Digest

BASEBALL

Astros re-sign All-Star Brantley in $32m deal

Outfielder Michael Brantley has agreed to a $32 million, two-year contract with the Houston Astros, a person familiar with the deal told Associated Press.

The person spoke to AP on condition of anonymity Wednesday because the contract, which is pending a successful physical, had not been announced.

Brantley spent the last two seasons in Houston after playing for Cleveland for his first 10 MLB seasons. Brantley hit.300 with five homers and 22 RBIs in 46 games in last year's pandemic-shortened season. He had three home runs and 11 RBIs in 13 playoff games last year as the Astros came a win shy of reaching the World Series for the second straight season.

He earned $5,555,555 in prorated pay from a $15 million salary as part of a $32 million, two-year deal that included a $2 million signing bonus.

Brantley is a four-time All-Star and a 2014 Silver Slugger award winner. He has a.297 average with 114 homers and 640 RBIs in his career.

SOCCER

Lewandowski strikes to maintain Bayern's lead

Robert Lewandowski's penalty was enough for Bayern Munich to consolidate its Bundesliga lead at the halfway stage of the season with a 1-0 win at Bavarian rival Augsburg on Wednesday.

Lewandowski's 13th-minute spotkick was Bayern's only reward for dominating the first half. The visitor rode its luck in the second period, with Augsburg missing a host of chances, including a penalty.

Poland international Lewandowski scored his 22nd goal of the season－a league record after 17 games－from the spot after a foul from Augsburg midfielder Rani Khedira on Lucas Hernandez. Serge Gnabry and Thomas Mueller both missed chances before the break.

Bayern coach Hansi Flick, whose team leads second-place RB Leipzig by four points, withdrew Lewandowski in the 67th after he "felt something" in the back of his leg.

"Robert is extremely important for us. We didn't want to take any risks," Flick said.

Ronaldo reaches new milestone in Juve win

Cristiano Ronaldo surpassed Josef Bican for the most goals scored by a single player in soccer history as Juventus beat Napoli 2-0 for a record-extending ninth Italian Super Cup win on Wednesday.

The 35-year-old Ronaldo's 64th-minute opener in Reggio Emilia moved him ahead of Czech great Bican in the all-time list for most goals scored for club and country-760, according to Opta.

Bican has 759, with Pele third (757), Romario fourth (743) and Lionel Messi fifth (719).

Napoli missed the chance to take the match to extra time when Lorenzo Insigne missed a late penalty and Alvaro Morata sealed the win with the last kick of the game.

The victory gave Andrea Pirlo his first trophy as a coach. "Winning a first title (as a coach) is a great joy, different from that felt as a player, it's even more beautiful," said Pirlo, who came into the match under pressure following Sunday's 2-0 loss to title rival Inter Milan.

AMERICAN FOOTBALL

QB Rivers retires to end 'childhood dream'

Quarterback Philip Rivers is retiring from the NFL after a prolific 17-year career that he recalled Wednesday as his "childhood dream".

Rivers starred with the Chargers－first in San Diego and then in Los Angeles－for 16 seasons before playing in 2020 with the Indianapolis Colts.

The 39-year-old never made it to the Super Bowl, but built an impressive resume, ranking fifth all-time with 63,440 passing yards, behind Drew Brees, Tom Brady, Peyton Manning and Brett Favre.

He is fifth all-time with 421 touchdown passes－behind the same quartet－and finishes his career with eight straight seasons of 4,000-plus passing yards.

"Every year, January 20th is a special and emotional day," Rivers said in a statement. "It is St. Sebastian's Feast day, the day I played in the AFC championship without an ACL(anterior cruciate ligament), and now the day that after 17 seasons, I'm announcing my retirement from the National Football League.

"Thank you God for allowing me to live out my childhood dream of playing quarterback in the NFL."

BASKETBALL

Hudson becomes CBA all-time leading scorer

Lester Hudson notched a near triple-double of 24 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists to help the Shandong Heroes thrash the Jiangsu Dragons 111-73 in the Chinese Basketball Association league in Zhuji, Zhejiang province, on Wednesday.

Former NBA player Hudson has now accumulated a total of 11,842 points in 419 games, surpassing Yi Jianlian's previous mark of 11,839.

"It means a lot to me, especially when I have played in the league and stayed healthy for 10 years, and this is a very good league with many great players," said 36-year-old guard Hudson, who first arrived in the CBA in 2011 and has won two championships－with Guangdong and Liaoning.

Shandong limited Jiangsu to just 31 percent shooting and 22 turnovers.

Chen Peidong contributed 21 points for the Heroes, while Shi Hongfei top-scored for the Dragons with 15 points.

Xinhua - Agencies