Jan 21, 2019 4 min read

Reds acquire pitcher Gray

Adding Sonny Gray to a rotation already improved by the offseason acquisitions of Tanner Roark and Alex Wood has the Cincinnati Reds thinking about their first NL Central title since 2012.

Gray’s unsuccessful stretch in New York ended when the Yankees traded the pitcher after the 29-year-old right-hander agreed to a contract with the Reds that added $30.5 million from 2020-22 and includes a 2023 club option.

Robert Morris wins

Josh Williams scored 15 points to lead four Colonials in double figures and Robert Morris defeated Central Connecticut 70-59 Monday to stay atop the Northeast Conference.

The Colonials (5-1, 10-9) have won six of their last seven and concluded a four-game road trip against NEC foes, winning three.

Williams and Matty McConnell, who finished with 12 points, both made three 3-pointers. Charles Bain added 13 points and Malik Petteway 11 with nine rebounds.

Jamir Coleman, a junior college transfer, had his highest-scoring game as a Blue Devil with 27 points.

Robert Morris led most of the game with Williams scoring 11 points and Petteway 10 in the first half for a 36-28 lead.

In the NBA

Carmelo Anthony is going to Chicago, albeit only on paper.

Where he’s going next remains unclear.

A person with direct knowledge of the matter said the Houston Rockets are trading Anthony and an undisclosed amount of cash to the Bulls in a deal that is expected to be completed Tuesday. The person spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity Monday because the trade still needs league approval.

• Giannis Antetokounmpo had 31 points and 15 rebounds, and the Milwaukee Bucks beat the Dallas Mavericks 116-106 on Monday. Eric Bledsoe had 21 points and Malcolm Brogdon 19 for the Bucks, who have won five straight and 12 of their last 14 to improve to 34-12 overall.
• Paul George scored 31 points and Russell Westbrook just missed a triple-double with 17 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists as the Oklahoma Thunder defeated the New York Knicks 127-109. The Knicks have lost six in a row and 14 of 15. They have dropped nine straight at Madison Square Garden.
• Trevor Ariza scored 20 points, Otto Porter Jr. added 19 and the Washington Wizards turned in their best defensive performance this season in beating the Detroit Pistons 101-87.
• Zach LaVine scored 25 points and the Chicago Bulls broke a 10-game losing streak, beating the Cleveland Cavaliers 104-88 in a meeting of teams that began the day with the worst records in the NBA.
• Evan Fournier and Nikola Vucevic scored 29 points apiece to lead the Orlando Magic to a 122-103 victory over the Atlanta Hawks in the season’s first matchup between the Southeast Division rivals.
• Kyrie Irving had 26 points and 10 assists, Al Horford added 16 points and 12 rebounds and the Boston Celtics beat the Miami Heat 107-99 for their fourth straight victory.

NFL games draw big ratings

Sunday night’s game between the New England Patriots and Kansas City Chiefs was the second-most watched and rated AFC championship game in 42 years.

The overtime thriller on CBS averaged 53.919 million viewers, just shy of the 54.850 million that viewed Pittsburgh’s victory over the New York Jets in 2011. The 27.5 household rating fell short of the 2016 matchup between New England and Denver that had a 29.3 rating.

Fox’s telecast of the NFC championship game between the Los Angeles Rams and New Orleans Saints had a 24.6 rating. The game averaged 44.218 million, which is up 14 percent over last year’s game which saw the Philadelphia Eagles beat the Minnesota Vikings (42.408 million).

Both games had 13 percent rating increases over last year.