FOOTBALL
Cowboys sign Elliott
Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott is officially signed, sealed and delivered. The fourth overall pick in the 2016 NFL draft signed a four-year, $24.9 million deal with the Cowboys on Wednesday, including a $16.3 million signing bonus, according to sources. The deal is fully guaranteed and comes with a fifth-year option. Elliott's agreement tops that of last year's fourth pick, receiver Amari Cooper, who got a four-year, $22.7 million deal from the Oakland Raiders. Elliott is not only expected to carry on the great running back tradition with the Cowboys but he is being counted on to be the focal point of the offense while taking pressure off quarterback Tony Romo. The former Ohio State star is considered the most complete back to enter the league in more than a decade and is expected to make an immediate impact as a runner and receiver in 2016. His addition has buoyed the team's hope of bouncing back from last year's 4-12 campaign with a NFC East and a deep playoff run.
• The San Diego Chargers have exercised their high waiver-claim priority, adding former Titans quarterback Zach Mettenberger, a source said. Mettenberger reunites with Chargers offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt, who coached him the past two seasons in Tennessee. Mettenberger will compete with Kellen Clemens in the coming months to be the primary reserve behind Philip Rivers. Quarterback Bryn Renner was waived in a corresponding move. The Chargers have the No. 3 waiver priority when a player with three or fewer accrued NFL seasons is released, thereby entering the waiver system. Only the Titans and Browns have a higher claim on such a player. Since the Titans were the ones who waived Mettenberger, the Browns were the sole team that stood between a Mettenberger and Whisenhunt reunion. Mettenberger, a 2014 sixth-round pick from LSU, started 10 games the past two seasons. He completed 60.8 percent of his 345 passes for 2,537 yards, 12 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. He turns 25 in July. Clemens, 33 in June, has been Rivers' primary backup since 2014. He signed a one-year deal in March.
BASKETBALL
Knicks look at Hornacek
Phil Jackson’s effort to hire a new coach for the New York Knicks is apparently close to ending. Jackson, the team’s president, has honed in on Jeff Hornacek, who was let go as coach of the Phoenix Suns this season after 49 games. Hornacek, 53, coached the Suns for two full seasons before this one, compiling a 101-112 record, though his first year — at 48-34 — was considered an overachievement by most NBA observers. His teams played an up-tempo offense. He also was an assistant with the Utah Jazz for three seasons. Hornacek was a late entry into contention for the job, with news of his meeting with Jackson reported this week. A person with knowledge of the Knicks’ coaching search confirmed that Jackson had settled on Hornacek after the meeting was first reported Wednesday night by Howard Beck of Bleacher Report. Another person who has spoken with Jackson said that while no deal was in place, there was strong mutual interest and that Jackson believed Hornacek was the best of the available candidates. Hornacek, a 6-3 shooting guard, had a 14-year career with Phoenix, Philadelphia and Utah, averaging 14.5 points per game and appearing in one All-Star game.
BASEBALL
Tolleson out as closer
Shawn Tolleson was removed from the closer's role Wednesday morning after blowing a second consecutive save and his fourth this season Tuesday night in the Texas Rangers' 8-5 loss to the Oakland A's. Manager Jeff Banister delivered the news to Tolleson in a morning meeting at Oakland Coliseum, and handed over the ninth inning to Sam Dyson. Tolleson will continue to pitch, though earlier in games. Tolleson, who entered Wednesday tied for the American League lead with 11 saves, wasn't stunned by the decision. He said he is still confident in his stuff but has lost some confidence pitching every day. He said he hopes to regain it through whatever work he gets and through the Rangers continuing to win games. Dyson, the hard-throwing right-hander, was the choice because of his effectiveness since coming over from Miami last year at the July 31 trade deadline -- a 1.44 ERA in 50 innings -- and because other candidates have more value with their ability to work multiple innings. Left-hander Jake Diekman and right-handers Matt Bush and Tony Barnette move up in the set-up pecking order.
• New York Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner has backed Manager Joe Girardi and his coaching staff and has blamed players for the team's slow start. With New York last in the AL East at 16-22, Steinbrenner singled out Mark Teixeira, Chase Headley, Michael Pineda and Luis Severino for criticism. Speaking Wednesday outside Major League Baseball's offices, Steinbrenner said "the first five weeks were disappointing, frustrating, particularly looking at the offense. Clearly not living up to their potential. ... When you look at a guy like Mark Teixeira, clearly he's not playing to his potential with the bat." He said Pineda's decline is "concerning" and it is up to the pitcher to figure out. Severino, he said, has "to learn how to push through that downturn."
