INDIANAPOLIS -- The Colts on Thursday moved on from kicker Matt Gay, releasing the highly paid veteran two years into a four-year contract.

Gay arrived in Indianapolis in 2023 as a free agent to much fanfare after winning a Super Bowl and making a Pro Bowl with the Los Angeles Rams. The Colts lured him to Indianapolis with a four-year deal worth $22.5 million, at the time the most lucrative contract given to a free agent kicker. But the move never truly paid off for the Colts, with Gay converting just 82.1% of his field goal attempts (64 of 78) during the past two seasons -- including a shocking 50% success rate on attempts of 50 yards or longer (11 of 22).

Before his time with the Colts, Gay converted 17 of 23 attempts from 50 yards and beyond (74%), including 12 of 15 in three years with the Rams.

Gay, 31, battled injuries at times during the past two seasons, including a hernia that required surgery during the 2024 preseason. Gay returned in Week 2 and said his health was not a factor in his struggles.

"Kicking is very, very mental," Gay said. "I've been very good from 50-plus in my career, and I have full confidence going forward that I can make these kicks. I've shown that I can do that."

At the same time, the Colts seemed to echo that confidence in Gay. Coach Shane Steichen, asked repeatedly about his kicker, stuck with him.

"Matt's our kicker," he said in October. "He's been doing it for a long time ... He knows he's got to make those going forward, but he is our kicker."

The Colts signed kicker Spencer Shrader last month. He was 5-for-5 on field goal attempts during his rookie season in 2024, spending time with three teams, including the Colts.

The Colts have found it challenging to find kicking consistency since enjoying 14 seasons with three-time All-Pro kicker Adam Vinatieri. He last kicked for the team in 2019, and Indianapolis has cycled through numerous kickers in the intervening seasons.

A fifth-round pick by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2019, Gay has a career success rate of 85.5% on field goal attempts (165 of 193) and 96.3% on PAT attempts (206 of 214).

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Jose Luis Ballester made quite an impression on the fans in his first Masters appearance on Thursday.

The 21-year-old Spaniard, who plays at Arizona State, was in need of a bathroom break and decided, when you gotta go, you gotta go.

Ballester said he forgot there were bathrooms just to the left of the tee box on the 13th hole, so he ran down to the tributary to Rae's Creek and relieved himself while playing partner Justin Thomas was still on the 12th green.

"I'm like, I really need to pee," Ballester said after his round. "Didn't really know where to go, and since JT had an issue on the green, I'm like, I'm just going to sneak here in the river and probably people would not see me that much."

Except they did see that much, leading to a roar from the patrons.

"They clapped for me," Ballester said. "Probably one of the claps that I really got today real loud. So that was kind of funny."

Ballester, who was paired with Scottie Scheffler and Thomas, made waves by wearing an Arizona State cap featuring the words "Sun Devils" upside down, with fans on social media saying it was uncouth at an event like the Masters.

Ballester struggled to a 76, going 4 over on the first nine with a birdie, two bogeys and a triple bogey. He said he was able to chat with Scheffler a bit, calling it a "VIP pass" to play with the two stars.

"I tried to get loose warming up, tried to be myself, listen to music, tried to stay focused," Ballester said. "I was not intimidated at all by the pairing that I had."

He said he regretted how he started, made a couple of mistakes and got unlucky on the fifth hole, where he carded a double-bogey 7. But he didn't have any issue with what got him the most attention on the day, and said he was unconcerned with any blowback from his bathroom break.

"It was not embarrassing at all for me," Ballester said. "If I had to do it again, I would do it again."

Former Texas wide receiver and NFL draft prospect Isaiah Bond turned himself in on an outstanding sexual assault warrant Thursday morning, the Frisco (Texas) Police Department confirmed to ESPN.

Bond was subsequently released from the Collin County jail after posting bail at $25,000. Details of the allegations against Bond weren't immediately known.

In a statement posted to Instagram, Bond said the accusation against him is "patently false."

"Regarding the accusation made against me, I would appreciate the time and opportunity to defend myself and prove the claims made, patently false. I am in full cooperation with the authorities and will remain a willing and active participant in the investigation," he said in the statement. "Unfortunately, claims like these prove to be harmful to all involved, absent full review. I kindly request that all reserve judgement until the authorities provide a complete report based on truth and evidence."

