Wayne Byers Show – Morning – Jan 8

NBA..

UNDATED (AP) —  Dillon Brooks scored 28 points and Ja Morant added 25 in the Grizzlies’ third consecutive win, 119-112 against the Timberwolves. Jaren Jackson Jr finished with 21 points for Memphis, including a trio of 3-pointers in final period after entering the period 1-for-7 over the first three quarters.

The Portland Trail Blazers had lost six of their previous seven games before going into Toronto and knocking off the defending NBA champs.

Carmelo Anthony capped his 28-point performance by nailing the tiebreaking basket with four seconds left in the Blazers’ 101-99 triumph over the Raptors. Damian Lillard had 20 for the Trail Blazers, who had lost in their last four visits to Toronto and eight of their previous nine meetings with the Raptors overall.

Hassan Whiteside added 14 points and 16 rebounds for Portland, which bounced back from Sunday’s loss at Miami.

Kyle Lowry had 24 points and 10 rebounds for the Raptors, but he missed a 3-point attempt at the buzzer.

Checking out Tuesday’s other NBA action:

— The Lakers cruised to their sixth straight win as LeBron James poured in 31 points and Kyle Kuzma (KOOZ’-mah) added 16 off the bench in a 117-87 blowout over the Knicks. Los Angeles finished the game without forward Anthony Davis, who suffered a lower back injury in the third quarter.

— Chris Paul furnished 20 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter and overtime in leading the Thunder to a 111-103 victory over the Nets. Shea Gilgeous-Alexander added 22 points to help Oklahoma City bounce back from Monday’s loss in Philadelphia and win for the sixth time in seven games.

— De’Aaron Fox scored 27 points and the Kings rallied from 21 down in the second half to beat the Suns, 114-103. Nemanja Bjelica (neh-MAHN’-yah bee-ah-LEETS’-uh) added 19 points to Sacramento’s third win in four games, while Trevor Ariza (ah-REE’-zah) contributed 15 points off the bench.

— Derrick Rose hit a 15-footer with 27 seconds left and finished with 24 points in the Pistons’ 115-113 comeback win against the Cavaliers. Andre Drummond chipped in 23 points and 20 rebounds for Detroit, which trailed 110-91 early in the fourth quarter.

NBA-NEWS

Griffin out indefinitely after knee surgery

UNDATED (AP) — Pistons forward Blake Griffin is out indefinitely after having surgery on his left knee.

The Pistons announced Tuesday that Griffin will have an extended rehabilitation period with no timetable for his return.

The 30-year-old Griffin was an NBA All-Star last season for the sixth time. He has played in just 18 games this season and is averaging career lows of 15.5 points and 4.7 rebounds per game.

In other NBA news:

— Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry said Tuesday there is still no firm date on when Zion Williamson will play in his first regular season game. The first player taken in last year’s draft has now participated in full-court and five-on-five drills as the NBA’s top overall draft choice moves closer to making his NBA debut. Gentry says Williamson generally looks “fine,” but he ruled out the 6-8, 285-pound forward for Wednesday’s game against the Bulls.

NFL-NEWS

Giants start negotiations with Judge after Rhule goes to Panthers

UNDATED (AP) — The New York Giants were scheduled Tuesday to interview Matt Rhule (rool) for their head coaching vacancy. Instead, Rhule was hired by the Carolina Panthers, while the Giants began contract negotiations with Joe Judge.

Rhule has left Baylor to become head coach of the Panthers. The 44-year-old Rhule has accepted a seven-year, $62 million contract to replace Ron Rivera, who was fired with four games remaining in the 2019 regular season. Rhule just led the Bears to an 11-1 regular season before losses to Oklahoma in the Big 12 championship game and Georgia in the Sugar Bowl.

Meanwhile, a person familiar with the situation says the Giants and Judge are working on a deal for him to become the team’s head coach. Judge has spent the last eight years under New England coach Bill Belichick and was the Patriots’ special teams coordinator and wide receivers coach this season. The 38-year-old Judge has also worked for Nick Saban at Alabama but has never been a head coach before.

Judge would take over a team that went 4-12 and 5-11 in Pat Shurmur’s two seasons.

T25 MEN’S BASKETBALL

UNDATED (AP) — No. 12 Maryland put together a stifling defensive performance to remain unbeaten at home.

