LeBron to wear Cubs jersey in bet with Wade

LeBron to wear Cubs jersey in bet with Wade

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LeBron James will be Mr. Cub for a little while.

To pay off a bet on the World Series he lost to close friend Dwyane Wade, James will wear a Cubs cap, jersey, pants and socks to Friday’s game in Chicago before the Cavaliers play the Bulls.

James made a friendly wager on the Series between the Cleveland Indians and Cubs with Wade, his former Miami teammate and Chicago native who returned to play in his hometown this season. The Indians lost in seven games as the Cubs rallied from a 3-1 deficit to win their first championship since 1908.

“I’m not wearing cleats,” James said Thursday after the Cavs’ morning shoot-around. “I got a basketball game to play. No glove. Just the uniform. I will be in uniform.”

And that will be quite a sight as the 6-foot-8, 250-pound James isn’t built like any baseball player.

“It’s a bet,” he said. “You have to fulfill your bet. Nothing more to it.”

All-Star Game won’t affect World Series

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The league that wins baseball’s All-Star Game no longer will get home-field advantage in the World Series, which instead will go to the pennant winner with the better regular-season record.

The change was included in Major League Baseball’s tentative new collective bargaining agreement and disclosed early Thursday to The Associated Press by a person familiar with the agreement. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because details of the deal, reached Wednesday evening in Irving, Texas, had not been announced.

In addition, players and management agreed the minimum stay on the disabled list will be reduced from 15 days to 10.

Gronkowski could be out for season

FOXBOROUGH, Mass.

Rob Gronkowski’s season might be over.

The star Patriots tight end is having surgery for a herniated disk in his back, a person with knowledge of the details tells The Associated Press. The person spoke Thursday on condition of anonymity because the surgery has not yet been announced by the team. The surgery was first reported by the Buffalo News.

He’s likely to be out for eight weeks or more. The Super Bowl is scheduled for Houston on Feb. 5, should the Patriots get that far.

Gronkowski sat out practice Wednesday with what listed as a back injury. He was absent from practice again on Thursday.

The injury is believed to have occurred during the Patriots’ loss to the Seahawks on Nov. 13, in which Gronkowski said he received “probably one of the hardest I’ve got hit in my career” from safety Earl Thomas.

Gronk sat out the following week against San Francisco. He played part of the first half last week in New England’s win over the New York Jets, but did not make a reception.

Gronkowski has missed three games this season.

Monster to sponsor NASCAR’s top series

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NASCAR announced an agreement with Monster Energy on Thursday that makes the energy drink maker the title sponsor of its top series in 2017, ending a lengthy process of finding a replacement for Sprint.

NASCAR Chairman Brian France declined to provide financial details or the length of the deal, saying it was a “complicated agreement” that includes option years. It was believed to be for less money than Sprint’s multimillion-dollar sponsorship.

“It’s a different kind of agreement, for sure, in that is has activation in different ways and media in different ways,” France said at a news conference with the NASCAR and Monster logos serving as a backdrop. “But we’re quite pleased with the agreement and there will be no changes at all (to operations budgets). In fact, I think you’ll see some additional activation and additional things that will occur.”

France indicated they’re still in discussions with Corona, California-based Monster Beverage Corporation on the exact name of the 2017 Cup series.

Associated Press