Bond was projected as a second-round draft pick, No. 57 overall, to the Carolina Panthers in ESPN analyst Mel Kiper Jr.'s most recent mock draft.

In his lone season at Texas in 2024, Bond caught 34 passes for 540 yards and five touchdowns. He rushed for an additional 98 yards and a touchdown. He spent his first two seasons at Alabama, catching 65 passes for 888 yards and five touchdowns for the Crimson Tide.

Known for his speed, he was clocked at 22 mph during Texas' victory over UTSA last season. He ran a 4.39 in the 40-yard dash at the NFL scouting combine.

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Defending champion Scottie Scheffler answered any doubts about his readiness to win another green jacket by posting a bogey-free, 4-under 68 and sits tied for second after the opening round of the 89th Masters at Augusta National Golf Club on Thursday.

Scheffler was joined by Corey Conners and Ludvig Åberg at 4-under. He had three birdies on the first nine holes, including a 62-foot putt on the par-3 fourth. He added a 42-foot birdie on the par-3 16th.

Justin Rose leads after Day 1 following a 7-under 65 that included eight birdies and just one bogey for the Brit.

Scheffler is only the fourth defending Masters winner to open the next year's tournament with a bogey-free round in the past 30 years.

With sunshine and little wind, the morning wave of players enjoyed pristine scoring conditions, other than the Augusta National greens, which were fast and firm even after more than an inch of rain fell here Monday.

"I had a feeling the golf course was going to get pretty firm," Scheffler said. "The areas to hit your irons out here are pretty small, and they get even smaller when the greens are firm, so there's definitely some challenge to the golf course today, and I'm sure that'll continue as the week goes on."

The world No. 1 had a relatively stress-free round in the opening 18 holes of his attempt to join Jack Nicklaus (1963, 1965 and 1966) as the only golfers to win the Masters three times in a four-year span. Scheffler can become only the fourth golfer to win a green jacket in back-to-back years, joining Nicklaus, Nick Faldo (1989-90) and Tiger Woods (2001-02).

Scheffler now has four straight opening rounds in the 60s at the Masters, the second-longest streak in the tournament's illustrious history, trailing only Nicklaus, who accomplished the feat five straight times from 1972 to '76, according to ESPN Research.

On the par-4 seventh, Scheffler needed a nice up and down out of a greenside bunker to save par. Then on the next hole, the par-5 eighth, he smacked a 319-yard drive into the second cut down the left side. His approach with a fairway wood went right of the green and landed in a deep divot.

"Just one of those deals -- sometimes you get good and bad breaks," Scheffler said. "Fortunately, there was still a way I could play the shot. But, yeah, I was just in a divot about that big. Pretty deep."

Somehow, Scheffler chipped to 14 feet and made the putt for a birdie to get to 3 under.

"It was pretty challenging," he said. "I hit a really awesome shot to get it to about 15 feet. I had to put it in the back of my stance, stand close to it, make sure I got ball first, and I hit this kind of low skipper. [I] was fortunate to be able to get some spin on it because it was sitting so deep in that grass. I was surprised it didn't hit the front of the divot when it came out. That's how deep it was."

On the par-4 17th, he made another deft pitch out of a greenside bunker and an 8-footer to save par again.

"I felt pretty good," Scheffler said. "Anytime you can keep a card clean out here, it's a really good thing. I struggled for what felt like two pars today. I had to make two really good up-and-downs. But other than that, the golf course was in front of me most of the day, kept the ball in play, did a lot of really good things out there."

The bad news for the rest of the field is that Scheffler says he feels as prepared for a tournament as he has all season. He missed the first month after cutting his hand in a cooking accident on Christmas, which limited his ability to practice.

He hit 11 of 18 greens, so there's room to improve over the final 54 holes.

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Justin Rose managed to steal the attention away from Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy in the Masters by matching his personal best at Augusta National with a 7-under 65 for a three-shot lead Thursday in the first major of the year.

Scheffler did his part in his bid to win a third Masters green jacket in four years, playing a bogey-free round of 68.

McIlroy, so desperate to win this major and complete the career Grand Slam, was right there with him until the end. He took a pair of double bogeys late in the afternoon with careless mistakes and had to settle for a 72. It was the seventh straight time he failed to break 70 in the opening round of the Masters.

