Update on the latest sports

NBA PLAYOFFS-SUNS/CLIPPERS

Clippers’ cool-hand Lue is NBA’s best in elimination games

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Los Angeles Clippers have been unflappable amid high stakes throughout these NBA playoffs. Down 0-2 to the Phoenix Suns, they’ve rallied within a victory of tying the Western Conference finals and forcing Game 7.

Much of their resilience can be credited to Tyronn Lue. He’s the NBA’s best coach in elimination games, with a 10-2 record.

The Clippers will be in that situation again Wednesday for Game 6 at Staples Center. They need a win to keep their hopes alive of reaching the NBA Finals for the first time.

Meanwhile, Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo is doubtful for Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals after undergoing an MRI on his injured left knee.

Bucks officials said Wednesday that the two-time MVP hyperextended his left knee in the third quarter of a 110-88 game 4 loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday night. The Bucks announced an MRI confirmed that diagnosis and said he’d be listed as doubtful for Thursday’s game.

The Bucks and Hawks are tied at two games apiece in the Eastern Conference finals heading into Game 5 on Thursday in Milwaukee.

Center Clint Capela being active for game 5 is still up in the air after he took an inadvertent elbow to the face in the closing minutes of a Game 4 win over the Bucks.

STANLEY CUP FINAL-LIGHTNING/CANADIENS

Canadiens need bounce-back from best players in Cup Final

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — The Montreal Canadiens will need more from their best offensive line in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Tampa Bay Lightning if they are going to return home with a split.

The trio of Cole Caufield, Nick Suzuki and Tyler Toffoli were on the ice for three goals against in Montreal’s Game 1 loss.

Tampa Bay gets the last line change again in Game 2 on Wednesday night. That gives coach Jon Cooper the chance to put his dominant line of Ondrej Palat, Brayden Point and Nikita Kucherov on the ice against Caufield, Suzuki and Toffoli as much as possible.

The Canadiens have shown an ability to bounce back this postseason. They looked outclassed in the semifinal opener against Vegas before roaring back and winning in six games. They also erased a 3-1 series deficit to beat Toronto in the first round.

NHL NEWS

Toews back skating after chronic immune response syndrome

CHICAGO (AP) — Chicago Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews says he missed this past season while dealing with what he says is chronic immune response syndrome.

Toews revealed his diagnosis for the first time in a video released on social media. He says his body just kind of “fell apart” when he stepped away in December, about a month before the delayed season began.

Toews has played for Chicago since 2007 and helped the team win three Stanley Cup championships. He is under contract with Chicago for two more years.

Elsewhere in the NHL:

— The Detroit Red Wings have hired assistant coach Alex Tanguay filling an opening that was created when the team and Dan Bylsma decided he would not return next season. Tanguay was an assistant coach the last two years for the Iowa Wild in the American Hockey League. He had 863 points during a 16-year NHL career, which included two stints with the Colorado Avalanche.

MLB SCHEDULE

Kim ends skid, helps with 2-run double, Cards sweep D-Backs

UNDATED (AP) — Kwang Hyun Kim (hyoon kihm) won for the first time in 11 starts, pitching five solid innings and helping himself with a two-run double as the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 7-4 for a three-game sweep. Kim had lost five straight decisions.

He allowed one run and three hits. Kim’s opposite-field double in the second gave the Cardinals a 2-0 lead. The two RBIs were Kim’s first in the majors, and it was also the first extra-base hit for the 32-year-old lefty.

Paul Goldschmidt and Tyler O’Neill each doubled twice and singled for St. Louis. Arizona lost its fourth in a row.

MLB NEWS

Fired Mets GM Porter suspended by MLB through 2022 season

NEW YORK (AP) — Fired New York Mets general manager Jared Porter has been suspended by Major League Baseball baseball through at least the end of the 2022 regular season following an investigation that began after a report that he sent sexually explicit text messages and images to a female reporter in 2016 while he was working for the Chicago Cubs.

Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred announced the discipline without saying specifically what the investigation had found.

Porter is eligible to apply for reinstatement after the final game of the 2022 regular season, a timetable that could allow him to apply for front-office openings that October.

In other MLB news:

— New York Mets reliever Dellin Betances will have surgery on his right shoulder and miss the remainder of the year after pitching just once this season. Betances had a 19.24 ERA with two minor league teams in his rehabilitation assignments. The 33 year-old signed a $10.5 million, one-year deal with the Mets for 2020, but went 0-1 with a 7.71 ERA in 15 games. He exercised a player option for a $6 million deal this year, but again was hurt.

NCAA-COMPENSATIONG AHTLETES

NCAA clears athletes for compensation as state laws kick in

DALLAS (AP) — The NCAA has cleared the way for athletes to profit off their fame and celebrity. The move comes just as legislation is set to become law in a dozen states that would allow for that kind of compensation.

The NCAA wants to have federal laws or its own rules regarding the issue known as NIL and was forced to seek a temporary solution.

