FOOTBALL
Carr added to Pro Bowl
Oakland Raiders quarterback Derek Carr was added to the Pro Bowl roster as an injury replacement for Green Bay's Aaron Rodgers. Carr was originally an alternate for the Jan. 31 game in Hawaii, but will get the chance to play in it in just his second season following Wednesday's announcement. Carr threw for 3,987 yards with 32 touchdowns, 13 interceptions and a 91.1 passer rating this season. He had four fourth-quarter comeback drives as Oakland finished 7-9. Carr is the first Raiders quarterback to be picked for the Pro Bowl since Rich Gannon went from 1999-2002. The only other Raiders quarterbacks to earn the honor are Daryle Lamonica, Ken Stabler and Jeff Hostetler. A Packers spokesman said there was no other information on Rodgers. The two-time NFL MVP was on the injury report for one week this season for a sore right shoulder in Week 11. Rodgers was sacked 46 times in the regular season, second in the league to Jacksonville's Blake Bortles. Green Bay's season ended last weekend with a 26-20 loss in overtime to Arizona in the NFC playoffs.
• Tennessee Titans Coach Mike Mularkey has convinced Dick LeBeau to stick around as assistant head coach and defensive coordinator, and he also hired Terry Robiskie as the Titans' new offensive coordinator. The Titans also announced Wednesday night that Bobby April will be their new special teams coordinator. LeBeau joined the Titans last year as assistant head coach for defense. Robiskie spent the past eight seasons coaching wide receivers in Atlanta. He has coached in Miami, Washington, Oakland and was offensive coordinator during six seasons in Cleveland. April is a 24-year veteran coaching special teams and his units have scored a combined 21 touchdowns on returns. He spent the 2015 season with the Jets and has coached in Oakland, Philadelphia, Buffalo, St. Louis and Pittsburgh.
• A person familiar with the hiring says new Cleveland Browns Coach Hue Jackson has added defensive coordinator Ray Horton to his staff. Horton is returning to Cleveland, where he ran coach Rob Chudzinski's defense in 2013, said the person who spoke Wednesday to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the Browns have not yet announced Horton's addition. Also, Jackson is bringing in longtime NFL assistant Al Saunders, former Vikings running backs coach Kirby Wilson and Colts offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton to help his offense, said the person. Horton was expected to come back to Cleveland after he didn't get Tennessee's coaching job. Under Horton, the Browns finished ninth in yards allowed and 23rd in points per game. Horton's defense in Tennessee was ranked 12th overall this past season. A former head coach in San Diego, Saunders was Jackson's offensive coordinator in 2011 with Oakland.
BASKETBALL
Daily games defended
Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban is defending the daily fantasy sports industry the Texas attorney general considers illegal. Addressing the Fantasy Sports Trade Association in Dallas on Wednesday, Cuban said Attorney General Ken Paxton's opinion is nonbinding but still "kind of disappointing." He dismissed the contention of Paxton and officials of other states that daily fantasy sports are a game of chance. Cuban said he learned they are a game of skill because he was bad at them and "had no chance of winning." Cuban said he invested in two fantasy sports startups, so he regards the industry's future as bright. He also predicted gambling, "as a whole, will be made legal." But he also noted he wouldn't want Mavericks players to participate in daily fantasy basketball, saying he wants no question of impropriety.
• The New York Knicks are worth $3 billion, highest in the NBA, according to Forbes. On Wednesday, in its annual ranking of franchise valuations, Forbes said the Knicks regained the top spot from the Los Angeles Lakers thanks to a 20 percent value increase from 2015. It said the increase was driven by a new cable deal and the highest premium-seating revenue in the league. The Lakers have a value of $2.7 billion. The Chicago Bulls, Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Clippers rounded out the top five. Forbes said the average NBA team is now worth $1.3 billion, a 13 percent increase from 2015, and the $5.2 billion in revenue teams generated last season was a record for the league.
BASEBALL
Protection discussed
With worries about terrorism following attacks in France and California, baseball owners began their two-day meeting in Coral Gables, Fla., on Wednesday by discussing threat protection with the U.S. Homeland Security secretary. Presenting more than 2,400 games a year in venues that attract large crowds, Major League Baseball has tightened checks in recent years. Starting last year, fans were required to go through metal detectors at all 30 ballparks. "There's got to be more security than there is now, I don't know what it will be," Chicago White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf said Wednesday. "Everybody realizes that the world has changed and these people are never going to give up, so we have to give up some of our comforts." After arriving in a seven-car motorcade, Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson addressed owners for approximately an hour and took about a half-dozen of their questions. "He pointed out some very interesting things that we all need to pay attention to, because we are part of maintaining public safety," Miami Marlins President David Samson said. "What we try to do is walk the line between safety and enjoyment. ... The balance is really hard to walk, and what Secretary Johnson pointed out is that our most important job is to walk that balance and to be very aware when you're getting too far one way or the other." The meetings, which end today, are the last before the likely start of collective bargaining with the players' association for a labor contract to replace the deal that expires next Dec. 1. Even before talks with the union, owners have to determine their bargaining positions on key economic issues such revenue-sharing, the luxury tax threshold and rates, and whether management wants to push harder for an international amateur draft.
GOLF
Practice shorts OK
Golfers on the European Tour have a new item of clothing to pack in their suitcases. The tour will allow players to wear shorts during practice rounds and pro-ams after the policy was passed unanimously by a tournament committee in Abu Dhabi late Tuesday. Ian Poulter backed the move, tweeting on Wednesday: "Its 2016 not 1990. Get rid of the stuffy old rules that hold golf back. Make it more fun (for) everyone." Players must still wear trousers in tournament play. Lee Westwood and European Ryder Cup captain Darren Clarke played practice rounds in shorts at the Abu Dhabi Championship on Tuesday. Westwood was among the European players to wear shorts at the EurAsia Cup in Malaysia last week. Caddies can wear shorts on the PGA Tour, but not players.
HORSE RACING
Racing in Georgia?
A group of Georgia horse breeders is working with a sports architecture firm to design a potential horse racing track in the state. Morris News Service reported that the plans, including a residential and commercial development centered on the track, were announced this week by the Georgia Horse Racing Coalition. No location for the track was announced. The coalition projects that the 250-acre complex would bring more than 5,000 jobs. A concept is being designed by Missouri-based Populous Holdings Inc., architects for projects like the new Braves' stadium, Yankee Stadium, Ascot Racecourse in England and the Hong Kong Jockey Club. Horse racing is legal in Georgia. However, betting on it is not and the coalition has been pushing in recent years to expand legal gambling to include betting on horse racing.
Sports on 01/21/2016