College Football
IRVING, Texas – Former Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer, Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith and Robert Morris University President Chris Howard have been added to the College Football Playoff selection committee.
The three new members will begin three-year terms next season. College Football Playoff Executive Director Bill Hancock also announced in a statement Tuesday that Texas Tech AD Kirby Hocutt will return next season as the committee chairman and his term will run through February 2018.
DENVER – The Colorado Rockies agreed to a one-year deal with utility player Alexi Amarista.
Amarista hit .257 with 11 RBIs and nine stolen bases last season for the San Diego Padres. He played all over the field, too, seeing time at second base, shortstop, outfield, third base and even recording an out as a pitcher.
The 27-year-old Amarista is another versatile piece for the Rockies as he reunites with new Rockies manager Bud Black.
Amarista is a career .230 hitter over six seasons with the Padres and the Los Angeles Angels, who signed him as an amateur free agent in 2007.
SAN DIEGO – First baseman Wil Myers and the San Diego Padres finalized an $83 million, six-year contract, the largest deal in the team’s history.
The 26-year-old Myers hit 28 homers and drove in 94 runs last season and also stole 28 bases.
Myers, who had been eligible for salary arbitration, receives a $15 million signing bonus, of which $1 million is payable within 15 days of the deal’s approval by the commissioner’s office, $5.5 million on Nov. 15, 2018, and $8.5 million on Nov. 15, 2019.
He gets salaries of $2 million apiece in the next two seasons, $3 million in 2019 and $20 million in each of the final three years.
ARLINGTON, Texas – Josh Hamilton will get another shot with the Texas Rangers.
The Rangers said Tuesday they agreed to a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training for the oft-injured 2010 AL MVP.
The 35-year-old Hamilton had his best years in Texas as a five-time All-Star, including trips to the World Series in 2010-11.
Hamilton was released in August, closing the books on a $125 million, five-year deal signed with the Los Angeles Angels in free agency in 2012.
The Angels traded Hamilton back to Texas after two injury-plagued years. The outfielder played just 50 games in two more seasons with the Rangers, missing all of last year with a left knee injury that required surgery.
NBA
LOS ANGELES – Chris Paul will undergo surgery on Wednesday to repair a torn ligament in his left thumb and is expected to miss six to eight weeks.
The Clippers are 26-9 in 36 games with Paul in the lineup this season. He is averaging 17.5 points, 9.7 assists and 5.3 rebounds, and leads the NBA with 2.25 steals per game.
Skiing
GENEVA – Two of skiing’s biggest stars will miss next month’s world championships because of season-ending surgery.
Ted Ligety of the United States and Aksel Lund Svindal of Norway – each with five career world titles – both announced they will focus on returning next season.
Ligety’s persistent back problem has denied him a chance to win a fourth consecutive giant slalom title. He is expected to have surgery imminently.
Associated Press