• Before Sunday's afternoon game in Anaheim, Calif., Baltimore Orioles right-hander Yovani Gallardo is scheduled to throw off a mound for the first time since going on the disabled list. Gallardo (shoulder tendinitis) is currently still throwing off flat ground -- he made 25 throws from 120 feet Wednesday and will do the same today, marking the first time he has thrown on back-to-back days. The rehabilitation schedule for Gallardo, who hasn't pitched since leaving the Orioles' April 22 game in Kansas City after two innings, is becoming clearer with a possible early June return.
TENNIS
Bertens advances
Qualifier Kiki Bertens advanced to the quarterfinals of the clay-court tournament in Nuremberg by beating top-seeded Roberta Vinci 6-4, 7-6 (4) on Wednesday. Vinci was last year's runner-up at the tournament, which serves as a warm-up for the French Open. She led an exit of four other seeded players, including No. 2 Laura Siegemund, who lost to Mariana Duque-Marino 7-6 (6), 3-6, 6-1. Fifth-seeded Sabine Lisicki had six double-faults and was also eliminated, losing to Varvara Lepchenko 6-2, 7-6 (5). Irina Falconi beat sixth-seeded Misaki Doi 6-3, 5-7, 6-4, while Julia Goerges defeated eighth-seeded Yulia Putintseva 6-4, 6-2.
• Fourth-seeded Kristina Mladenovic held off strong resistance from Alison Riske to reach the quarterfinals of the Strasbourg International on Wednesday with a 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (5) victory. After trailing 5-1 in the decider, Riske saved four match points and leveled at 5-5. Mladenovic stayed calm in the tiebreaker and sealed the match with an ace after more than three hours. Wild card Pauline Parmentier upset second-seeded Sloane Stephens 6-3, 1-6, 6-4, while Mirjana Lucic-Baroni defeated No. 8 Timea Babos 6-1, 6-4. The outdoor clay-court event is a warmup for the French Open, which starts Sunday.
• Eighth-seeded Alexander Zverev fought for more than 2 1/2 hours to beat Marcel Granollers and reach the quarterfinals of the Nice Open on Wednesday. Zverev, who lost to Granollers in three sets at the Monte Carlo Masters earlier this season, converted five of his seven break points in a 7-5, 6-7 (3), 6-2 win at the clay-court tournament, a traditional French Open warm-up. Zverev next plays second-seeded Gilles Simon, who defeated Taylor Fritz 6-4, 6-4. Andreas Seppi also advanced after saving 10 break points as he rallied past Paul-Henri Mathieu 4-6, 6-2, 6-4. Seppi next plays top-seeded Dominic Thiem.
HOCKEY
Motion to dismiss denied
A federal judge in Minnesota has denied the NHL's latest attempt to throw out a class-action lawsuit by former players filed over head injuries. The league had argued that the suit should be tossed because the issues raised by the former players were covered under the collective bargaining agreement with the players' union. U.S. District Judge Susan Richard Nelson wrote in a 47-page opinion that the CBA does not pre-empt legal action, in part because the players are retired and no longer subject to the CBA. Dan LaCouture, Michael Peluso, Gary Leeman, Bernie Nicholls, David Christian and Reed Larson represent former players who say the NHL did not sufficiently protect or inform the players of the dangers when it comes to head injuries they suffered when they played.
SOCCER
British club sold to Chinese man
England's Aston Villa was sold Wednesday to a Chinese businessman after a decade under the American ownership of Randy Lerner. The sale to Tony Jiantong Xia's Recon Group follows the central England club's relegation from the Premier League after place last in the 2015-16 season. No details of the deal were available. The takeover is subject to approval by English football authorities, Villa said, including Xia being declared a "fit and proper" director. Recon Group owns the controlling interest in five publicly listed companies on the stock exchanges in Hong Kong and China, according to Villa, as well as "many other private companies employing 35,000 people in 75 countries." It is the latest investment from China in global soccer. A consortium of China Media Capital Holdings and CITIC Capital invested $400 million to buy 13 percent of Premier League club Manchester City last year.
Sports on 05/19/2016