Briefs
Pirates sign outfielder
Outfielder Daniel Nava has finalized a minor league contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates and will report to major league spring training.
Now 34, Nava batted .301 with eight doubles, four homers and 21 RBIs in 80 games for Philadelphia last year. He has a .266 average with 29 homers and 206 RBIs for Boston (2010-15), Tampa Bay (2015), the Los Angeles Angels (2016), Kansas City (2016) and the Phillies.
McKenry replaces Tekulve
Former Pirates catcher Michael McKenry has joined the AT&T SportsNet team as a studio analyst for the upcoming season, replacing Kent Tekulve.
He will join Stan Savran, Rob King and Dan Potash during pregame and postgame shows on the network.
McKenry played three seasons with the Pirates from 2011-2013.
Huskers to take unified stand
The Nebraska men’s basketball team plans to take a public stand against the views of a university student who described himself as a white nationalist in a widely distributed online video.
Coach Tim Miles says Friday the team would wear T-shirts reading “Hate Will Never Win” at the game Saturday against Rutgers in Lincoln. Players also were making a video rejecting racism and hate that will be shown on the Pinnacle Bank Arena screens.
Miles says his players realize they can make a statement that will resonate and have a positive impact on the campus community.
The Nebraska campus has roiled this week after videos surfaced of student Daniel Kleve. He says in videos that he’s the most active white nationalist in the state, supports violence and disparages Martin Luther King Jr., African-Americans and Mexicans.
In the NHL
Fourth-line center Jay Beagle put Washington ahead for good with his 50th career goal, and the Capitals continued their dominance against the Columbus Blue Jackets with a 4-2 victory on Friday night.
Evgeny Kuznetsov and Lars Eller each had a goal and an assist as Washington swept a home-and-home with Columbus and won its sixth straight against the Blue Jackets dating to last season. John Carlson also scored and Braden Holtby made 35 saves.
The Metropolitan Division leaders won for the fourth time in six games despite being outshot 37-17 by the visitors.
- Brett Pesce, Phil Di Giuseppe and Sebastian Aho scored in the first period, leading the Carolina Hurricanes to a 4-1 win over the Vancouver Canucks on Friday night.
Justin Williams added his 10th in the third as Carolina stopped a three-game slide. Scott Darling, who had lost his last three starts, made 22 saves.
Michael Del Zotto scored for Vancouver, which beat Carolina 3-0 in their first meeting of the season on Dec. 5. Jacob Markstrom stopped 29 shots.
In the NBA
LeBron James had a triple-double and Kyle Korver scored a season-high 30 points, including four straight 3-pointers to close the third period, as the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Atlanta Hawks 123-107 on Friday night for a successful start to their reboot.
One day after unloading six players, including guards Isaiah Thomas and Dwyane Wade, in three trades, the Cavaliers were in a state of transition. They had only nine available players against the Hawks, but Korver more than made up for a short bench.
Korver, the former Hawks fan favorite, made 7 of 13 from 3-point range and finished two points from matching his career high of 32.