Update on the latest sports
NHL-PLAYOFFS
3 teams on brink of elimination
UNDATED (AP) — The Pittsburgh Penguins are on the verge of another postseason meltdown. The New York Islanders have a 3-2 series lead in the best-of-seven series after winning Game 5 in double-overtime. So Wednesday’s Game 6 is a must-win for the Penguins. It’s not what they expected after posting a 26-8-2 record from March 2 through the end of the regular season.
Defending Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay gets another chance to put away the Florida Panthers, who survived Game 5 with the help of a 36-save performance from Spencer Knight in his Stanley Cup debut. At 20 years, 35 days, the Darien, Connecticut, native became the youngest goaltender in NHL history to make his playoffs debut with his team facing elimination.
The Vegas Golden Knights will try a second time to eliminate the Minnesota Wild after losing Game 5 despite a 40-14 shot advantage. The road team is 4-1 in this series.
NBA-PLAYOFFS
76ers, Grizzlies and Hawks try for 2-0 series leads
UNDATED (AP) — The Philadelphia 76ers, Memphis Grizzlies and Atlanta Hawks each look to take 2-0 leads in their respective first-round NBA playoff series Wednesday.
Philadelphia won its opener against sub.-500 Washington, while Western Conference No. 1 seed Utah fell to Memphis 112-109 in Game 1. The Jazz expect to have Donovan Mitchell back tonight after he was a late scratch Sunday.
Atlanta’s 107-105 victory over the Knicks in Game 1 was its first in four tries against New York this season.
PENN STATE-ABUSE
Judge upholds Penn St. ex-president Spanier’s jail sentence
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A judge has upheld the jail sentence of the former Penn State president who was forced out as the school’s top administrator after Jerry Sandusky was arrested nearly a decade ago.
The judge says Graham Spanier must report to jail on July 9 to begin serving at least two months for endangering the welfare of children, followed by two months of house arrest.
Spanier was charged in 2012 and convicted by a jury in March 2017 but appeals had allowed him to stay out of jail. He was convicted for his actions in response to reports from his aides that a graduate assistant football coach had complained of being greatly disturbed by coming across Sandusky showering alone with a boy in a team locker room in 2001.
A Penn State spokesperson says Spanier remains a tenured faculty member on administrative leave who is not teaching classes.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL-SENIOR BOWL-HBCU COMBINE
Senior Bowl, NFL to hold combine for top HBCU prospects
MOBILE, Ala. (AP) — The Senior Bowl and the NFL will hold a pre-draft combine for top prospects from Historically Black College and Universities next January.
The inaugural HBCU combine, scheduled for Jan. 28-29 in 2022, will be similar to the NFL combine with interviews and on-field and medical evaluations.
It will be held at the University of South Alabama and feature select players from four HBCU conferences — the Southwestern Athletic Conference, the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Conference — and other HBCU institutions.
The first scheduled HBCU combine was postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
An HBCU Scouting Committee, comprised of current and former league executives, will evaluate and select the participants. The Senior Bowl will provide medical and football personnel to collect pre-draft information.
The game is scheduled for Feb. 5, 2022.
TOKYO OLYMPICS
Major Japan newspaper Asahi calls for Olympic cancellation
TOKYO (AP) — A major newspaper in Japan is calling for the Japan’s Asahi Shimbun has called for the Tokyo Olympics to be canceled.
Asahi Shimbun is the first of Japan’s major newspapers to make the move and joins some regional newspapers which have run similar editorials. The paper is typically liberal-leaning and often opposes the ruling party led by Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga.
Coming out against the Olympics could be significant since the newspaper, like many in Japan, is a sponsor of the postponed Tokyo Games that are scheduled to open on July 23.
Public opinion polls in Japan have shown between 60-80% want the Olympics canceled because of the pandemic. Organizers and the IOC say the games can be held safely with 15,000 Olympic and Paralympic athletes entering Japan accompanied by tens of thousands of judges, officials, sponsors, broadcasters and media.
Tokyo, Osaka and other regions of the country are under a state of emergency that is likely to be extended past its May 31 expiration.
