BASEBALL
Giants, Crawford agree to deal
Fresh off his Gold Glove award last week, San Francisco Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford agreed to a $75 million, six-year contract Tuesday that takes him through the 2021 season. Crawford's deal covers his two remaining years of arbitration and four years of free agency -- and also provides some stability for his young family right at home in the Bay Area. Crawford and his wife, Jalynne, have two young daughters and a son on the way. Crawford has a full no-trade clause. He is slated to receive a $1.2 million signing bonus due by Dec. 15 and salaries of $5.8 million next season, $8 million in 2017 and $15 million in each of the final four years. A reliable glove in the middle of the infield and first-time All-Star this past season, Crawford has shown his range at the position as well as growth on defense and at the plate. Crawford, 28, who grew up in the area rooting for the Giants, batted .256 with 21 home runs and 84 RBI.
• Boston Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz is planning to retire after the 2016 season. The Dominican slugger said in a video posted on The Players' Tribune on Wednesday that he will play one more season. It was Ortiz's 40th birthday, and the post was titled "40." Ortiz led the Red Sox to three championships, hitting 503 home runs in a career full of clutch at-bats while in the process of establishing himself as the face of a long-downtrodden franchise that rose to become a big-market bully. Ortiz batted .688 in the 2013 World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals and was named the series MVP. But his greatest contribution to the team's success came in the 2004 playoffs, when Boston ended its 86-year dynasty of disappointment.
• Blue Jays second baseman Devon Travis has undergone surgery on his left shoulder and will be sidelined 16 to 20 weeks. Toronto said Travis was operated on Tuesday to treat a condition in which one of the four growth plates of the acromion bone, which extends over the shoulder joint, fails to fuse and results in an extra bone. The condition was discovered when Travis was placed on the disabled list this season with shoulder inflammation. Toronto said the condition, known as os acromiale, did not contribute to the injury. The procedure included inserting screws to stabilize the extra bone in his shoulder.
NFL
Flutie's parents die
Former NFL quarterback Doug Flutie says both of his parents died within an hour of each other. Flutie says in a statement posted on his Facebook page that his father, Dick, died of a heart attack in a hospital in Florida, where the family moved years ago. He said Wednesday that less than an hour later, his mother, Joan, also suffered a heart attack and died. Flutie wrote: "They say you can die of a broken heart and I believe it." Flutie did not elaborate on the circumstances of their deaths, but called them "incredible parents and grandparents" who had been married for 56 years and were always there for their children. Flutie played for several teams in his 13 NFL seasons including New England, San Diego, Buffalo and Chicago.
• Defensive end Chris Long was a full participant in St. Louis Rams practice, making it likely he'll return after missing four games with a knee injury. Center Tim Barnes was limited with a concussion and the Rams held out defensive end Robert Quinn (hip) and rookie offensive tackle Rob Havenstein (calf). Quinn is expected to get more playing time this week at Baltimore after getting 14 snaps last week. Long fractured a bone in his right knee at Green Bay Oct. 11.
• The physical toll of facing more pressure in the pocket has caught up with Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers. The player that the sluggish Packers can least afford to lose was listed as limited in practice on Wednesday with a right shoulder injury. Coach Mike McCarthy said before practice that his quarterback was "banged up."
HOCKEY
Hall of Famer dies at 89
Bert Olmstead, the Hall of Fame left winger who played on five Stanley Cup championships teams during his 14-year NHL career, has died. He was 89. The NHL and the Montreal Canadiens said that Olmstead died Monday. Olmstead had 181 goals and 421 assists in 848 regular-season games for Chicago, Montreal and Toronto from 1948 to 1962. He had 16 goals and 43 assists in 115 playoff games, winning titles with the Canadiens in 1953, 1956, 1957 and 1958 and the Maple Leafs in 1962. Inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1985, Olmstead played on Montreal's top line with Maurice Richard and Elmer Lach and later Jean Beliveau and Bernie Geoffrion. The Saskatchewan native matched the then-NHL record with eight points -- four goals and four assists -- in Montreal's 12-1 victory over Chicago on Jan. 9, 1954, and set a record with assists on Beliveau's three goals in a 44-second span against Boston on Nov. 5, 1955. He also set a record with 56 assists in 1955-56, and finished that season with a career-high 70 points.
TENNIS
Serve, hair give Murray grief
LONDON — Andy Murray was struggling, both with his serve and his hair.
He gave himself a little trim during a changeover in the first set, but on the court he found it difficult to improve.
Taking advantage of it all was Rafael Nadal, who ended up with a 6-4, 6-1 victory Wednesday at the season-ending ATP finals and a spot in the semifinals.
Murray and Nadal traded breaks to open the match, and then Nadal held to make it 2-1. During the changeover, the second-seeded Murray pulled out a pair of scissors and clipped off a few strands of hair.
“I had some hair in my eye, and I just wanted to get rid of it,” said Murray, clearly annoyed with the line of questioning. “That literally took two seconds. That was it.”
Nadal said he didn’t notice Murray’s actions, but laughed when he was told that Murray said his hair was bothering him.
“Was not at the right time to know that,” Nadal said before praising Murray’s ingenuity with the scissors. “It’s a good solution.”
Maybe it helped a bit, because Murray then held his serve. But soon Nadal was back on top, breaking to end the first set.
With his hair in check, Murray’s serve started to cause some problems.
He ended up with four double-faults, including two in a row during his first service game of the second set. When Murray missed the first serve of the following point, a fan in the crowd, presumably in favor of Nadal, shouted out “cinco” to note it was his fifth consecutive fault.
The next serve went in, but a backhand that sailed wide gave Nadal a 2-0 lead as the Spaniard won nine of 10 points during that stretch.
Murray ended up landing only 43 percent of his first serves, and only 38 percent in the second set.
“From the middle till the end of the second set, he played extremely well,” Murray said. “But I didn’t really help myself. I served poorly at the end of the first set and all through the second.”
Nadal beat French Open champion Stan Wawrinka in his opening match, and will next face already-eliminated David Ferrer on Friday. Murray will play Wawrinka on the same day for the other spot in the semifinals.
In Wednesday’s late match at the O2 Arena, Wawrinka overcame an early break in the first set to beat Ferrer 7-5, 6-2.
Sports on 11/19/2015