The NBA is changing the format to this season's 3-point contest at All-Star Saturday by adding a pair of deep shots that will be worth three points apiece, the league announced Tuesday.

That change means each round will now be a total of 27 shots instead of 25, and competitors will now get 70 seconds to finish their shots instead of the customary 60.

The two additional shots will come from 6 feet beyond the 3-point line, between the racks located on the wings and the one at the top of the key. Those shots -- only one from each spot, called the MTN DEW Zone -- will be taken with a special green ball.

The change is being made in part to stay consistent with the times, since NBA players are shooting more shots from deeper distances than ever. There have been nearly 300 shots made from at least 30 feet this season, already more than the total from last season.

The rest of the format for the 3-point contest -- five shots per rack, five different racks, most shots worth one point and a special "money ball" worth two points -- remains unchanged. There is one rack composed of five "money balls," which a shooter can place at any of the competition's five regular spots. The maximum score that can be reached is now 40, six more than the previous maximum.

The list of competitors for the 3-point contest this season includes Portland's Damian Lillard, Sacramento's Buddy Hield, Washington's Davis Bertans, Charlotte's Devonte' Graham, Miami's Duncan Robinson, Atlanta's Trae Young, Chicago's Zach LaVine and Brooklyn's Joe Harris.

Lillard, Hield, Bertans, Graham, Robinson and Young all rank among the NBA's top 10 in 3-pointers made per game this season. LaVine made 13 3-pointers against Charlotte on Nov. 23, the top single-game effort in the NBA this season.

Robinson, at nearly 44% this season, has the best 3-point percentage entering Tuesday's games of any of the eight selected for this year's contest.

Lillard and Young are All-Stars this season. Harris is the defending champion. Bertans, Graham, LaVine, Robinson and Young are all first-time 3-point contest participants. Harris and Hield are in for the second time, and Lillard is entering for the third time.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

Arbitrator Mark Irvings officially issued his decision Tuesday to deny the grievance filed by Cubs star Kris Bryant, ruling the players' association did not prove Chicago's reasons for holding the third baseman in the minors at the start of the 2015 season were a pretext to push back his eligibility for free agency.

Irvings' ruling in favor of the team was long expected, sources told ESPN's Jeff Passan last week, and it definitively locks in Bryant's value as Chicago considers trading him. With two seasons of team control, the Cubs can seek a far greater return than they could have had Bryant won and accelerated his free agency.

Bryant hit .425 with nine homers in 40 at-bats during spring training in 2015. He started the season at Triple-A Iowa, where he batted .321 with three homers in seven games.

He made his major league debut on April 17, 2015, and the timing left him able to accrue 171 days of major league service that season, one day shy of a full year of service. That pushed back his free-agent eligibility by one year, until after the 2021 season.

Irvings did not decide whether teams have the right to manipulate service time, a person who had read the text of Irvings' decision told The Associated Press, leaving the theoretical possibility that a different player with different facts could prevail in another grievance. Irvings also ruled the parties have a duty of good faith in their conduct under the labor contract, the person said.

"While we respect the finality of that decision, we will continue to pursue any and all measures that incentivize competition, discourage service-time manipulation and ensure clubs field their best players," union head Tony Clark said in a statement. "We applaud Kris' courage and determination in challenging the Cubs' actions and seeing the grievance through to the end."

Bryant's agent, Scott Boras, hopes the union will address the issue in bargaining to replace the labor contract set to expire after the 2021 season.

"This ruling has placed every player on notice. The clubs have now poked the bear on the reserve-system issue," Boras said.

Bryant hit .275 with 26 homers and 99 RBIs in his first season, helping Chicago make the playoffs for the first time since 2008 and winning the NL Rookie of the Year award. He had 39 homers and scored an NL-high 121 runs in 2016, leading the Cubs to their first World Series championship since 1908.

Bryant batted .282 with 31 homers, 77 RBIs and 108 runs last year. He was hampered by right knee soreness for part of the summer, and then missed the end of the season with a sprained right ankle.

