Off the wire

Mike Mularkey
Mike Mularkey

BASEBALL

Giants acquire McCutchen

The San Francisco Giants acquired outfielder Andrew Mc-Cutchen from the Pittsburgh Pirates on Monday for right-hander Kyle Crick, minor league outfielder Bryan Reynolds and $500,000 in international signing bonus allocation. Pittsburgh also will send the Giants cash to cover part of McCutchen’s $14.75 million salary. McCutchen, 31, a former NL MVP and the face of the Pirates’ franchise, became the second star jettisoned by Pittsburgh in three days. Ace Gerrit Cole was traded to Houston on Saturday. McCutchen has played at least 153 games in each of the past three seasons for the Pirates, batting .279 with 28 home runs and 88 RBI in 156 games in 2017. But he has not been an All-Star since 2015, when he was selected for the fifth consecutive season. McCutchen is entering the final season of a six-year, $51.5 million contract he signed in March 2012. Crick, 25, had a 3.06 ERA, 28 strikeouts in 32 1/3 innings and a .191 opponents’ batting average this year in his first big league season, allowing three of 21 inherited runners to score. Reynolds, a 22-year-old switch-hitter, batted .312 with 26 doubles, 9 triples, 10 home runs and 63 RBI at Class A San Jose.

FOOTBALL

Georgia’s Smith to draft

Linebacker Roquan Smith, the leader of a defense that led Georgia to the national championship game, is entering the NFL draft. The decision announced Monday by Smith, the Butkus Award winner, was expected. He enjoyed a strong junior season, which boosted his draft status. Smith was named a first-team All-American and the SEC Defensive Player of the Year by The Associated Press. He led Georgia with 137 tackles, 6½ sacks and 17 quarterback hurries. The 6-foot-1, 225-pound Smith was a game-changer with his speed and instincts and is seen as a possible first-round draft pick. Georgia (13-2) finished No. 2 in the final Top 25 following its 26-23 overtime loss to Alabama in the national championship game. Smith joins defensive tackle Trenton Thompson as key starters on the defense who are bypassing their senior seasons to enter the draft. Thompson announced his decision last week.

TENNIS

Nadal wins opener

Top-ranked Rafael Nadal and No. 3 Grigor Dimitrov opened with routine victories, as did second-seeded Caroline Wozniacki and No. 4 Elina Svitolina on the women’s side at the Australian Open on Monday in Melbourne. Nadal, returning from time out with a sore right knee, had a 6-1, 6-1, 6-1 victory over Victor Estrella Burgos. Local hope Nick Kyrgios beat Rogerio Dutra Silva 6-1, 6-2, 6-4. French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko started with a 6-1, 6-4 victory over 37-year-old Francesca Schiavone, the 2010 French Open winner. Olympic gold medalist Monica Puig saved a match point before recovering for a victory over former U.S. Open champion Sam Stosur. Other seeded players falling included No. 24 Dominika Cibulkova, the 2014 Australian Open finalist, No. 25 Peng Shuai and No. 31 Ekaterina Makarova.

BASKETBALL

Texas Tech fined

The Big 12 fined Texas Tech $25,000 and reprimanded West Virginia forward Wes Harris for hitting a fan who joined thousands of others in storming the court during a weekend postgame celebration. Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowls-by said in a statement Monday that Texas Tech did not ensure the safety and security of West Virginia players following the game in Lubbock, Texas. Videos posted on social media by fans show Harris and other West Virginia players trying to reach the sideline as Red Raider fans swarmed the court Saturday in celebration of No. 8 Texas Tech’s 72-71 victory over then-No. 2 West Virginia. The videos show Harris striking a fan who had run into him before Harris is pulled away. Other players were involved in a separate skirmish trying to protect a teammate in the swarm. Bowlsby noted that although the Big 12 does not have a policy prohibiting spectators from entering the court for postgame celebrations, “it is of utmost importance that home game management provide adequate security measures for our student-athletes, coaches, game officials and spectators.” Harris, a sophomore, is averaging 6.2 points and 4.6 rebounds off the bench. No. 6 West Virginia faced No. 10 Kansas on Monday night in Morgantown, W.Va. Texas Tech plays at Texas on Wednesday.

FOOTBALL

Titans split with Mularkey

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Tennessee Titans and Mike Mularkey couldn’t agree on how to build off the team’s first playoff berth since 2008 and become a true NFL contender.

That job will now fall to a new coach.

The Titans split with Mularkey on Monday after he revived a team with the NFL’s worst record over two seasons and led them to their first playoff victory in 14 years. The Titans announced the move two days after a 35-14 loss to New England in the AFC divisional round.

“It became evident that we saw different paths to achieve greater success,” controlling owner Amy Adams Strunk said.

Mularkey had one year left on his contract and refused to discuss his status Sunday.

But he said he had talked with Strunk and was ready to move “full speed” ahead. Mularkey also defended offensive coordinator Terry Robiskie’s play-calling with quarterback Marcus Mar-iota and said his coaching staff would be back as well.

Strunk said in a statement Monday she talked with Mularkey about extending his contract over the past week since a 22-21 comeback victory against Kansas City in the wild-card round. Mularkey is the first coach let go after winning a playoff game since San Francisco fired Steve Mariucci after the 2002 season.

General Manager Jon Robinson will oversee his first coaching search with the Titans. He was hired two days before Mularkey had the interim title removed in January 2016. The Titans are the seventh NFL team to change coaches since the start of the season.

Robinson said he and Titans president and chief executive officer Steve Underwood told Mularkey on Monday morning

that they had decided to let him go.

Robinson said interviews with candidates could be held as early as this week, though the Titans will only confirm a candidate only after an interview is completed. The general manager declined to comment when asked about Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, saying he couldn’t comment on coaches under contract.

Strunk turned to Mularkey in November 2015 when she fired Ken Whisenhunt after 23 games . Mularkey went 2-7 down the stretch as the Titans finished 3-13 to land the No. 1 overall draft pick in 2016. That capped a 5-27 record over 2014 and 2015 that was the worst in the NFL.

Mularkey led the Titans to back-to-back 9-7 records — their first consecutive winning records since 2007 and 2008. He finished with a 21-22 record after a season in which the Titans cost themselves the AFC South title with a three-game skid in December.

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