Anthony Cowan Jr. scored 20 points and the Terrapins held Ohio State to 31% shooting in a 67-55 downing of the No. 11 Buckeyes. Maryland went up by 10 on a 3-pointer by Cowan with 12:58 left.

Jalen Smith had 11 points and seven rebounds as the Terps won their third in a row to improve to 13-2 overall and 3-1 in the Big Ten.

Kaleb Wesson scored 15 for the 11-4 Buckeyes

.— Immanuel Quickley’s 3-pointer gave No. 14 Kentucky its first lead of the second half before he finished with 15 points in a 78-69 verdict over Georgia. Tyrese Maxey and Nick Richards each had 17 points and seven rebounds for the Wildcats, while Ashton Hagans added 13 points following a one-game absence because of a left ankle injury.

— Davion Mitchell dropped in 14 points and fourth-ranked Baylor stretched its winning streak to 11 games by defeating No. 22 Texas Tech, 57-52. Mark Vital grabbed 13 rebounds and the Bears ended the Red Raiders’ 15-game home winning streak despite being held without a field goal over the final 3:06.

— Jordan Nwora (WOHR’-ah) scored 19 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and hit a critical layup with 5:21 remaining that helped No. 13 Louisville pull away from Miami, 74-58. Steven Enoch had 12 points and 10 boards for the Cardinals, who were coming off back-to-back losses to Kentucky and Florida State.

— Collin Gillespie and Saddiq Bey (sah-DEEK’ bay) drained consecutive 3-pointers to give No. 16 Villanova the lead for good in the final four minutes of a 64-59 downing of Creighton. Gillespie finished with 24 points on 8 of 10 shooting as the Wildcats ended a six-game road losing streak against Big East opponents.

— Ron Harper Jr. had 22 points as Rutgers knocked off No. 20 Penn State, 72-61. The Nittany Lions led by 10 in the first half and wasted Myreon Jones’ 21 points in falling to 12-3.

— Jared Hamilton nailed a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 37 seconds left and added a pair of free throws to clinch it as Boston College surprised No. 18 Virginia 60-53. Jay Heath scored 17 in the Eagles’ first win over the Cavaliers since 2013.

NHL…

UNDATED (AP) —  The Rangers were 5-3 winners against the Avalanche as Artemi Panarin (ahr-THE’-mee pah-NAH’-rihn) provided a goal and two assists. Mika Zibanejad (MEe’-kah zih-BAN’-eh-jad) and Ryan Strome (strohm) each had a goal and an assist to back Igor Shesterkin (shehs-TUR’-kihn), who stopped 29 shots to win his NHL debut.

The Tampa Bay Lightning and Vancouver Canucks each brought lengthy winning streaks into their game on Tuesday, but the outcome was lopsided.

Carter Verhaeghe (vur-HAY’-gee) recorded his first career hat trick and the Lightning exploded for six goals in the second period of a 9-2 thrashing of the Canucks. Verhaeghe, Nikita Kucherov (KOO’-chuh-rahv) and Erik Cernak scored during a 56-second span late in the second period to break open the game.

Brayden Point contributed a goal and three assists, while Steven Stamkos added a goal and two helpers in the Lightning’s season-high eighth consecutive victory.

The Canucks carried a 1-0 lead into the second period before ending a seven-game winning streak.

It marked just the second game in NHL history featuring teams riding win streaks of seven or more games.

Elsewhere on NHL ice:

— David Perron (peh-RAHN’) notched his 18th goal and Jordan Binnington turned back 28 shots in the Blues’ sixth straight home win, 3-2 versus the Sharks. Tyler Bozak (BOH’-zak) and Ivan Barbashev (BAHR’-bah-shehv) scored 80 seconds apart as St. Louis beat San Jose for the eighth time in its last 12 regular-season meetings with San Jose.

— T.J. Oshie (OH’-shee) and Alex Ovechkin (oh-VEHCH’-kihn) each scored twice as the Capitals cruised to their third straight win, 6-1 against the Senators. Washington scored six unanswered goals after Artem Anisimov (ah-NEE’-see-mahv) gave the Senators a 1-0 lead at 5:40 of the first period.

— David Pastrnak (PAHS’-tur-nahk) scored for the third consecutive game and Tuukka (TOO’-kuh) Rask made 34 saves in the Bruins’ 6-2 rout of the Predators. Filip Forsberg and Mikael Granlund scored for Nashville, which lost for the fifth time in six games to spoil John Hynes’ debut as the Predators’ head coach.

