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Skin disorder forces Hossa to sit out year

The Chicago Blackhawks announced Wednesday that winger Marian Hossa, 38, will miss the entire upcoming NHL season because of severe side effects from medication to treat a progressive skin condition he’s been dealing with for years. Hossa has four years left on his contract and said ‘‘playing hockey is not possible’’ for him next season. Hossa said in a statement released by the team he had been privately undergoing treatment for the last few years under the supervision of Chicago’s medical staff. Dr. Michael Terry said the team supports Hossa’s decision not to play and that the skin disorder is ‘‘becoming more and more difficult to treat and control with conventional medications while he plays hockey.’’ General manager Stan Bowman called Hossa’s absence a significant loss. The 19-year veteran, who has been part of three Stanley Cup-winning teams during his eight seasons in Chicago and has a salary cap hit of $5,275,000 for the next four seasons, has only missed 46 games over the past six seasons. He had 26 goals and 19 assists last season.

Baseball

Ex-Phillie wins suit vs. MLB Network

A jury in New Jersey awarded former Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Mitch Williams $1.5 million in a civil case against MLB Network after he was fired following reports about his ejection from a Little League game while coaching his 10-year-old son’s team, leading to his 2014 dismissal from his analyst job due to a morals clause violation . . .The ailing New York Mets lost a third member of their rotation when righthander Zack Wheeler was put on the 10-day disabled list because of biceps tendinitis. He joined starters Noah Syndergaard and Matt Harvey on the DL. . . Melisa Reidy-Russell, the wife of Chicago Cubs shortstop Addision Russell, filed for divorce nearly two weeks after the player was accused of hitting his spouse. Russell has denied the allegation. Reidy-Russell has declined a request by MLB to discuss the allegations . . . Cleveland and Minnesota will play a two-game series in San Juan on April 17-18. It will be MLB’s first regular-season games in Puerto Rico since 2010, with the Twins serving as the home team.

. . . MLB and the players’ union presented the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, Mo., with a $1 million grant to help the museum with its operating costs, expansion plans and educational opportunities.

NFL

Jets LB Mauldin arrested for assault

New York Jets linebacker Lorenzo Mauldin, a third-round pick out of Louisville in the 2015 draft, was arrested on a misdemeanor assault. The charge stemmed from an incident April 2 in which police say Mauldin, who turned himself in, struck a man in the eye and the jaw after he accidentally splashed champagne on him at a New York night club . . . Green Bay Packers defensive lineman Letroy Guion was arrested early Wednesday in Honolulu on suspicion of driving under the influence of an intoxicant. He was released after posting $500 bail. Guion was suspended without pay by the NFL for the first four games of the 2017 season for violating the league’s policy on performance-enhancing drugs . . . Nevada authorities said former NFL linebacker Ryan Jones, 26, who signed a free agent deal with the Baltimore Ravens in 2014, was fatally shot over the weekend in a Reno apartment.

Colleges

BC, Michigan St. to meet in football

Boston College and Michigan State agreed to a two-game, home-and-home football series beginning in Chestnut Hill Sept. 21, 2024, with the Eagles, who lead the all-time series 4-1-1, making a return trip to East Lansing, Mich., on Sept. 20, 2025. It will mark the seventh meeting all time between the schools and the first since the Eagles’ 24-21 victory over the Spartans in the 2007 Champs Sports Bowl in Orlando . . . The BC football team signed Jaleel Berry, a 6-foot-3-inch, 320-pound defensive tackle from Nottingham (N.Y.) High . . . Nebraska freshman receiver Keyshawn Johnson Jr., the son of the former NFL star, will not play for the Cornhuskers this fall after he was ticketed for marijuana possession June 9 after a report of suspected drug use in a dormitory room.

Tennis

Azarenka makes triumphant return

Former top-ranked Victoria Azarenka made a winning return to tennis after a year out to have a baby, but had to save three match points at the Mallorca Open to beat Japan’s Risa Ozaki, 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (7-5) in a first-round match that started late on Tuesday but was halted because of darkness. The two-time Australian Open winner announced she was pregnant and would step away from the courts last July. She gave birth to a baby boy named Leo in December. ‘‘I definitely felt better on the tennis court, especially playing-wise,’’ Azarenka said. ‘‘I wouldn’t say I had the best preparation coming to this tournament, but mentally it’s better to go through this kind of a match.’’ . . . Boris Becker was declared bankrupt by a British court after he failed to pay a long-standing debt. A lawyer for the six-time Grand Slam champion pleaded with a Bankruptcy Court registrar in London for a last chance to pay a debt that Becker has owed to private bankers Arbuthnot Latham & Co. since 2015 . . . James Blake agreed to drop his right to sue New York after he was mistakenly arrested and tackled by police. In exchange, a legal fellowship will be created in his name to bolster the work of the city’s police watchdog agency. Surveillance video showed an officer charging at Blake in 2015 before grabbing him by the arm and taking him down in a case of mistaken identity.

Miscellany

Revolution-LA to be televised locally

The New England Revolution’s match on July 22 against the LA Galaxy will air on NBC Boston at 7:30 p.m., the club announced. It will be the first over-the-air network affiliate in Boston to broadcast a Revolution match . . . Former Real Madrid forward Angel Di Maria agreed to a deal with Spain’s state prosecutor after admitting to two counts of tax fraud of almost $1.4 million in exchange for a lighter sentence . . . Patrick Nyarko scored his first goal of the MLS season in the 60th minute as host D.C. United rallied to beat expansion Atlanta United, 2-1.