San Jose Sharks general manager Mike Grier checked one item off his offseason to-do list, signing pending restricted free agent defenseman Shakir Mukhamadullin to a one-year, $1 million extension.

Mukhamadullin, 23, was coming off his three-year entry-level contract he signed with the New Jersey Devils in Dec. 2021. He was acquired by the Sharks from the Devils in Feb. 2023 as part of the massive trade that sent Timo Meier to New Jersey.

Mukhamadullin played 51 games this past season, dressing for 30 games with the Sharks and 21 with their AHL affiliate, the San Jose Barracuda. With the Sharks, he had nine points and averaged just over 18 minutes of ice time, and was used on their top defense pair near the end of the season before he sustained a shoulder injury in April.

Mukhamadullin drew praise from the Sharks’ coaching staff as he began to play a larger role after defenseman Jake Walman was traded to the Edmonton Oilers in March. That month, Mukhamadullin had five points in 13 games and averaged close to 22 minutes per game.

Mukhamadullin could have a similarly significant role for the Sharks once the 2025-26 season begins in October.

“Shakir earned the opportunity to be a part of the Sharks and was able to get some valuable experience playing against quality opponents that helped aid his development,” Grier said in a statement. “We look forward to his continued growth in the upcoming season.”

The Sharks have several other RFAs on their roster, notably forwards Nikolai Kovalenko, Klim Kostin, Noah Gregor, Thomas Bordeleau, and Danil Gushchin. It is unclear whether any of those players will return to San Jose.

— Curtis Pashelka

GOLF

Ben Griffin, fresh off his first PGA Tour win last week, shot a 7-under 65 in the Memorial. He led by two shots over ex-Cal star Collin Morikawa, with fellow Cal alum Max Homa another stroke behind.

Scottie Scheffler wasn’t at his best and still managed a 70.

Southern California native Angel Yin started experimenting with a new putter about a month ago and decided to use it in a tournament for the first time at the U.S. Women’s Open, the most prestigious event in women’s golf. The move worked well in the first round in Erin, Wis.

The 26-year-old Yin made a 13 1/2-foot birdie putt on the par-5 18th for a 4-under 68 and a share of the U.S. Women’s Open lead with 2020 champion A Lim Kim, Jinhee Im, Yealimi Noh, Rio Takeda and Julia Lopez Ramirez.

The biggest surprise among the early leaders was Lopez Ramirez, who had a bogey-free round in her U.S. Women’s Open debut.

Lopez Ramirez won consecutive Southeastern Conference titles at Mississippi State in 2023 and 2024, but she suffered a major setback earlier this year when what she initially believed was a bout of food poisoning actually was a case of appendicitis. Less than three months after her appendectomy, the Spaniard was in early contention at the top event in women’s golf.

TENNIS

Coco Gauff kept getting herself in some trouble with shaky serving in the French Open’s second round, and she kept putting herself back in position to win by breaking right back.

The second-seeded Gauff, pursuing her first title at Roland-Garros, eliminated 172nd-ranked qualifier Tereza Valentova of the Czech Republic 6-2, 6-4 in 75 minutes on a partly cloudy, warm afternoon in Court Suzanne-Lenglen.

On Saturday, 2022 runner-up Gauff will try to reach the fourth round in Paris for the fifth consecutive appearance, facing another Czech player, Marie Bouzkova.

Other winners in the women’s bracket included No. 3 Jessica Pegula, Australian Open champion Madison Keys, 18-year-old Mirra Andreeva, and 2023 Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova.

In men’s play, No. 1 Jannik Sinner ended the career of 38-year-old Richard Gasquet by beating the Frenchman 6-3, 6-0, 6-4. No. 3 Alexander Zverev and No. 14 Arthur Fils won, while 24-time major champion Novak Djokovic took a medical timeout to deal with a bothersome toe but eliminated Corentin Moutet in three sets.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

The Southeastern Conference is ratcheting up penalties on schools whose fans storm the field or rush the court, doing away with an escalating fine system and now charging $500,000 per incident.

The conference also has the authority to wave the fine if the visiting team and officials are allowed to get to the locker room before fans descend.

The new policy replaces an old one that called for an escalating fine structure that started with $100,000 for the first offense, raised to $250,000 for the second then hit $500,000 for subsequent incidents.

MEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL

NCAA President Charlie Baker said he sees value in expanding the NCAA Tournament by a handful of teams and wants to reach a decision on the matter in the next few months.

Baker spoke during Big 12 spring meetings, where conference leaders are discussing everything from the multibillion-dollar revenue-sharing House settlement to complexities brought on by the transfer portal and name, image and likeness compensation.

Baker discussed the idea of expanding from 68 teams to 72 or 76. He indicated the current formula has flaws and said it would be beneficial to give more opportunities to worthy teams.

Changes could come as soon as this upcoming season, but negotiations will have to move quickly.