Rose burst out of the gates with three straight birdies. He added three more around the turn. He was headed for a round nearly 10 shots better than the field average until a poor tee shot into the trees led to his only bogey at the final hole.

No matter. This was a reminder to Rose, who finished with just 22 putts, that his good golf is still very good.

"I'm 44. Golf is not going to get easier for me in the next five, 10 years, whatever it's going to be," Rose said. "So your opportunity is less going forward. So you have to make the most of it."

Rose set one Masters record: The fifth time he has had at least a share of the 18-hole lead, breaking the mark held by Jack Nicklaus. The glaring difference, of course, is Nicklaus has six of those green jackets.

It also was the eighth time Rose has had at least a share of the lead after any round at Augusta National, something only five others have done. All are Masters champions.

"I feel like I've played well enough to win this tournament," said Rose, whose best chance was a playoff loss to Sergio Garcia in 2017. "I just feel like I don't have the jacket to prove it. ... But you've got to be playing the golf to keep creating those opportunities, and the only way to do that is to get your name on the leaderboard. I definitely don't shy away from it."

Scheffler was 3 under at the turn, including one birdie on the par-5 eighth in which his ball was deep in a divot hole short of the green. He managed to get that out some 20 feet left of the pin and used the slope to bring it back to 15 feet and made the putt.

"I struggled for what felt like two pars today," Scheffler said "But other than that, the golf course was in front of me most of the day, kept the ball in play, did a lot of really good things out there."

Corey Conners of Canada birdied his last two holes for a 68, and they were joined Ludvig Åberg, the super Swede who was runner-up to Scheffler in his Masters debut a year ago.

U.S. Open champion Bryson DeChambeau and Tyrrell Hatton carried the LIV Golf flag, both at 69. DeChambeau had seven birdies in his up-and-down day, a show of his scoring power.

"Making some bogeys for me probably frees me up a little bit and says, 'You know what? Just go out and play some golf,'" DeChambeau said.

The roars came early, along with a few shockers.

Fred Couples, who wondered a month ago if at 65 with a creaky back he would still be welcomed to play, became only the second player that age to break par. Couples holed out from the fairway on the 14th with a 6-iron hybrid on his way to a 71. Tom Watson was also 65 -- by 28 days he is still the oldest -- when he shot 71 in 2015.

The horror show belonged to Nick Dunlap, a 21-year-old who last year won on the PGA Tour as an amateur. This must have felt like amateur hour when he made double bogey on the final hole for a 90. It was the highest score since Ben Crenshaw shot 91 in 2015 at age 63.

Hideki Matsuyama might have caught the worst break when his approach into the par-5 13th hit the pin and caromed into the tributary of Rae's Creek. The wildest day belonged to Nicolai Hojgaard - one eagle, five birdies, four pars, five bogeys and three double bogeys. Do the math and that comes out to 76.

"It's mentally draining playing a round like this," Hojgaard said.

And then there was McIlroy, chipping into the water from behind the 15th green for double bogey, and then going long on the 17th and compounding that mistake with a three-putt for another double bogey.

Far more blissful on a warm spring day was Rose, who at one point had it going so well that he felt like a pitcher throwing a no-hitter.

He pitched to 6 feet for birdie on the par-5 eighth. He hit wedge to the ninth and used the slope to set up a 5-foot birdie, giving him a career-low 31 on the front nine. That was followed by a 12-foot birdie putt.

"That's when the day felt a bit different. That's when I felt I was doing something potentially more on the special side," Rose said.

And then he really began to pull away from the field with a smart pitch away from the water to set up a 10-foot birdie on the 15th, followed by a 20-foot birdie on the par-3 16th. The pins on the final two holes allowed for birdies and Rose was thinking super special. He got par-bogey instead that didn't ruin his mood.

The average score was 73.6. Only six players broke 70, and 20 others broke par.

"Overall, great day," Rose said.. "I played a lot of golf here at Augusta National. So to come away with my equal best score is certainly an achievement for me."

Detroit Pistons guard Jaden Ivey, sidelined since Jan. 1 with a broken left fibula, was cleared on Thursday to resume basketball activities.