Information from The Associated Press contributed to this report.

The Los Angeles Dodgers have agreed to a deal with the Boston Red Sox that would send star outfielder Mookie Betts and starter David Price to the Dodgers, sources familiar with the deal tell ESPN.

The deal is pending medical reviews.

Outfielder Alex Verdugo will be the centerpiece of the package headed back to Boston, sources said. It wasn't immediately clear what additional players were involved, nor how much money, if any, Boston was sending to Los Angeles to complete the deal.

With the bidding for Betts heating up between the Dodgers and National League West rival San Diego in recent days, Boston chose to deal with Los Angeles and improve the team that lost in the division series to the Washington Nationals, the eventual World Series champions.

World pole vault medallist attempts 6.17m at World Indoor Tour meeting

Armand Duplantis came close to breaking the world pole vault record in Düsseldorf on Tuesday, with three attempts at 6.17m at the World Athletics Indoor Tour meeting.

The world silver medallist cleared a world-leading and meeting record mark of 6.00m at what was his first competition of the year, improving his own Swedish indoor record. He then had the bar raised to a height which would have added one centimetre to Renaud Lavillenie’s world record set six years ago.

The 20-year-old, who has an outdoor best of 6.05m set when winning European gold in 2018, knocked off the bar with his feet during his first attempt at 6.17m but his second try was agonisingly close as he soared over the bar but then knocked it with his arm on the way back down.

His third attempt was also good, but not as impressive as his second.

There's no world record for @mondohoss600 today but how close was that second attempt at 6.17m! He wins the Düsseldorf pole vault competition with a WL and MR 6.00m, improving his own Swedish indoor record. His best is 6.05m outdoors #WorldIndoorTour https://t.co/ns94odtdny

— AW (@AthleticsWeekly) February 4, 2020

Earlier in the competition, Duplantis had cleared 5.40m and 5.55m on his first attempts before needing two tries at 5.70m. He managed 5.80m on his first go and then passed at 5.85m, with only two-time world champion Sam Kendricks remaining in the competition at that stage.

That 5.80m would prove to be Kendricks’ best of the evening, while Duplantis went on to soar over 5.90m and 5.95m on his first attempts, later managing 6.00m on his second try.

“I thought it was possible,” he told World Athletics when asked about the world record. “That second attempt at 6.17m was as good as I could have expected.”

Beatrice Chepkoech’s winning Kenyan indoor 1500m record of 4:02.09 was also among the six world-leading marks set in Düsseldorf, with Filip Ingebrigtsen achieving another in the men’s event as he ran 3:36.32.

Selemon Barega won the 3000m in 7:35.71, while Filip Mihaljevic won the shot put with a 21.52m Croatian record throw and Neele Eckhardt won the triple jump with a 14.17m leap in front of home fans.

Another local winner was world 800m leader Marc Reuther as he won the four-lap event in 1:46.13 to beat Adam Kszczot with 1:46.42. The first 800m race had been won by Marcin Lewandowski in 1:47.23 as Guy Learmonth was fourth in 1:47.94.

Chijindu Ujah equaled his PB to win the men’s 60m in 6.53 after a 6.55 heat, while Gina Bass won the women’s final in a Gambian record of 7.16.

Christina Clemons clocked 7.91 to claim women’s 60m hurdles victory, while Yaqoub Mohamed Al Youha set a PB of 7.54 to win the men’s event and move to second on the Asian indoor all-time list. David King clocked 7.84 in eighth after a 7.77 heat.

Lisanne de Witte won the women’s 400m in 52.30.

Full results can be found here.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. –  The International Hot Rod Ass’n and Hagerty have announced a multi-year partnership making Hagerty the official and exclusive car insurance provider for IHRA and the presenting sponsor for the 2020-2021 IHRA Sportsman Spectacular Series.

Hagerty is the world’s largest membership, insurance and media organization for enthusiast vehicle owners.

