FOOTBALL
Azeez Al-Shaair of the Houston Texans took to X on Monday morning to apologize to Trevor Lawrence of the Jacksonville Jaguars after his violent blow to the quarterback's facemask led to Lawrence being carted off the field with a concussion.
Back in the starting lineup after missing two games with a sprained left shoulder, Lawrence scrambled left on a second-and-7 play in the second quarter of Houston's 23-20 win Sunday. He initiated a slide before Al-Shaair raised his forearm and unleashed on the defenseless quarterback.
In the long post, Al-Shaair, who was ejected for the hit, first said he didn't see Lawrence sliding until "it was too late" and that it happened "in the blink of an eye" before saying he was sorry. "To Trevor I genuinely apologize to you for what ended up happening," Al-Shaair wrote. "Before the game we spoke and I told you how great it was to see you back out on the field and wished you well. I would never want to see any player hurt because of a hit I put on them, especially one that was ruled 'late' or 'unnecessary.' "
* Hall of Fame wide receiver Randy Moss, 47, revealed he's dealing with a health issue and asked fans to pray for him and his family. In an announcement on Instagram, Moss directed urged men to get checkups and bloodwork done, without specifying for any particular illness.
* Aaron Rodgers will remain the New York Jets' starting quarterback despite speculation he could be benched in what has been a disappointing season.
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FIGURE SKATING
GRAND PRIX: World pairs champions Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps of Canada withdrew from the Grand Prix final at Grenoble, France, because Deschamps is recovering from an illness and unable to compete.
Rebecca Ghilardi and Filippo Ambrosini of Italy will replace them. The competition begins Thursday with the pairs short program, and medals will be decided after the pairs free skate Friday night.
BASKETBALL
WNBA: An expanded WNBA with more games and a new franchise will tip off May 16. The league extended its schedule to 44 games this year, up from 40, with the addition of the expansion Golden State Valkyries. The new team, which has over 20,000 season ticket deposits, will play its inaugural game at home on opening night against Los Angeles.
The Indiana Fever will host the league's All-Star Game on July 19.
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GOLF
LPGA: Mollie Marcoux Samaan is resigning in January as commissioner, a surprise announcement after record growth in prize money along with criticism the LPGA wasn't gaining in popularity during the surge in women's sports.
Marcoux Samaan will leave Jan. 9, three weeks before the LPGA begins its 75th season. Liz Moore, the chief legal and technology officer, will be interim commissioner until a search committee hires a new one.
BASEBALL
HALL OF FAME: Hall of Fame players Paul Molitor, Eddie Murray, Tony Pérez, Lee Smith and Ozzie Smith are among 16 members of the classic era committee that will consider an eight-man Hall ballot that includes Dick Allen, Dave Parker and Luis Tiant.
The ballot also includes Tommy John, Steve Garvey and Ken Boyer, and former Negro Leaguers John Donaldson and Vic Harris. The classic era committee considers players, managers, umpires and executives whose greatest contributions to the sport were before 1980.
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* The Chicago Cubs added Matthew Boyd to their rotation in their first big offseason move, agreeing to a $29 million, two-year contract with the veteran left-hander, who made a successful return from Tommy John surgery, going 2-2 with a 2.72 ERA in eight starts with Cleveland this year.
TENNIS
DAVIS CUP: The Davis Cup Final 8 will be held in Italy from 2025 through 2027, the International Tennis Federation announced, with Bologna hosting next year.
Led by Jannik Sinner, the Italians won the past two Davis Cup titles in Malaga, Spain, the site for the men's team competition each of the past three years.
-- News service reports
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