Court-appointed lawyer advises judge to end NYC mayor's criminal case and prevent prosecutors from refiling charges

Giancarlo Stanton will return to New York for a third round of platelet-rich plasma injections in his ailing elbows on Monday. Stanton was back at the Yankees’ spring training complex on Friday. Manager Aaron Boone was quoted as saying Stanton is not likely to play in any exhibition games. Stanton said on Feb. 17 after reporting to camp that he had not swung a bat in three or four weeks because of pain in both elbows. The Yankees said he had been in New York, where he received two rounds of PRP injections.

Houston Astros first baseman Christian Walker received some good news regarding the oblique issue that has limited him this spring training. Walker had flown back to Houston to get the oblique examined. Astros manager Joe Espada told reporters the MRI didn’t reveal any strain. Espada said Walker is returning to the Astros’ spring training camp. Walker, who turns 34 on March 28, batted .251 with a .335 on-base percentage, 26 homers and 84 RBIs in 130 games for Arizona last season. He signed a $60 million, three-year contract with the Astros in December.

Oklahoma’s starting center was serenaded with chants of “Beers! Beers! Beers!” from the school’s pep band on Friday. Raegan Beers is getting used to it, and she enjoyed hearing from the band after the 10th-ranked Sooners beat No. 12 Kentucky 69-65 in the Southeastern Conference Tournament quarterfinals. Beers has been stellar in her first two SEC Tournament games. Next up is a matchup with No. 5 South Carolina. The pep band started the “Beers!” chant earlier this season at a home game and it has become a mainstay for the Sooners.

The Tennessee Titans have released veteran linebacker Harold Landry III after signing him to a five-year extension in 2022. The seven-year veteran with one Pro Bowl was due to count $24.1 million against the cap this season. Tennessee now is seventh in the NFL with more than $63 million in salary cap space per Spotrac.com to go along with the No. 1 pick in the April draft after three losing seasons. Landry led the Titans with nine sacks last season. He was one of three NFL defenders with at least 70 tackles and 15 tackles for loss.

Starter Grayson Rodriguez and reliever Andrew Kittredge will miss the Baltimore Orioles’ opener because of injuries. Orioles manager Brandon Hyde tells reporters that Rodriguez has pitching elbow discomfort and Kittredge needs arthroscopic knee surgery and will be sidelined for multiple months. Rodriguez, a 25-year-old right-hander, went 13-4 with a 3.86 ERA in 20 starts last season. He struck out 130 and walked 36 in 116 2/3 innings. Kittredge, who turns 35 on March 17, was 5-5 with a 2.80 ERA and one save in 74 relief appearances for St. Louis last year. Baltimore opens at Toronto on March 27.

Oregon coach Dan Lanning has agreed to the terms of a contract extension that would keep him with the Ducks through 2030. Yahoo Sports reported that Lanning will make nearly $11 million per season under the agreement, which the university announced on Friday. Oregon was also finalizing extensions for defensive coordinator Tosh Lupoi and offensive coordinator Will Stein that run through the 2027 season. The contracts have been approved by Oregon’s Board of Trustees.

De’Aaron Fox spent much of his time in Sacramento as the fan favorite and face of the Kings franchise that ended a record-long playoff drought and brought much-needed joy to what had been a downtrodden team. Fox returns Friday night as part of the opposition to play his first game against his original team since being traded to San Antonio in a three-team deal last month. The end of Fox's time in Sacramento was fractious. He didn't want to sign a contract extension and was unhappy about the firing of coach Mike Brown.

On-loan West Ham winger Maxwel Cornet has bagged his second goal in four games to give Genoa a point away at Cagliari in Serie A. Nicolas Viola opened the scoring for the Sardinian side. Cornet equalized early in the second half on Friday and it held up. The result leaves Genoa in 12th and Cagliari in 15th, four points above the relegation zone.

Xander Schauffele met at least one goal in his return from injury at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. He made the cut for the 58th consecutive time on the PGA Tour. That's the longest streak since Tiger Woods set the record at 142. And the 58 in a row is the sixth-longest streak in history. It wasn't easy. Schauffele is coming off a rib injury that kept him out for two months. He opened with a 77. He was going well Friday until back-to-back double bogeys. But he ran off three birdies in four holes and made it on the number.

President Donald Trump created a task force Friday to prepare for the 2026 World Cup, which will bring the globe’s premier soccer tournament to North America at a time when Trump’s on-again-off-again tariffs have ratcheted up tensions across the continent. The task force, which Trump will chair, will coordinate the federal government’s security and planning for the tournament, which is expected to draw millions of tourists to the United States, Canada and Mexico. Officials from FIFA, the international soccer governing body, met with Trump in the Oval Office and gave him a personalized game ball.

A shocking defensive mix up has helped Toulouse to draw at home to Monaco 1-1 in Ligue 1. The visitor was leading through an early goal from Japanese winger Takumi Minamino and Toulouse rarely looked like equalizing on Friday. But in the last minute, a collision between Monaco's goalkeeeper and centre half allowed Frank Magri to steal in and score into the almost empty net. The result leaves both teams in the same positions, Monaco is fourth and Toulouse eighth. Players from both clubs wore shirts with “WO=MAN” written on the back instead of their names in a league initiative to mark International Women’s Day.

Former Dallas Mavericks majority owner Mark Cuban says he wouldn’t have traded Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers without receiving much more in return. Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison has come under heavy criticism after sending Doncic to the Lakers in a shocking three-team deal on Feb. 1 that sent Anthony Davis, Max Christie and a 2029 first-round draft pick to Dallas. The Lakers have put themselves in position to be title contenders and the Mavericks are in danger of missing the playoffs after Davis and then Kyrie Irving were injured.