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Hall of Fame Village to Canton

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CANTON – (Wire Service Report – Special to Digital Sports Desk) – The Hall of Fame Village in the works at Canton, Ohio, has landed a corporate sponsor.

Johnson Controls reached an 18-year deal for the naming rights, the Pro Football Hall of Fame announced Friday. When it opens 2019, the $600 million sports and entertainment site will be known as Johnson Controls Hall of Fame Village.

Johnson Controls paid nine figures to acquire the rights but the amount wasn’t immediately pinpointed. According to the press release from the Hall of Fame, “the agreement ranks in the top 80 percentile of sports naming rights deals.”

The deal includes naming rights to the annual induction ceremonies and the Hall of Fame Game.

Pro Football Hall of Fame

“This is an extraordinary partnership between esteemed partners that celebrates excellence everywhere. Johnson Controls and the Hall of Fame share strong values and a vision of improving others’ lives and making the world a better place,” Pro Football Hall of Fame president David Baker said in the news release.

“This historic agreement will ensure that the Johnson Controls Hall of Fame Village will be the first ‘smart’ sports and entertainment city and will serve to inspire generations of fans as a showcase for state-of-the-art technology products and services to deliver world-class fan experiences.”

Johnson Controls is a technology company that is credited with inventing the first electric room thermostat in 1885.

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, who chairs the Hall of Fame Committee, called the announcement a “terrific day” for the Hall of Fame

“The Hall of Fame’s growth is great for this game and the millions of fans who love it,” Jones said in a statement. “I’m thrilled that a company like Johnson Controls chose to be part of this very special project taking shape in Canton.”

The deal also calls for improvements of Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium. The field at the stadium has come under fire in the past and last summer’s Hall of Fame game between the Green Bay Packers and Indianapolis Colts was canceled on game day to due poor field conditions.

Sox Add Two Arms

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BOSTON – (Wire Service Report from Official News Release) – The Boston Red Sox added right-handed relief pitcher Kyle Martin and left-hander Luis Ysla to the major league roster on Friday from Triple-A Pawtucket.

Martin, 25, spent the entire 2016 season with the PawSox in his Triple-A debut. He converted each of his six save opportunities and went 3-4 with a 3.38 ERA over 66 2/3 innings and 10.53 strikeouts per nine innings in 36 appearances, all in relief.

Martin has made each of his 120 professional appearances in relief, going 15-12 with 24 saves, a 3.41 ERA over 229 innings, 242 strikeouts, 63 walks and 19 home runs allowed.

Ysla, 24, made 39 of his 40 appearances in 2016 with Double-A Portland before finishing his season with a solo outing for Pawtucket. He combined to go 2-5 with four saves, a 3.99 ERA over 56 1/3 innings and 62 strikeouts, pitching exclusively out of the bullpen for the first time in his career. From June 1 through the remainder of the season, the Venezuelan native held opponents to a .208 batting average in 24 appearances between the two clubs.Originally signed by San

Francisco as an international free agent in 2012, Ysla was acquired by the Red Sox from the Giants Aug. 31, 2015. He has made four relief appearances for Margarita of the Venezuelan Winter League, his third consecutive season pitching for the team.

NFL: Gronk Out

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FOXBOROUGH – (Wire Service Report) – The New England Patriots ruled out tight end Rob Gronkowski for Sunday’s game against the San Francisco 49ers due to a chest injury. Gronkowski missed his third straight practice on Friday and the team later listed him as out on the official injury report.

Gronkowski sustained the injury in last Sunday night’s 31-24 loss to the Seattle Seahawks. He took a hard hit from Seahawks safety Earl Thomas and temporarily had to leave the game in the first half. There has been speculation Gronkowski may also have a lung injury. A source told ESPN’s Adam Schefter the injury is “not overly serious” and that Gronkowski does not have a punctured lung. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported the injury is a perforated lung.

Gronkowski will not make the trip to the Bay Area, leaving Martellus Bennett and Matt Lengel as the two available tight ends on the roster.

Bennett, who has 38 catches for 504 yards and four touchdowns this season, will get the start in place of Gronkowski.

Gronkowski missed two games earlier this season due to a hamstring injury.

The Patriots also ruled out wide receiver Chris Hogan because of a back injury.

The 49ers ruled out outside linebacker Aaron Lynch (ankle) and listed wide receiver Torrey Smith (shoulder) and cornerback Rashard Robinson (knee) as questionable.

