Braves commit $58M to Andrelton Simmons

Atlanta Braves shortstop Andrelton Simmons agreed to a seven-year, $58-million US contract on Thursday.

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Ex-NFLer Darren Sharper pleads not guilty in rape case

Former NFL safety Darren Sharper pleaded not guilty in court Thursday to charges that he drugged and raped two women he met at a West Hollywood night club.

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Andre Miller dealt to Wizards in 3-team swap

The Washington Wizards acquired disgruntled point guard Andre Miller from the Denver Nuggets in a three-way trade involving the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday.

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Shakhtar held at Plzen

Viktoria Plzen had to settle for a 1-1 draw at home to Shakhtar Donetsk in new boss Dusan Uhrin Jr’s first game in charge at the Doosan Arena in the Europa League.

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Yann the man for brave Basle

Basle secured a hard-fought 0-0 draw with Maccabi Tel Aviv after an impressive performance from goalkeeper Yann Sommer.

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Ajax shocked by super Salzburg

Jonathan Soriano scored one of the goals of the Europa League season as Salzburg thrashed an off-colour Ajax 3-0 in the first leg of their last-32 tie at the Amsterdam ArenA.

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Blue Jays ‘unlikely’ to overpay for free-agent starter

Toronto Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos told reporters Thursday in Dunedin, Fla., that it is unlikely he will add another free-agent starting pitcher.

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Garber: Atlanta, Minneapolis in mix for expansion

Major League Soccer Commissioner Don Garber says Atlanta,

Minneapolis, Sacramento, San Diego and Texas sites are under

consideration as expansion cites.

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Raptors pick up Nando De Colo from Spurs

The Toronto Raptors acquired guard Nando De Colo from the San Antonio Spurs in exchange for forward Austin Daye at the NHL trade deadline on Thursday.

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Villa explain Hutton absence

Aston Villa manager Paul Lambert has admitted that defender Alan Hutton has been frozen out of the first-team squad due to financial constraints at the Premier League club.

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Frankfurt draw with Porto

Eintracht Frankfurt struck twice in quick succession after the break to stun Porto and seal a hard-earned 2-2 draw in a pulsating Europa League last-32 match at Estadio Dragao.

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Maribor stay in Sevilla tie

Dare Vrsic scored a wonder goal to earn Maribor a 2-2 draw with Sevilla in the first leg of their Europa League last-32 tie in Portugal.

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Bulls earn first victory

Luke George scored a debut try as Bradford put their off-field distractions aside and bounced back from an opening-round home defeat to claim a 23-10 Super League victory at Wakefield.

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Monk salutes Swansea display

Swansea head coach Garry Monk paid a glowing tribute to his side after their 0-0 draw at home to Napoli in the first leg of their Europa League round of 32 clash.

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Mertesacker defends Ozil

Arsenal defender Per Mertesacker believes it is unrealistic to expect team-mate Mesut Ozil to perform to his best over the course of the whole season.

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Big Sam refutes Ravel rumours

Sam Allardyce insists that allegations he advised Ravel Morrison to switch agents are “completely unfounded”.

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Cummins slams schedule

Bradford coach Francis Cummins and Wakefield counterpart Richard Agar agreed the short turn-around contributed to an error-strewn game after the Bulls claimed their first Super League win of the season with 23-10 success.

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English lesson for McIlroy

Rory McIlroy slumped out of the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship after being taken to a 19th hole by American Harris English.

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Leinster bag bonus-point win

Leinster moved provisionally top of the RaboDirect PRO12 standings after beating Cardiff Blues 34-22 on Thursday.

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ECB to decide in April

The ECB will interview for a new head coach in April after an official job specification for a replacement for Andy Flower was released.

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