BASEBALL

The Houston Astros have released José Abreu, cutting ties with the former AL MVP less than halfway through a three-year, $58.5 million contract.

The 37-year-old Abreu was batting .124 with two homers and seven RBIs this season, during which he spent time in the minors trying to fix his swing. The Astros still owe him $30.8 million from the deal he signed before last season. A three-time All-Star during his nine years with the Chicago White Sox, Abreu was named MVP during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. He was the AL Rookie of the Year in 2014.

UFC

An injury caused Conor McGregor to pull out of the upcoming pay-per-view event June 29 in Las Vegas that he was scheduled to headline. Organization President Dana White announced the change Thursday night on X. White saying light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira will face top-ranked challenger Jiri Prochazka in UFC 303. McGregor was scheduled to fight Michael Chandler.

COLLEGE SPORTS

Matt Chazanow, WSU’s director of broadcast operations for Learfield calling football, men’s basketball and baseball, is taking a job calling sports at NC State, the Wolfpack program announced Thursday.

Chazanow joined the Cougars in 2015, also hosting weekly coaches shows and hosting podcasts with WSU coaches.

A 2006 graduate of Syracuse University, Chazanow’s experience includes seven years as Learfield’s senior network manager, where he was based out of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, about 100 miles outside of Raleigh. Chazanow has also served as a national play by play voice for Westwood One Radio since 2022 .