The four NBA games postponed last week -- three by the devastating wildfires in the Los Angeles area and one by a winter storm in Atlanta -- have caused a ripple effect in the league's schedule, with nine games involving nine teams being rescheduled to make up for those dates and one game's makeup date still to be determined.

The Los Angeles Lakers' game against the Charlotte Hornets, originally scheduled for Jan. 9, will now be played at Crypto.com Arena on Feb. 19.

Because of that move, the Lakers' home game against the Utah Jazz has been moved up one day to Feb. 10.

A new date for the Lakers' Jan. 11 home game against San Antonio wasn't announced.

The LA Clippers, meanwhile, had four games affected by the scheduling shuffle. Their postponed game against the Hornets on Jan. 11 will now be played at the Intuit Dome on March 16.

The NBA also rescheduled the Clippers' home games against the Chicago Bulls (from Jan. 21 to Jan. 20) and the Washington Wizards (March 16 to Jan. 23). The Clippers' road game against the Jazz, originally scheduled for March 19, will now be played on Feb. 13.

At least 25 people have died as multiple wildfires rage across the Los Angeles area. Approximately 82,000 people remain under mandatory evacuation orders and more than 12,000 structures, including the home of Lakers coach JJ Redick, have been damaged or destroyed.

The Atlanta Hawks' home game against the Houston Rockets on Jan. 11 was postponed because of a winter storm and "to prioritize the safety of the players, fans and staff due to the severe weather and hazardous icy conditions." That game will now be played in Atlanta on Jan. 28.

Other games affected by the shuffle include the Wizards at Jazz (moved from Jan. 23 to March 19) and Wizards at Trail Blazers (moved from March 18 to March 17).

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

MARIETTA, Ga. -- Bo Jackson is giving up a $21 million judgment against his niece and nephew, whom he said harassed and tried to extort money from the former football and baseball star.

A judge in February ruled in Jackson's favor in the suit he had filed in April 2023 against Thomas Lee Anderson and Erica M. Anderson, also known as Erica Anderson Ross.

Jackson, a running back who won the Heisman Trophy at Auburn and also played in both the NFL and MLB, Jackson had alleged in his lawsuit that his relatives tried to extort $20 million from him through harassment and intimidation.

In addition to the monetary award, last year's ruling included a permanent protective order barring his niece and nephew from bothering or contacting him and his immediate family. It also said they must stay at least 500 yards from the Jacksons and remove social media posts about them.

Cobb County Superior Court Judge Jason D. Marbutt said in his February order that neither Jackson's niece and nephew nor their attorneys rebutted Jackson's claims or participated in the case after a May 2023 hearing, when they consented to a temporary protective order. The judge found the Andersons to be in default, accepting as true all of Jackson's allegations.

After that ruling was issued, a new lawyer for the Andersons filed a motion in March to set aside that judgment and to dismiss the lawsuit, according to court filings. In a filing Tuesday, Jackson and the Andersons jointly asked the judge to throw out February's order, withdraw the Andersons' pending motions and enter a consent judgment.

"In the meantime, the Parties have conducted two mediations and have reached a private agreement resolving this dispute," the filing says.

Marbutt on Wednesday issued an order vacating his February ruling at the request of Jackson and his niece and nephew.

That consent judgment finds in Jackson's favor on several counts and dismisses others, awards no damages either to Jackson or his niece and nephew and says the parties shall pay their own attorneys' fees. It also says the Andersons must not harass or intimidate Jackson and his wife and children and stay 500 yards away from them, except in certain circumstances, including court appearances, sporting events and family functions. The Andersons are also not to have any contact with Jackson and his wife and children.

Jackson, 62, had alleged that the harassment began in 2022 and included threatening social media posts and messages, public allegations that put him in a false light. He also alleged that public disclosure of private information was intended to cause him severe emotional distress. With the help of an attorney, the Andersons demanded $20 million to stop. He said he feared for his own safety and that of his family.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

BRISTOL, Conn. -- Shohei Ohtani and the defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers will be featured on four of ESPN's first 10 "Sunday Night Baseball" broadcasts along with a March 27 appearance on the sport's main Opening Day.

ESPN said Wednesday it will broadcast the Dodgers' Sunday night games against the Chicago Cubs (April 13), Atlanta Braves (May 4), New York Mets (May 25) and New York Yankees (June 1).

