Starter Manaea to re-sign with Mets

Sean Manaea is set to return to the Mets on a $75 million, three-year contract. Manaea blossomed into the Mets’ top starting pitcher this year during his first season with the team, going 12-6 with a 3.47 ERA in 32 starts. The left-hander declined his player option for 2025, passing up the final $13.5 million of a $28 million, two-year deal he signed in January, to become a free agent for the third straight offseason. Then he turned down a $21.05 million qualifying offer from the Mets last month to hit the open market again. The reunion with Manaea, who turns 33 on Feb. 1, gives the Mets a much-needed frontline starter to help complete its reconstructed rotation. After signing slugger Juan Soto to a record $765 million, 15-year deal, owner Steve Cohen has committed $916.25 million to five free agents this offseason — four of them starting pitchers. The club also inked right-handed newcomers Frankie Montas ($34 million, two years), Clay Holmes ($38 million, three years) and Griffin Canning ($4.25 million, one year). Holmes, a two-time All-Star as the Yankees’ closer, plans to convert to a starter.

Vick takes over at Norfolk State

To shouts of “Coach” and “Let’s go Spartans,” Michael Vick was introduced Monday as Norfolk State’s football coach, a homecoming for the former NFL star and a splashy, attention-grabbing hire for a program that has struggled in recent years. Vick, who grew up about 30 minutes away in Newport News, donned a Norfolk State letterman’s jacket and cap in front of a crowd of supporters that included fellow Hampton Roads, Virginia, sports greats Allen Iverson and Bruce Smith. Vick’s introduction was the culmination of whirlwind courtship, the timing of which took even Vick by surprise. “I was talking to my high school coach a couple weeks ago, and I told him I wanted to be a football coach one day, a couple years from now,” he said. Vick said he then got a surprise call from former Virginia Tech football player Aaron Rouse, who is now a Virginia state senator, and Norfolk State athletic director Melody Webb, gauging his interest in becoming the Spartans’ coach. “It wasn’t the easiest decision to make,” Vick said. “I’ve got family that I considered, I care about and I love.”

Liberty’s Ionescu joining Unrivaled

Sabrina Ionescu is joining Unrivaled as the new 3-on-3 league’s final player for this season. The Liberty star guard who helped the team win their first title in franchise history earlier this year signed a historic agreement on Monday. She’ll join the Phantom BC that made a trade Saturday night to acquire Natasha Cloud. Ionescu will also be playing with Brittney Griner, Marina Mabrey, Katie Lou Samuelson and Satou Sabally. Ionescu was teammates with Sabally at Oregon. The 27-year-old Ionescu is recovering from a procedure she had earlier this month on her right thumb to stabilize the ulnar collateral ligament. She posted about the procedure on social media saying: “Getting my thumb fixed was quite the bday present.” Ionescu sustained the injury during the WNBA Finals and it wasn’t known she was hurt until after the Liberty won the title. She went 1 for 19 in the deciding Game 5 against the Lynx, but found other ways to help the team win, with eight assists and seven rebounds. It has been a busy year for the former Oregon great, who also got married and earned an Olympic gold medal. —AP