D-backs seek Chase Field upgrades, threaten to sue or leave  —  PHOENIX — The Arizona Diamondbacks are threatening to sue Maricopa County and leave downtown Phoenix unless their ballpark is upgraded.  —  In a letter to county officials Thursday, the Diamondbacks say the county has failed …

In N.F.L., Deeply Flawed Concussion Research and Ties to Big Tobacco  —  The National Football League was on the clock.  —  With several of its marquee players retiring early after a cascade of frightening concussions, the league formed a committee in 1994 that would ultimately issue …

League Made Deal with Rams to Draft Sam  —  It's been almost two years since the St. Louis Rams selected defensive end Michael Sam in the seventh round of the 2014 draft.  At the time, the Rams were hailed for being progressive and drafting the first openly gay player in the National Football League.

Alex Rodriguez says he'll retire after 2017 season  —  Alex Rodriguez plans on retiring at the end of the 2017 season after playing out his contract with the New York Yankees, the designated hitter told ESPN on Wednesday.  —  “I won't play after next year,” Rodriguez told ESPN on Wednesday.

Diamondbacks' Patrick Corbin sharp 2 years after surgery  —  Patrick Corbin will celebrate a two-year anniversary Friday.  —  Well, maybe celebrate is too strong of a word.  Corbin will surely think about the Tommy John surgery performed on his left elbow March 25, 2014, and the season and a half he was out of baseball.

Padres Release Casey Janssen  —  The Padres have granted right-hander Casey Janssen his release, as per the club's official Twitter feed.  The Nationals bought out their end of Janssen's $7MM mutual option for 2016 following the season, and the veteran reliever signed a minor league deal with San Diego last month.

Orioles Acquire Edgar Olmos  —  The Orioles have acquired lefty Edgar Olmos from the Cubs, per a Baltimore announcement.  Chicago will receive a player to be named later in the swap.  —  Olmos will join just-signed southpaw Zach Phillips in the mix to fill in for injured reliever Brian Matusz.

Nationals Place Tyler Moore On Waivers  —  The Nationals placed first baseman/outfielder Tyler Moore on waivers yesterday, James Wagner of the Washington Post reports on Twitter.  It's not immediately clear if the club is seeking release or outright waivers, but Moore would not be able …

World's oldest living animal, 184-year-old tortoise named Jonathan, has first ever bath  —  A giant tortoise living on the British outpost of St Helena is given a clean-up ahead of Royal visit.  —  The world's oldest living animal, a 184-year-old giant tortoise, has had its first ever bath.

Diamondbacks' middle infield competition is going even better than they'd hoped  —  The competition for the Diamondbacks' middle-infield positions is going even better than the team anticipated.  —  Jean Segura entered Thursday batting .525 with a 1.312 OPS.  Nick Ahmed wasn't far behind, batting .422 with a 1.146 OPS.

Sitting in limbo: Reds' Jay Bruce, Brewers' Lucroy surprised they're not dealt  —  It is the most awkward and anxious spring training of their careers, spending their entire lives in one organization, but knowing they no longer are part of the future.  —  Cincinnati Reds right fielder Jay Bruce …

Baseball's Most Valuable Teams  —  In baseball, the pecking order of team values has more to do with what goes on outside the ballpark than the number of fans that come through the turnstiles, buy beer or rent a party suite at the game.  —  The New York Yankees, worth at least $3.4 billion …