BASEBALL
O's Mancini undergoes surgery
Baltimore Orioles star Trey Mancini underwent surgery Thursday to remove a malignant tumor from his colon. The tumor was discovered last week during a colonoscopy, team officials said. Lab results and the timetable for Mancini's recovery will not be known until next week. Mancini left the team on Saturday. The Orioles provided few details at the time, except to say he was slated to undergo "a non-baseball medical procedure." Mancini, who turns 28 on Wednesday, batted .291 with 35 home runs last season while playing the outfield, at first base and as a designated hitter.
FOOTBALL
Packers release TE Graham
The Green Bay Packers have released tight end Jimmy Graham after the 33-year-old veteran spent two seasons with the franchise. Packers General Manager Brian Gutekunst announced the move Thursday. Graham had tweeted out a reference to his "next opportunity'" on Wednesday after ESPN reported his release was imminent. The move creates about $8 million in cap space for the Packers. Graham caught 38 passes for 447 yards and three touchdowns last season. He had 55 receptions for 636 yards and two scores in 2018. The five-time Pro Bowl selection previously played with New Orleans (2010-14) and Seattle (2015-17). Graham has 649 catches for 7,883 yards and 74 touchdowns in 153 career games with 111 starts.
Shofner, former NFL receiver, dies
Del Shofner, the wide receiver who combined with Hall of Fame quarterback Y.A. Tittle to give the New York Giants one of the NFL's most prolific passing threats in the early 1960s, has died. He was 85. A family statement said the five-time Pro Bowl receiver died in Los Angeles on Wednesday of natural causes with his family by his side. Shofner was the Los Angeles Rams' first round draft pick, 11th overall, in the 1957 draft. After spending his rookie season on defense, he was switched to wide receiver the following season and led the league with 1,097 yards receiving. Shofner, a member of the SWC Hall of Fame after a career at Baylor, played 11 seasons in the NFL and retired following the 1967 season.
Titans release Wake, Lewis
The Tennessee Titans have waived linebacker Cameron Wake after one season into what had been a three-year contract. The Titans also announced Thursday they waived running back Dion Lewis, who still had two years left on the contract he signed in March 2018. Wake, who turned 38 on Jan. 30, signed with the Titans last spring after 10 seasons with Miami. The one-time All Pro and five-time Pro Bowl linebacker got 2 1/2 sacks in Tennessee's season-opening win at Cleveland, giving him 100 1/2 for his career. Wake also had a safety in that game. But he didn't have another sack in the next eight games before being placed on injured reserve in late November. Wake was due to count approximately $8.2 million against the salary cap. Lewis signed with the Titans after three seasons with New England, and he played in every game. But Lewis started only seven games in 2018 and one in 2019 as Derrick Henry led the NFL in rushing. The Titans also signed cornerback Chris Milton to a one-year contract. Milton played in six games and was a key special teams contributor after being claimed off waivers from Indianapolis last September. He has played 35 career games after the Colts signed him as an undrafted free agent out of Georgia Tech in 2016.
Dolphins decline Kilgore's option
A person familiar with the decision says the Miami Dolphins have decided not to pick up a contact option on center Daniel Kilgore, and he'll become a free agent next week. The person confirmed the decision to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Thursday because it hadn't been announced. Kilgore started 13 games for the Dolphins last season, when they ranked 27th in offense and went 5-11. The team is expected to have four new starters in the offensive line in 2020.
SLED DOG RACING
Iditarod reaches halfway point
A musher coming off back-to-back wins in another long-distance sled dog race was the first to reach the halfway point of this year's Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. Brent Sass, a native of Minnesota living near the Alaska community of Eureka, arrived late Wednesday with 13 dogs in harness at the checkpoint in Cripple, where Sass said he planned to take his mandatory 24-hour rest period. He said he was pleased with his team's performance, telling the Iditarod Insider, "Everybody is just smooth trotting, and they're doing their job." Sass is the two-time defending champion of the 1,000-mile (1,609-kilometer) Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race, run between Fairbanks and Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada. He won this year's Yukon Quest on Feb. 11. He said most of the dogs on his team are 3- and 4 years old and were part of the two Yukon Quest championship runs. Sass said the Iditarod is a new trail for all but one of his dogs and they're "super excited." For being first to Cripple, Sass won his choice of $3,000 in gold nuggets or a cellphone with a service plan for a year.
OLYMPICS
Russia limited to 10 athletes
Russia's track team was limited to 10 athletes for the Tokyo Olympics and the country's federation was fined $10 million by the sport's governing body on Thursday. World Athletics passed the latest package of sanctions after the Russian track federation's new president accepted charges that fake documents were used under the previous management to give an athlete an alibi for missing a doping test. Russia has been suspended by World Athletics since 2015 for widespread doping, and was threatened with possible expulsion because of the documents case. World Athletics will restart a system to vet Russian competitors and allow them to compete as neutral athletes. They will be limited to 10 athletes at major events like the Olympics, which open July 24, and the European Championships in August. That limit can be raised at the end of 2020 if World Athletics feels Russia is making progress on reforms. For those 10 Olympic spots, priority will be given to eight athletes who are part of an international drug-testing pool run by the Athletics Integrity Unit. They include world champion high jumper Mariya Lasitskene and world champion pole vaulter Anzhelika Sidorova. Russia must pay $5 million of its fine by July 1, with the remainder suspended for two years -- to be paid if the federation commits another anti-doping offense or fails to make what World Athletics considers "meaningful progress."
Sports on 03/13/2020