Sports briefs
Steelers’ Watt wins Defensive POY
T.J. Watt has made it a brother act for AP Defensive Player of the Year.
Pittsburgh’s All-Pro edge rusher who tied the NFL sacks record with 22 1/2, joined older brother J.J. in taking the award at NFL Honors on Thursday night.
The Steelers star received 42 votes from a nationwide panel of 50 media members who regularly cover the league, far outdistancing Dallas rookie linebacker Micah Parsons (five) and three-time winner Aaron Donald (three).
Watt, a unanimous All-Pro selection this season, follows his brother, who was the top defensive player in 2012, ’14 and ’15 with Houston.
Although he missed three games, Watt still got to the sacks mark set by Hall of Famer Michael Strahan – and Watt didn’t need Brett Favre taking a dive for the final sack. In all, Watt made 64 tackles despite battling an assortment of injuries.
Not surprisingly, given Pittsburgh’s history on defense – the Steel Curtain and all that – Watt is the seventh Steeler to earn the award. He joins Joe Greene (1974), Mel Blount (1975), Jack Lambert (1976), Rod Woodson (1993), James Harrison (2008) and Troy Polamalu (2010).
In the NBA
Ben Simmons got his wish, a trade out of Philadelphia. The 76ers got their second superstar, with James Harden coming over in a blockbuster multiplayer trade with the Brooklyn Nets.
The Sixers sent Simmons, the disgruntled star who demanded a trade last summer, guard Seth Curry and center Andre Drummond to the Nets in a deal for Harden. The Sixers also will get Paul Millsap and the Nets get draft picks, according to people with direct knowledge of the decision.
The deal was confirmed Thursday by the people who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the trade had not been announced.
- The Boston Celtics traded guard PJ Dozier and forward Bol Bol, along with a future second-round pick and cash to the Orlando Magic in exchange for a protected 2023 second-round pick.
- Kristaps Porzingis was also on the move, going from Dallas to a Washington.
In baseball
Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred says losing regular-season games to a work stoppage would be a “disastrous outcome,” yet spring training remains on hold as the threat to opening day increases.
With the second-longest work stoppage in baseball history stretching into its 71st day, Manfred said teams will make a “good-faith, positive proposal in a effort to move the process forward” when negotiations with the players’ association resume Saturday. It will be just the fifth economic bargaining session since the five-year labor contract expired.
In the NHL
The Edmonton Oilers fired coach Dave Tippett on Thursday with the star-studded team scrambling to secure a playoff spot.
Jay Woodcroft, the 45-year-old head coach of the Oilers’ AHL affiliate in Bakersfield, California, will take over behind the bench. He will be joined by assistant Dave Manson, who replaces Jim Playfair.