— The Penguins earned a 4-3 win at Vegas as Dominik Kahun (kah-HOON’) contributed a power-play goal and an assist. Tristan Jarry stopped 32 shots in Pittsburgh’s 12th victory in 16 games.

— Anders Lee’s second goal of the night came at 4:09 of overtime to send the Islanders past the Devils, 4-3. New York blew a 2-1 lead late in the second period and trailed 3-2 before Tom Kuhnhackl (KOO’-nah-kul) beat Mackenzie Blackwood with 5:46 left in regulation.

— The Hurricanes erased a 2-0 deficit and wasted a two-goal lead before downing the Flyers, 5-4 on Dougie Hamilton’s goal at 1:56 of overtime. Hamilton, Warren Foegele (FOH’-gul) and Jake Gardiner each delivered a goal and an assist as Carolina ended a two-game skid while handing Philadelphia its fourth consecutive loss.

— Zach Werenski had two goals and the Blue Jackets improved to 10-1-4 in their last 15 games by topping the Ducks, 4-3. Elvis Merzlikins handled 37 shots as Columbus improved to 2-0 on its four-game, western road trip.

— Taylor Hall scored the go-ahead goal late in the second period of the Coyotes’ fourth straight victory, 5-2 at Florida. Oliver Ekman-Larsson had a goal and two assists in support of Adin Hill, who stopped 37 shots in his first start of the season.

— Elias Lindholm tallied twice and Matthew Tkachuk (kah-CHUHK’) had two assists for the Flames in a 2-1 decision over the Blackhawks. Cam Talbot made 31 saves in Calgary’s third win in a row.

— Filip Zadina (zah-DEE’-nah) furnished the tiebreaking goal with 3:52 left in the third period of the Red Wings’ 4-3 downing of the Canadiens. Detroit had dropped two straight and 20 of its last 23 before handing Montreal its seventh consecutive loss.

NHL-PREDATORS-HYNES

Predators hire John Hynes as new coach

UNDATED (AP) — The Nashville Predators have made a head coaching change with the team in danger of missing the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time in six seasons.

Predators general manager David Poile (poyl) has hired John Hynes after the team dropped to 11th in the Western Conference at 19-15-7. He replaces the fired Peter Laviolette, who led Nashville to the 2017 final and was 248-143-60 over five-plus seasons with the club.

Hynes was just let go as head coach of the Devils after opening this season 9-13-4. He was 150-159-45 with one playoff appearance in four-plus seasons in New Jersey.

It’s the first time Poile has dismissed a head coach at midseason since he replaced Terry Murray with Jim Schoenfeld (SHOHN’-fehld) while GM of the Capitals in 1993-94. Poile says his players are responsible for the coaching change, not Laviolette.

MLB-NEWS

Baseball to investigation allegations against Red Sox

UNDATED (AP) — Major League Baseball says it will investigate allegations the Boston Red Sox illegally used their video replay room to steal signs between opposing pitchers and catchers during their 2018 World Series championship season.

The claims were made Tuesday in a report by The Athletic. The website cited three anonymous sources it said were with the Red Sox during the 2018 season who said some players visited the replay room during regular-season games to get information on sign sequences.

The Red Sox say they will cooperate with MLB’s investigation into the allegations.

In other MLB news:

— Infielder Starlin Castro has finalized a two-year contract with the Nationals after batting .270 with career highs of 22 homers and 86 RBIs for the Marlins last year. The four-time All-Star is a lifetime .280 hitter with a .414 slugging percentage, 133 homers and 636 RBIs over 11 big league seasons.

— The White Sox have agreed to a $6 million, one-year contract with free-agent reliever Steve Cishek (SEE’-shehk), pending a physical. The 33-year-old Cishek spent the previous two seasons with the crosstown Cubs and was 4-6 with a 2.95 ERA and seven saves in 70 appearances last season.

— Right-hander Jimmy Nelson and the Dodgers have worked out a one-year, $1.25 million package that could be worth $13.25 million over two seasons. The 30-year-old pitcher spent the last six seasons with Milwaukee, going 33-46 with a 4.22 ERA and 578 strikeouts and 240 walks. He appeared in just 10 games last season after missing all of 2018 with a partially torn labrum in his pitching shoulder.

