NFL
A record 98 underclassmen declare for NFL draft
NEW YORK – A record 98 underclassmen, including Johnny Manziel and Jadeveon Clowney, have made themselves eligible for the NFL draft in May.
The league released the list of early entrants Sunday and said the number has risen six consecutive seasons. The deadline to apply was Jan. 15.
Last year, 73 underclassmen entered the draft. The year before it was 65, and in 2011 it was 56.
Also, four players who recently graduated and still have eligibility left are joining the draft class but aren’t included in the number. Most notable among those is Louisville quarterback Teddy Bridgewater. Southern California defensive back Dion Bailey, Arizona State linebacker Carl Bradford and Alabama linebacker Adrian Hubbard also are juniors who have informed the league they have graduated.
Among the early entrants expected to be selected near the top of the draft are Manziel, the Texas A&M quarterback, Clowney, the defensive end from South Carolina, and Clemson receiver Sammy Watkins.
Hockey
Crosby to captain Canada; Toews, Weber the alternates
OTTAWA, Ontario – “Sid the Kid” is now “Captain Canada.”
Pittsburgh Penguins star Sidney Crosby, who lifted his home country to gold in Vancouver four years ago, will captain the Canadian hockey team in Sochi.
“You hear names being kind of thrown around,” Crosby said. “There’s so many leaders and so many guys capable of leading by example. It’s just an honor.”
The 26-year-old currently leads the NHL in scoring and has become the face of both the NHL and hockey in Canada.
The Chicago Blackhawks’ Jonathan Toews and the Nashville Predators’ Shea Weber will be alternate captains, Hockey Canada announced Sunday.
Golf
Reed finds his putting touch just in time for a victory
LA QUINTA, Calif. – Patrick Reed lost his putting touch for a few hours in the final round of the Humana Challenge. He found it when things were getting interesting.
After shooting three consecutive 9-under 63s to open a seven-stroke lead, Reed had a 1-under 71 on Sunday at PGA West’s Arnold Palmer Private Course to beat Ryan Palmer by two strokes.
ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates – Spain’s Pablo Larrazabal shot a final round 67 to end a near three-year winless drought to capture the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship on Sunday.
World Cup Skiing
This time, France’s Pinturault finishes slalom – and wins
WENGEN, Switzerland – Alexis Pinturault of France soared from seventh place after the first run to win a World Cup slalom on Sunday.
Pinturault was almost a half-second faster than everyone else in the afternoon to finish 0.34 ahead of Felix Neureuther of Germany. First-run leader Marcel Hirscher of Austria was third, trailing 0.63 behind Pinturault’s total time of 1 minute 42.87 seconds.
Despite his precocious talent, the 22-year-old Pinturault had failed to complete five consecutive slalom events until taking a 23rd place one week ago at nearby Adelboden.
Women’s downhill postponed again because of heavy snow
CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy – Heavy overnight snowfall forced organizers to postpone Sunday’s women’s World Cup downhill.
The race already had been postponed from Saturday in place of a super-G, and both races will be made up in the coming days
Cortina also will host speed races next weekend because of a lack of snow in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany.
The new schedule calls for a super-G Thursday, downhills Friday and Saturday and a super-G Sunday.
These races are the final events skiers have to qualify for next month’s Sochi Olympics.
The forecast called for continued snowfall in Cortina until Tuesday.
Associated Press
