SPORTS ROUNDUP: Atlanta Falcons sign their top pick McKinley

Falcons sign first-round pick McKinley

The Atlanta Falcons agreed to terms with first-round pick defensive end/linebacker Takkarist McKinley, the team announced Thursday.

McKinley was the 26th overall selection in last month’s NFL Draft.

McKinley was a two-year starter at UCLA and recorded 99 tackles, including 28 tackles for loss and 16 sacks, and also forced six fumbles and has 10 passes defensed.

Atlanta traded up five spots to select him.

“I’m relentless,” McKinley said, according to the team’s website. “I’ve got heart. I do have the best motor in this class. I’m just somebody that goes hard no matter what. If it’s a screen pass, I’m chasing you down.”

The Falcons also announced they have agreed to terms with three other draft picks: linebacker Duke Riley (third round out of LSU), running back Brian Hill (fifth, Wyoming) and tight end Eric Saubert (fifth, Drake).

Coric upsets top-seeded Murray at Madrid

Andy Murray’s stay in Spain’s capital city was a relatively quick one as the world’s top-ranked player was bounced in the third round of the Madrid Open on Thursday.

Croatian Borna Coric, who is ranked 59th in the world, breezed to a 6-3, 6-3 victory over the top-seeded Murray. Coric now has a 2-2 record against the Scot, who committed 55 unforced errors when Coric recorded a 6-1, 6-3 win over Murray at the Dubai Championships in February 2015.

Coric, who moved into the main draw after Frenchman Richard Gasquet withdrew due to back pain, became the first lucky loser to reach the quarterfinals in the 16-year history of the tournament.

“After losing in qualies and I was booking my flight back home, this is a surprise, for sure,” the 20-year-old Coric said. “But in the last two matches, I’ve been feeling like I was back in Marrakech and played really good today. It’s a huge win and is going to mean a lot for me because confidence plays a huge role in my tennis.”

Coric advances to face eighth-seeded Austrian Dominic Thiem, who rallied from dropping the opening set and saved five match points to post a 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (9) win over 12th-seeded Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov.

Murray, who committed 24 unforced errors on Thursday, has failed to reach the finals in any of his past three tournaments. He has won only one tournament this year.

49ers claim Bowman isn’t being shopped

San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch and coach Kyle Shanahan issued a joint statement on Thursday refuting a report that said the club is interested in trading star linebacker NaVorro Bowman.

“The report that we have been shopping NaVorro Bowman is completely false,” the statement read. “From the time we joined the organization, NaVorro has been the consummate professional. It is evident he has been working very hard to prepare for the upcoming season and we have been impressed by what we have already seen on the field.

“We are looking forward to NaVorro’s future contributions to this team.”

The report in question came via former league executive Mike Lombardi, who co-hosts the “GM Street” podcast for The Ringer.

Bowman, 28, sustained his second significant injury in the past three years when he tore his Achilles after four games last season. The four-time All-Pro selection also tore his ACL in 2013 NFC Championship Game, forcing him to miss the entire 2014 season.

Bowman signed an extension last year that potentially keeps him with the 49ers through the 2022 season.

Mets closer may face shoulder surgery

New York Mets closer Jeurys Familia was diagnosed with an arterial clot in his right shoulder and may need surgery, the team announced on Thursday.

Familia was examined at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York. The 27-year-old right-hander will visit Dr. Robert Thompson in St. Louis on Friday for further tests before a determination can be made regarding potential surgery.

Thompson, who specializes in thoracic outlet syndrome and other vascular issues, performed Mets right-hander Matt Harvey’s season-ending surgery in 2016.

Familia surrendered four runs (three earned) on two hits with two walks in one-third of an inning on Wednesday in New York’s 6-5 setback to the San Francisco Giants.

Familia owns a 1-1 mark with a 3.86 ERA in 11 appearances in 2017 on the heels of serving a 15-game suspension for an offseason domestic violence incident.

Familia was a first-time All-Star last year and led the majors with a team-record 51 saves, finishing with a 2.55 ERA and 84 strikeouts in 77 2/3 innings.

Durant tells top prospects to skip combine

Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant has some advice for the top prospects that are planning to attend the NBA combine.

“Stay your (expletive) home, work out and get better on your own time,” Durant said to ESPN.

Durant, who was the second overall pick in 2007 by the Seattle SuperSonics, has enjoyed a successful career with a 2014 NBA Most Valuable Player award and eight All-Star selections to his credit. Still, Durant has painful memories of failing to bench-press 185 pounds at the combine.

“I remember it like it was yesterday,” Durant said. “All the strength coaches were laughing at me and (expletive). They were giggling with each other that I couldn’t lift 185 pounds, and I was like, ‘All right, keep laughing. Keep laughing.’ It was a funny thing, because I was the only one that couldn’t lift it and I was struggling to lift it. I was embarrassed at that point, but I’m like, ‘Give me a basketball, please. Give me a ball.’”

Durant received relatively low marks in the vertical leap, agility drill and three-quarter-court sprint, for whatever that’s worth given his career.

Durant, however, doesn’t take issue with the combine itself, and feels it’s fine for players who are trying to navigate their way into the first round.

Lonzo Ball, who is the potential top overall pick out of UCLA, Josh Jackson (Kansas), Jayson Tatum (Duke) and Malik Monk (Kentucky) are among the likely lottery picks not attending this week’s event in Chicago.

Washington’s Markelle Fultz, another possible No. 1 overall pick, is attending the combine on at least a limited basis.