NBA
Portis apologizes for punch
Suspended Bulls forward Bobby Portis offered an apology to injured teammate Niko Mirotic on Saturday in his first public comments since punching Mirotic in the face in practice Tuesday. The fight cost the Bulls their top two power forwards. Mirotic suffered two fractured bones and a concussion and is expected to miss 4-to-6 weeks. Portis was suspended eight games. Portis said before Chicago's home opener against the Spurs that he has reached out to Mirotic but has not received a response. "I'm wrong for what I did," said Portis, who played for the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville and Little Rock Hall. "I want to publicly apologize to Niko. I feel like I let my fans, the Bulls organization and most importantly my teammates down. This is not who Bobby Portis is. Going forward, I want to make sure that me and Niko are cool and that we can be teammates again. I'm pretty sure we can. We just have to repair the relationship."
NFL
Jags promote WR Mickens
The Jacksonville Jaguars have promoted receiver Jaydon Mickens to the active roster and waived receiver Max McCaffrey. The 5-foot-11 Mickens was originally signed by Oakland as an undrafted rookie in May. He spent the entire 2016 season on Oakland's practice squad, was waived in final cuts and signed to Jacksonville's practice squad two weeks later. McCaffrey caught 1 pass for 4 yards in 5 games with the Jaguars (3-3), who play at Indianapolis (2-4) today.
MLB
Giants reassign pitching coach
The San Francisco Giants have reassigned longtime pitching coach Dave Righetti from Manager Bruce Bochy's staff to special assistant to the general manager, working under Bobby Evans. The club announced Righetti's role change to the front office Saturday, along with bullpen coach Mark Gardner moving into a special assignment job assisting in pitching evaluations. Assistant hitting coach Steve Decker is now a special assistant in baseball operations. San Francisco went 64-98 for a last-place finish in the NL West and avoided the franchise's first 100-loss season since 1985 during the final weekend of the regular season. The Giants, long defined by dominant pitching, had a 16th-ranked 4.50 team ERA and lost ace Madison Bumgarner for nearly three months after his dirt bike accident in Colorado.
GOLF
Langer holds 3-shot advantage
Bernhard Langer matched the course record with a 9-under 63 on Saturday to take a three-stroke lead in the Dominion Energy Charity Classic, the first event in the PGA Tour Champions' Charles Schwab Cup Playoffs. Seeking an unprecedented fifth Schwab Cup and fourth in a row, Langer, 60, leads the season standings and has a tour-high five victories this season. "I'm playing nicely," Langer said. "It's a lot of fun. Hitting a lot of fairways, a lot of greens, giving myself opportunities and today was pretty special." Langer had nine birdies in his second consecutive bogey-free round to reach 14-under 130 on The Country Club of Virginia's James River Course. Fellow Hall of Famer Vijay Singh was second after a 63 of his own. Glen Day (Little Rock) is tied for 25th at 4 under after an even-par 72. Citing knee issues, John Daly (Dardanelle, Arkansas Razorbacks) withdrew during Friday's first round after shooting a 3-under 33 on the front nine.
Garcia leads Andalucia Masters
Tournament host Sergio Garcia will take a one-shot lead into the final round of the Andalucia Valderrama Masters in Sotogrande, Spain, after shooting a 3-under 68 on Saturday. The Spaniard had six birdies and three bogeys to reach 8 under for the tournament, just ahead of English golfer Daniel Brooks, who shot a 7-under 64 for the best round of the week. Garcia is trying to win his second title at Real Club Valderrama. He won the Andalucia Masters at this venue in 2011.
TENNIS
Venus back in WTA Finals
Venus Williams returns to the year-end WTA Finals for the first time since 2009 and will face Karolina Pliskova today. The top eight players in the world will play in the round-robin event, which also features No. 1 Simona Halep, Garbine Muguruza, Elina Svitolina, Caroline Wozniacki, Jelena Ostapenko and Caroline Garcia. "They're all pretty special," said Williams of her five career appearances in the year-end competition. "Only top eight get here. It's definitely something well-earned." The 37-year-old Williams is the third-oldest player to qualify for the finals. Billie Jean King was 39 in 1983 and Martina Navratilova was 38 in 1994. The fifth-ranked Williams reached two Grand Slam finals this season. She lost to her sister Serena at the Australian Open and to Muguruza in the final at Wimbledon.
MOTOR SPORTS
Bell earns first Xfinity victory
Christopher Bell raced to his first NASCAR Xfinity Series victory Saturday, beating dominant Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Erik Jones after they made contract with four laps left at Kansas Speedway. Bell led for just those four laps, hanging in second place behind Jones for much of the race before sliding in front of him shortly before the collision. After watching his teammate control the race for so long, the finish came as a surprise for Bell. "I didn't think winning was a possibility," Bell said. Jones had drifted to the top of the track before Bell attempted to slide past him underneath. Bell said after the race that he felt he was clear. Jones disagreed, complaining "it's not dirt racing" in a television interview. Jones led 186 laps of 200 laps, and won both of the first two stages. He failed to finish the race.
Hamilton claims GP pole
Lewis Hamilton stormed through qualifying Saturday to grab pole position for the U.S. Grand Prix, with title rival Sebastian Vettel getting a big push on his final lap to grab second. That sets up today's duel in Austin, Texas, as Hamilton chases a possible fourth career season championship. The Mercedes driver holds a 59-point lead over Vettel with four races to go and Vettel will be desperate to push for the victory. Hamilton has dominated the Circuit of the Americas, setting track records Friday and Saturday. He will be chasing his fourth consecutive victory here and fifth overall since 2012.
HOCKEY
Penquins trade for Sheahan
The Pittsburgh Penguins have acquired forward Riley Sheahan and a 2018 fifth-round draft pick from the Detroit Red Wings in exchange for forward Scott Wilson and a 2018 third-round draft pick. Detroit also sent defenseman Ryan Sproul to the New York Rangers for forward Matt Puempel. Sheahan, signed through the 2017-18 season, has no points this season. Sheahan, 25, has 38 goals and 60 assists in 292 career games with Detroit. He was the Red Wings' first-round draft pick in 2010. Wilson, also 25, has 13 goals and 19 assists in 106 games, all with Pittsburgh. He's pointless in three games this season.
Sports on 10/22/2017