The Dodgers appeared in the maximum five Sunday night games last year, as did the Yankees, Braves and Boston Red Sox.

Los Angeles opens the season on March 18 and 19 against the Chicago Cubs in Tokyo, and most other teams start play March 27. ESPN's doubleheader that day features exclusive coverage of the Yankees hosting Milwaukee and the Dodgers at home against Detroit. The March 27 appearances don't count against each team's five-game ESPN limit.

ESPN's Sunday night games started in 1990.

The Baltimore Orioles and Atlanta Braves backed out of agreements to sign Jeff Hoffman because of concerns about the reliever's pitching shoulder before he finalized a $33 million, three-year contract with the Toronto Blue Jays last week.

"The stuff they saw on the MRIs, whatever they saw was what their team docs were saying," he said Wednesday during the Blue Jays' introductory videoconference. "Not any bit in line with the way I feel, though, so it's not something that I'm really concerned about or worried about."

A right-hander who turned 32 on Jan. 8, Hoffman went for in-person physicals for deals with the Orioles and Braves.

"All the flags, physical stuff, was as big a surprise to me as anybody," he said. "If you can check my kind of track record over the past few seasons, I've been as healthy as anybody. It's a nonissue for me. It's just something that they wanted to bring up and the Blue Jays see me for what I am. So I'd rather be in a place like that anyways."

Braves spokesman Jared Burleyson and Orioles spokeswoman Jackie Harig said their teams declined to comment.

Toronto gave Hoffman a deal that included a $5 million signing bonus and salaries of $6 million this year and $11 million in each of the following two seasons. He can earn up to $2 million annually in performance bonuses for innings pitched: $500,000 each for 60, 70, 80 and 90.

"When the team docs got their hands on me and everything for the actual physical orthopedic exam, there was really nothing to worry about," Hoffman said. "My body's moving great, range of motion, everything is normal for me and it's as it would be midseason."

Hoffman was last on the injured list in 2022 with Cincinnati, when he didn't pitch after July 23 because of right forearm stiffness. He was on the IL from May 27 to July 21 in 2021 because of a sore right shoulder and was sidelined by right shoulder inflammation early in the 2018 season while with Colorado.

A first-time All-Star last year, Hoffman wound up with his original big league organization. He was selected by the Blue Jays with the ninth pick in the 2014 amateur draft and was traded to Colorado a year later. He had the Blue Jays' draft card framed and on a wall as he spoke from his home in the Orlando, Florida, area.

"Been a little chaotic, obviously," Hoffman said. "Not stuff that we necessarily agreed with when we were going through the process, but teams have their ways of looking at physicals and stuff like that, and at the end of the day, the ball's in their court on that kind of stuff. So we're really excited that Toronto was kind of in it from the beginning and kept contact through the whole process, and we always kind of felt like it was a really cool place that we could end up."

Hoffman went 3-3 with a 2.17 ERA and 10 saves last season for the NL East champion Philadelphia Phillies, earning his first All-Star selection in July. He set career bests for ERA, saves and appearances (68). He struck out 89 and walked 16 in 66 innings, holding opposing hitters to a .197 batting average with a 0.96 WHIP. But he struggled badly in last year's playoffs versus the New York Mets, going 1-2 while allowing six runs in 1 innings over three outings in their division series.

Hoffman would earn $150,000 for winning a Cy Young Award, $125,000 for finishing second in the voting, $100,000 for third, $75,000 for fourth and $50,000 for fifth. He would receive $100,000 for winning Reliever of the Year and $75,000 for becoming a finalist, $50,000 each for making the All-Star team or winning World Series MVP, and $25,000 for winning League Championship Series MVP.

It is safe to say a player who is aiming to become the youngest man to complete the career Grand Slam does not have many faults.

However, if there was one area where Carlos Alcaraz was weaker than the rest, it was his serve.

The 21-year-old Spaniard and his team, headed by coach Juan Carlos Ferrero, looked to put that right before the new season.

So far at the Australian Open, Alcaraz has been reaping the benefit of his beefed-up serve.

On Wednesday, Alcaraz hit 14 aces in a 6-0 6-1 6-4 second-round win against Japan's Yoshihito Nishioka.

