FOOTBALL
Bills sign LR’s Clay
Tight end Charles Clay (Little Rock Central) is switching teams in the AFC East. The Miami Dolphins decided Thursday against matching the contract offer Clay received from Buffalo, so he will join the Bills after signing their $38 million, five-year deal Tuesday. The Bills confirmed the Dolphins’ decision, announcing they had acquired Clay. The Dolphins had the right to match after giving Clay a transition tag two weeks ago, but they decided the price was too high, and will go with newcomer Jordan Cameron and holdover Dion Sims at tight end. The Dolphins face salary-cap constraints after signing All-Pro defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh to a $114 million, six-year contract last week. Clay started 47 games in four years with Miami after being taken in the sixth round of the 2011 draft. He had 58 catches last season for 605 yards and 3 touchdowns despite knee trouble that hampered him all season. The Bills made Clay one of their top free-agent targets. He traveled to Buffalo by private jet on March 10, the first day of the league’s signing period, and spent several days in the area. Clay is the latest addition to a revamped offense under newly hired coach Rex Ryan. Buffalo acquired running back LeSean McCoy in a trade with Philadelphia on March 3, and signed free-agent receiver Percy Harvin this week.
The Cleveland Browns agreed to terms on a two-year contract with free agent wide receiver Dwayne Bowe, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press. Bowe, who has spent the past eight seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs, was expected to sign the deal on Thursday, said the person who spoke on condition of anonymity because the team has not confirmed the agreement. Bowe, 6-foot-2, 221 pounds, had 60 receptions for 754 yards last season but did not score a touchdown. He led the league with 15 TDs in 2010 and has averaged 66 catches per season. However, Bowe has only scored 13 TDs combined over the past four seasons. The Chiefs released Bowe, 30, last week in attempt to clear some salary cap space. NFL Network first reported Bowe’s deal.
BASEBALL
Yelich agrees to deal
The Marlins have made another long-term investment in their young, talented outfield. Left fielder Christian Yelich agreed to a seven-year contract worth about $49.6 million, a person familiar with the situation said Thursday. The person confirmed the deal to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because it hadn’t been announced. Yelich is expected to sign the agreement this weekend, and a news conference tentatively is planned for Sunday. Yelich, 23, is part of an outfield Miami considers the best in the majors, with $325 million slugger Giancarlo Stanton in right field and Marcell Ozuna in center. Two-thirds of that outfield will be under contract through at least 2021, with the 25-year-old Stanton signing a 13-year agreement in November. Miami has discussed a long-term deal with the 24-year-old Ozuna, who hit 23 home runs last year. Yelich won a Gold Glove and hit .284 with 9 home runs and 54 RBI in his first full major league season last year, when he made $505,000. His base salary this year will be $570,000 before the contract escalates.
SOCCER
2022 Cup final Dec. 18
The final of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar will be on Dec. 18, the country’s national holiday. FIFA confirmed on Thursday in Zurich the date of the world’s most watched sports event more than four years after it controversially chose the tiny Gulf emirate as host. Finally, Qatar got its reward for enduring an investigation into alleged corruption in the bidding process, and a European-led furor over moving the World Cup from its traditional June-July period. In more than seven years, on Dec. 18 — which Qataris recognize as their nation’s founding day in 1878 — the yet-to-be-built Lusail Stadium near Doha will stage the World Cup final. A 28-day tournament kicking off on Monday, Nov. 21, would see the 64 matches played in four fewer days than usual.
MOTOR SPORTS
Talladega to add barriers
Talladega Superspeedway will add SAFER barriers in three places before NASCAR visits in May. Talladega chairman Grant Lynch says the decision comes after an extensive safety review by track owner International Speedway Corp., NASCAR and ARCA. All tracks are being looked at in the wake of Kyle Busch’s crash into a concrete wall last month at Daytona. Busch broke his right leg and left foot when he hit a wall that lacked the energy-absorbing barrier. Talladega will add SAFER barrier before the May 3 race to the inside wall at the entrances to pit road, Turn 1 and Turn 3. Lynch said Talladega will continue to review its safety initiatives and provide updates as circumstances warrant.
BASKETBALL
Boeheim: 2018 right time to retire
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Syracuse Coach Jim Boeheim has always hinted he planned to retire on his own terms.
That moment is at hand and his plan remains intact despite NCAA sanctions marring the end of his career.
In an hour-long news conference Thursday ahead of top teams starting in the NCAA Tournament, Boeheim said that 2018 is the “right time” to retire but acknowledged that next season could be his last as he and the university appeal punishments for academic and benefits violations.
Boeheim said his plan discussed with the university’s chancellor is to retire after three more seasons, but that he will take things year by year.
“I love coaching, and you can coach as long as you can be effective,” said Boeheim, who has served as the head coach at his alma mater since 1976. “I thought I was effective this year. I don’t think I was as good as I would have liked to have been, but I think I was effective.
“If I’m not effective at the end of next year, I won’t coach after next year. The three-year thing is the outside.”
Boeheim said retiring after his team reached the Final Four in 2012 would have been ideal, but the timing wasn’t right. He said he has told recruits he will be here next season but has no firm plans beyond that.
Boeheim said some of the NCAA’s allegations laid out in a scathing 94-page report earlier this month are inaccurate. He called the penalties “unduly harsh” and said the reason he planned to stay on as coach was to make sure the program was in good shape.
The NCAA punished Boeheim and Syracuse for academic issues, benefits and other violations that officials said showed the university had lost control of the athletic department. Athletic Director Daryl Gross has resigned but will remain at the university as a special assistant to the chancellor.
Boeheim is suspended for the first half of the next Atlantic Coast Conference season, a total of nine games. Syracuse also will have three scholarships taken away for four seasons and all victories vacated in which an ineligible player participated during five seasons between 2004 and 2012. The total victories removed from records could be as high as 108 of his 966 victories, depending on what happens in the appeal process. Syracuse has already vacated 24 wins.
In its report, the NCAA also placed Syracuse on probation for five years, saying athletic department officials interfered with academics to make sure star players stayed eligible.