Jets' Geno Smith Hires Jay-Z's Roc Nation Agency

Posted today at 4:40am

Joe Robbins/Getty Images(FLORHAM PARK, N.J.) -- New York Jets rookie quarterback Geno Smith announced on Wednesday that he has hired Jay-Z's Roc Nation Sports to represent him.

Smith, who was drafted by the Jets in the second round of April's draft and fired his original agents after falling out of the first round, is happy to have Jay-Z represent him.

"When you talk about being in New York from a standpoint of what they can do in the city, the connections that they have, I think it's a good move," said Smith, who became Roc Nation's first NFL client.

Roc Nation Sports hired its first NFLPA-certified agent, Kim Miale, and she will represent Smith.

"I'm sure he's done a lot of work and preparation on who he thinks is the best person to represent him," Jets head coach Rex Ryan said. "I don't think there will be a loss of focus or anything else. I can tell you this right now, he knows he has to focus on the job at hand. I'm confident that will happen. I don't even think about who represents him."

Smith currently finds himself in a quarterback battle with Mark Sanchez.

Dale Jarrett Leads NASCAR Hall of Fame Class

Posted today at 3:31am

Streeter Lecka/NASCAR via Getty Images(CHARLOTTE, N.C) -- NASCAR driver Dale Jarrett, mechanic Maurice "Chief" Petty, two-time premier series champion Tim Flock, driver Jack Ingram, and Fireball Roberts are members of NASCAR's Hall of Fame Class of 2014.

NASCAR made the announcement of its newest members on Wednesday. Jarrett got in on his first time on the ballot.

"I've always felt like it was an honor and a privilege to drive for NASCAR, and this sport has been such a huge part of the Jarrett life," Dale said. "Now to be part of something that my father is a part of, it just means the world to me." His father, Ned, is in the Hall.

Jarrett is a three-time winner of the Daytona 500 and is 21st on the career list with 32 victories.

Petty became the fourth member of the family to get the call, joining older brother, Richard Petty; their father, championship driver Lee Petty; and cousin Dale Inman, Richard's longtime crew chief.

"It makes me happy because that means all of us are in. So I'm tickled to death with it," Maurice said.

Canucks Fire Vigneault

Posted today at 2:54am

Len Redkoles/NHLI via Getty (VANCOUVER, British Columbia) -- After being eliminated in the first round of the playoffs the past two seasons, the Vancouver Canucks fired head coach Alain Vigneault Wednesday.

Vigneault, who is the Canucks' all-time leader in coaching wins, watched as the San Jose Sharks swept his Canucks out of the playoffs this season.

"We're in a results-oriented business and if you look at the last two playoffs we've been in, we were the higher-seeded team but lost the first two games at home," Canucks president and general manager Mike Gillis said Wednesday. "We lost consecutive games in the last two playoff years, and there comes a point in time where the message has to change and we have to be better. And we simply didn't get the result we expected."

Vigneault finishes his seven seasons in Vancouver with a 313-170-57 record. He also led the Canucks to six division titles, two Presidents' Trophy titles and a trip to the 2011 Stanley Cup finals.

As of now there is no candidate to replace Vigneault.

Krzyzewski Coming Back as Team USA Coach

Posted today at 2:52am

Streeter Lecka/Getty Images(NEW YORK) -- Mike Krzyzewski will return as the head coach of the U.S. men's Olympic basketball team.

Duke University told ESPN.com of the news Wednesday, and USA Basketball is expected to make a formal announcement at a news conference scheduled for Thursday at 10:40 a.m. Eastern.

Krzyzewski has coached the team since 2005, leading the Americans' to gold medals at the 2008 and 2012 Olympics.

Krzyzewski said multiple times that he would step down from his position of head coach after he led the Americans' to gold last summer in London. Still, USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo didn't interview any other candidates for the job because he wasn't' ready to give up on Krzyzewski returning. It sounds like he made the right move.

First up for Krzyzewski, a trip to the World Cup of Basketball in Spain next summer. If the Americans win, they would qualify for the 2016 Summer Games in Brazil.

Scoreboard Roundup - 5/22/13

Posted yesterday at 10:17pm

Getty Images/Hemera(NEW YORK) -- NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs – Eastern Conference Semi-Finals: Pittsburgh Penguins 7 – Ottawa Senators 3 (Penguins lead series, 3-1)

NBA Playoffs - Eastern Conference Finals: Miami Heat 103 - Indiana Pacers 102 OT (Heat lead series, 1-0)

MLB: Atlanta Braves 3 (30-17) – Oakland Athletics 1 (25-23)

Toronto Blue Jays 4 (19-27) – Tampa Bay Rays 3 (24-22) 10 Innings

Los Angeles Angels 7 (19-27) – Seattle Mariners 1 (20-27)

Baltimore Orioles 6 (25-21) – New York Yankees 3 (28-18)

Boston Red Sox 6 (28-19) - Chicago White Sox 2 (21-24)

Houston Astros 3 (14-33) - Kansas City Royals 1 (21-22)

