Reuters U.S. Sports Schedule at 2 PM ET on Thursday, March 17 (REPEAT)

March 17 (Reuters) - Reuters U.S. sports schedule at 2 PM ET on Thursday: (Repeats to fix formatting) - - - - For any coverage questions, please contact us.general-news@thomsonreuters.com - - - - NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE Patriots pair TE Bennett with Gronkowski The New England Patriots added yet another downfield weapon for quarterback Tom Brady by acquiring tight end Martellus Bennett from the Chicago Bears. Chicago announced the deal Thursday after reports surfaced about the potential trade Wednesday. (FBN-PATRIOTS-NEWS, moved, The Sports Xchange, 441 words) Laurinaitis joins Saints The New Orleans Saints bolstered their defense by signing veteran linebacker James Laurinaitis on Thursday. (FBN-SAINTS-NEWS, moved, The Sports Xchange, 101 words) Vikings sign OT Smith Free-agent offensive tackle Andre Smith and the Minnesota Vikings have agreed to a one-year deal that could be worth up to $4.5 million. (FBN-VIKINGS-NEWS, moved, The Sports Xchange, 125 words) Browns sign S Moore The Cleveland Browns signed safety Rahim Moore to a one-year deal on Thursday. (FBN-BROWNS-NEWS, moved, The Sports Xchange, 268 words) LG Beadles agrees on two-year deal with 49ers Left guard Zane Beadles has reportedly agreed to a three-year, $11.75 million contract with the San Francisco 49ers. (FBN-49ERS-NEWS, moved, The Sports Xchange, 124 words) - - - - GOLF Scott shares early lead at Bay Hill Adam Scott, seeking his third consecutive victory on the "Florida swing," shot a 5-under 67 and was among the early group of leaders after the morning wave at Bay Hill in Orlando. (GLF-PGA-FIRSTLEDE/WRITETHRU, first version moved, expect final approx. 6:15 p.m. ET, The Sports Xchange, 500 words) Kim opens defense of JTBC Founders Cup The LPGA Tour returns to the United States, with 20-year-old Hyo Joo Kim opening the defense of her 2015 victory at the JTBC founders Cup in Phoenix. (GLF-WRITETHRU, expect by 9 p.m. ET, The Sports Xchange, 400 words) - - - - MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL Grapefruit League: Three Up, Three Down FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Take a spin around the Grapefruit League with "Three Up, Three Down," an inside look at what is coming up and what went down on Thursday. (BBO-ANALYSIS-GL3U3D, expect by 7 p.m. ET, By Maureen Mullen, The Sports Xchange, 700 words) Cactus League: Three Up, Three Down PEORIA, Ariz. -- Take a spin around the Cactus League with "Three Up, Three Down," an inside look at what is coming up and what went down on Thursday. (BBO-ANALYSIS-CL3U3D, expect by 8 p.m. ET, By Jose Romero, The Sports Xchange, 700 words) Harvey named Opening Day starter for Mets New York Mets manager Terry Collins on Thursday named right-hander Matt Harvey the team's Opening Day starter against the Kansas City Royals. (BBO-METS-ROYALS-NEWS, moved, The Sports Xchange, 143 words) Report: White Sox considered boycotting game to support LaRoche Chicago White Sox players considered boycotting Wednesday's spring training game against Milwaukee to show support for Adam LaRoche, their former teammate who retired on Tuesday after team president Ken Williams told the slugger that he had to limit the time his 14-year-old son could spend with the team. (BBO-WHITESOX-NEWS, moved, The Sports Xchange, 180 words) Boston's prized lefty Rodriguez headed to DL Boston left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez will open the season on the disabled list, manager John Farrell said Thursday. (BBO-REDSOX-NEWS, moved, The Sports Xchange, 176 words) RHP Simon returns to Reds on one-year deal The Cincinnati Reds signed right-hander Alfredo Simon to a one-year contract on Thursday. (BBO-REDS-TIGERS-NEWS, moved, The Sports Xchange, 139 words) - - - - NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION The Sports Xchange covers all NBA games. Tonight's schedule: Thursday schedule (all times ET) Washington at Philadelphia, 7 p.m. Toronto at Indiana, 7 p.m. Charlotte