08:03 AM ET 05.18 | New England Patriots star tight end and party goer Rob Gronkowski is set to undergo a fourth arm surgery early next week to clear out an infection. The timetable for Gronkowski's return could keep him out of the preseason and put his status from the Patriots' season-opener in jeopardy, but that will not stop the ultimate bro from going out with a bang -- Vegas-style. Jumpseat.me is giving fans an opportunity to ride in a private jet with Gronk and teammate Julian Edelman for his last-minute party before the next surgery. Gronk is such an avid party guy that he wants to make sure there are plenty of people involved. Up to four people will win the trip and that means we have a much greater chance of cell phone photos of Gronk running the bar or pounding shots shirtless will surface on the Internet.

FanSided.com

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09:00 AM ET 05.18 | The University of New Mexico and former men's basketball coach Steve Alford have reached an agreement in principle on the buyout he owes his former employer. UNM issued a news release Friday stating the buyout amount plus savings of deferred compensation payments, incentive bonuses would net the university a "favorable" outcome of $625,000. UNM had demanded $1 million and Alford had offered $200,000. After sorting through who owes who what, the additional "hard" dollars Alford and his new employer, UCLA, will owe UNM come to $300,000. UCLA, meanwhile, said it was blindsided Friday afternoon by UNM's announcement. The two sides have not yet signed any agreements, and UCLA made it clear that it is not paying the $625,000 initial media reports implied in UNM's statement. "On Friday afternoon, the University of New Mexico issued a news release stating that they had reached a buyout agreement with their former Men's Basketball Coach, Steve Alford, who last month accepted the head coaching job at UCLA," read an emailed statement UCLA sent to the Journal on Friday. "The UNM news release does require some clarification. While there has not been a signed agreement, New Mexico has agreed to accept $300,000 of their original $1 million demand. A larger figure included in UNM's release appears to include certain bonuses which Coach Alford previously agreed to forego (sic) when he decided to terminate his contract there and accept the offer from UCLA."

Albuquerque Journal

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09:18 AM ET 05.18 | Will Don Mattingly be the Dodgers manager for the remainder of the season? Team President Stan Kasten wouldn't say. "I don't discuss the manager and I never do," Kasten said. "Ever since spring training, we said that, when you wanted to talk about him every day. We had a rough start but we expect to get through this." Kasten was reminded he was asked a yes-or-no question. "What was the question again?" Kasten asked. Will Don Mattingly be your manager for the rest of the year? Kasten offered more substantive information this time, but still left himself some wiggle room. "That's my assumption, yeah," he said. "I assume so because I assume we're going to play the rest of the year even better than we've played so far and I like the way the ballclub is set up." Asked to appraise Mattingly's performance as manager, Kasten said, "I'm not going to do this. I'm not going to have a discussion about any individual."

Los Angeles Times

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07:59 AM ET 05.18 | There is a lot of interest in the fate of Los Angeles Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro heading in to the offseason. Immediately after the team was eliminated in the first-round of the NBA playoffs by the Memphis Grizzlies, there was some chatter that Del Negro would not be brought back after winning a franchise record 56 wins during the regular season. Earlier this week, there was another report that the team was considering the option of bringing him back. Quite frankly, only team owner Donald Sterling has any idea what Del Negro's fate will hold, and it looks like the two will meet over the weekend as they decide what the best option is moving forward.

FanSided.com

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08:15 AM ET 05.18 | On Friday, San Jose Sharks general manager Doug Wilson revealed his thoughts about the league-mandated suspension to veteran forward Raffi Torres. Torres was banned for the remainder of the Sharks' second-round series against Los Angeles for an illegal hit to the head of forward Jarret Stoll during the second period of the Kings' 2-0 Game 1 win on Tuesday. "The Sharks organization fully supports the NHL in its efforts to remove illegal and dangerous hits from the game but we strongly disagree with the NHL's decision to suspend Raffi Torres," Wilson said in a statement. "Upon review of the incident, it is abundantly clear that this was a clean hockey hit. As noted by the NHL, Raffi's initial point of contact was a shoulder-to-shoulder hit on an opponent who was playing the puck. He did not leave his feet or elevate, he kept his shoulder tucked and elbow down at his side, and he was gliding -- not skating or charging. "As evidenced in the video, just prior to Torres making contact with the opposing player, that player altered his posture to play a bouncing puck with his hand, placing himself in a vulnerable position.