— The Orioles have signed veteran infielder José Iglesias to a one-year, $3 million contract that includes a $3 million club option for 2021. Iglesias is virtually guaranteed a starting job after shortstop Jonathan Villar (vee-AHR’) was traded by Baltimore in December.

KVITOVA ATTACK

Man who stabbed Kvitova gets sentence increased to 11 years

PRAGUE (AP) — An appeals court in the Czech Republic has upheld a lower court conviction of a man for knifing two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova (kuh-VIHT’-oh-vuh) in her home and increased his sentence from eight to 11 years in prison.

The regional court ruled in March that Radim Zondra caused Kvitova serious bodily harm in December 2016 when he attacked her in her apartment.

The state prosecutor requested 12 years in prison for Zondra, who pleaded not guilty and appealed.

The prosecution also appealed and a High Court handed Zondra an 11-year prison today.

The verdict is final.

Kvitova had surgery on injuries to her playing left hand. It took the tennis star more than five months to recover.

In world and national news…

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Slovenia’s defense ministry says its six soldiers stationed in northern Iraq with a German-led training mission will be evacuated after their base came under Iran’s missile attack in retaliation for the U.S. killing of Iran’s top general. The Slovenian ministry said Wednesday the soldiers were unhurt in the attack near Irbil as they were in the base’s shelter during the strike. No casualties have been reported in the attack. The ministry said the evacuation will be conducted “in cooperation with the German partners.” It did not say where the soldiers will go.

SHAHEDSHAHR, Iran (AP) — A Ukrainian passenger jet carrying 176 people has crashed just minutes after taking off from the Iranian capital’s main airport, turning farmland on the outskirts of Tehran into fields of flaming debris and killing all on board. The crash of Ukraine International Airlines came hours after Iran launched a ballistic missile attack on Iraqi bases housing U.S. soldiers, but both Ukrainian and Iranian officials said they suspected a mechanical issue brought down the Boeing 737-800 aircraft. Ukraine’s foreign minister says Iranian, Canadian, Ukrainian, Swedish, Afghan, British and German nationals were among those killed in Wednesday’s crash.

NEW DELHI (AP) — Commercial airlines are rerouting flights crossing the Middle East to avoid possible danger amid escalating tensions between the United States and Iran. Australian carrier Qantas says it’s altering its London to Perth, Australia, routes to avoid Iranian and Iraqi airspace until further notice. Malaysia Airlines says that “due to recent events,” its planes would avoid Iranian airspace. Singapore Airlines also says its flights to Europe would avoid Iran. The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration has barred American pilots and carriers from flying in areas of Iraqi, Iranian and some Persian Gulf airspace. Analysts say that changed flight plans are expected to inconvenience as many as 15,000 passengers per day and lengthen flight times by an average of 30 to 90 minutes.

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — The Philippine government has ordered Filipino workers to leave Iraq and Iran and is sending a coast guard vessel to the Middle East to ferry its citizens to safety in case hostilities between the United States and Iran worsen. The Department of Foreign Affairs in Manila said the government has raised the alert level in Iraq to the highest level. Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said Filipino workers should also move out of Iran and Lebanon. Other Asian nations with large populations of expatriate labor may weigh similar decisions after Iran fired missiles at two Iraqi bases housing U.S. forces in a major escalation of hostilities.

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis is asking for prayers for Australia as it copes with devastating fires. Francis drew a round of applause after he made the unscripted appeal at the end of a general audience. Francis said in his comments Wednesday that “I’d like to ask for you all to pray to the Lord to help” the Australian people.” The fires, which have been blazing since September, have killed 26 people, destroyed 2,000 homes and scorched an area twice the size of the U.S. state of Maryland. They have been fueled by drought and the country’s hottest and driest year on record.

BERLIN (AP) — Germany says new asylum applications in the country dropped more than 14% last year. They have been declining since an influx of migrants from the Middle East and elsewhere in 2015 and 2016. The Interior Ministry said Wednesday that 111,000 first-time asylum applications were made in 2019. That was 14.3% fewer than the previous year. Syrians were easily the biggest single group of asylum-seekers, with more than 26,000 making applications. They were followed by people from Iraq, Turkey, Iran and Afghanistan. Interior Minister Horst Seehofer says it’s the third consecutive fall in the number of asylum-seekers in Germany..