“We appreciate the opportunity to partner with Hagerty, a company built by people who love cars, in the automotive insurance space,” said Dana Landry, senior director of corporate partnerships, IRG Sports + Entertainment. “Hagerty offers affordable coverages that allow IHRA members to protect their dragsters in the trailer and in transit, while in the paddock, at a repair facility or being stored.”

“We’re huge IHRA fans, so this is a natural partnership,” said Chandler McCallum, senior manager of motorsport marketing for Hagerty. “ We look forward to connecting with IHRA members at events this year.”

STATESVILLE, N.C. – Ryan Truex has joined Niece Motorsports to compete in six NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series races, with Marquis Spas serving as his primary sponsor.

His first start with the team will come in March at Texas Motor Speedway.

“I’m extremely excited to continue my partnership with Marquis Spas for a second season and can’t wait to go after wins with Niece Motorsports,” said Truex.  “Marquis builds the highest quality spas on the market and I’m grateful to be partnered with a company that strives for continued excellence.  I can’t wait to kick off the 2020 season with Marquis Spas and Niece Motorsports in Texas.”

Truex, who ran full-time in the Truck Series in 2017, has two poles, 10 top-five finishes and 19 top-10 finishes in 42 starts in the series. In addition to his experience behind the wheel in the Truck Series, Truex has 78 starts in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and 26 starts in the NASCAR Cup Series to his credit.

“This is another really exciting announcement for Niece Motorsports,” said team owner Al Niece.  “Ryan is a proven talent with a lot of experience, and we are happy to have him on board.  I’m eager to get this season started, and I know Ryan is ready to get on track at Texas.”

Truex’s schedule will also include races at Kentucky Speedway, Michigan Int’l Speedway, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Martinsville Speedway and Phoenix Raceway.

Back at one of his favorite events of the year, Dustin Johnson is the man to beat at Pebble Beach according to Las Vegas oddsmakers.

Johnson earned two of his first three PGA Tour wins at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, going back-to-back in 2009 and 2010, and he's racked up five top-5 finishes since. As the highest-ranked player in the field and coming off a runner-up finish at the Saudi International, Johnson was listed as a 13/2 betting favorite for this week by the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook.

Patrick Cantlay, who joins Johnson as the only players ranked inside the top 10 in the Pebble field, is next in line at 12/1, with former world No. 1 Jason Day just behind at 20/1. Defending champ Phil Mickelson, who hasn't cracked the top 10 in a Tour event since his win here a year ago, headlines a group at 30/1 that also includes past champion Jordan Spieth.

Here's a look at some of the notable odds for this week's event on the Monterey coast:

13/2: Dustin Johnson

12/1: Patrick Cantlay

20/1: Jason Day, Paul Casey, Brandt Snedeker

25/1: Matthew Fitzpatrick, Matt Kuchar

30/1: Phil Mickelson, Viktor Hovland, Branden Grace, Jordan Spieth

40/1: Graeme McDowell, Kevin Kisner, Daniel Berger, Russell Knox, Cameron Champ

50/1: Alex Noren, Max Homa

60/1: Adam Hadwin, Rafa Cabrera-Bello, Chez Reavie, Scott Piercy, Kevin Na, Lucas Glover, Jim Furyk, Tom Hoge, Kurt Kitayama

80/1: J.B. Holmes, Vaughn Taylor, Patrick Rodgers, Kevin Streelman, Scott Stallings

100/1: Pat Perez, Nate Lashley, Adam Long, Harry Higgs, Andrew Landry, Nick Watney, Sung Kang, Aaron Wise, Charley Hoffman

125/1: Jimmy Walker, Lanto Griffin, Cameron Davis, Beau Hossler, Maverick McNealy, Xinjun Zhang, Nick Taylor

Infielder Wilmer Flores and the San Francisco Giants are in agreement on a multiyear contract, sources familiar with the deal told ESPN's Jeff Passan.

Flores, 28, hit .317/.361/.487 with the Arizona Diamondbacks last year and could be in line to play second base or a utility role with the Giants.