at Miami, 7:30 p.m. Brooklyn at Chicago, 8 p.m. Denver at Atlanta, 8 p.m. Memphis at Milwaukee, 8 p.m. Portland at San Antonio, 8:30 p.m. Phoenix at Utah, 9 p.m. NBA notebook News and notes from around the NBA. (BKN-NOTEBOOK, expect by 7 p.m. ET, The Sports Xchange, 300 words) NBA Roundup Capsule recaps of all games on the schedule Thursday. (BKN-ROUNDUP, expect multiple versions, The Sports Xchange, 350 words) - - - - COLLEGE BASKETBALL The Sports Xchange staffs all NCAA tournament games. Thursday NCAA Tournament schedule Providence, R.I. No. 13 UNC-Wilm. vs. No. 4 Duke, 12:15 p.m. No. 12 Yale vs. No. 5 Baylor, 2:45 p.m. No. 14 Buffalo vs. No. 3 Miami, Fla., 6:50 p.m. No. 11 Wichita St. vs. No. 6 Arizona, 9:20 p.m. Raleigh, N.C. No. 9 Butler vs. No. 8 Texas Tech, 12:40 p.m. No. 16 Hampton vs. No. 1 Virginia, 3:10 p.m. No. 16 FGCU vs. No. 1 N. Carolina, 7:20 p.m. No. 9 Providence vs. No. 8 USC, 9:50 p.m. Des Moines, Iowa No. 9 UConn vs. No. 8 Colorado, 1:30 p.m. No. 16 Austin Peay vs. No. 1 Kansas, 4 p.m. No. 12 Chattanooga vs. No. 5 Indiana, 7:10 p.m. No. 13 Stony Brk. vs. No. 4 Kentucky, 9:40 p.m. Denver No. 13 Iona vs. No. 4 Iowa St., 2 p.m. No. 12 Little Rock vs. No. 5 Purdue, 4:30 p.m. No. 14 Fresno St. vs. No. 3 Utah, 7:27 p.m. No. 11 Gonzaga vs. No. 6 Seton Hall, 9:57 p.m. NIT Recap Florida State at Valparaiso, 7:00 p.m. NCAA Tournament - 10 Takeaways from Thursday The top 10 things we learned from Day 1 of the NCAA Tournament. (BKC-ANALYSIS-NCAATOURNAMENT, expect by 10 p.m. ET, compiled from writers on-hand at each regional site, The Sports Xchange, 1,000 words) Cal PG Wallace suffers fracture in non-shooting hand Cal point guard Tyrone Wallace, who leads the Golden Bears in scoring, broke a bone in his right (nonshooting) hand during practice Wednesday and his status for the NCAA Tournament was uncertain as of Thursday morning. (BKC-CALIFORNIA-HAWAII-NEWS, moved, The Sports Xchange, 172 words) - - - - NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE The Sports Xchange covers all NHL games. Tonight's schedule: (all times ET) Minnesota at New Jersey, 7 p.m. Carolina at Pittsburgh, 7 p.m. Detroit at Columbus, 7 p.m. Florida at Toronto, 7:30 p.m. N.Y. Islanders at Nashville, 8 p.m. Tampa Bay at Dallas, 8:30 p.m. San Jose at Arizona, 10 p.m. N.Y. Rangers at Los Angeles, 10:30 p.m. Red Wings recall G Coreau The Detroit Red Wings on Thursday recalled goaltender Jared Coreau from the Grand Rapids Griffins. (HKN-WINGS-NEWS, moved, The Sports Xchange, 88 words) Maple Leafs recall F Brown The Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday recalled forward Connor Brown from the Toronto Marlies on an emergency basis. (HKN-LEAFS-NEWS, moved, The Sports Xchange, 73 words) NHL notebook News and notes from around the NHL. (HKN-NOTEBOOK, expect by 7 p.m. ET, The Sports Xchange, 300 words) NHL Roundup Capsule recaps of all games on the schedule Sunday. (HKN-ROUNDUP, expect multiple versions, The Sports Xchange, 350 words) - - - - AUTO RACING Stewart-Haas switch to Ford a sign of the times Heading into Sunday's race at the Auto Club Speedway, there have been four different teams in victory lane in four Sprint Cup races this year. It remains to be seen if any new teams will be added to the list as the season develops. (CAR-COLUMN, moved, By Jonathan Ingram, NASCAR Wire Service, special to The Sports Xchange, 1,225 words) NASCAR: Auto Club 400 preview FONTANA, Calif. -- Preview of Sunday's Auto Club 400. (CAR-PREVIEW, expect by 8 p.m. ET, By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service, special to The Sports Xchange, 600 words) - - - - TENNIS Cilic takes on Goffin at Indian Wells No. 10 seed Marin Cilic will play No. 15 David Goffin in the marquee match at the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells on Thursday. (TENNIS-NEWS, expect by 8 p.m. ET, The Sports Xchange, 100 words) - - - - NORTH AMERICAN SPORTS Roundups of off-field developments in the major North American professional sports leagues. (Expect by 8 PM ET, by The Sports Xchange, 400 words)