Brantley nears return to Astros

Astros outfielder Michael Brantley started a minor-league rehab assignment with Triple-A Sugar Land as he works his way back from right shoulder surgery last August.

The 36-year-old World Series champion and former Indian last played for the Astros on June 26 last year and was hitting .288 with 14 doubles, five homers and 26 RBI in 64 games before going on the injured list.

Brantley appeared to be close to a return in May before an MRI revealed inflammation in his surgically repaired shoulder.

“You rehab all offseason, put in the work every single day and do everything the right way and sometimes it just doesn’t work out to your favor,” Brantley said in May. “But at the same time, I won’t stop. I’ll keep my head down, continue to keep working and be out there as soon as I can with these guys.”

Brantley, in his fifth season with Houston, signed a $12 million, oneyear deal in December to remain with the club.

Soccer NEYMAR SIGNS WITH SAUDI SIDE >>

Neymar became the latest superstar soccer player to take the riches on offer from the Saudi Pro League, completing a move to Al Hilal after six seasons at Paris Saint-Germain.

The clubs reached an agreement on the transfer of the Brazil forward for a reported 90 million euros ($98 million), a record for a league that is now financially backed by the oil-rich state.

Al Hilal, a record 18time national champion, is one of four Saudi clubs effectively nationalized by the Public Investment

Fund (PIF), the sovereign wealth fund that claims assets of about $700 billion.

The 31-year-old Neymar signed a two-year contract that is expected to earn him an annual salary of about $100 million. That would be around half of the reported salary being taken home by Cristiano Ronaldo, who plays for Al Nassr and whose move to Saudi in January sparked a slew of transfers to the kingdom by players like Karim Benzema, N’Golo Kante, Riyad Mahrez and Jordan Henderson.

“I have achieved a lot in Europe and enjoyed special times, but I have always wanted to be a global player and test myself with new challenges and opportunities in new places,” Neymar said.

College football

KANSAS SET TO RENOVATE FACILITIES >> The University of Kansas will begin sweeping renovations to Memorial Stadium and the Anderson Family Football Complex at the end of the football season, representing the first steps toward a new multi-use district on the edge of campus.

The school said that it has set an initial fundraising goal of $300 million for the football changes and upgrades to Allen Fieldhouse, the historic home of the Jayhawks’ basketball programs, which have already begun. The school said private funds will cover most of the project, and it already has secured about $165 million in gifts and commitments.

The school also received $35 million in ARPA funds appropriated by the Kansas legislature and will receive up to $50 million through the Kansas Department of Commerce’s University Challenge Grant program.