Inside the downfall of the Nets' Kevin Durant-Kyrie Irving era  —  Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving chose the Nets.  Not the other way around.  —  It's an important note to remember as we unpack the end of a not-quite era of championship contention in Brooklyn: The superstars chose to be here.

Recapping the Chicago Bulls: Poor 3-point shooting — again — leads to a 116-105 loss to the Brooklyn Nets  —  NEW YORK — Hours after executive vice president of basketball operations Artūras Karnišovas insisted that a consistent roster is still the answer, the Chicago Bulls on Thursday lost to the Brooklyn Nets 116-105.

Sources: Padres' Yu Darvish gets 6-year, $108M extension  —  Right-hander Yu Darvish and the San Diego Padres are in agreement on a six-year, $108 million contract extension, sources told ESPN's Jeff Passan on Thursday.  —  The deal, which contains a full no-trade provision …

Dolphins great Zach Thomas finally gets in Pro Football Hall of Fame  —  The fourth time was the charm for Zach Thomas.  —  The great Miami Dolphins linebacker is bound for the Pro Football Hall of Fame as one of five modern-day players elected Thursday night at NFL Honors awards ceremony.

Clippers acquire Bones Hyland, Eric Gordon, Mason Plumlee, dealing John Wall, Reggie Jackson and Luke Kennard  —  The Clippers improved their frontcourt and added depth to the backcourt through several moves in the final hour before Thursday's trade deadline

SMU, rumored Pac-12 expansion candidate, keeps commissioner's visit under the radar  —  George Kliavkoff visited campus and attended a men's basketball game at Moody Coliseum as the Pac-12 seeks schools to replace USC and UCLA.  —  UNIVERSITY PARK — If SMU had its way …

MLB prepared to take over local TV broadcasts from Sinclair  —  1 of 10  —  About $1 billion of Major League Baseball's revenue is at risk if a cable television company fails to make payments for local broadcasting rights to 14 teams, and the sport is preparing to take over telecasts.

USC's win streak ends with lopsided loss to Oregon  —  Boogie Ellis scores 19 points but the Trojans (17-7 overall, 9-4 Pac-12) see their four-game win streak snuffed out as the Ducks lead wire-to-wire and hand them a 78-60 defeat  —  EUGENE, Ore. — USC dug itself a big hole early and never recovered.

Classic rosters packed with international talent  —  It's nearly here.  After a six-year wait, the World Baseball Classic has returned, and it's bigger than ever.  That's not hyperbole, either: The tournament field has been expanded to 20 teams, with three first-time participants in Great Britain …