The decision effectively suspends NCAA restrictions on payments to athletes for things such as sponsorship deals, online endorsements and personal appearances. it applies to all three divisions or some 460,000 athletes.

The NCAA will also allow athletes to enter into agreements with agents, though all athletes are expected to keep their school informed of any and all NIL arrangements. The NCAA said schools are responsible “for determining whether those activities are consistent with state law.”

NFL NEWS

AP source: Saints’ Ramczyk agrees to extension

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A person with knowledge of the situation says Saints right tackle Ryan Ramczyk has agreed to a five-year extension worth up to $96 million with $60 million guaranteed.

The 6-foot-6, 314-pound Ramczyk was a late first-round draft choice out of Wisconsin in 2017. The 27-year-old has started 63 regular-season games in his four NFL seasons and was named an All-Pro in 2019. Ramczyk says the extension won’t change him or how he approaches the game.

In other NFL news:

— Two men who ran onto the field during the final quarter of the Super Bowl in February have pleaded no contest to trespassing and agreed to a year of probation. Under the terms of their probation, the men must perform 100 hours of community service, pay a $500 fine and write letters of apology to the National Football League. One man scampered onto the field wearing shorts and a pink leotard or swimsuit. The other ran onto the field first, distracting security officers.

TENNIS-WIMBLEDON

More slipping and sliding at Wimbledon as Djokovic wins, Venus Williams eliminated

WIMBLEDON, England (AP) — Novak Djokovic slid, slipped, skidded and stumbled into the third round on Wimbledon’s slick grass Wednesday by beating Kevin Anderson in straight sets.

Djokovic didn’t face a break point and committed just six unforced errors, including one with his forehand. But footing continued to be an issue on the third day of the tournament, and Djokovic went sprawling several times, as did players in other matches and at least one ball kid.

Seven-time champion Serena Williams retired Tuesday with a leg injury after she slipped. Roger Federer’s opponent had to call it quits after he fell and twisted his knee.

Venus Williams lost to No. 21 Ons Jabeur 7-5, 6-0 in a second round match. Playing for the second day in a row, the 41-year-old Williams seemed to tire. She had only 15 winners and 36 unforced errors. Her Wimbledon isn’t over yet. She’s also playing mixed doubles with Nick Kyrgios.

John Isner played another five-setter on Wimbledon’s Court 18 but couldn’t quite create another epic this time. Isner was broken in the final game to lose 7-6 (5), 2-6, 6-3, 6-7 (3), 6-4 to Yoshihito Nishioka of Japan in the first round.

Former Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin was eliminated in a second round match by American Madison Brengle ranked 82nd, 6-2, 6-4.

American Sebastian Korda is into the third round at his first Wimbledon. The 20-year-old Korda advanced by beating Antoine Hoang of France in straight sets. Korda is the brother of golfers Nelly and Jessica Korda. Nelly won her first major title last week and is the first American in seven years to reach No. 1 in the women’s world rankings.

Two-time Grand Slam semifinalist Vandeweghe beat qualifier Olga Govortsova of Belarus 6-4, 6-2 – less than a year after severing two ligaments and a nerve in her left hand. It was Vandeweghe’s first win at any major tournament since the 2018 French Open; she was diagnosed with a rare chronic pain condition in her right foot later that year.

OLYMPICS

Breastfeeding Olympians allowed to bring babies to Tokyo

TORONTO (AP) — A Canadian basketball player who is breastfeeding her infant daughter has won in her quest to bring the baby to the Tokyo Olympics.

The International Olympic Committee says nursing mothers will now be allowed to bring their babies to Tokyo.

RACING-NASCAR

Chip Ganassi sells entire NASCAR team to Trackhouse Racing

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Chip Ganassi is pulling out of NASCAR at the end of the season and has sold his entire organization to Trackhouse Racing. Ganassi told The Associated Press that Trackhouse owner Justin Marks made him an offer he had to consider.

Ganassi will still run his IndyCar, IMSA sports car and Formula E programs, all out of Indianapolis.

The entire NASCAR operation, including its North Carolina race shop, will transfer to Trackhouse at the end of the season.

Terms of the deal were not released.

CYCLING-TOUR DE FRANC

Tadej Pogacar routs rivals in Tour de France time trial

LAVAL, France (AP) — Defending champion Tadej Pogacar has powered to victory in the first time trial of the Tour de France to assert himself as the odds-on favorite at the three-week race.

Pogacar lagged 39 seconds behind leader Mathieu van der Poel at the start of Stage 5 in the western Mayenne region and erased a big chunk of the deficit to move into second place in the general classification.

The 22-year-old Slovenian mastered the technical 27.2-kilometer loop from Change to Laval to gain time on other main contenders in an impressive display of power and technical skills.

In other Tour de France news, a France radio station reports that a fan involved in a massive pileup at the Tour de France during the opening stage at cycling’s biggest event has been arrested. The fan brandished a large cardboard sign while leaning into the path of oncoming riders on Saturday. She appeared to be looking in the other direction. The woman has not been publicly identified. The English translation of the sign was “Go Grandpa-Grandma.”