The Golden State Valkyries selected center Iliana Rupert from Atlanta, guards Veronica Burton of Connecticut and Carla Leite of Dallas and forward Maria Conde from Chicago with their initial picks of the WNBA expansion draft on Friday, the first players for the new Bay Area franchise that’s set to begin play next season.

Golden State rounded out its 11-woman roster with Indiana center Temi Fagbenle; Las Vegas guard Kate Martin; forwards Steph Talbot of the Sparks, Cecilia Zandalasini of Minnesota, Kayla Thornton of New York and Monique Billings (Corona Santiago High, UCLA) of Phoenix; and Washington guard Julie Vanloo. The Valkyries did not choose a player from Seattle.

Golden State was free to acquire the contract or negotiating rights to one player from each of the other 12 WNBA teams. The Valkyries can also choose one player from the league who’s eligible to become an unrestricted free agent.

The Valkyries will play at Chase Center, the 5-year-old home of the Golden State Warriors.

GOLF

Scottie Scheffler birdied every hole but the par 3s on the front nine at Albany Golf Club and finished his bogey-free round with an 8-under 64 that gave him a two-shot lead in the Hero World Challenge in Nassau, Bahamas.

Two months off did nothing to slow the world’s No. 1 player. Scheffler already has eight victories this year and is in position to get another before the end of the year.

Scheffler was at 13-under 131, two ahead of Akshay Bhatia (66) and Justin Thomas (67).

Julien Guerrier shot a 4-under 68 and took a one-stroke lead after the second round of the Nedbank Golf Challenge in Sun City, South Africa, while defending champion Max Homa (75) was two strokes back.

Guerrier’s fellow Frenchman Romain Langasque (70) and home favorite Ockie Strydom (73) were tied one stroke off the lead.

NFL

Hall of Fame wide receiver Randy Moss is stepping away from his ESPN analyst role for an extended time to focus on a personal health challenge, the network said in a statement.

The 47-year-old Moss revealed last week that he’s dealing with a health issue and asked fans to pray for him and his family.

Moss made his announcement on Instagram from the set of the network’s “Sunday NFL Countdown” show. He directed his message to men and urged them to get checkups and bloodwork done, without specifying any particular illness.

The NFL closed an investigation into sexual assault allegations against Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson, who is ending the season on injured reserve for the second year in a row.

The league has been reviewing the case for months, trying to determine whether Watson should be punished.

“The matter is closed,” league spokesman Brian McCarthy said Friday. “There was insufficient evidence to support a finding of a violation of the personal conduct policy.”

Watson, who served an 11-game suspension in 2022, was accused of assault in Texas by a woman in September. She was seeking more than $1 million in damages before the sides reached a confidential settlement.

Watson strongly denied the allegations through his attorney, Rusty Hardin. Watson, 29, suffered a season-ending Achilles tendon rupture in October. He’s been rehabbing the injury in hopes of returning next season.

Minnesota Vikings cornerback Stephon Gilmore was ruled out of Sunday’s game against Atlanta because of a hamstring injury.

New York Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner (hamstring) and running back Breece Hall (knee) are doubtful to play against the Miami Dolphins on Sunday because of injuries. Linebacker C.J. Mosley will be placed on injured reserve, ending his comeback attempt from a herniated disk in his neck that sidelined him the last five games.

MLB

Shane Bieber is returning to the Cleveland Guardians after making just two starts and undergoing Tommy John surgery last season, multiple sources reported. Bieber, a Laguna Hills High product, had been expected to leave the AL Central champions, but the right-hander will be back after agreeing to a one-year, $14 million contract that includes a $16 million player option for 2026, reports said.

Pitcher Clay Holmes and the New York Mets agreed to a $38 million, three-year contract, multiple sources reported. Holmes developed into a dominant closer with the New York Yankees after he was acquired from Pittsburgh in July 2021, becoming a two-time All-Star. But he struggled this year with control and allowing hits on soft contact, and he lost his closer’s job to Luke Weaver after allowing a game-ending grand slam to Texas rookie Wyatt Langford on Sept. 3.

Holmes was 3-5 with a 3.14 ERA and 30 saves in 67 appearances, leading the major leagues with 13 blown saves.

COLLEGE Soccer

Kate Faasse scored on an early penalty kick, Olivia Thomas added a first-half goal and North Carolina eliminated top-seed Duke 3-0 in the nightcap of the College Cup semifinals in Cary, N.C.

North Carolina (21-5), which has appeared in all 43 NCAA tournaments and won 21 of them, will square off against first-timer Wake Forest on Monday. The Demon Deacons beat Stanford 1-0 in the other semifinal.

FIGURE SKATING

World champion Ilia Malinin took a big stride toward retaining his figure skating Grand Prix Final title after building an imposing 12-point lead in the short program in Grenovle, France.

The American skater, 20, landed a quadruple flip, triple axel and quad lutz-triple toeloop combination in a near-flawless program to score 105.43 points for the lead, narrowly missing his personal best.

Olympic silver medalist Yuma Kagiyama of Japan was a distant second on 93.49 ahead of today’s free skate after falling on his opening quad lutz.

Germans Minerva Fabienne Hase and Nikita Volodin retained their Grand Prix Final title in the pairs event.

Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the United States took the lead in the ice dance with a score of 87.73 in the rhythm dance, ahead of Italians Charlene Guignard and Marco Fabbri on 83.12 and Britain’s Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson on 82.31. The ice dance concludes today.

WINTER SPORTS

Justin Murisier of Switzerland claimed his first World Cup wom by beating teammate Marco Odermatt, the defending World Cup overall and downhill champion, in the opening men’s downhill race of the World Cup season in Beaver Creek, Colo.

The U.S. won its first skeleton medal of the season, with Sara Roderick and Austin Florian grabbing silver in the World Cup mixed team event at Altenberg, Germany.