Kings appear set to stay in Sacramento

The Sacramento Kings finally appear to be staying put in the state capital, possibly ending an emotional saga that has dragged on for nearly three years.

The NBA’s relocation committee voted unanimously Monday to recommend that owners reject the application for the Kings to relocate to Seattle, the latest — and by far the strongest — in a long line of cities that almost landed the franchise. The 12 league owners on the committee made the decision over a conference call and forwarded the recommendation to the NBA Board of Governors.

The board, which consists of all 30 owners, will convene during the week of May 13 to vote on the matter. Although the recommendation doesn’t guarantee the Kings will stay put, it’s difficult at this point to imagine how they wouldn’t.

The Maloof family, which owns the Kings, is not bound to sell the team to a Sacramento group Mayor Kevin Johnson has put together.

In a letter sent to the relocation and finance committees, the Maloofs said they preferred to sell to the Seattle group and expressed discontent with Sacramento’s latest bid.

ETC.

Tebow’s time with Jets is over

Quarterback Tim Tebow was waived by the New York Jets, the end of an unsuccessful one-season experiment that had been expected for months.

“Unfortunately, things did not work out the way we all had hoped,” Coach Rex Ryan said in a statement by the team.

The Heisman Trophy winner attempted only eight passes after his ballyhooed arrival in a surprising trade from the Denver Broncos in March 2012. He threw for 39 yards and rushed 32 times for 102 yards — and stunningly had no touchdowns as a member of the Jets.

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The Bills and Colts have swapped linebackers, with Buffalo trading Kelvin Sheppard to Indianapolis in exchange for Jerry Hughes.

Sheppard, a 2011 second-round pick from Louisiana State, has been inconsistent in two seasons in Buffalo. He had 138 tackles and two sacks in 31 games, including 24 starts.

Hughes was the Colts’ 2010 first-round draft pick from Texas Christian. He’s had 62 tackles and five sacks in 40 games, including seven starts.

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Stanford quarterback Josh Nunes is retiring from football after he injured his throwing arm in February and missed spring practice.

Nunes started nine games last season before being replaced by Kevin Hogan. He completed 52.8% of his passes and threw for 1,643 yards, 10 touchdowns and seven interceptions last season.

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Louisiana State indefinitely suspended its leading running back, Jeremy Hill, following his weekend arrest in connection with an alleged bar fight near the campus.

Hill was already on probation after he pleaded guilty in January 2012 to misdemeanor carnal knowledge of a juvenile. Following the incident early Saturday, he was charged with simple battery, also a misdemeanor.

LSU Coach Les Miles announced the suspension in a brief emailed news release. He said he would let the case “play out through the legal system” before commenting further.

The 20-year-old Hill was LSU’s leading rusher with 755 yards and 12 touchdowns in 2012, his freshman season.

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Ivan Dodig of Croatia upset two-time champion Nikolay Davydenko, 6-4, 6-4, in the first round of the BMW Open at Munich, Germany.

Dmitry Tursunov of Russia defeated Paul-Henri Mathieu of France, 6-3, 6-4, in the clay-court event, Daniel Brands beat Tobias Kamke, 5-7, 6-4, 6-3, in an all-German match, and Marinko Matosevic of Australia beat German wild card Kevin Krawietz, 6-2, 6-4.