FOOTBALL
Colts fire GM Grigson
Ryan Grigson spent tens of millions in free agency, trying to turn the Indianapolis Colts into a Super Bowl contender. When most of those big investments went belly up, the first-time general manager paid the price. On Saturday, Colts owner Jim Irsay fired Grigson after five up-and-down years that ended with Indy missing the playoffs in consecutive seasons for the first time since 1997-98. Initially, Grigson looked like a genius. He hit it big on his first four draft picks -- quarterback Andrew Luck, tight ends Coby Fleener and Dwayne Allen and receiver T.Y. Hilton -- and used a series of shrewd, cost-effective moves to deliver one of the greatest turnarounds in league history. But when Grigson's costly misfires like first-round bust Bjoern Werner in 2013, trading a first-round pick for Trent Richardson in 2014 or loading up on a group of aging, high-priced free agents to make a Super Bowl run in 2015 and an anxious fan base, Irsay had no choice. The timing, almost three weeks after the season ended, was strange -- and comes after many thought the delay meant Grigson and head Coach Chuck Pagano were both safe. Each agreed to contracts last January that were supposed to keep them together through the 2019 season. Thirteen months later, Grigson is gone and Pagano's fate may rest in the hands of a new GM. Grigson, by trade, was a gambler who refused to play it safe. "I think the guys that sit on their hands, they've got to live with themselves and look in the mirror and realize they didn't take any chances," he once said. "They've got to look at themselves and say, 'Did I even deserve this opportunity?' If you just sit on your hands and say, 'I'm going to play it safe all the time,' you might be middle of the pack. But if you don't take a swing, you're never going to hit it out of the park."
Chargers to hire Bradley
The Los Angeles Chargers intend to hire former Jacksonville coach Gus Bradley as their defensive coordinator. The Chargers confirmed Saturday that Bradley's arrival was imminent. Bradley, 50, went 14-48 in nearly four seasons in charge of the Jaguars, who fired him last month with two games left in the season. Although Jacksonville never won more than five games a season in his tenure, Bradley retained his reputation as a top defensive coach with the Jaguars, who finished sixth in the league in total defense this season. Bradley coordinated Seattle's defense from 2009-12, coaching current Chargers nose tackle Brandon Mebane. New Chargers Coach Anthony Lynn beat out San Francisco and other suitors for Bradley's services. Lynn also is retaining Ken Whisenhunt as the Chargers' offensive coordinator.
SKIING
Vonn wins downhill
Lindsey Vonn is back on top in just the second race of her comeback from a knee injury and a broken arm. The American edged defending overall World Cup champion Lara Gut to win a downhill event in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, on Saturday and claim career victory No. 77, moving her within nine victories of the record held by Ingemar Stenmark. After finishing 0.15 seconds ahead of Swiss rival Gut and 0.48 ahead of Viktoria Rebensburg of Germany, Vonn collapsed to the snow in celebration and shed tears of joy. Vonn broke her upper right arm 10 weeks ago in a training crash on Copper Mountain, Colo., while recovering from a left knee injury that ended last season prematurely in February. She finished 13th in the first race in Altenmarkt-Zauchensee, Austria, last weekend. Ramona Siebenhofer, the Austrian who led both training sessions, finished fourth in Saturday's race and Italy's Sofia Goggia was fifth. American skier Breezy Johnson finished 10th for her best career result. Vonn will be aiming for another victory today in a super-G event on the Kandahar course.
BASKETBALL
James eyes Olympics
LeBron James said he might make another run at Olympic gold with Gregg Popovich. James, who already has two gold medals, said that Popovich taking over as coach of the U.S. team will influence his decision on whether to play in the 2020 Tokyo Games. "It factors a lot," James said Saturday as the Cavaliers prepared to host Popovich's San Antonio Spurs. "I've said that before. He's just a great mastermind of the game of basketball." James skipped last summer's Olympics in Rio de Janeiro to get some rest after leading Cleveland to an NBA championship. But he's still connected with Team USA and Popovich replacing outgoing coach Mike Krzyzewski could be enough to draw James back to the Olympics. James will be 36 in 2020, but his game is showing no signs of decay and the three-time NBA champ has relished his previous Olympic appearances. He was a key member of the American teams that captured gold in Beijing (2008) and (2012), performances that helped him and the U.S. squad erase some of the disappointment from taking bronze in Athens (2004).
MOTOR SPORTS
Montoya wins Champions
Juan Pablo Montoya took his wife's advice and it paid off. Montoya had passed on previous invitations to participate in the annual Race of Champions, but when his wife, Connie Freydell-Montoya, suggested he take part in this year's event, he agreed. Montoya won the Race of Champions against some of the best drivers in the world in a head-to-head format in the 28th annual event, held on U.S. soil Saturday for the first time at Marlins Park in Miami. "It's beginner's luck," said Montoya, a two-time Indy 500 winner. Montoya won his final seven races including both in the final against Tom Kristensen, who has five second-place finishes to his credit in 15 appearances. Some of the world's greatest drivers from Formula 1, NASCAR, IndyCar, Le Mans, Rallycross, and Touring Cars competed in head-to-head competition in identical cars. Kurt and Kyle Busch, Helio Castroneves, Tony Kanaan, Sebastian Vettel, David Coulthard, Travis Pastrana, Alexander Rossi, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Jenson Button, Felipa Massa and Pascal Wehrlein were among the 16 drivers who participated in the event, which consisted of four groups of four with the top two moving on to the quarterfinals. The pavement for the 1,778-foot track was laid earlier in the week and will be removed after the three-day event, which concludes with team competition today, in time for the Marlins' grounds crew to lay new grass and be ready for the Marlins' home opener on April 11.
BASEBALL
Rangers to retire No. 7
Ivan Rodriguez will have his No. 7 jersey retired by the Texas Rangers in August, the club announced late Friday night at the Dr Pepper Awards Dinner. The Rangers didn't announce a date for the ceremony, but it will come only a few weeks after Rodriguez is inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. He was voted for election to the Hall on Wednesday. The Rangers have previously retired only two numbers -- No. 34 belonging to Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan and No. 26 belonging to former manager Johnny Oates. All 30 MLB teams retired No. 42 belonging to Jackie Robinson.
Sports on 01/22/2017