He left a cheeky message on the on-court camera lens afterwards, writing: "Am I a servebot?"

Alcaraz was joking, of course - he will never be John Isner, the 6ft 10in former world number eight who became the prototype 'servebot'.

Nor will he be Reilly Opelka, another skyscraper American who has whacked 78 aces in his opening two matches.

Alcaraz has hit 20 aces in total - putting him in tied 20th in the men's draw - but his ironic message showed he is happy with his serving progress.

In the one-sided victory over Nishioka, the world number three won 89% of first serve points - helped by those aces - and 71% of second serve points.

It was a huge improvement from his opening match and the result of a Tuesday practice session dedicated to serving.

"I felt really good today with the serve," said Alcaraz, who is bidding to surpass Rafael Nadal as the youngest man to win all four majors in the Open era.

"I talked with Juan Carlos about what I have to do today with the serve, what I did wrong and what I did great from the first match.

"I felt more comfortable on it. I think the serve is about confidence and feelings."

Osaka, 27, gave birth to daughter Shai in July 2023 and returned to the WTA Tour six months later.

The four-time major winner lost in the first round on her Slam return at the Australian Open last year, before exiting in the second round at Roland Garros, Wimbledon and Flushing Meadows.

But the former world number one is off to an impressive start in 2025, beating France's Caroline Garcia in three sets in her opening match before overcoming 20th seed Muchova in just under two hours.

"Honestly, it took everything," Osaka said of her comeback victory on Wednesday.

"I felt like I left everything I had on the court. Just to be back on these courts... it really makes my whole year."

Osaka will play Belinda Bencic in the next round, with the Canadian herself playing her first Grand Slam since giving birth to daughter Bella in April 2024.

A third straight victory would send Osaka into the fourth round at a major for the first time since she won the Australian Open in 2021.

Zheng Qinwen admitted it was not her day as she was beaten in the Australian Open second round in the biggest shock of the tournament so far.

China's Zheng, runner-up to Aryna Sabalenka last year and the Olympic singles gold medallist, lost 7-6 (7-3) 6-3 to German veteran Laura Siegemund.

The fifth seed is the highest ranked player from either singles draw to lose so far at Melbourne Park.

Zheng was irked by two time violations during the match, one of which cost her a first serve.

She complained to the umpire that she could not see the shot clock, which tells players how long they have left to serve before the 25 second allowance runs out.

"Maybe today is not my day," Zheng, 22, said.

"There's a lot of details in the important points. I didn't do the right choice."

WINNIPEG, Manitoba -- Kyle Connor scored a natural hat trick in the first period, sparking the Winnipeg Jets to a 6-1 victory over the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday night.

The left-winger's sixth career hat trick came in a span of 6:38, making it the third fastest in Jets-Thrashers' history.

According to ESPN Research, Connor's was the 30th natural hat trick within the first 14 minutes of a game in NHL history. And it was the second-fastest natural hat trick from the start of the game in franchise history, trailing the 11:24 effort by former forward Sean Monahan on Feb. 19, 2024, against the Calgary Flames.

"It was just kind of being in the right spot," Connor said after the win. "It was one of those in that the bounces seemed to be going the right way, especially early."

Connor's third goal came on a breakaway, when he deked in front of Vancouver goaltender Kevin Lankinen and sent the puck around Lankinen's outstretched stick. The feat seemed to deflate the Canucks, who were outshot 20-10 in the second period.

"I actually didn't mind our first [period], but three big mistakes ended up in the net," Vancouver coach Rich Tocchet said. "It's a good hockey club over there, and obviously, we'd say that everyone on our team had a tough night."

Mark Scheifele, Neal Pionk and Nino Niederreiter each had a goal and assist for the Jets, who are the first team to hit 30 wins this season.

Gabriel Vilardi recorded three assists and Cole Perfetti added a pair to give him 100 NHL career points.

Connor Hellebuyck made 23 saves to pick up his league-leading 27th win of the season for Winnipeg, which is 3-1-2 in its season-long, eight-game homestand.

Nils Hoglander scored a third-period goal for the Canucks, who finished a five-game road trip, going 1-2-2. Lankinen stopped 27 shots for Vancouver.

