Marina Mabrey scored 14 points and Brianna Turner had 8 points, 13 rebounds, and 4 blocks to help the third-ranked Notre Dame women's basketball team beat Boston College, 63-50, on Thursday night at Conte Forum. Madison Cable added 11 points, and Lindsay Allen had 10 for the Fighting Irish (16-1, 5-0 Atlantic Coast Conference). Freshman Mariella Fasoula led the Eagles (12-4, 0-3) with 20 points. The Irish pushed their 12-point halftime edge to 42-25 on Cable's jumper in the lane midway through the third quarter. BC cut it to single digits before Notre Dame put it away with a quick 7-0 spurt capped by Cable's 3-pointer from the right wing.
Manning Award to Watson
Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson was named the 2015 Manning Award winner as the top college quarterback in the nation. Watson (30 TD passes) finished third in Heisman Trophy voting. His Tigers lost the CFP title game, 45-40, to Alabama last Monday . . . NCAA president Mark Emmert applauded student-athlete campus activism and he's disappointed that member schools aren't hiring more women and minorities as coaches. Emmert's remarks came during his annual speech at the NCAA convention in San Antonio. He pressed member schools to keep improving academics, fairness and the health and safety of student athletes. He didn't mention specific cases of student activism, but Emmert's remarks came two months after a boycott by Missouri football players over campus racial issues was instrumental in forcing the resignation of the school president and chancellor.
Revolution take two in draft
The Revolution selected University of North Carolina defender Jordan McCrary in the first round of Major League Soccer's SuperDraft with the 10th overall pick. The team took Wake Forest forward Michael Gamble in the second round (30th overall). The players are expected to join preseason training in Foxborough next week. The Chicago Fire had the first overall pick and chose Wake Forest midfielder Jack Harrison, the ACC offensive player of the year last season as a freshman, and then traded him to New York City FC for the fourth pick. The Fire then took Stanford's Brandon Vincent, a left back who is currently in the US national team's January training camp. The draft finishes Tuesday with the third and fourth rounds. The Revolution have a third-round pick (51st overall). The team traded its fourth-round selection to the Vancouver Whitecaps in February 2014 for midfielder Daigo Kobayashi . . . The LA Galaxy signed former MLS MVP Mike Magee and traded their first-round pick in the SuperDraft to Colorado for targeted allocation money.
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Orioles give Cespedes offer
According to a report from MASN, the Orioles have made a contract offer to free agent outfielder Yoenis Cespedes that's believed to be worth up to $90 million over five years. Cespedes split last season between the Tigers and Mets and produced 35 home runs and 105 RBIs. He's coming off a shoulder injury that required a cortisone shot . . . Free agent shortstop Alexei Ramirez agreed to terms for a one-year contract with the Padres, pending Ramirez passing a physical. Ramirez, 34, had spent his entire eight-year career with the Chicago White Sox. He was an All-Star in 2014 but his batting dropped to a career-low .249 last year. The Padres also signed free agent pitcher Carlos Villanueva to a $1.5 million, one-year contract, and avoided arbitration with catcher Derek Norris by agreeing to a $2.9 million deal . . . Lefthander Jeff Locke and the Pirates agreed to a one-year contract worth $3,025,000, a raise from $531,000. Locke, who was 8-11 with a 4.49 ERA in 30 starts last year, was arbitration-eligible for the first time . . . Third baseman Danny Valencia has agreed to terms on a $3.15 million, one-year contract with the Athletics to avoid arbitration . . . Japan honored former home run king Hank Aaron with one of its highest awards — The Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette — recognizing the close relationship between the two nations and their shared love of baseball
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Defending champion Serena Williams and No. 5-ranked Maria Sharapova were drawn into the same section for the Australian Open in Melbourne, meaning last year's finalists could meet in the quarterfinals. Six-time champion Williams has a tough draw starting in the opening round against Camila Giorgi, who finished 2015 at No. 34 and was the highest-ranked player who was not seeded for the season's first major. Williams could also meet former No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki in the fourth round. Men's champion Novak Djokovic will open against Chung Hyeon and, if results go with rankings, could meet No. 7 Kei Nishikori in the quarterfinals and No. 3 Roger Federer in the semis. Second-seeded Andy Murray will open again Alexander Zverev, and on the same half of the draw, No. 5 Rafael Nadal opens against 2009 Australian Open semifinalist Fernando Verdasco.
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NBA may hold game in Paris
Commissioner Adam Silver said Paris could be the next destination for an international NBA game. Speaking before the Toronto Raptors and Orlando Magic played in London on Thursday, Silver said he'd just emerged from a meeting with executives of AEG, who had proposed a game in Paris. The sports and entertainment company owns several teams and stadiums, including London's O2 Arena and the newly refurbished AccorHotels Arena in the French capital. Silver also said the NBA is ''not actively taking steps'' to put a franchise in Europe, but he acknowledges that holding a future All-Star Game on the opposite side of the Atlantic is ''something that we'd like to figure out a way to do at some point.'' . . . Beth Larcom of Middletown, R.I., earned a shutout as the US National Under-18 team beat Sweden, 4-0, in the semifinals of the U-18 women's world championship in St. Catharines, Ontario. Canada beat Russia, 4-0, in the other semifinal. The gold-medal game is Friday. The US team defeated Canada, 4-1, in the preliminary round.
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