Giants sign Kiwanuka to contract extension
Giants sign Kiwanuka to contract extension
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The New York Giants signed linebacker Mathias Kiwanuka to a three-year-year contract extension that will keep him with the team through 2015 .
The Super Bowl champions announced the deal Friday, a day after they signed veteran defensive tackle Shaun Rogers.
Kiwanuka will earn more than $21 million, including an $8.5 million signing bonus, under terms of the deal, which was posted on the NFL Players Association website. He base salary will only be $950,000 next season but his salaries over the final three years will be $2.95 million, $4.375 million and $4.775 million.
The deal also includes incentives.
The 29-year-old Kiwanuka appeared in all 20 games last season, playing strongside linebacker on first and second downs and as a lineman in passing situations. The seven-year veteran finished fourth on the team with 84 tackles, 3 sacks, 13 tackles for losses, nine quarterback hits, an interception, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery.
The former Boston College star has played in 76 regular-season games with 56 starts. He has 339 tackles, 17 sacks, three interceptions, nine forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries.
Judge weighs ending Syracuse suit
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — A judge hearing arguments on a motion to dismiss a defamation lawsuit against Syracuse University and men’s basketball coach Jim Boeheim said Friday that he expects to announce a decision in two weeks.
Former team ballboys Bobby Davis and Mike Lang claim that Boeheim slandered them when he said they were out for money by accusing assistant coach Bernie Fine of sexually abusing them more than 20 years ago.When the allegations surfaced in November, Boeheim vehemently supported Fine, a friend for more than 40 years. He told ESPN that Davis was telling “a bunch of a thousand lies” and called him an opportunist looking to cash in on the publicity surrounding the Penn State sex abuse scandal.
Lawyers for the coach and university say Davis and Lang are distorting Boeheim’s statements by taking them out of context.
They argue the comments were not statements of fact but were opinion tinged with hyperbole, sarcasm and rhetoric, and therefore protected under law.
NCAA cites S. Carolina for failure to monitor
COLUMBIA, S.C. — The NCAA has ruled that South Carolina failed to monitor its athletic program that resulted in various rules violations and has accepted the school’s proposed sanctions to cut six football scholarships and slash its official recruiting visits by more than half in the coming year.
There were no forfeiture of games or bowl ban attached to the penalties, which stemmed from athletes receiving $59,000 in impermissible benefits.
The NCAA said South Carolina’s cooperation went “beyond standard expectations.”
The school will also pay a fine of $18,500. The football team will lose three of its 85 scholarships in both the 2013 and 2014 seasons.
It will also cut official visits for football recruiting to 30 from 56 during the 20012-13 academic year.
The NCAA’s final report revised up the total of impermissible benefits by $4,000 to $59,000.
South Carolina was placed on probation for three years, ending April 26, 2015.
Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola steps down
BARCELONA, Spain — In front of some of the players he has molded into one of the greatest football teams of all time, Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola stepped down on Friday, bringing to a close a four-year reign of unprecedented success.
Guardiola announced he will leave the club at the end of the season, explaining at a news conference held at the Camp Nou that the demands of the job were too high and his energy levels too low to continue.
Already Barcelona’s most successful manager, Guardiola can add a 14th trophy when his team plays the Copa del Rey final against Athletic Bilbao on May 25 in his last game.
In 242 games, Guardiola has guided Barcelona to 175 wins, 46 draws and 21 losses and a goal difference of 618 to 178.
Nadal, Raonic reach Barcelona semifinals
BARCELONA, Spain — Rafael Nadal dispatched Janko Tipsarevic 6-2, 6-2 Friday to advance to the Barcelona Open semifinals, while Milos Raonic served 14 aces and upset second-seeded Andy Murray 6-4, 7-6 (3).
The top-seeded Nadal moved his Serbian opponent around the red-clay court with his powerful forehand.
The second-ranked Spaniard broke Tipsarevic in his first service game to set the tone for his 32nd consecutive win at the tournament. Tipsarevic earned three break points in the last game of the first set, but Nadal recovered to win five straight points.
Pous-Tio to meet Bertens in Grand Prix Sar final
FEZ, Morocco — Qualifier Kiki Bertens beat two-time runner-up Simona Halep 6-3, 6-4 Friday to set up a Grand Prix SAR final against Laura Pous-Tio.
Both players will try and win a first WTA title.
The 20-year-old Dutch player saved all six break points she faced in the first set and broke Halep three times overall to stop the Romanian from reaching her third consecutive final in Fez.
Earlier, Laura Pous-Tio beat Mathilde Johansson of France 6-1, 2-6, 7-5.
The 27-year-old Spaniard dropped her own serve five times but broke Johansson seven times to reach her first final of the season.
Azarenka, Sharapova advance in Stuttgart
STUTTGART, Germany — Top-ranked Victoria Azarenka needed nearly 3 hours to overcome big-serving Mona Barthel 6-4, 6-7 (3), 7-5 on Friday for a place in the Porsche Grand Prix semifinals that feature the top four players in the world rankings.
Azarenka will face fourth-ranked Agnieszka Radwanska, a 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 winner over Li Na.
Second-ranked Maria Sharapova rallied to outlast Sam Stosur of Australia 6-7 (5), 7-6 (5), 7-5 in a match that went a minute over 3 hours. Sharapova will face third-ranked Petra Kvitova, the Wimbledon champion who beat Angelique Kerber 6-4, 6-4 in the last quarterfinal.
By wire sources