cowboys for the foreseeable future after agreeing to a four-year contract to stay with his hometown team, a source confirmed Tuesday. The deal is worth $13.6 million and includes $7 million guaranteed. If Beasley meets certain incentives, the deal could stretch to $15.1 million. Beasley got a $4 million signing bonus, and his base salary for next season will be $1 million. Beasley, who was set to become a restricted free agent, had 37 catches for 420 yards and four touchdowns in the regular-season last year. He had seven catches for 101 yards in the Cowboys' two playoff games. The diminutive 25-year-old has spent all three of his professional seasons with the Cowboys, playing mostly in the slot, and has 91 career catches for 916 yards and six touchdowns. The Little Elm product joined the organization as an undrafted free agent out of SMU in 2012, and almost walked away from the game during training camp that year. Yet, Beasley has come a long ways on the field and financially. Beasley received a $1,500 signing bonus when he signed as an undrafted free agent, and made $570,000 last year.
TENNIS
Wozniacki wins
Top-seeded Caroline Wozniacki avoided a repeat of her last appearance at the Malaysian Open -- a first-round loss -- by dispatching Chinese qualifier Wang Yafan 6-3, 6-1 on Tuesday in Kuala Lumpur. Wozniacki was bounced out in her Malaysian debut two years ago, but took no chances this time with an early break., and kept rolling. No. 2-seeded Sabine Lisicki of Germany and No. 3 Casey Dellacqua of Australia were not so fortunate. Lisicki, with 10 double faults, succumbed to Alexandra Dulgheru of Romania 6-4, 7-5, and Dellacqua fell to wild card Hsieh Su-Wei of Taiwan 7-5, 2-6, 6-3. Hsieh also beat the Australian en route to the 2012 title. Also advancing were seeds Jarmila Gajdosova, Klara Koukalova, ending a four-match losing streak, and Julia Goerges.
BASKETBALL
Durant out a week
Kevin Durant will be out at least another week for the Oklahoma City Thunder, but Russell Westbrook could return today against the Philadelphia 76ers. Thunder Coach Scott Brooks made the announcements Tuesday at practice. Durant had surgery on Feb. 22 to replace a screw from an operation for a broken bone in his right foot in October. Brooks says Durant is "trending well," and will be re-evaluated soon. Westbrook, the All-Star MVP, was hurt in the final seconds of the Thunder's 115-112 loss Friday night in Portland when the knee of teammate Andre Roberson hit Westbrook's face. Westbrook had surgery on Saturday. Brooks says Westbrook wore a mask during Tuesday's practice, and he'll wear one when he returns.
SOCCER
Players may strike
Major League Soccer careened toward the first work stoppage in its 20-season history Tuesday as the sides in labor negotiations appeared to make little progress toward brokering a new collective bargaining agreement. Three days before the season is scheduled to begin, the league and players' union remained locked in discussions with federal mediators in Washington. Tuesday marked the final day of a three-day session, although talks could continue into today, if necessary. As of Tuesday afternoon, neither side had issued any public statements. However, sources familiar with the talks said significant obstacles stand in the way of a deal. "It seems like [the owners] are giving up nothing of substance," said one source, who requested anonymity because he is not permitted to speak on the matter. "They have shot down all of the players' proposals [on free agency]. It's shocking. The owners are almost wanting a work stoppage." The previous CBA expired Jan. 31 but teams have conducted preseason as planned. No deadline is in place to reach a pact, but without a pathway to a deal, the players seem inclined to strike.
BASKETBALL
Nuggets, 20-39, fire coach
DENVER — The Nuggets fired Brian Shaw after 1½ seasons as coach Tuesday, with the team at 20-39 and mired in a six-game losing streak. Assistant coach Melvin Hunt will be the interim coach.
The timing of the dismissal was somewhat surprising given that just last week General Manager Tim Connelly signaled Shaw’s job was safe at least through the end of the season.
“You won’t find a better guy than Brian, and he is one of the brightest basketball minds I’ve ever been around,” Connelly said in a statement Tuesday. “Unfortunately things didn’t go as we hoped, but we know with his basketball acumen that he has a very bright future ahead of him.”
Shaw went 56-85 for a .397 winning percentage. The Nuggets have lost 10 consecutive games at home, one shy of tying the franchise record set in 1997-98. The team has nosedived since the All-Star break, and attendance has suffered.
Players wouldn’t comment on Shaw’s firing as they left the Pepsi Center after a meeting Tuesday morning before their game against Milwaukee that night.
Nuggets President Josh Kroenke said the team will look for a permanent coach after the season.
“This has been a trying season for all of us,” Kroenke said in a statement. “And we appreciate Nuggets fans’ continued faith and patience as we build our proud organization back to the NBA’s elite.”
Shaw replaced George Karl, who was ousted after Denver won a franchise-record 57 games in 2012-13 only to be bounced from the first round of the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season.
Shaw’s first season as an NBA head coach was marked by injuries and a long-running dispute with point guard Andre Miller. The Nuggets went 36-46, missing the playoffs for the first time since 2002-03. The Nuggets returned to health this season but failed to live up to expectations.
Sports on 03/04/2015