Warner signs two-year deal with Cardinals
One month after Kurt Warner nearly led the Cardinals to a comeback win over the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Super Bowl, he decided to remain with Arizona.
The 37-year-old quarterback agreed to terms Wednesday on a two-year, $23 million contract with the Cardinals, including a $15 million signing bonus and a $4 million salary for the first year.
•Ravens re-sign Lewis : The Baltimore Ravens and Ray Lewis agreed to a three-year deal worth nearly $22 million. Re-signing 10-time Pro Bowler Lewis was a key for Baltimore after it lost linebacker Bart Scott and safety Jim Leonhard to the Jets in free agency.
•Bengals land Coles: Laveranues Coles agreed to a four-year contract with the Cincinnati Bengals as a replacement for T.J. Houshmandzadeh, who signed with Seattle earlier this week. Coles, 31, was released by the Jets last week.
•Ex-Patriot signs with Broncos: Running back LaMont Jordan became the latest former Patriot to sign with Denver and new Broncos coach Josh McDaniels, the former offensive coordinator in New England. The terms of the deal have not yet been released.
•Saints bolster depth chart: The New Orleans Saints signed wide receiver Devery Henderson and former Buffalo cornerback Jabari Greer to four-year deals.
MLB
Dodgers get Ramirez
Manny Ramirez and the Los Angeles Dodgers reached a preliminary agreement on a $45 million, two-year deal, keeping him with the N.L. West champions.
The deal is subject to Ramirez passing a physical, a person familiar with the talks said. Ramirez gets $25 million this year and has until November to decide whether to void the second season, which calls for a $20 million salary. The deal includes a full no-trade provision, and some of the salary will be deferred.
•Blue Jays rally to defeat U.S: Strong pitching by Brad Mills and Matt Clement allowed the Toronto Blue Jays to rally against the United States, winning 6-5 on minor leaguer Brien Dopirak’s two-run single in the ninth inning in Dunedin, Fla.
College Basketball
Missouri tops Oklahoma
DeMarre Carroll had 15 points and 10 rebounds, helping No. 15 Missouri wind up a perfect season at home with a 73-64 victory over No. 4 Oklahoma in Columbia, Mo.
•Pitt pounds Marquette: DeJuan Blair scored 23 points and dominated inside as No. 3 Pittsburgh rallied to beat No. 13 Marquette 90-75 at Pittsburgh.
•Red Raider steps up: Alan Voskuil had nine 3-pointers and scored a career-high 35 points to lead Texas Tech to an 84-65 upset of No. 9 Kansas in Lubbock, Texas.
•Purdue knocked off: Kevin Coble scored 16 points and Northwestern defeated No. 19 Purdue 64-61 in West Lafayette, Ind.
•Arizona under investigation: The NCAA is investigating Arizona’s basketball program for alleged recruiting violations. Allegations stem from initially self-reported violations involving a recruiting event at the university’s McKale Center, where the Wildcats play.
•McCray leads Kansas: Danielle McCray scored a career-high 35 points, including seven 3-pointers, and the Kansas women took advantage of Danielle Wilson’s absence to rout No. 5 Baylor 69-45 in Lawrence, Kan.
NBA
O’Neal speaks out
Shaquille O’Neal responded to Orlando Magic coach Stan Van Gundy’s reaction about his tactics against Dwight Howard on Tuesday, lashing out at his former coach and calling him “a master of panic,” a “nobody” and “a frontrunner.”
O’Neal was guarding Howard with about 4 minutes left in the third quarter when Howard made a spin move and O’Neal fell to the court in an effort to get an offensive foul called. Van Gundy commented because he felt O’Neal had “flopped” on the play.
•Roy’s free throws beat Pacers: Brandon Roy scored 28 points, including a pair of game-clinching free throws with 1.7 seconds left, and the Trail Blazers rallied to beat the Indiana Pacers 107-105 in Portland.
•Celtics sneak past Nets: Paul Pierce scored 31 points and hit a winning shot with 20.9 seconds left to lead the Boston Celtics to a 115-111 victory over the New Jersey Nets in East Rutherford, N.J.
•Mavericks top rival Spurs: Josh Howard scored 29 points, Jason Kidd hit a clutch 3-pointer with 31 seconds left and the Mavericks beat the San Antonio Spurs 107-102 in Dallas.
NHL
Guerin dealt to Penguins
Bill Guerin, the 38-year-old former New York Islanders captain waived his no-trade clause and was dealt to Pittsburgh after the Islanders yanked him out of the lineup after warmups Saturday.
•Leafs get second-round pick: Toronto traded center Dominic Moore to Buffalo for Carolina’s second-round pick in this year’s draft. Moore was traded after he and the Maple Leafs failed to agree on a new contract.
•Bruins make deadline deals: The Boston Bruins acquired forward Mark Recchi from Tampa Bay for forward Martins Karsums, defenseman Matt Lashoff and a second-round draft pick.
•Columbus adds Vermette: Columbus sent goalie Pascal Leclaire and a second-rounder to Ottawa, getting forward Antoine Vermette for the eighth-year franchise’s first playoff run.
Miscellany
Florida search continues
Family and friends refused to give up the search for two NFL players and a third man missing for four days in the Gulf of Mexico, enlisting private charter boats and planes to comb the waters off the Florida coast for some sign of the men.
The Coast Guard called off the official search Tuesday for Oakland Raiders linebacker Marquis Cooper, free-agent NFL defensive lineman Corey Smith, who played for Detroit last season, and former South Florida player William Bleakley.
•U.S. women top defending champs: Tina DiMartino scored her first international goal to help the defending champion United States beat Denmark 2-0 in the Algarve Cup in Lagos, Portugal.