Celtics Alarm Goes Off After Beatdown at Hands of GS Warriors

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Golden State 104, Boston 88
When: 8:00 PM ET, Friday, November 18, 2016
Where: TD Garden, Boston
Attendance: 18,624

BOSTON – (Wire Service Report) – – A loud fire alarm rang through TD Garden minutes after Friday night’s game. It came about an hour late for the home team. It came after the Golden State Warriors put on a third-quarter clinic — at both ends of the floor.

“I think defensively the third quarter was fantastic,” Kevin Durant said after the Warriors outscored the Celtics 31-9 in the third en route to a 104-88 rout of the Boston Celtics. “That’s high-level defense. We’re flying around, helping each other, getting our hand on basketballs, getting out on transition.

“It was incredible to watch. We’ve got to continue to build on that. Offensively, another 30-plus assist night it was good for us.”

The Celtics went 2-for-17 in the quarter.

Ahead by seven at halftime, the Warriors went on a 24-3 run — capped by an 18-0 streak — to break open the competitive game and power to their sixth straight victory. Boston, still playing without the injured Al Horford (concussion) and Jae Crowder (ankle), were in the game and trailed 55-48 at the break. The Warriors then went wild and improved to 10-2. Klay Thompson scored 11 of his 28 points in the quarter.

Durant, seriously courted by the Celtics before signing with Golden State, scored 23 points and added 10 rebounds and seven assists, and both he and Thompson sat as the Celtics made their little run. Naturally, Durant was booed — loudly during the pregame introductions and then every time he touched the ball.

“I didn’t care,” he said. “I’m always motivated to play, so, no, I was cool.”

Steph Curry avoided a season-low in scoring when he hit a 3-pointer and another basket late, finishing with 16 points (his low was 13), while Draymond Green had 11 points, eight rebounds and eight assists in the win.

Curry, who also got a technical foul, was 7-for-16 from the floor, 2-for-10 from 3-point range and also missed three layups.

Down 30 early in the fourth quarter, the Celtics were able to cut their deficit to 12 with 1:50 left.

Isaiah Thomas led the Celtics (6-6) with a season-low 18 points (his previous low was 23), while Avery Bradley scored 17. After the game, Thomas, who sat out much of the fourth quarter and logged 27:35 (with a game Saturday night), said he wasn’t thrilled his team threw in the towel. Thomas was asked about Warriors big man Zaza Pachulia imitating Durant after hitting an outside shot to cap an 18-0 run to blow open a competitive game.

“Yeah, but at that point the game was turned around,” Thomas said. “I guess we gave up. Coaching staff as well. We start subbing. It was bad … we gave up.

“We went into panic mode for whatever reason, and that’s what happened. So I’m upset with that.”

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Trout, Bryant Take MVP Honors

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NEW YORK – (Wire Service Report) – Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout and Chicago Cubs third baseman/outfielder Kris Bryant won the American League and National League Most Valuable Player Awards, respectively, on Thursday in voting by Baseball Writers’ Association of America.

Trout beat out the Boston Red Sox’s Mookie Betts and the Houston Astros’ Jose Altuve to win his second AL MVP Award.

He is the first player in history to finish in the top two in MVP voting in each of his first five full seasons in the majors. Albert Pujols and Barry Bonds are the only other players in baseball history to finish in the top three in MVP voting in five straight years.

Mike Trout

Trout was a runner-up to the Detroit Tigers’ Miguel Cabrera in both 2012 and 2013. But Trout was a unanimous choice as AL MVP in 2014 and finished second to Toronto Blue Jays third baseman Josh Donaldson last season.

“It means a lot,” Trout said on being considered among the best players every year. “Ever since I was a kid, I always wanted to be the best player. It didn’t matter what sport. Obviously, you work hard just to be in that conversation. There’s a lot of great players across the country and across the world that you’re playing against every day. To put your mindset to that and just to work hard to be the best.”

Trout won the award even though his team did not reach the playoffs. He hit .315 with 29 homers and 100 RBIs. He led the American League in both walks (116) and on-base percentage (.441).

He is considered among the best defensive outfielders as well, and is often considered the best all-around player in the game.

“As a mindset, I always told myself that,” he said. “But once I go out there and play I put that all behind me.”

Bryant was nearly a unanimous selection in the National League, beating out Washington Nationals second baseman Daniel Murphy and the Los Angeles Dodgers rookie shortstop Corey Seager.

Bryant spent most of his time at third base, and he is the first third baseman to win the award since Atlanta Braves’ Chipper Jones did it in 1999.

Bryant was the NL Rookie of the Year last season, and the 23-year-old improved his numbers this season while leading the Cubs to the best regular-season record in the majors and the Cubs’ first World Series title since 1908.He hit .292 with 39 homers and 102 RBIs this season.

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