Brief Sports News

SOCCER

LONDON (AP) Leicester secured a first Premier League title without playing after second-place Tottenham drew 2-2 at Chelsea in one of the biggest triumphs by an underdog in sports.

Leicester was playing in the second tier only two years ago, came close to being relegated again last year and started this season facing 5,000-1 odds for the title. Now for the first time in their 132-year history Leicester is champion of England after establishing an insurmountable seven-point lead over Tottenham with two games remaining.

The Foxes missed a chance to seal the title on Sunday when they were held by Manchester United. Tottenham had to win at Chelsea to keep its bid for a first title since 1961 alive.

Leicester will collect the trophy on Saturday when it hosts Everton at the King Power Stadium. English soccer has not had a maiden champion of the top flight since Nottingham Forest in 1978. And for the last 20 years the Premier League trophy has never left London or Manchester, with Arsenal, Chelsea, United and City sharing the trophy between them.

 

BASEBALL

BOSTON (AP) – Boston Red Sox third baseman Pablo Sandoval, a $95 million free agent who lost his starting job before going on the disabled list, will have exploratory surgery on his left shoulder to determine the source of the injury.

The team announced the procedure will be performed in Florida by Dr. James Andrews, a specialist in repairing ligaments. The Red Sox said they had no timetable for Sandoval’s return, but ESPN reported that the two-time All-Star is expected to miss the rest of the season.

 

BALTIMORE (AP) – Baltimore Orioles shortstop J.J. Hardy will be sidelined for at least a month with a hairline fracture in his left foot.

The injury occurred Sunday, when Hardy fouled a ball off his foot in the fourth inning against the Chicago White Sox. Baltimore was off Monday. Manager Buck Showalter said he expected Hardy to be out 4-6 weeks.

 

CINCINNATI (AP) – The Cincinnati Reds put catcher Devin Mesoraco on the 15-day disabled list on Monday after an MRI detected a torn labrum in his left shoulder.

It’s the second straight season that he’s had a significant injury. Mesoraco missed most of last season with a hip injury that required surgery. He was limited to playing only a few days in a row during his return this season. His non-throwing shoulder bothered him last week, forcing him to sit out a weekend series in Pittsburgh and get an exam when the team returned home.

 

NEW YORK (AP) – Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Josh Ravin was suspended for 80 games following a positive test under Major League Baseball’s drug program.

Ravin is the eighth player suspended this year under the big league program and the fourth in three weeks. He tested positive for Growth Hormone Releasing Peptide 2 (GHRP-2), the commissioner’s office said. Ravin blamed the positive test on a supplement he took during spring training after a bout with intestinal flu and strep throat caused him to lose 20 pounds in about a week.

 

PRO FOOTBALL

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) – Former San Francisco 49er Dana Stubblefield was charged with the rape of a ”developmentally delayed” woman, prosecutors announced.

The Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office said Stubblefield, a former defensive lineman for the San Francisco 49ers and Oakland Raiders, allegedly assaulted the woman on April 9, 2015, at his Morgan Hill home after interviewing her for a baby-sitting job. He is charged with five felony counts and faces a ”substantial prison sentence” if convicted. A day before the assault, Stubblefield contacted the then 31-year-old woman on a baby-sitting website and arranged an interview, prosecutors said.

 

NEW YORK (AP) – The New York Jets exercised their fifth-year option on defensive lineman Sheldon Richardson, keeping him under contract with the team through the 2017 season.

The team also announced that it declined the option, as expected, on oft-injured cornerback Dee Milliner, meaning the 2013 first-round draft pick can become a free agent after this season.

 

PITTSBURGH (AP) – Looks like there’s still a little fuel left James Harrison’s tank after all.

The five-time Pro Bowl linebacker announced on his verified Instagram that he plans on returning to the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2016. Harrison posted a picture of his familiar No. 92 jersey emerging from a smoke-filled tunnel with a caption that read: ”I’m back.”

”I’ll be 38 on Wednesday and I’m feeling just like a fine wine. Getting better with age,” Harrison wrote.

Harrison finished with five sacks in 2015, but said after Pittsburgh’s loss to Denver in the playoffs that he needed time to figure out if he wanted to come back for a 14th season.

 

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – The Kansas City Chiefs have exercised their fifth-year option on left tackle Eric Fisher, which means the former No. 1 overall draft pick is scheduled to make $11.9 million during the 2017 season.

Fisher had a disappointing first two seasons in the NFL, and some were quick to label the Central Michigan product a bust. But the 6-foot-7, 305-pound lineman appeared to break through last season, even shutting down Texans star pass rusher J.J. Watt during their playoff game.

ASHBURN, Va. (AP) – Chris Culliver’s time with the Washington Redskins lasted all of six games.

Redskins general manager Scot McCloughan told the injured cornerback that he was being released after the team signed Josh Norman as a free agent and took Kendall Fuller in the third round of the NFL draft. Culliver signed a four-year deal as a free agent a year ago, but he tore the ACL and MCL ligaments in his right knee during practice on Thanksgiving Day.

 

GOLF

AVONDALE, La. (AP) – Brian Stuard beat Jamie Lovemark on the second hole of a playoff Monday to capture his first PGA Tour win at the water-logged Zurich Classic.

Stuard never bogeyed a hole throughout the tournament on the long (7,425-yard), par-72 TPC Louisiana course, which was drenched with more than 4 1/2 inches of rain during the tournament. Weather delays on Thursday, Saturday and Sunday not only forced a Monday finish but also led officials to shorten the tournament to 54 holes. Lovemark, Stuard and Byeong-Hun An entered the playoff at 15 under par.

 

PENN STATE ABUSE

BELLEFONTE, Pa. (AP) – Jerry Sandusky’s effort to get his child molestation convictions thrown out ran into tough questioning from a judge who voiced doubt about defense lawyers are entitled to question witnesses – including some of the former Penn State assistant football coach’s victims.

Judge John Cleland pressed Sandusky attorney Al Lindsay about whether there is sufficient basis for him to allow an evidentiary hearing now, nearly four years after a jury found Sandusky guilty of 45 sex-abuse counts.

Sandusky, wearing an orange prison jumpsuit, took no active role in the hearing that lasted about an hour. On his way into the courthouse, he told reporters to ”read what has been written.” The 72-year-old ex-coach is serving 30 to 60 years in state prison. He has maintained his innocence.