BASEBALL
Yankees trade for Taillon
The New York Yankees made a second offseason addition to their starting rotation, acquiring right-hander Jameson Taillon from the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday for four prospects. Pittsburgh received right-handers Roansy Contreras and Miguel Yajure, infielder Maikol Escotto and outfielder Canaan Smith. Taillon, 29, would join a rotation headed by his former Pirates teammate Gerrit Cole. Taillon was 2-3 with a 4.10 ERA in seven starts during the 2019 season, when he started on opening day for the Pirates. He did not pitch after May 1, going on the injured list with a strained right elbow flexor tendon. Taillon is 29-24 with a 3.67 ERA in four major league seasons.
Nationals set to sign closer
All-Star closer Brad Hand has agreed to a deal with the Washington Nationals, according to a person with knowledge of the deal. The 30-year-old left-hander is poised to become Washington's closer after leading the majors with 16 saves during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. Hand joins the back end of the bullpen that already includes Will Harris, Daniel Hudson and Tanner Rainey.
FOOTBALL
Tight end Olsen retires
Veteran tight end Greg Olsen is retiring from the NFL to become a broadcaster. Olsen announced Sunday that he is ending his 14-year career to join Fox as a game analyst. The first tight end with three consecutive 1,000-yard seasons, Olsen, 35, played for the Bears, Panthers and Seahawks. A 2007 first-round draft pick by the Bears, Olsen spent his first four pro seasons in Chicago before being traded to Carolina for a third-round selection. It was one of the better transactions the Panthers have made. In his nine seasons with Carolina, Olsen made three Pro Bowls and one Super Bowl and had 524 catches for 6,463 yards and 39 touchdowns. Olsen spent his final season in Seattle, making 24 receptions and scoring once. Overall, he made 742 receptions for 8,683 yards and 60 TDs.
GOLF
Hatton wins at Abu Dhabi
Englishman Tyrrell Hatton shot a sparkling 6-under par in the final round on Sunday to win the season-opening Abu Dhabi Championship by four strokes after overnight leader Rory McIlroy faded with an uninspired even-par 72 to drop into third. Hatton carded a closing 66 to finish 18 under par and secure a sixth European Tour title, a victory that will go a long way towards securing a second Ryder Cup appearance in September. Australia's Jason Scrivener recorded an eagle and five birdies in a back nine 29 to claim second place on 14 under, with McIlroy a shot further back following a disappointing final round.
HOCKEY
Hall of Famer Armstrong dies
George Armstrong, who captained the Toronto Maple Leafs to four Stanley Cups in the 1960s, has died. He was 90. His death was announced Sunday by the Maple Leafs, who said he died of heart complications, citing his family. Armstrong had 296 goals and 417 assists over 21 seasons for the Leafs, including 12 seasons as team captain, and remains the franchise's leader in games played, variously listed at 1,187 or 1,888. The right wing had 26 goals and 34 assists in 110 playoff games. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1975. Some 41 years later, Armstrong was voted No. 12 on the franchise's list of 100 greatest Maple Leafs in its centennial season.
WINTER SPORTS
American earns bronze in luge
Thomas Steu and Lorenz Koller of Austria clinched the World Cup luge doubles overall championship Sunday, while Natalie Geisenberger of Germany moved even closer to what could be her eighth women's season-long title. It also was a big day for USA Luge: Summer Britcher gave the Americans their first World Cup medal of the season, grabbing a bronze in the women's race. Steu and Koller finished second in a sprint race, giving them enough points to earn the crown and become the first non-German sled to win the doubles season title since fellow Austrians Andreas Linger and Wolfgang Linger won the trophy nine seasons ago.
Super G goes to Swiss skier
Lara Gut-Behrami mastered a tricky World Cup super-G on Sunday where several top racers were caught out at two jumps. On a picture postcard 27-degree day in the Swiss Alps, home favorite Gut-Behrami finished 0.93 seconds faster than Tamara Tippler. Federica Brignone, the defending overall World Cup champion, was 1.02 back in third. Five of the top 20 highest-ranked starters skied out or were disqualified, including Sofia Goggia who won downhills on the Mont Lachaux slope the previous two days. Gut-Behrami now has 14 of her 28 career World Cup wins in super-G.
Feuz first in men's downhill
For the second time in three days, Beat Feuz triumphed in a race that he had unsuccessfully tried to win for a decade. The Swiss skier won this weekend's second men's World Cup downhill in Kitzbuhel, Austria, Sunday, repeating his victory from two days earlier. The back-to-back wins came after Feuz, who first raced here in 2010, finished runner-up in the traditional race four times in the past five seasons. No Swiss skier had won Austria's signature ski race since Didier Cuche earned the last of his five victories here in 2012.