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PRO FOOTBALL
Pass rusher DeMarcus Ware got a $30 million, three-year contract from the Denver Broncos on Wednesday, less than 24 hours after being released by the Dallas Cowboys.
Not quite keeping pace with the nonstop nature of Day 1 of free agency, Day 2 did include the Buccaneers releasing cornerback Darrelle Revis after failing to trade him; wide receiver Eric Decker bolting Denver to sign with the New York Jets; receiver Golden Tate leaving the Super Bowl champion Seahawks to play alongside All-Pro Calvin Johnson with the Lions; and the Browns cutting two quarterbacks, Brandon Weeden and Jason Campbell.
The Revis move saved the Bucs a $1.5 million bonus that would have been due if he remained on the roster with his $16 million salary. It also freed up room under the cap for a continuing roster overhaul under new coach Lovie Smith and general manager Jason Licht.
In other news, the Oakland Raiders rebuilding plans were dealt a setback when offensive lineman Rodger Saffold failed a physical one day after agreeing to a $42.5 million, five-year contract; Jonathan Martin is getting a fresh start with former college coach Jim Harbaugh after the Dolphins traded him to the San Francisco 49ers; and the agent for Steve Smith says the wide receiver "is not going to play for the Panthers next season."
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Former NFL All-Pro safety Darren Sharper returns to court Thursday for a hearing that will determine whether he's released on bail amid new charges that he drugged and sexually assaulted two women last year in Arizona.
The athlete has been in a Los Angeles jail since Feb. 27, when he turned himself in on an arrest warrant issued by Louisiana authorities on similar charges. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Renee Korn said last week that she could not hold Sharper indefinitely unless he was charged in New Orleans, which has not yet happened.
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PRO BASKETBALL
EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (AP) — Kobe Bryant won't be back on the court for the Los Angeles Lakers this season.
Bryant expressed only mild frustration Wednesday after the official announcement of the long-expected decision to shut him down for the year. Bryant's broken bone in his left knee still hasn't healed enough for weight-bearing exercise.
With just five weeks left in their miserable season, the Lakers elected to preserve their superstar guard for next year, when he'll be 36.
The Lakers' ruthlessly competitive scorer can't take much more incompetence from his 16-time NBA champion franchise.
"I feel like killing everybody every time I go to the arena," Bryant said. "I'm just on edge all the time. Yeah, I still feel it, probably more than anybody in the organization does. I probably feel it more, and it drives me absolutely crazy."
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Carmelo Anthony said that he has heard Phil Jackson will be "coming on board" with the New York Knicks, the strongest indication yet that the 11-time NBA champion coach will soon be taking over the team's basketball operations.
Anthony went as far as to suggest that it's no longer a question of if Jackson will rejoin the Knicks, but when.
"Everything's in his hands now," Anthony told reporters in Boston at the Knicks' gameday shootaround practice.
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Dirk Nowitzki scored 31 points and moved into sole possession of the No. 12 spot on the all-time NBA scoring list in the Dallas Mavericks' 108-101 win over the Utah Jazz.
BOSTON (AP) — NBA commissioner Adam Silver says he doesn't see tanking going on in the league.
Silver said at a Boston College event that he thinks of tanking as players and coaches trying to lose on purpose. But he believes players and coaches are trying to win. Instead, teams are trying to rebuild through the draft, and that's OK.
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PRO HOCKEY
DALLAS (AP) — Rich Peverley will not play again this season after collapsing on the bench during a game.
Whether the Dallas Stars' forward resumes his career won't be known until after a more extensive evaluation of his irregular heartbeat.
Peverley appeared briefly at a news conference, reading nervously from a statement that thanked "the number of people that saved my life" after he went down in the first period of a game against Columbus, stunning players, coaches and fans.
The 31-year-old left the questions to doctors who said his season was over and he would undergo a procedure that he decided to put off when his condition was first discovered during a physical before training camp in September.
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BASEBALL
Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun agreed to an endorsement deal with baseball footwear and apparel company 3n2 LLC — his first since his suspension last year for violating Major League Baseball's anti-drug agreement.
Terms of the deal with the company based in Orlando, Fla., were not disclosed. ESPN.com first reported the agreement.
Company president Marty Graham said the agreement wasn't about the past, but focused on the future. He said the firm has done its research and strongly believes in Braun as an athlete.
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SOCCER
BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Barcelona eased into the Champions League quarterfinals for the seventh straight year, shaking off a slump that has dropped it to third place in the La Liga standings.
Lionel Messi and Dani Alves scored second-half goals in a 2-1 win over Manchester City that completed a 4-1 aggregate victory.
In the night's other game, Paris Saint-Germain gave up an early goal and rallied past visiting Bayer Leverkusen 2-1 for a 6-1 aggregate win.
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TENNIS
INDIAN WELLS, Calif. (AP) — Novak Djokovic rallied to beat Marin Cilic 1-6, 6-2, 6-3 in the fourth round of the BNP Paribas Open, avoiding the upsets that knocked out two other top-10 players.
Djokovic didn't face a break point on his serve after the first set in the baseline slugfest that ended after midnight PDT. He advanced to the quarterfinals against Julien Benneteau, a 6-3, 7-6 (4) winner over Feliciano Lopez.
Kevin Anderson upset Australian Open champion Stan Wawrinka 7-6 (1), 4-6, 6-1, and sixth-ranked Andy Murray joined Wawrinka on the sidelines, losing to big-serving Milos Raonic, 4-6, 7-5, 6-3.
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CYCLING
BELLEVILLE, France (AP) — Tom Jelte Slagter of the Netherlands won the fourth stage of the Paris-Nice cycling race, with British rider Geraint Thomas taking the overall lead after finishing second in a sprint to the line.
SAN VINCENZO, Italy (AP) — British sprinter Mark Cavendish leads the Tirreno-Adriatico after his Omega Pharma-Quick Step team won a time trial to open the weeklong cycling race.
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