Tim Hudson agreed to a $28 million, three-year contract with the Atlanta Braves on Thursday, giving the team a wealth of starting pitching and setting up a likely trade to bolster the offense. Hudson could have returned to the Braves under a $12 million option, but the sides focused on a longer deal after the right-hander showed he had overcome major elbow surgery.
The Dallas Mavericks' offense barely had a pulse for most of three quarters. Then Dirk Nowitzki decided to take control. Nowitzki scored a club-record 29 of his 40 points during a frantic fourth-quarter comeback and the Mavericks beat the Utah Jazz 96-85 on Tuesday night. Nowitzki broke the franchise record of 24 points in any quarter set by Mark Aguirre against Denver on March 24, 1984.
Michael Crabtree is confident he can play a big role for the San Francisco 49ers as a rookie even though he's months behind. He will get his chances in an offense that could really use him. Crabtree signed a six-year contract early Wednesday after a drawn-out negotiation process that had some wondering whether the star wide receiver would ever show up this season.
Two years ago, the Cleveland Browns turned their woeful offense over to Derek Anderson and won 10 games. Eric Mangini can only hope it happens again. With his first season in Cleveland already unraveling, Mangini benched Brady Quinn in favor of Anderson, who rode a similar opportunity in 2007 to an appearance in the Pro Bowl.
Buffalo Bills coach Dick Jauron is committed to sticking with the no-huddle attack entering the regular season — just not with the offensive coordinator who spent the year installing it. Unhappy with his offense's dismal performance this past month, Jauron fired Turk Schonert on Friday, a day after the Bills closed the preseason with a 17-6 loss to Detroit.