"It's tough when you go down 3-0 after one [period], and obviously, it was 5-0 after two," Vancouver defenseman Quinn Hughes said. "Obviously, this is a disappointing result."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

PITTSBURGH -- Sitting in a quiet dressing room on Tuesday night after another blown lead turned into another crippling loss in a season increasingly filled with them, Evgeni Malkin spoke quietly.

The Pittsburgh Penguins star has long served as the franchise's emotional core, the Russian's passion serving as the yin to longtime captain Sidney Crosby's more reserved yang.

Malkin is well aware his historic partnership with Crosby and Kris Letang is nearing an end. The final chapter is not going the way the longest-tenured trio of teammates in major North American sports planned.

So after two periods of dominance against Seattle morphed into a 4-2 defeat to cap a maddening homestand in which the Penguins won just once in five tries -- the lone victory against Connor McDavid and Edmonton -- Malkin shook his head and vented.

"It's not good enough," he said. "I hope we look in the mirror, tonight and tomorrow and start playing better."

It's been a difficult week, all around, for Malkin. Earlier in the day, news that his home had been burglarized was confirmed by the team. The Penguins added, in a statement to WPXI-TV on Tuesday night, that they're working with local authorities and team security.

The All-Star break is a few weeks away, but time already feels like it's starting to run out. The Penguins begin a seven-game, 12-day road trip on Friday in Buffalo on the fringe of the playoff chase in the underwhelming Eastern Conference, the prospect of missing out on the postseason for a third straight year becoming all the more real with every defensive breakdown, every soft goal, every missed opportunity.

"We see standings," said Malkin, who had an assist in his return from a four-game absence due to an upper-body injury. "I think we understand we miss playoffs and it's half-season gone. We understand everything. (If) we want to play playoffs, we need to play so much better, every zone, every moment."

Yet that kind of consistency has been elusive for most of the season save for a promising stretch between Thanksgiving and Christmas in which Pittsburgh clawed back into contention following a nightmarish opening six weeks.

The optimism, however, has dimmed since the holiday break. Pittsburgh is just 2-5-3 over its last 10 to fall back under .500 after letting Seattle's Jamie Oleksiak and Eeli Tolvanen score 49 seconds apart in the third period to turn a 2-1 deficit into a 3-2 lead.

Both goals highlighted the Penguins' erratic play in the defensive end. Oleksiak came onto the ice on a line change, took the puck at the top of the Pittsburgh zone and skated unchallenged down the slot before beating Tristan Jarry.

Moments later, Tolvanen stood all alone in front of the net to tap in a centering pass from Shane White to put the Kraken in front.

"It's really frustrating," defenseman Marcus Pettersson said. "We're giving away points. We have nobody to blame but ourselves."

It's not that the Penguins can't defend. They held Tampa Bay to two shots in the first period on Sunday. They did the same to the Kraken just over 48 hours later. Both times, the opponents skated off with the win after breakdowns at critical times.

"If I had the answer, I'd fix it," said Mike Sullivan, the NHL's second-longest tenured coach. "We simply have to do a better job (in our end) and that falls on me."

Malkin isn't sure he agrees. The Penguins were a playoff fixture during his first 16 seasons in the league and he has raised the Stanley Cup three times. During that era, a certain standard was set. Pittsburgh hasn't lived up to it for quite a while.

"I think everybody understands what's going on," he said. "We have nice organization. We have great history."

All NHL dynasties end, though general manager Kyle Dubas said before the season began that he didn't think the Penguins needed to strip the franchise down "to the studs" to rebuild. He has injected some much-needed youth onto the roster, including trading for Philip Tomasino, who scored his fifth goal on Tuesday.

Yet every step forward has been met with a step back. Goaltenders Jarry and Alex Nedeljkovic have shown a propensity to give up early goals. They've allowed opponents to score on their first shot nine times in 46 games, forcing Pittsburgh to play catchup too frequently.

While Crosby in particular remains a marvel -- he's on pace to average a point a game for what would be a record 20th straight season -- the Penguins don't have the firepower that once came so easily. Their margin for error is smaller and they remain one of the league's oldest teams.

Spending the next two weeks crisscrossing North America could give them a chance to steal away and hit the reset button. Or it could drop them into a hole so deep they could be essentially out of it by Groundhog Day. It could go either way. No one knows that more than Malkin.

"We need to play so much harder," Malkin said.

And do it quickly.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.