Chicago Tribune

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07:54 AM ET 05.18 | Former UFC welterweight Matt Riddle was released by the promotion following his second failed drug test for marijuana in his last three fights. Both of the fights were initially wins for Riddle, but they were overturned to a no contest from the governing bodies. Immediately following his release, Riddle signed on with Legacy Fighting Championship but he has already decided to leave for a new home. News surfaced late Friday night that Riddle has agreed to join Bellator. Luckily for Riddle, there are reports that Bellator doesn't drug test their fighters on a consistent basis, so that could end up being a benefit for him while he tries to get a few more wins under his belt.

FanSided.com

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11:37 AM ET 05.17 | Keegan Bradley got hot on Thursday morning and fired an opening round 10-under par 60 at The HP Byron Nelson Championship. The score was good for a new course record at TPC Four Seasons Resort which was previously 61 set by Charlie Rymer in 1996, and followed by Justin Leonard in 2001, and Cameron Beckman in 2010. Bradley's opening-round score ties older tournament records of 60 set in 1957 by Sam Snead in the second round at Glen Lakes, and Arron Oberholser who shot a 60 in the second round at Cottonwood Valley. Keegan opened up in the morning session on the back nine, and took advantage of the overnight moisture on the green. He won his first PGA Tour event here in 2011.

Pro Golf Now

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06:20 PM ET 04.24 | NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Kurt Busch climbed into a ride of a different kind on Tuesday as part of a media event to promote the V8 Supercars Series race May 17-19 at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas. As part of the promotion, Busch made a 20-minute run around the road course in a V8 Supercar, while Supercar driver James Courtney took Busch's No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet NASCAR Sprint Cup car for a spin. "It was sure a thrill to get into a car that I have watched and admired for many years during all those Supercar road races," Busch said. "It was also a little weird driving the Supercar and watching my car stretch its legs down the straightaway." Before getting into the Supercar, though, Busch acclimated himself with the track by driving his familiar ride, his Sprint Cup car. "I had a blast driving my car on the road course and even more of a blast in the V8 Supercar," Busch said. "The Circuit of The Americas is an awesome track with a lot of interesting and fun turns." When it came time to climb into the V8 Supercar, Busch had a few things to get used to. Opening a door to get into the car, as opposed to climbing in the window, was the easy part. Busch had to get used to a car with the steering wheel on the right side and the shifter to his left.

Stockcar Spin

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10:04 AM ET 05.11 | Landon Donovan loves him some David Moyes. And vice versa, based on everything the world's new "it" manager has always said. Donovan also loves him some English soccer; the game is part of the landscape there, like the Thames or the famous gardens of Cotswolds. Finally, the U.S. national team's all-time leading scorer is out of contract with the LA Galaxy at the end of 2013, which means he's free to go wherever he likes. He could play for the Pittsburgh Riverhounds if he liked; they do have a swell stadium after all. So a few members of the chattering class made the leap on this seemingly non-tricky math: [Donovan + Moyes' arrival at Old Trafford + big transfer expense account] mutual respect = Donovan in a kit of mighty Manchester United. Donovan cleverly deflected questions along those lines, parrying the queries as skillfully as Galaxy teammate Carlo Cudicini has parried anything away from Home Depot Center goal this year, goofing on his recent pair of PK misses at the same time.

ProSoccerTalk

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07:05 PM ET 04.01 | The two top Indian doubles players, Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna, are reuniting for one final run. The two competed together during the 2012 season and have decided to join forces on the same side of the court beginning with the Monte Carlo Masters after spending the beginning of the season experimenting with other partners. Bhupati is preparing to call it quits on his career that included four Grand Slams and eight mixed doubles Grand Slams, and he couldn't think of a better way to go out than to compete with an old partner.

FanSided.com

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