On Thursday, the U.S. agreed to release Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout in exchange for American basketball star Brittney Griner, freeing the 55-year-old Soviet military officer from a prison in Illinois. Bout was serving a 25-year sentence for conspiracy to kill U.S. citizens and officials and for selling millions of dollars in weapons to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia. Russia has long pushed for the arms dealer’s release, calling the detainment “unlawful” and saying his 2012 sentencing was “baseless and biased....

The WNBA star believes she can. “I’m just gonna use that to fuel this,” Griner said, via ESPN.com, when being told that Cousins thinks she’d be no better than the third best player on the men’s version of Team USA. “I mean I’m better, and I know that kinda gets at him. It’s OK. It’s OK, little man.” The tale of the tape shows that Griner would probably have her hands full with the talented big man, who is moonlighting with Team USA in Rio at the moment but plays for the Sacramento Kings of the NBA....

Einhorn has been musical director and/or conductor for eight Broadway shows, included the 2017 revival of Hello Dolly!, which starred Bette Midler and, later, Bernadette Peters. Talking to Einhorn, one notes very quickly that putting You I like together was clearly a labor of love and and he is ready, willing and able to give a master class on the art and craft of musical theater. He told Newsweek that “I’m happy to espouse any information about Jerry Herman or the musical theater in general....

Aloisi indicated at a press conference on Thursday that he never got the chance to decide on Broich’s future at the club before the German confirmed he would leave to continue his career elsewhere. Broich revealed this week that he will leave Roar at the end of the 2016-17 campaign after seven consecutive seasons in orange, with the 36-year-old claiming he couldn’t wait to see if Brisbane wanted to extend his contract....

Businesses are teetering all along the U.S.-Mexico frontier. Employees and customers used to cross the border as easily as crossing the street. Now every port of entry in both directions is on maximum alert. Cops and Customs officials from Tijuana to Matamoros have tightened security. At some checkpoints the new procedures are forcing drivers to wait three hours or more to cross–if they choose to make the trip at all....

For now, it’s his own Panthers teammates who marvel at the legend they’ve seen building in real time. Whether the linebacker will get to play in that Super Bowl with his surgically-repaired right forearm won’t be known until closer to Sunday’s game, though everyone around the team knows there’s basically nothing that will keep the 10-year veteran from his first chance at a championship. PHOTOS: Best of Cam Newton’s dances | MORE: How Panthers were built...

The Line: Pittsburgh -6.5, Total: 44.5 Line movement: The Steelers settled in as 5.5 to 6-point favorites on Sunday night, but early wagering pushed them up to -6.5. The line should stay below the key -7. The total has not seen much movement. Check our odds page for updated NFL lines from Las Vegas. Trends that matter: Denver is 3-0 ATS as an underdog this year…Pittsburgh is 9-0 ATS in its last nine games in December…The OVER is 4-1 in Pittsburgh’s last five games....

There are no undefeated teams, but several have gaudy records and impressive short resumes. Shaking all of them down, the best so far this year is the one that dominated the AFC last year: 1. Denver Broncos (4-1) Last week: 2 Why they’re here: The Bolts are buzzing in the AFC West, but they still need to take it away from the Broncos. Strange to think that what they do great with Peyton Manning and Julius Thomas every week has become “routine....

The siblings were at their grandmother’s home in Bigelow, in Perry County, when two unleashed pit bulls attacked them on December 11, according to NBC affiliate KARK-TV. According to the news outlet, 6-year-old Declan Moore was attacked first before his brother Aiden Guzman, 10, leaped to help. Caitlin Mayo, the children’s mother, told CBS affiliate KTHV: “Aiden told them all to run because he heard the dogs barking. Declan fell behind....

First-year Cleveland coach Freddie Kitchens said if he hears of any of his assistants or staff members leaking information to the media as an unidentified source, that person will lose his job. “The days of inside information and the days of unnamed sources and stuff like that have ended. So you’re not going to get information like that, ever. Anybody. And if I ever see it, they’re fired. Immediately. That’s the way we’re running this organization,” Kitchens said, via ProFootballTalk....

To win the AFC North, the Browns probably have to win a division road game or two. And Cleveland gets a shot at a vital victory away from home when it plays at Cincinnati on Thursday night (8:25 p.m. ET, NFL Network). The Browns (5-3 SU and 4-3-1 ATS) have thrived outside the AFC North, posting a 4-1 mark in non-divisional games. In North play, however, the Browns have just one win in three tries....

The Browns traded the cornerback to Pittsburgh on Saturday in exchange for a sixth-round pick in 2018, the team announced. The Browns will receive Pittsburgh’s 2018 sixth-round pick in exchange. MORE: The best thing to happen to every team this preseason Gilbert started only three games in his two seasons in Cleveland and struggled in coverage. He had only one interception in 23 games, a pick-six in his rookie season....

The former first-round pick and his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, requested a trade from the team Friday. The Browns would like to keep Njoku, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, but Njoku and Rosenhaus informed Cleveland they want a trade to be completed before training camp. “It is in David’s best interest to find a new team at this time,” Rosenhaus told Schefter. MORE: Cam Newton says Patriots contract is about respect, not money...

Cincinnati comes into the latest “Battle of Ohio” at 4-3, trying to match Baltimore’s division-leading record at 5-3. Cleveland is 2-5 and is on the verge of not being playoff-relevant by the time Deshaun Watson returns. Bengals QB Joe Burrow will be operating without top wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase (hip). Browns fill-in QB Jacoby Brissett will be down two key members of his supporting cast, right guard Wyatt Teller (calf) and tight end David Njoku (ankle)....

The Cardinals coach said Carolina’s Ron Rivera topped his list of coaches worthy of the honor, according to ESPN.com. MORE: Week 17 NFL picks against the spread | Sean Payton trade should be a big deal Arians won the award in 2012 and 2014, and Rivera took home the honor in 2013. If Rivera wins again, it would be the first time in NFL history that two coaches dominated a four-year block....

On Wednesday afternoon, Pearl livened things up on the Auburn campus with a trip to the Pi Kappa Phi dunk tank raising money for PUSH America. A quick recap below. Now we ask you: Which other SEC coach could you possibly see doing the same thing?

The St. Louis Blues defeated the Boston Bruins 4-2 in Game 4 of the 2019 Stanley Cup Final on Monday night, tying the series up at 2-2. Powered by a pair of goals from Ryan O’Reilly, the Blues were energized from the opening puck drop and withstood two Boston surges to claim their first-ever home win in a Cup Final. MORE: Watch the Stanley Cup Final live with fuboTV (7-day free trial)...

In the eighth inning of the Phillies-Nationals game, Harper was seen pointing at the back of his jersey and waving off the words being yelled at him from fans sitting in right field. MORE: Latest MLB magic numbers, playoff picture After Philadelphia’s 5-2 loss to the Nationals, Harper wouldn’t elaborate on what was said, but did mention to media that the nature of the heckling was “just not right.”...

From the time he was 16 years old playing high school ball in Las Vegas, he was touted as the Next Big Thing. So big, in fact, he was getting comparisons to the LeBron James hype ahead of the 2003 NBA Draft. He got his GED his junior year of high school so he could play for the College of Southern Nevada in 2010, and he was a slam-dunk first overall pick by the Nationals in that summer’s MLB Draft....

I don’t mean the best hitter or the best player so far this season. I mean that right now, today, Bryce Harper is the best baseball player on the planet — period. Yes, better than Mike Trout. Deal with it. Hear me out. MORE: Must-see photos of Bryce Harper | Harper channels Crash Davis after 100th homer And not only is he the best player in baseball, he’s the best player for baseball....