Paul Flatley, the 1963 Associated Press NFL rookie of the year for the Minnesota Vikings who piled up more than 3,000 receiving yards over five seasons, has died at the age of 84, the team announced Sunday.

The team said he died Saturday, but no additional details were provided.

Shifting from halfback to flanker at Northwestern, Flatley was a fourth-round pick (44th overall) by Minnesota in the 1963 draft, joining a team in just its third season. He had five catches for 72 yards in the season opener and started all 14 games in his debut season, finishing with 51 catches for 867 yards and four touchdowns.

He ranked eighth in the league in receiving yards and was the only rookie to land in the top 10. He won the AP honor over Baltimore tight end John Mackey.

Flatley said he was lucky to to start his career under coach Norm Van Brocklin.

“He had been an all-star quarterback and knew the passing game very well,” Flatley said in 2020, according to the Vikings. “And I had a quarterback by the name of Fran Tarkenton who could keep the ball alive, and I could run several patterns on the same play call, and he would find me. I learned the game because of those two people, and I was very fortunate to be a Minnesota Viking.”

Over five seasons with the Vikings, Flatley played in 64 games and had 202 catches for 3,222 yards and 17 touchdowns. After his playing career, he was a color commentator for the University of Minnesota football broadcast team for years.

UNRIVALED LEAGUE

Collier voted MVP for inaugural season

Napheesa Collier of the WNBA’s Minnesota Lynx was voted Unrivaled’s Most Valuable Player after a dominant season in the inaugural 3-on-3 women’s basketball league, which she co-founded with fellow WNBA star Breanna Stewart.

Collier accepted the award minutes before Sunday’s Unrivaled playoffs, in which Collier and the top-seeded Lunar Owls lost to No. 4 Vinyl.

Collier, the star forward for the Lynx and reigning WNBA Defensive Player of the Year, led Unrivaled with 25.7 points per game. She also averaged 10.6 rebounds and 2.8 assists for the Lunar Owls, who finished with the best record in the league at 13-1.

Collier also took home $200,000 last month after winning Unrivaled’s midseason 1-on-1 tournament.

PGA

McIlroy, Spaun tie at Players Championship

Rory McIlroy had every reason to think he would be leaving The Players Championship with the gold trophy and a big payoff Sunday. He was three shots ahead of J.J. Spaun after a four-hour rain delay and had a rain-softened course ahead of him.

Spaun refused to give in easily.

He caught McIlroy with two great shots, held his nerve down one of the most daunting closing stretches and it ended in a draw when it was too dark for a three-hole aggregate playoff.

This David-and-Goliath battle won’t be decided until Monday morning at the TPC Sawgrass.

McIlroy, keeping an eye on Spaun while playing in the group ahead of him, needed two putts from 75 feet on the par-4 18th for a 4-under 68. Then he had to wait until Spaun (72) came within inches of making a 30-foot birdie putt for the win.

NASCAR

Berry races to 1st Cup Series victory

When Josh Berry got a break in NASCAR, he made the most of it by winning five Xfinity Series races for JR Motorsports. When Stewart-Haas Racing decided to shutter, Berry was immediately grabbed by Wood Brothers Racing. In his fifth race with his new team, Berry scored the first Cup Series victory of his career by taking NASCAR’s oldest team to victory lane at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Berry had to run down Daniel Suarez following a restart with 19 laps remaining to take control. Although Harrison Burton won at Daytona last summer for the Wood Brothers, Berry’s victory is the first not at a superspeedway since Ryan Blaney won for the team in 2017 at Pocono.

F1

McLaren’s Norris wins Aussie Grand Prix

McLaren’s Lando Norris won a chaotic rain-affected Australian Grand Prix, his first victory at Albert Park, with the British driver just managing to stay ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen following a third safety car late in the season-opening Formula 1 race.

Lewis Hamilton had a miserable Ferrari debut. The seven-time champion finished 10th and was annoyed by constant radio messages from his pit team.

Verstappen finished 0.895 behind Norris after starting from third on the grid, and Mercedes’ George Russell closed out the top-three.

BRIEFLY

MLB >> Joey Gallo is planning to try pitching after he was released by the Chicago White Sox.

Tennis >> 23-year-old Brit Jack Draper has overwhelmed Holger Rune 6-2, 6-2 in a little more than an hour in the final of the BNP Paribas Open to claim his first Masters 1000 title and earn his debut in the top 10 of the ATP rankings.

— From news services