The team said Ivey, 23, is entering the first phase of a re-conditioning program and that his status will be updated again in two weeks.

The Pistons (43-36) have clinched their first playoff spot since 2019, entering Thursday in sixth place in the Eastern Conference with three games remaining in the regular season. The playoffs begin on April 19, following the play-in tournament.

Ivey averaged 17.6 points, 4.1 rebounds and 4.0 assists in 30 games (all starts) this season. He has contributed 16.1 points, 3.7 rebounds and 4.4 assists in 181 games (164 starts) since Detroit drafted him fifth overall in 2022.

ATLANTA -- Spencer Strider struck out 13 batters in 5 innings for Triple-A Gwinnett on Thursday in his second injury rehabilitation start and appears ready to return from elbow surgery to make his Atlanta Braves season debut next week.

Strider gave up three hits, two walks and one earned run against Norfolk, then was removed after 90 pitches, as planned. He struck out his first six batters, had nine strikeouts through three innings and reached 97 mph with his fastball.

"I watched most of it," Braves manager Brian Snitker said. "Most of it looked really good. ... As dominant as he is, it looks like he's becoming even more of a pitcher."

Strider last pitched for the Braves on April 5 last year and had internal brace surgery a week later with Texas Rangers physician Dr. Keith Meister. He led the major leagues in 2023 with 20 wins and 285 strikeouts, finishing fourth in NL Cy Young Award voting.

Strider has made three Triple-A rehab starts, giving up two runs in 13 innings.

"He got back out for the sixth, got his pitches," Snitker said. "It was exactly what we wanted to happen."

Snitker did not commit to Strider joining the Braves rotation for his next appearance. He said he wanted to see how Strider felt after the start and his next side session.

"I kind of feel like he's right where we want him to be before he gets here," Snitker said.

TAMPA, Fla. -- Jo Adell became the third player in Angels history to homer twice in the same inning, Mike Trout and Taylor Ward also homered twice and Los Angeles routed the Tampa Bay Rays 11-1 on Thursday.

Adell led off the fifth against Zack Littell (0-3) with first first homer this season for a 3-1 lead and capped an eight-run fifth inning with a three-run drive against Mason Englert. Adell matched a career high with four RBI.

Rick Reichardt homered twice in a 12-run inning at Boston on April 30, 1966, and Kendrys Morales homered twice in a nine-run sixth at Texas on July 30, 2012.

Ward homered on the game's second pitch and Nolan Schanuel hit an RBI double in the second.

Jonathan Aranda closed the Rays to 2-1 with a run-scoring single in the fourth off José Soriano (2-1).

Trout hit a two-run homer in the fifth against Littell and added a solo homer in the ninth off Hunter Bigge for his fifth home run this season and the 27th multihomer game of his big league career. Trout also homered in the July 30, 2012, game.

Ward also homered in the fifth, a two-run drive against Littell.

Los Angeles has won four straight series.

CARY, N.C. -- Former major leaguer Mark DeRosa will manage the United States for the second straight World Baseball Classic, USA Baseball said Thursday.

DeRosa led the U.S. to the championship game of the 2023 tournament, where it lost to Japan 3-2 as Shohei Ohtani struck out Mike Trout to end the game.

Michael Hill, Major League Baseball's senior vice president of on-field operations and workforce development, will be the team's general manager, a position Tony Reagins held for the 2023 tournament.

DeRosa, 50, is a broadcaster for MLB Network. He had a .268 average with 100 homers and 494 RBIs over 16 major league seasons.

CHICAGO -- The Chicago Cubs acquired left-handed reliever Tom Cosgrove from the San Diego Padres on Thursday for cash considerations and optioned him to Triple-A Iowa.

The 28-year-old Cosgrove was 1-0 with a 7.36 ERA in four appearances with Triple-A El Paso this season. He is 1-3 with a 3.95 ERA and one save in 72 major league relief appearances since making his debut in 2023.

Cosgrove appeared in 18 games for the Padres last season and was 0-1 with a 11.66 ERA. He pitched in 54 games in 2023, and his 1.75 ERA and .173 opponent batting average led all qualified major league rookie relievers.

The Cubs also designated right-handed pitcher Caleb Kilian for assignment. Kilian is 0-4 with a 9.22 ERA in eight career major league games since debuting in 2022.