Detroit Tigers 11 (25-19) - Cleveland Indians 7 (26-19)

Los Angeles Dodgers 9 (19-26) – Milwaukee Brewers 2 (18-27)

Cincinnati Reds 7 (29-18) – New York Mets 4 (17-27)

Washington Nations 2 (24-23) – San Francisco Giants 1 (26-21) 10 Innings

Colorado Rockies 4 (26-21) – Arizona Diamondbacks 1 (26-21)

Pittsburgh Pirates 1 (28-18) – Chicago Cubs 0 (18-27)

Philadelphia Phillies 3 (23-24) – Miami Marlins 0 (13-34)

St. Louis Cardinals 5 (30-16) - San Diego Padres 3 (21-25)

49ers WR Crabtree Has Surgery On Torn Achilles

Posted yesterday at 5:57pm

Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images(SAN FRANCISCO) -- San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Michael Crabtree underwent surgery Wednesday to repair a torn right Achilles tendon, a day after suffering the injury during OTA’s. No timetable has been given for his return.

The 49ers drafted Crabtree out of Texas Tech with the 10th overall pick in the 2009 NFL Draft. In 58 games with San Francisco, the 25-year-old has 260 receptions for 3,345 yards and 21 touchdowns.

He was an integral part of the 49ers winning the NFC Championship this past season, catching 85 passes for 1,105 yards and nine touchdowns. In their 34-31 Super Bowl XLVII loss to the Baltimore Ravens, he had five receptions for 109 yards and a touchdown.

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

Gattis Powers Atlanta Past Minnesota, 8-3

Posted yesterday at 5:54pm

Tony Firriolo/MLB Photos via Getty Images(ATLANTA) -- Less than 24 hours after hitting a pinch-hit, two-out homer in the bottom of the ninth, Braves catcher Evan Gattis belted a grand slam on Wednesday in Atlanta’s 8-3 victory over the Minnesota Twins.

With Atlanta leading 4-0 in the fourth inning, the 26-year-old Gattis took a 3-0 pitch from Twins starter Vance Worley (1-5) and sent it just inside the right-field foul pole. He now has 10 home runs in 121 at-bats.

Braves starter Paul Maholm (6-4) allowed seven hits and no earned runs in 7 1-3 innings of work.

With the win, Atlanta improves to 28-18 while Minnesota falls to 18-25 on the season.

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

Tony Parker to Have MRI on Calf

Posted yesterday at 12:38pm

Ronald Martinez/Getty Images(NEW YORK) -- San Antonio Spurs guard Tony Parker will have an MRI on on his left calf on Thursday "just to make sure" he is improving from an injury suffered against the Warriors.

Warriors forward Andrew Bogut kicked Parker during Game 3 of their semi-final match, but Parker continued to play the rest of the series.

Parker dished out a career-best 18 assists and put in 15 points in the Game 2 win over the Grizzlies.

Game 3 of the Western Conference finals is on Saturday. San Antonio took a 2-0 series lead after their 93-89 win on Tuesday.

Brian Urlacher Retires

Posted yesterday at 11:26am

Tom Dahlin/Getty Images(NEW YORK) -- After 13 seasons with the Chicago Bears, free-agent linebacker Brian Urlacher announced his retirement on Wednesday.

"After spending a lot of time this spring thinking about my NFL future, I have made a decision to retire," Urlacher said in a statement he posted on Twitter.

"Although I could continue playing, I'm not sure I would bring a level of performance or passion that's up to my standards," he continued. "When considering this along with the fact I could retire after a 13-year career wearing only one jersey for such a storied franchise, my decision became pretty clear."

The eight-time Pro Bowler and the Bears were unable to reach a contract during the offseason.

Urlacher was the defensive player of the year in 2005 and leaves as the Bears' franchise leader in tackles with 1,779. He finishes with 41.5 career sacks and 22 interceptions.

Sergio Garcia Apologizes to Tiger Woods

Posted yesterday at 9:40am

Richard Heathcote/Getty Images(NEW YORK) -- Sergio Garcia apologized on Wednesday for his comments about Tiger Woods.

"I want to apologize to Tiger and anybody that I could have offended," Garcia said Wednesday after his pro-am round at Wentworth. "I feel sick about it. I'm truly, truly sorry. And I hope we can kind of settle things down and hopefully move on."

"I apologize for any offense that may have been caused by my comment on stage during the European Tour Players' Awards dinner," Garcia said. "I answered a question that was clearly made towards me as a joke with a silly remark, but in no way was the comment meant in a racist manner."

Garcia jokingly answered a question at a European Tour players dinner Tuesday night about getting together with Woods at the U.S. Open by saying, "We'll have him 'round every night. We will serve fried chicken."

Prior to Garcia's news conference on Wednesday, Woods tweeted his displeasure with the comments.

"The comment that was made wasn't silly. It was wrong, hurtful and clearly inappropriate," he wrote. "I'm confident that there is real regret that the remark was made. The Players ended nearly two weeks ago and it's long past time to move on and talk about golf."

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