FOOTBALL
Vikings to keep Peterson
Adrian Peterson and the Minnesota Vikings have reached a standstill in their relationship. Peterson’s agent, Ben Dogra, said in an interview on Tuesday that he believes a return to Minnesota this season is not in the “best interest” of the standout running back. Peterson previously expressed uneasiness about continuing to play for the Vikings, but Dogra has advanced that stance to the point of wanting out. General Manager Rick Spielman has told Dogra the team doesn’t plan to release Peterson, who turned 30 on Saturday. The Vikings have leverage with Peterson’s contract, which covers the next three years with a $12.75 million salary for 2015. However, none of the remaining money on the deal is guaranteed.
The man selected by Tennessee’s owners to oversee the Titans and help search for a new president and chief executive officer said they have made it clear the NFL franchise is not for sale. Steve Underwood spoke to The Associated Press by telephone Tuesday from Phoenix where league meetings are underway. He was named interim president and CEO when Tommy Smith announced his retirement Friday. That move has raised questions about whether the family of the late Bud Adams was preparing to sell the team he founded. Underwood said the owners are the only people who can take part in a sale and they tell him the Titans are not for sale.
The Super Bowl turns 50 this year and the NFL is planning a golden yearlong celebration. The league unveiled plans that include sending a gold-colored football to the high school of every player or head coach who played in the big game. The football will have the player’s name and the name of the high school. The league also will have the number 50 on the 50-yard line in gold and teams will host Super Bowl reunions. In addition to the Super Bowl trophy, which is still silver, there are big, Tiffany-crafted numbers 5-0 that will go to the Super Bowl winner. The numbers are cast in bronze, plated in 18-karat gold and weigh nearly 33 pounds. There will be 19 games between past Super Bowl opponents during the preseason and regular season.
Cleveland Browns Coach Mike Pettine said Tuesday he expects quarterback Johnny Manziel to participate in the team’s offseason workouts but declined to specify what his expectations are once Manziel returns from a treatment facility. “Right now, to me, my biggest, primary concern with him is just Manziel the person,” Pettine said at the AFC coaches’ breakfast at the annual league meeting in Phoenix. “We’ll worry about the football stuff down the road.” Pettine said he’s optimistic that Manziel will rejoin the team for the opening of its offseason workout program April 20. But he said he does not know when Manziel will be discharged from his treatment facility, where he is reportedly being treated for alcohol dependency. The Browns lost one quarterback, Brian Hoyer, but signed another, Josh McCown, in free agency. Manziel, the former Heisman Trophy winner at Texas A&M chosen by the Browns in the opening round of last year’s NFL draft, made two starts in a disappointing rookie season. Now it’s unclear how he fits into the team’s quarterback plans. Cleveland has two first-round selections in this year’s draft, the 12th and 19th overall picks, and potentially could trade up to land Jameis Winston or Marcus Mariota to add to the team’s quarterback mix.
HOCKEY
Lundqvist practices
Henrik Lundqvist practiced with his Rangers teammates Tuesday for the first time since he was forced from the lineup by a neck injury in February, and could be back in goal by this weekend. Lundqvist took the ice several hours before the Rangers hosted the Stanley Cup champion Los Angeles Kings in a rematch of last year’s finals. He faced all kinds of shots from teammates, who were happy to have their No. 1 goalie back. Cam Talbot started Tuesday night, and New York Coach Alain Vigneault said it would be “a stretch” for Lundqvist to be in the lineup Thursday at Ottawa. Lundqvist said he felt good after being on the ice for about an hour and aims to play this weekend when the Rangers have back-to-back games.
BASEBALL
Another Cuban added
The Los Angeles Dodgers are adding another high-priced player from Cuba, as they have agreed to a six-year, $62.5-million contract with free-agent infielder Hector Olivera. Olivera’s deal includes a $28 million bonus, according to his agent, Greg Genske. A former standout on Cuba’s national team, the 29-year-old Olivera was primarily a second baseman in his home country. He can also play third base. The Dodgers will have multiple vacancies in their infield at the end of the upcoming season, as second baseman Howie Kendrick, shortstop Jimmy Rollins and third baseman Juan Uribe will become free agents. Olivera will be the fourth Cuban defector to land an eight-figure contact with the Dodgers, as he follows Yasiel Puig (seven years, $42 million), Alex Guerrero (four years, $28 million) and Erisbel Arruebarrena (five years, $25 million). The Dodgers also recently agreed to a minor-league contract worth $8 million with Cuban righthander Pablo Millan Fernandez.
Second baseman Brian Dozier and the Minnesota Twins have agreed to a $20 million, four-year contract. The deal was announced Tuesday, before the Twins played Toronto at their spring training home in Fort Myers, Fla. Dozier already was under contract for this year at $590,000 in the major leagues and $324,000 in the minors. The new deal calls for $2 million this season, $3 million in 2016, $6 million in 2017 and $9 million in 2018. The 27-year-old hit .242 last year with 23 home runs, 33 doubles, 71 RBI, 89 walks, 21 steals and 112 runs. The only other Twins with at least 20 home runs, 20 steals and 100 runs were Kirby Puckett in 1986 and Corey Koskie in 2001.
Masahiro Tanaka is lined up to start the Yankees’ opener against Toronto on April 6, which would end CC Sabathia’s streak of six consecutive opening-day starts for New York. Yankees Manager Joe Girardi said Sabathia’s next exhibition start is Saturday, which lines up the 34-year old left-hander to face the Blue Jays on April 8. Sabathia is coming back from season-ending knee surgery in July. He has 11 opening-day starts overall. Tanaka is starting his second season with New York.
The Tampa Bay Rays will honor former longtime senior adviser Don Zimmer by retiring uniform No. 66 before their April 6 season opener against Baltimore. Zimmer spent 11 years with the Rays, from 2004-14. It was his longest stint in his 66 years with 14 major league teams as a player, coach, manager or adviser. Zimmer was 83 when he died on June 4, 2014. Three days later, the Rays and Seattle Mariners wore Zimmer’s No. 23 Brooklyn Dodgers jersey in a pregame tribute at Tropicana Field. He began his career as an infielder with the Dodgers in 1954. The Rays have retired only two other numbers. Wade Boggs’ No. 12 was retired in 1999, and Jackie Robinson’s No. 42 was retired by all teams in 1997.
MOTOR SPORTS
Qualifying format uncertain
NASCAR officials confirmed Tuesday that they have not settled on a format for qualifying at the next restrictor-plate race weekend, scheduled May 1-3 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway. A more traditional single-car qualifying format, but run at a much quicker pace, is currently under consideration for the spring Talladega races, multiple sources confirmed to The Charlotte Observer. NASCAR has experienced several problems over the past year adapting its new group qualifying format to restrictor-plate races and used the format for the first time at this year’s Daytona 500. Since “drafting” at Daytona and Talladega can produce faster speeds, teams have tried to time their appearances on the track together during the different rounds in order to maximize speed. The result has been some wrecks and other teams failing to register a speed during the time limit. After the Daytona qualifying event for the Sprint Cup Series, NASCAR made some tweaks to the format for qualifying for the Trucks and Xfinity races — including increasing the number of groups and eliminating waits on pit road — in hopes of preventing some of the issues. Following the Daytona weekend, NASCAR Executive Vice President Steve O’Donnell said the sanctioning body would continue to review the format for future superspeedway events.