Off the wire
GOLF
Rahm ahead by 1
Jon Rahm began with an eagle and kept going lower until he had a 10-under 62 on the North Course at Torrey Pines for a one-shot lead over Justin Rose in the first round Thursday of the Farmers Insurance Open at San Diego. Tiger Woods made his 2019 debut on the tougher South Course and opened with a 70. The conditions were remarkably close to perfect, with virtually no wind and pure greens on the North Course. Rahm knew it was important to start well, and he hit a 5-wood into 6 feet on the par-5 10th hole. He also made eagle on the 17th and shot 29 on the back. Rose also played on the North. Charles Howell III and Brandon Hagy each had 66 for the low score on the South.
Fitzpatrick leads Matthew Fitzpatrick birdied five of his last six holes to shoot a 7-under 65 Thursday and take a one-stroke lead after the first round of the Dubai Desert Classic. Fitzpatrick’s strong finish saw him shoot his lowest score in an opening round since 2015 and break a logjam at the top of the leaderboard, with Sergio Garcia and Bryson DeChambeau among eight players to shoot 66 at Emirates Golf Club. Nine players are a further shot behind after 67s, including Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter. The biggest victory of Fitzpatrick’s career came in Dubai, at the end-of-season World Tour Championship in 2016.
BASEBALL
Dodgers, Pollock agree
A person familiar with the negotiations said free-agent outfielder AJ Pollock and the Los Angeles Dodgers have agreed to a $55 million, four-year contract. The person spoke Thursday on condition of anonymity because the agreement has not been announced. The deal includes a $10 million player option for 2023 with a $5 million buyout that would make the deal worth over $60 million during the four years. Pollock gives the Dodgers a right-handed bat to complement its deep lineup. The 31-year-old outfielder hit .257 last year with 21 home runs, 65 RBI and 13 stolen
bases in 113 games for NL West rival Arizona.
Cubs, Brach set terms
Free-agent reliever Brad Brach and the Chicago Cubs have agreed to a one-year contract that guarantees $4.35 million, according to a person familiar with the situation. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because the deal has not been announced. Brach and the Cubs have options for 2020. The right-hander had 12 saves and a 3.59 ERA in 69 games for Baltimore and Atlanta last season. He posted a 1.52 ERA over 27 appearances following a trade to the Braves. Brach has a career 3.08 ERA and 33 saves. The Cubs need bullpen help with closer Brandon Morrow likely missing the start of the season while recovering from elbow surgery.
Strickland to Mariners Jerry Dipoto wouldn’t announce the signing Thursday, but the Seattle Mariners’ general manager basically confirmed that it was going to happen. Just minutes before he was set to take the dais at the Mariners’ annual pre-spring training luncheon Thursday morning, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic tweeted that Seattle had reached an agreement with free-agent reliever Hunter Strickland on a one-year contract. Major League Baseball sources confirmed the report that the Mariners and Strickland were in agreement. He would have to pass a physical before the deal is finalized. Strickland posted a 3-5 record with a 3.97 ERA and 14 saves in 49 appearances in 2018 with the Giants. His season was interrupted on June 22 when he suffered a broken right hand after punching a door in a fit of rage.
FOOTBALL
Spagnuolo new Chiefs’ DC The Kansas City Chiefs are hiring Steve Spagnuolo as their defensive coordinator, moving swiftly to replace Bob Sutton after his unit’s dismal performance against the New England Patriots in the AFC title game. Spagnuolo began his coaching career as Chiefs Coach Andy Reid’s assistant in Philadelphia, where he worked with several position groups over the course of eight seasons. He left to become the New York Giants’ defensive coordinator, and has held similar roles with the New Orleans Saints and Baltimore Ravens. He’s best known for his two stints as head coach, though. Spagnuolo went 1038 over three seasons with the St. Louis Rams and 1-3 as the Giants’ interim coach during the 2017 season. Spagnuolo spent last season out of coaching. Sutton was fired Tuesday, two days after his defense collapsed in the fourth quarter and overtime in a 37-31 loss to New England. The Chiefs failed to stop the Patriots in OT, meaning star quarterback Patrick Mahomes never got an opportunity to step on the field.
Harbaugh gets new deal
Baltimore Ravens Coach John Harbaugh has received a new fouryear contract following a season in which he guided Baltimore to the AFC North title. The new deal is designed to keep the winningest coach in Ravens history under contract through the 2022 season. It replaces a pact that was slated to end after next year. Harbaugh, 56, took over as Ravens coach in 2008. Under his guidance, the team has reached the playoffs seven times and won a Super Bowl. His record in Baltimore is 114-78, including 10-6 in the postseason. Among current NFL coaches, Harbaugh has the fourth-longest tenure in the league.
Newton has surgery Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton had an arthroscopic procedure on his right shoulder Thursday, the team announced. The procedure was performed by Panthers team physician Dr. Pat Connor. Newton went on the team’s weekly injury report in Week 8 with shoulder soreness, and was limited in practices for the rest of the year. He did not play the final two games of the season, and did not participate in practices those weeks. It is the second shoulder surgery for Newton in three years. He had surgery to fix a partially-torn rotator cuff in March 2017. An arthroscopic procedure generally does not indicate that major repair was needed. According to the Panthers, Newton’s rehabilitation process will begin immediately. The team did not announce a recovery timetable.
BASKETBALL
Oladipo out for season The Indiana Pacers have lost AllStar guard Victor Oladipo with a season-ending ruptured quad tendon in his right knee. Oladipo was injured during Wednesday night’s 110-106 victory over Toronto and left the court on a stretcher with 4:05 left in the first half. Team officials acknowledged during the game that the injury was serious but waited until after the results of Thursday’s MRI returned to announce how much time he would miss. Coach Nate McMillan said he was unsure when Oladipo would have surgery or whether he would be ready for the start of next season. Oladipo led the Pacers in scoring at 19.2 points per game, was a first-team all-NBA defensive selection last season and one of the Pacers’ co-captains.
MOTOR SPORTS
Jarvis sets record Oliver Jarvis broke a 26-yearold record at Daytona International Speedway in putting the Mazda DPi from Team Joest on the pole for the Rolex 24 at Daytona. Jarvis went to the top of the scoring chart early in Thursday’s qualifying session with a lap at 1 minute, 33.685 seconds. It broke the mark by two-tenths of a second set by P.J. Jones in 1993 in a GTP-class Toyota. Team Penske qualified second and third for the 24-hour endurance race that begins Saturday. Ricky Taylor earned the second spot in Penske’s Acura ARX-05, while teammate Juan Pablo Montoya was third in his first time qualifying the sports car for the organization. Team Joest wound up first and fourth on the starting grid with Jonathan Bomarito putting its second car on the second row. Felipe Nasr had the fastest Cadillac DPi-V.R in fifth for Action Express Racing. In the GT Le Mans class, Nick Tandy put a Porsche on the pole. Also in GT LM, former Little Rock resident John Edwards qualified seventh in a BMW M8 GTE. Also driving for the team is former CART and Formula One driver Alex Zanardi, who lost his legs in a 2001 crash. Marcos Gomes gave Via Italia’s Ferrari 488 the pole in the GT Daytona class.