Update on the latest sports
NBA-NEWS
Leonard out tonight
UNDATED (AP) — The Los Angeles Clippers will be without Kawhi (kah-WY’) Leonard for Game 5 of their Western Conference semifinal series tonight at Utah.
A person with knowledge of the matter said Leonard will need more testing and evaluation on his sprained right knee, raising questions about his availability going forward. Leonard’s injury appeared to occur with about 5:20 left in Game 4 of the series against the Jazz on Monday, when he was fouled on a drive by Utah’s Bojan (BOY-ahn) Bogdanovic.
The two-time NBA Finals MVP is averaging 30.4 points on 57% shooting in the playoffs.
In other NBA news:
— The Suns say guard Chris Paul has entered the NBA’s health and safety protocols, and his availability for Game 1 of the Western Conference finals is unclear. A person with knowledge of the situation tells The Associated Press that Paul has been vaccinated against COVID-19. That could mean that Paul could be cleared to return faster than those who tested positive before vaccines were available.
— Hornets versatile point guard LaMelo Ball is the NBA Rookie of the Year despite missing 21 games with a fractured wrist. Ball beat out finalists Anthony Edwards from the Minnesota Timberwolves and Tyrese Haliburton from the Sacramento Kings to win the award. He led all rookies with averages of 6.1 assists and 1.6 steals per game and was third with 15.7 points and 5.9 rebounds.
— Head coach Scott Brooks won’t be returning to the Wizards, who made the playoffs three times in his five years at the helm. Washington won its play-in game and was promptly knocked out by the 76ers in five games. The Wizards were 183-207 under Brooks.
— Stan Van Gundy was given the one season to coach the Pelicans before the two sides mutually agreed to part. New Orleans just went 31-41 to finish 11th in the Western Conference, two games out of a play-in berth. The Pelicans had the eighth-worst defense in the league this season following a truncated training camp.
— Mavericks general manager Donnie Nelson is leaving the team after 24 seasons. Nelson was instrumental in the club’s acquisitions of Dirk Nowitzki and Luka Doncic (DAHN’-chihch). The Mavericks said Wednesday the club and Nelson agreed to part ways, with owner Mark Cuban saying the 58-year-old son of former coach Don Nelson was “instrumental to our success and helped bring a championship to Dallas.”
— Portland guard Damian Lillard has told USA Basketball officials that he will play for the national team in this summer’s Tokyo Olympics, said a person with knowledge of the decision. Lillard has not previously played in the Olympics.
MLB-SCHEDULE
Sox win on Grandal’s hit
UNDATED (AP) — The Chicago White Sox have won a series matchup of AL division leaders, but it took extra innings to accomplish it.
The White Sox pulled out an 8-7 win over the Rays behind Yasmani Grandal’s (yahs-MAH’-nee grahn-DAHLZ’) game-ending single in the 10th. Jóse Abreu (ah-BRAY’-oo) hit his 12th homer of the season for the White Sox, who squandered a 7-2 lead before winning for the 10th time in their last 13 games.
Yandy Díaz and Mike Zunino (zuh-NEE’-noh) homered for the Rays.
Around the majors:
— The Athletics have a six-game winning streak after Ramón Laureano hit a home run and made a homer-robbing catch in his return from the injured list, highlighting an 8-4 win over the Angels. Matt Olson singled twice in a six-run sixth and finished 3-for-4 with an RBI.
— Willi Castro homered during a three-run seventh that send the Tigers to a 6-5 victory and a three-game sweep of Kansas City. The Royals have lost six in a row and 11 of 12.
— Yadier Molina (YAH’-dee-ehr moh-LEE’-nah) delivered his eighth career walk-off hit with an RBI single in the bottom of the ninth to complete the Cardinals’ 1-0 and three-game sweep of the Marlins. St. Louis starter Johan Oviedo worked a career-high seven scoreless innings and Miami’s Sandy Alcantara (al-KAN’-tah-rah) pitched a team season-high 8 1/3 innings.
— The Reds won for the 11th time in 13 games as Tyler Mahle (MAH’-lee) tied his career high with 12 strikeouts in a 2-1 decision over the Brewers. Tucker Barnhart doubled home the tiebreaking run to send Cincinnati to its sixth straight win and a three-game sweep.
— The Nationals picked up a 3-1 win over the Pirates behind Paolo Espino, who allowed three hits over five shutout innings for his first major league win at age 34. Josh Bell hit a two-run homer against his former team as Washington completed a three-game sweep that extends Pittsburgh’s losing streak to 10 games.
— Pinch-hitter Charlie Blackmon singled home the winning run in the ninth to give the Rockies an 8-7 win over the sputtering Padres. San Diego wasted Fernando Tatis (tah-TEES’) Jr.’s NL-leading 21st home run and lost for the 13th time in 17 games.
MLB-GRIP ENHANCERS-HILL
Rays’ Hill says union ‘dropped the ball’ on grip enhancers
CHICAGO (AP) — Veteran Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Rich Hill says the players’ union “dropped the ball” when it came to this week’s announcement from Major League Baseball about grip-enhancing substances.
MLB says pitchers will be ejected and suspended for 10 games starting Monday for using illegal substances to doctor baseballs. The 41-year old Hill said he feels like the sides should have come together and settled this together.
NFL-VIRUS PROTOCOLS
NFL loosening many COVID restrictions for vaccinated players
UNDATED (AP) — The NFL and NFL Players Association have updated COVID-19 protocols to loosen restrictions for fully vaccinated players and to encourage others to get the vaccine.
Unvaccinated players must continue to get daily testing, wear masks and practice physical distancing. They won’t be allowed to eat meals with teammates, can’t participate in media or marketing activities while traveling, aren’t permitted to use the sauna or steam room and may not leave the team hotel or interact with people outside the team while traveling.
NHL-MAPLE LEAFS-SPEZZA
Spezza stays with Leafs
TORONTO (AP) — Jason Spezza (SPEHT’-suh) has re-signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs, agreeing to the NHL-minimum $750,000 for next season.
The 38-year-old Spezza had 10 goals and 30 points in 54 regular-season games for his hometown team and added three goals and five in seven playoff contests.
TENNIS-NEWS
Venus, Murray get Wimbledon wild cards; prize money reduced
UNDATED (AP) — Former Wimbledon champions Venus Williams and Andy Murray will receive wild cards to compete in the grass-court Grand Slam tournament when it starts in less than two weeks.
The All England Club also announced Wednesday that the men’s and women’s singles winners will each get $2.4 million, a nearly 28% decrease from 2019, although the overall reduction in prize money is 5.2%.
Organizers highlighted plans to have a full crowd of 15,000 at Centre Court for the men’s and women’s finals next month, a year after the tournament was canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic.
In other tennis news:
— Roger Federer has failed to reach the Halle Open quarterfinals for the first time. Félix Auger-Aliassime rallied from a set down to stun the former champion 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 in the second round.
HORSE RACING-NEWS
Kentucky judge divides Medina Spirit urine sample for tests
UNDATED (AP) — A Kentucky judge has granted representatives of trainer Bob Baffert and the owners of Kentucky Derby winner Medina (meh-DEE’-nah) Spirit most of a split sample of the horse’s urine to be further tested for the steroid betamethasone and other substances.
The Hall of Fame trainer and Zedan Racing Stables last week sued the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission for remnants of Medina Spirit’s urine to prove that traces of the steroid betamethasone in his system came from a topical ointment rather than an injection.
