Curry-Ionescu rematch won’t happen

There will be no Stephen Curry vs. Sabrina Ionescu rematch at All-Star weekend. The NBA announced Thursday that the 3-point shooting event bringing together two of the biggest stars in the NBA and WNBA — which was one of the highlights of last year’s All-Star weekend in Indianapolis — is not going to be part of the lineup in San Francisco. Talks went on for weeks to try to make it happen, even stretching into All-Star week itself. It seemed more than logical that a rematch would occur; All-Star weekend is on Curry’s home floor this weekend and Ionescu — who plays for the WNBA champion Liberty — is a Bay Area native who grew up watching Curry and the Warriors. “We weren’t able to land on a plan we thought would raise the bar off of last year’s special moment,” NBA spokesman Mike Bass said. “We agreed not to proceed and will instead keep the focus on All-Star Sunday’s new format.” Curry beat Ionescu, above, 29-26 in the competition last season, the first such him-vs.-her event of its kind at the league’s showcase. The competition generated money for their foundations.

Bregman to Red Sox on 3-year deal

Alex Bregman and the Red Sox have agreed to a three-year, $120 million contract, according to reports Wednesday night. The deal is subject to a successful physical. Bregman can opt out after the 2025 and 2026 seasons to become a free agent again. He’s likely to shift from third base to second with the Red Sox, who already have All-Star slugger Rafael Devers at the hot corner. Red Sox manager Alex Cora, the Astros’ bench coach in 2017, compared Bregman with former Red Sox star Dustin Pedroia. Cora was suspended for the 2020 season for his role in the Astros’ sign- stealing scandal that year. A two-time All-Star and two-time World Series champion during nine years with the Astros, the 30-year-old Bregman is coming off one of his poorest offensive seasons. He hit .260 with 26 homers and 75 RBIs in the final season of a five-year, $100 million contract, also winning his first Gold Glove. Bregman turned down a $21.05 million qualifying offer from the Astros, who will receive an extra pick after the fourth round of the amateur draft in July.

Moltzan finally medals at ski worlds

Finishing fourth when medals are on the line can feel like cruel punishment. Paula Moltzan knows the feeling all too well. Already at this year’s Alpine skiing world championships in Austria, she was on the U.S. squad that finished fourth in the mixed team parallel event. Then she couldn’t hold on to the lead that partner Lauren Macuga had set up in the downhill portion of the new team combined event and ended up fourth with her slalom run. Also on the U.S. team that finished fourth in the team parallel at the 2022 Beijing Olympics, Moltzan’s only major medal had been a victory with the U.S. team in the same event at the last worlds two years ago. Until Thursday, when the 30-year-old Moltzan took the bronze medal in giant slalom for her first individual medal at this level, finishing a mere hundredth of a second ahead of Thea Louise Stjernesund of Norway — in a race won by Federica Brignone of Italy. “It’s feeling pretty special right now,” Moltzan said. “Ski racing comes down to the hundredths of a second. And so to be on the right side on a big stage feels pretty amazing.” —AP