Talk » in the harsh conditions.WET AND WILDThe tea

Miguel Cotto, Puerto Ricos only four-division world champion, will end a 15-month layoff by taking on James Kirkland in a junior middleweight fight on Feb. 25, Cotto Promotions executive Bryan Perez told ESPN on Wednesday.The scheduled 12-round bout will headline an HBO PPV card being put on by Roc Nation Sports and Cotto Promotions. It will take place at the Ford Center at The Star, the new training facility of the Dallas Cowboys in Frisco, Texas, that includes a 12,000-seat arena.Perez said the fight has been agreed to, and he expected a formal announcement by Roc Nation Sports as soon as Thursday.Miguel is back in the ring and we are all excited, Perez said. Like he always does, Miguel wants to go in the ring and put on a great show.Long one of boxings biggest stars, Cotto (40-5, 33 KOs) has won world titles at junior welterweight, welterweight, junior middleweight and middleweight. But he has not boxed since losing a wide unanimous decision and the middleweight title to Canelo Alvarez in their November 2015 megafight in Las Vegas.The fight with Kirkland is the last one in Cottos promotional contract with Roc Nation Sports and is being pursued as a pay-per-view event, because the company owes Cotto at least $10 million for the fight. It almost surely will lose considerable money, since there is no public demand for the bout: Cotto is coming off a loss and has not fought since 2015; and Kirkland is a marginal opponent coming off a 21-month layoff and a crushing defeat.Kirkland (32-2, 28 KOs), a 32-year-old southpaw from Austin, Texas, has fought just three times since 2011 and has not been in the ring since May 2015, when Alvarez brutally knocked him unconscious in the third round.We tried to do other fights, but you know how the business is, Perez said. Kirkland was there, he was willing to fight Miguel, he makes good fights, and we made the fight. Miguel will do his best to give a great show and an exciting fight.Perez said Cotto would begin training camp with trainer Freddie Roach at his Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood, California, in early January.Miguel cant wait to start training with Freddie, Perez said. I think the year off was good for Miguel, but he is ready to fight again.Cotto, 36, has typically fought in New York -- where there is a big and supportive Puerto Rican community -- or in Las Vegas. He has boxed only twice in Texas, in the first two fights of his professional career in early 2001. But Perez said the new Cowboys facility is ideal for a fight, and the Cotto camp is looking forward to doing the card there.Its a beautiful place, Perez said. Were excited to be the first big sports event there other than football.Although the deal is not complete, the co-feature of the card likely will be junior featherweight titleholder Guillermo Rigondeaux (17-0, 11 KOs), 36, a Miami-based Cuban defector and two-time Olympic gold medalist, making a mandatory defense against interim titlist Moises Flores (25-0, 17 KOs), 30, of Mexico. Roc Nation, Rigondeauxs promoter, is close to a deal with the Flores camp.Toronto Blue Jays Store . - Levi Browns tenure at left tackle for the Pittsburgh Steelers is over before it even began. Toronto Blue Jays Shirts .Y. -- Vancouver Canucks goaltender Roberto Luongo had little trouble picking up his first shutout of the season against a Buffalo Sabres team thats having trouble scoring goals. https://www.cheapbluejays.com/ . I cant pinpoint a date, but I do remember a player from my youth. Brian Downing was with the Chicago White Sox at a time when I listened to every game I possibly could on the radio. That particular season the late great Harry Caray was calling the White Sox games. Custom Toronto Blue Jays Jerseys . Breaking three of his own world records on his way to winning in Paris, Chan silenced the critics and left the audiences standing in appreciation and awe. Fake Blue Jays Jerseys . But what about the officials? Every sport has officials and they also have stories about hard work and sacrifice but their accomplishments are seldom recognized by anyone outside their inner circle.DURHAM, N.C. -- As the weather got worse, Corbin McCarthys smile got bigger. It was going to be a good day for defense, especially Dukes defense.It was backyard football, said McCarthy, Dukes senior safety. Before I even put pads on today, I was a giddy 12-year-old kid. There was barely anyone in the stands, but it didnt matter. It was one of the purest forms of football Ive played in a long time, and it felt absolutely great.Daniel Jones and Parker Boehme each threw a touchdown pass as Duke beat Army 13-6 on Saturday.The Blue Devils (3-3) jumped out to a 13-0 lead early in the second quarter, and their defense stifled Armys rushing attack to hold on for the victory in pouring rain. Duke caused three turnovers, including a forced fumble by McCarthy to set up his teams first touchdown.Both teams struggled on offense as Hurricane Matthew made its way through North Carolina. The storm produced stiff wind and driving rain for hours leading up to the game and throughout the contest, making every punt, pass and kick difficult.The teams combined for 93 passing yards, averaged 3.4 yards per play and had as many punts (17) as first downs.Probably the MVP of the day was Matthew, meaning the storm, Duke coach David Cutcliffe said. He was the baddest dude on the field for both teams. But we got a win when it was not as perfect as you would like.Andy Davidson rushed for 120 yards, including a 45-yard touchdown run late in the first half, for the Black Knights (3-2).Army entered the game averaging an FBS-leading 374 rushing yards per game but ran for a season-low 165 yards on 43 attempts against Duke.Boehme threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to tight end Erich Schneider after Davidson lost a fumble at the Army 9 on the Black Knights second possession. Jones tossed a 22-yard touchdown pass to Aaron Young for Dukes other score.THE TAKEAWAYArmy: The Black Knights outplayed Duke after falling behind 13-0, but they could not sustain drives. Army converted two of 13 third-down plays and failed all four times on ffourth down, including three times on fourth-and-1 runs.dddddddddddd Credit Duke, Army coach Jeff Monken said. They played very physical. We couldnt block them. We couldnt sustain a block. It was disappointing.Duke: The Blue Devils gutted out a victory, but they still need three more wins to qualify for a fifth consecutive bowl game. That will be a difficult task against Dukes six remaining opponents, each of which is bigger, faster and more talented than Army.FOURTH AND STRONGAfter stopping Army four times on fourth down, Duke has held its opponents to no fourth-down conversions on eight attempts this season. The Black Knights were 9 of 11 converting on fourth down in their first four games.Dukes fourth-down stops were huge. One set up Dukes second touchdown, and another stopped the Black Knights from converting a blocked punt into points after they moved to the Duke 4. The Blue Devils amped up the pressure on fourth down, blitzing defenders who knifed through the line to make tackles in the backfield.INJURY REPORTDuke lost starting center Austin Davis and leading rusher Jela Duncan to leg injuries. Neither player returned to the game. Left guard Zach Harmon moved over to center in the absence of Davis, and he successfully executed each of his snaps in the harsh conditions.WET AND WILDThe teams played in an almost-empty stadium due to the weather. But a few fans channeled the creativity of their basketball brethren, the Cameron Crazies, and cheered without shirts while wearing swimsuits, swim caps and goggles.UP NEXTArmy: After playing four of their first five games on the road, the Black Knights return home against Louisiana-Lafayette for their first home game since Sept. 10.Duke: The Blue Devils visit No. 7 Louisville on Friday night to kick off the second half of their season. Four of the remaining six opponents on Dukes schedule entered the weekend ranked. ' ' '