BASEBALL
Altuve, Astros reach deal
Jose Altuve and the Houston Astros agreed to a $125 million, five-year contract through the 2029 season. Houston announced a new multiyear deal for Altuve on Tuesday without disclosing financial details. Altuve has a $26 million salary for 2024 in the final season of a $163.5 million, seven-year deal. The eight-time All-Star second baseman would have been eligible for free agency after this year's World Series. His new agreement includes a $15 million signing bonus, payable upon the contract's approval by Major League Baseball, a person familiar with the terms told The Associated Press. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because those details were not announced. A three-time batting champion and the 2017 American League MVP, the 33-year-old Altuve hit .311 with 15 homers, 51 RBI and 14 stolen bases in 90 games last season.
GYMNASTICS
Douglas back in competition
Gabby Douglas, the 2012 Olympic all-around gymnastics champion, will return to competition for the first time in nearly eight years at the Winter Cup in Louisville, Ky., on Feb. 24. Douglas, 28, who made the announcement on NBC News NOW on Tuesday, was a teenager when she competed in London and became the first Black woman to win the Olympic title. She hasn't competed since helping the U.S. win team gold at the 2016 Olympics. The three-time Olympic gold medalist went on an extended sabbatical after the Rio de Janeiro games but returned to training in 2022 and announced last summer she would try to make the 2024 Olympic team. "I never announced a retirement," Douglas told NBC. "I didn't want to end this sport like I did in 2016. I wanted to take a step back and work on myself and my mental state." Douglas joins a crowded and decorated field hoping to make the five-woman Olympic squad, including 2016 Olympic champion Simone Biles and 2020 Olympic champion Sunisa Lee. Douglas said she is "definitely" pointing toward Paris but added she is taking things one day at a time.
FOOTBALL
NIL restrictions stay for now
A judge on Tuesday kept in place for now the NCAA's rules prohibiting name, image and likeness compensation from being used as a recruiting inducement, denying a request for a temporary restraining order by the states of Tennessee and Virginia. The attorneys general of those states filed a federal antitrust lawsuit in the Eastern District of Tennessee last week that challenged the NCAA's NIL rules, after it was revealed the University of Tennessee was under investigation by the association for potential infractions. The states asked for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction, saying immediate action was needed to keep the NCAA from standing in the way of recruits monetizing their fame. U.S. District Judge Clifton Corker wrote that the states have failed to demonstrate that recruits would be irreparably harmed if the temporary restraining order was not granted.
Raiders hire Bears' OC
The Las Vegas Raiders hired former Chicago Bears offensive coordinator Luke Getsy on Tuesday, going to their second option after Kliff Kingsbury withdrew from consideration Saturday. New Raiders Ccoach Antonio Pierce will be looking for Getsy to help turn around an offense that this past season was 27th in yards per game (289.5) and 23rd in scoring (19.5-point average). But Getsy, 39, was fired by the Bears after Chicago tied for 18th with 21.2 points per game, just five spots ahead of Las Vegas.
BASKETBALL
So. Miss coach hospitalized
Southern Mississippi men's Coach Jay Ladner was hospitalized Tuesday after suffering what the school described as a "heart-related medical emergency." School officials said Ladner is expected to make a full recovery, but will step away from the team for now. Associate head coach Juan Cardona will act as head coach while Ladner recuperates. Ladner, 48, is in his fifth season at Southern Mississippi and has a 61-84 record.