BASKETBALL

Tremont Waters was named G League Player of the Month after leading the Red Claws to a 7-2 start by averaging 22.3 points, 7.7 assists and 1.7 steals.

A 5-foot-10 point guard drafted 51st overall by the Celtics, Waters is the first Red Claws player to earn the honor since Jordan Mickey in December 2015.

Maine’s only two losses this season have come without Waters, a two-way player called up to Boston for a Nov. 25 game against Sacramento. He also missed Friday night’s double-overtime loss in Chicago because of illness.

BASEBALL

MAJORS: All-Star infielder Mike Moustakas and the Cincinnati Reds agreed to a $64 million, four-year contract, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press, the team’s first move to upgrade a lineup that struggled to score.

• The Chicago Cubs did not offer a 2020 contract to shortstop Addison Russell, making the 2016 All-Star a free agent one year after he was suspended for violating Major League Baseball’s domestic violence policy.

• The Royals and left-hander Mike Montgomery, the club’s once-heralded prospect, agreed to a $3.1 million contract for next season to avoid salary arbitration.

• All-Star catcher James McCann agreed to a $5.4 million, one-year contract with the Chicago White Sox, more than doubling his salary.

• Switch-hitting second baseman Jurickson Profar was acquired by the San Diego Padres from the Oakland Athletics for catcher Austin Allen and a player to be named.

• Outfielder Alex Dickerson reached agreement on a $925,000, one-year contract with the San Francisco Giants to avoid salary arbitration and give the club some stability at the position.

• Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders met with baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred to discuss MLB’s proposal to that would drop 42 minor league teams from their leagues after the 2020 season.

• The Mariners failed to offer 2020 contracts to infielder Tim Beckham and outfielder Domingo Santana, making them free agents.

• Backup infielder Ehire Adrianza and the Minnesota Twins agreed to a $1.6 million, one-year contract, avoiding salary arbitration.

• First baseman Jesus Aguilar was claimed off waivers by the Miami Marlins after being designated for assignment last week by the Tampa Bay Rays.

• The rebuilding Baltimore Orioles further slashed their slim salary payroll by trading infielder Jonathan Villar to Miami for minor league pitcher Easton Lucas.

• Second baseman Cesar Hernandez and third baseman Maikel Franco became free agents when the Phillies did not offer them contracts.

SOCCER

MLS: MLS teams will not play every franchise at least once next season, a departure from scheduling since the league launched in 1996.

With expansion to Miami and Nashville growing the field to 26 teams and the number of regular-season matches staying the same (34), clubs will play only 10 of 13 teams from the other conference.

AWARDS: Cristiano Ronaldo won the Italian league’s player of the year award.

• Lionel Messi won a record sixth Ballon d’Or and World Cup winner Megan Rapinoe earned the women’s prize.

A day after scoring his 614th career goal for Barcelona, Messi reclaimed the trophy he last won in 2015.

Rapinoe won the women’s Ballon d’Or for leading the United States to World Cup glory in July.

COLLEGES

MEN’S BASKETBALL: The University of New England pulled away in the last 10 minutes of the second half, using a 25-9 run down the stretch, to beat Maine Maritime 95-79 at Biddeford.

Alex Kravchuk and Saddiq Canty had 17 points apiece for UNE (5-3), and Drake Gavin tossed in 14.

DeMerrill Levy had a game-high 23 points and six boards for Maine Maritime (2-2).

• Kody Greenhalgh had 12 of his team-leading 19 points in the first half as Bates beat Johnson & Wales 82-74 at Providence, Rhode Island.

Jeff Spellman had 18 points for Bates (3-1), reserve Stephon Baxter had 16 points and Tom Coyne added 10.

Brian Hogan-Gary and Justin Bullock had 28 points apiece for Johnson & Wales (3-3).

• Louisville is the latest team to climb to No. 1 in The Associated Press men’s college basketball poll and Michigan has matched a record by debuting at No. 4.

The Cardinals received 48 of 65 first-place votes from a media panel in the poll. No. 2 Kansas had three first-place votes and No. 5 Virginia had five.

The Wolverines received nine first-place votes and matched Kansas in 1989 for the biggest jump from being unranked the previous week after winning the Battle 4 Atlantis title in the Bahamas.

Louisville moved up one to the top spot after previous No. 1 Duke lost to Stephen F. Austin. The Cardinals are the fourth different No. 1 in five weeks.

Maryland rose to No. 3.

FOOTBALL: Northwestern has parted ways with offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Mick McCall after a miserable season.

• Washington Coach Chris Petersen says he is stepping down after six seasons at the school, with defensive coordinator Jimmy Lake promoted to take over the program.

• North Carolina State fired defensive coordinator Dave Huxtable after a four-win season, though first-year AD Boo Corrigan is publicly backing head coach Dave Doeren.

• Boston College turned to assistant and former Eagles receiver Rich Gunnell as interim coach while it looks for a permanent successor to Steve Addazio and tries to return to the days when it was nationally ranked.

• Bobby Wilder resigned as Old Dominion’s football coach after 13 seasons. He was 77-56 with the Monarchs, including a 10-3 record in 2016 when ODU won the Bahamas Bowl.

Wilder, a former University of Maine quarterback and offensive coordinator, was hired off the UMaine staff in 2007 to create the Monarchs’ program, which began play in 2009.

Wilder turned ODU into a contender in the Football Championship Subdivision as a member of the Colonial Athletic Association, but could not achieve similar success after joining Conference-USA of the FBS. The Monarchs went 45-24 in the FCS, but only 32-32 after joining the FBS.

Athletic Director Wood Selig said the Old Dominion Athletic Foundation will cover the $600,000 buyout Wilder is due.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL: Tara VanDerveer and Stanford are No. 1 for the first time in seven years.

The Cardinal moved up two spots after a weekend that saw previous No. 1 Oregon and No. 2 Baylor both lose on Saturday. It was only the third time since the Top 25 became a writers’ poll before the 1994-95 season that the top two teams lost on the same day.

Stanford received 23 of 30 first-place votes from the national media panel. The team was last No. 1 for six weeks in 2012.

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