AHL:
The name, logo, and ownership of Springfield’s new AHL team were announced yesterday. The Springfield Thunderbirds are the newest addition to the AHL. When the Springfield Falcons left for Arizona at the end of last season, the local investment group quickly purchased the Portland Pirates and moved that franchise to Springfield.
MLB:
In baseball, in the American League, Boston beat Baltimore 6-4, Tampa Bay edged Seattle 3-2 in 13 innings, the White Sox defeated Detroit 5-3, Kansas City won against Cleveland 9-4, Texas bested Oakland 7-5, and it was the Angels over Minnesota 10-2.
In the National League, the Mets crushed Pittsburgh 11-2, Atlanta won against Cincinnati 9-8 in 13 innings, San Francisco defeated Milwaukee 10-1, San Diego doubled up Miami 6-3, the Dodgers beat Arizona 3-2, and it was Washington over the Cubs 5-4 in 12 innings.
In interleague play, Colorado doubled up the Yankees 6-3, Toronto topped Philadelphia 7-2, and it was Houston over St. Louis 4-1.
Any major league team need an All-Star shortstop? Colorado has released shortstop Jose Reyes following the completion of his 59-day suspension for violating baseball's domestic abuse policy. And the Kansas City Royals designated Omar Infante for assignment, likely ending his rather unproductive tenure in Kansas City.
Miami's Ichiro Suzuki had two hits in the Marlins' 6-3 loss to San Diego to pass Pete Rose's career hits total of 4,256 hits. Rose got all of his hits in the major leagues while Suzuki got 1,278 of his in Japan's Pacific League.
NBA:
Golden State has lost center Andrew Bogut for the rest of the NBA Finals against Cleveland with a knee injury suffered in Game 5. The Warriors take a 3-2 series lead into tonight's Game 6 and get the services back of forward Draymond Green, who was suspended for Game 5.
Spain's Pau Gasol says he will consider freezing a sperm sample because of concerns over Zika if he decides to play in the Rio de Janeiro Olympics. Gasol says "freezing sperm is one of the measures I have to consider." The 35-year-old Chicago Bulls center has yet to commit to playing for Spain. Gasol has led Spain to two consecutive silver medals after losing to the United States in the 2008 and 2012 finals. Last week, the partner of Olympic long jump champion Greg Rutherford said he would freeze a sample of his sperm because of fears of Zika. The mosquito-borne virus has been linked to severe birth defects in infants born to women infected by Zika.
NHL:
Hundreds of friends and acquaintances joined Gordie Howe's family at a funeral service to say goodbye to the hockey great. The service followed Tuesday's day-long public visitation in Joe Louis Arena, where thousands of people waited to play their final respects to Howe.
Among those in attendance at the funeral service were NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and Hall of Famer Wayne Gretzky, who wore No. 99 as a player in honor of Howe, who wore No. 9. Howe died last Friday at the age of 88.
Meanwhile an estimated 400,000 fans gathered in downtown Pittsburgh for the 2016 Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins' victory parade. Some began lining up 12 hours ahead of time in drizzle. The parade came seven years to the day after a 2009 parade celebrating the team's last Stanley Cup championship. That parade drew nearly 400,000 people. The Penguins clinched the championship with a 3-1 victory Sunday night against the San Jose Sharks.
NASCAR:
Kyle Larson interim crew chief Philip Surgen has been fined $25,000 and the Chip Ganassi Racing team has lost 15 driver points and 15 owner points for infractions at the race in Michigan last weekend. The No. 42 Chevrolet failed a post-race inspection, violating rules relating to actions detrimental to stock car racing and vehicle inspection measurements.
Olympics:
The World Anti-Doping Agency has alleged that Russian athletes and government agencies continue to obstruct and deceive drug testers, even as Russia tries to regain its place in Olympic track and field. In a report published two days before a key vote on whether to readmit Russia's track team for the Rio Olympics, WADA said testers have been intimidated by officials from Russia's FSB security service and that packages containing samples have been tampered with by Russian customs services.
Athletes have repeatedly provided false information about their whereabouts and evaded drug testers at competitions, WADA said. In one case, an unnamed athlete in track and field attempted to give a fake urine sample using "a container inserted inside her body" but was discovered and tested positive when her real urine was examined.
NFL:
New Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz says he became trapped in a bathroom of a New Jersey gas station and had to be rescued. Wentz tweeted out Wednesday night that he had to be rescued by attendants with garden sheers and another person with a "leg kick" after he became locked in a bathroom.
WNBC-TV reports his comments was retweeted thousands of times and elicited numerous social media responses, including memes and gifs. The Eagles traded up in April to draft Wentz at second overall. It wasn't immediately known where the gas station is located in New Jersey.
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