BASKETBALL
Luka Samanic had 31 points and 10 rebounds, while Scottie Lindsey had 32 points as the Maine Celtics cruised to their fifth straight NBA GLeague win, beat the Greensboro Swarm 120-106 in Greensboro, North Carolina.
Tony Snell added 16 points and 10 rwebounds, while Denzel Valentine and JD Davison both had 10 points for the Celtics. Both had eight assists.
James Bouknight had 24 points, while Jalen Crutcher and Kai Jones each had 16 points for Greensboro.
HOCKEY
ECHL: Wade Murphy scored in the first period and Justin Misiak in the third as the Idaho Steelheads beat the Maine Mariners, 2-0, in Boise, Idaho.
Michael DiPietro made 34 saves for Maine, which has lost two straight.
GOLF
PGA TOUR: Chris Kirk shot an 8-under 62 in the second round, moving him to 9 under for the week and one shot behind Justin Suh (64) at the Honda Classic’s midway point. Kirk had an eagle and six birdies, hitting 16 greens and taking advantage of no wind blowing in the morning – very rare for PGA National in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.
Suh had four consecutive birdies on holes 8 through 11, rolling in putts from 5, 15, 25 and 30 feet in that span, to post a 36-hole total of 10-under 130.
There was no shortage of players taking dead aim. Ryan Gerard (63) and Ben Taylor (65) were tied for third at 8 under. Ben Martin (64), Eric Cole (66) and Brice Garnett (64) were all another shot back.
EUROPEAN TOUR: Yannik Paul extended his lead to five strokes after two rounds of the Indian Open in New Delhi.
The No. 119-ranked German began the day with a one-shot lead before his 3-under 69 at DLF Golf and Country Club in New Delhi.
Paul made four birdies against one bogey to reach 10 under overall.
India’s Angad Cheema was in a four-way tie for second on 5 under overall with Marcel Siem of Germany, Gudmundur Kristjansson of Iceland, and Mikko Korhonen of Finland.
Honey Baisoya of India and Joost Luiten of the Netherlands were six shots off the lead.
LPGA: Natthakritta Vongtaveelap finished strongly with six birdies on the back nine to take a one-shot lead over Maja Stark after a 7-under 65 in the second round at the LPGA Thailand in Pattaya, Thailand.
The 20-year-old Thai had two birdies against a bogey on the front nine holes before six more birdies, including four straight on Nos. 12-15, for 12-under 132 overall at Siam Country Club.
LIV: Paul Casey birdied his last three holes for a 6-under 65 and a share of the lead with Jason Kokrak as the second season of Saudi-funded LIV Golf began at Mayakoba in Playa Del Carmen, Mexico.
FOOTBALL
NFL: Backup quarterback C.J. Beathard signed a two-year contract extension with the Jacksonville Jaguars, keeping him from hitting free agency next month.
Beathard spent the last two seasons as Trevor Lawrence’s backup. He played in six games, with most of the work coming in mop-up duty. He’s 2-10 as an NFL starter, with all 12 starts coming during his three seasons with San Francisco.
• Brian Schottenheimer is taking over as offensive coordinator for Dallas, with the Cowboys still planning on coach Mike McCarthy taking on play-calling duties.
Schottenheimer’s move from consultant to Kellen Moore’s replacement was announced along with the rest of the changes to McCarthy’s staff.
The 49-year-old Schottenheimer joined the Dallas staff last season after a season as passing game coordinator in Jacksonville that followed a three-year stint as the offensive coordinator for Russell Wilson in Seattle.
• The Kansas City Chiefs promoted Matt Nagy to offensive coordinator to replace the departed Eric Bieniemy, giving him the job he held before departing Andy Reid’s staff for an opportunity as the head coach in Chicago.
Nagy spent two seasons directing the Chiefs’ offense with Alex Smith at quarterback. He then spent four seasons with the Bears, going 34-31 in the regular season and winning the NFC North in 2018, before he was fired after a 6-11 season in 2021. He returned to the Chiefs as their quarterbacks coach.
SOCCER
MLS: The union for Major League Soccer players criticized FIFA, its rules-making body and the league for failing to allow trials of temporary substitutes to replace players suspected of sustaining concussions.
The International Football Association Board said Jan. 18 that no consensus was reached on the proposal for trials by MLS and England’s Premier League. The IFAB includes four representatives from FIFA and one each from the governing bodies of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The union maintained current rules “do not provide sufficient time for the proper assessment of players for potential concussions.”
• A Major League Soccer season-opening match between the LA Galaxy and the defending champion Los Angeles Football Club set for Saturday at the Rose Bowl has been postponed due to severe weather in Southern California.
The league and the teams said they have not determined when the game will be rescheduled.
Southern California has been pounded by heavy rain and wind. It could also be hit with as much as 5 feet of snow in the higher elevations.
TENNIS
DUBAI CHAMPIONSHIP: Top-ranked Iga Swiatek stayed undefeated against Coco Gauff, beating the American teenager 6-4, 6-2 to reach the final at the Dubai Championships in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
The three-time Grand Slam champion improved to 6-0 against the 18-year-old Gauff, and each victory has been in straight sets. The Pole beat Gauff in last year’s French Open final.
Swiatek will face Barbora Krejcikova, the 2021 French Open champion, in the final on Saturday. Krejcikova beat No. 3 Jessica Pegula of the United States 6-1, 5-7, 6-0 in Friday’s other semifinal.
OLYMPICS
DOPING: The Russian anti-doping agency has filed an appeal in the case of Kamila Valieva, the Court of Arbitration for sport said, but it has asked for the teenage figure skater to be punished with as little as a reprimand and keep her Olympic gold medal.
CAS confirmed registering three separate appeals – from the Russian agency known as RUSADA, the World Anti-Doping Agency and the International Skating Union. The appeals could now be combined into a single process to decide a case that overshadowed last year’s Beijing Olympics.
WADA previously said it was asking CAS to impose a four-year ban. The ISU has requested a punishment at its discretion.
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