NBA:
The Boston Celtics have won the NBA draft lottery, capitalizing on a trade they made with the Brooklyn Nets four years ago. The Los Angeles Lakers were other big winners. They moved up one spot to second to hold onto their pick. They would have had to trade it if it fell outside the top three. Philadelphia picks third in the June draft.
Stephen Curry delivered 29 points, seven rebounds and seven assists in just three quarters as the Golden State Warriors blasted the San Antonio Spurs, 136-100 to take a 2-0 lead in the NBA's Western Conference finals. Kevin Durant added 16 points for the Warriors, who had assists on 30 of their first 38 baskets while building a huge lead. Draymond Green did a bit of everything in contributing 13 points, nine rebounds, six assists, two steals and two blocks.
NHL:
The Nashville Predators own a two-games-to-one lead in the NHL's Western Conference finals after scoring twice in the third period of a 2-1 win against the Anaheim Ducks. Roman Josi's power-play goal broke a 1-1 deadlock with 2:43 remaining after Filip Forsberg tied it early in the third. Josi's goal sent Nashville to its 10th straight postseason home win dating to last season.
The New York Rangers have named former player Chris Drury the general manager of the Hartford Wolf Pack of the American Hockey League. Drury played the final four of his 12 NHL seasons with the Rangers before retiring in 2011.
MLB:
Mookie Betts homered and drove in two runs, Jackie Bradley Jr. also went deep and the Boston Red Sox beat the St. Louis Cardinals 6-3 last night to take the opener of a two-game interleague series. Bradley had two of Boston's six hits, and starter Eduardo Rodriguez allowed three runs and five hits over six innings. Rodriguez walked two, struck out five and threw a season-high 110 pitches.
Gary Sanchez hit a three-run homer, Chris Carter added a two-run shot and CC Sabathia got back on track as the New York Yankees rolled to a 7-1 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Tuesday night.
Yasmany Tomas homered against the reeling New York Mets again, and Zack Greinke pitched the Arizona Diamondbacks to a 5-4 victory Tuesday night. Meanwhile the New York Mets have put shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera on the 10-day disabled list and added reliever Neil Ramirez to their battered bullpen. Cabrera is out with a sprained left thumb.
Cleveland Indians fans got their first look at the team's top prospect. Outfielder Bradley Zimmer was recalled from Triple-A Columbus before batting ninth in Tuesday's game against Tampa Bay. Zimmer was hitting .294 with five home runs and 14 RBIs in 33 games with Columbus.
NCAA:
The University of Rhode Island and its men's basketball coach have agreed to extend his contract. The Kingston school says Dan Hurley will continue to lead the Rams through the 2023-24 season. URI says Rhode Island beat Virginia Commonwealth in March in the Atlantic 10 championship in Pittsburgh, winning the conference crown for the second time in program history.
NFL:
ESPN has tapped Beth Mowins to call the second part of a season-opening "Monday Night Football" doubleheader in September, making her the first woman do play-by-play duties on an NFL game in 30 years. The network says Mowins will team with former NFL Coach Rex Ryan when the Los Angeles Chargers visit the Denver Broncos on September 11th.
The fiancee of former NFL player Aaron Hernandez says he told her rumors that he was gay or bisexual were not true. The second part of a two-part interview with Shayanna Jenkins-Hernandez aired yesterday on the "Dr. Phil" show. Jenkins-Hernandez told host Dr. Phillip McGraw that Hernandez was "very much a man" to her and called the rumors "embarrassing" and "hurtful."
Cincinnati Bengals cornerback Adam "Pacman" Jones has pleaded guilty to a single misdemeanor charge from a fight at a downtown hotel this year. The judge sentenced him to time already served and dismissed misdemeanor counts of assault and disorderly conduct at the prosecutor's request after a plea agreement. Jones had served two days on the obstructing official business count, but he remains subject to potential NFL discipline.
Hockey World Championship:
The United States has won Group A at the world ice hockey championship by erasing three one-goal deficits in a 5-3 win over Russia in Cologne, Germany. Kevin Hayes scored twice and Anders Lee provided the game-winner as the Americans won their sixth in a row since a tournament-opening loss to Germany. The U.S. takes on Finland in Thursday's quarterfinals. Russia will face the Czech Republic. Group B leader Canada beat fourth-place Finland 5-2, with center Mitch Marner scoring twice in Paris. The Canadians next face the Germans.
Maine Marathon:
Organizers of a Maine marathon are apologizing for a course error that caused many runners to go an extra half-mile, costing some a chance to run in next year's Boston Marathon. Officials with the Maine Coast Marathon say some runners in Sunday's race were mistakenly directed down a dead end before looping back, bringing their total distance to about 26.7 miles. Race director Charles Melton said they will offer refunds to those who missed qualifying for Boston because of the mistake.
Tennis:
Maria Sharapova has been denied a wild-card entry for the French Open because of her past doping ban. The former No. 1-ranked women's tennis played had hoped to compete in the second Grand Slam of the year after serving a 15-month suspension for a positive drug test. The president of the French Tennis Federation wrote that "while there can be a wild card for return from injury, there can't be a wild card for return from doping."
Sports Media:
Peyton Manning will take the stage to host the ESPY Awards. The retired two-time Super Bowl champion quarterback will preside over the July 12th show honoring the past year's best athletes and sports moments. The show will air live on ABC from the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles.
Horse Racing:
Saratoga is renaming the Grade 1 King's Bishop for 3-year-old sprinters in honor of late Hall of Fame trainer Allen Jerkens. The $500,000 H. Allen Jerkens Memorial will be run on August 26th, the same day as the Travers at the upstate New York track. Jerkens, who died in 2015 at age 85, trained King's Bishop in the early 1970s.
Kentucky Derby winner Always Dreaming has gone for a routine gallop ahead of the Preakness, which trainer Todd Pletcher sees as a positive development. Pletcher says "everything went very smoothly" with Always Dreaming on Tuesday, saying he had "good energy" and a "good controlled gallop." That hasn't always been the case for the dark bay colt who figures to be heavily favored in Saturday's Preakness. The colt, who is 4-for-4 this season, tends to be overly aggressive in his morning exercise. That was the case Monday when he took a slight stumble at the start and tried to buck off the exercise rider. On Tuesday, Always Dreaming was all business for the 1½-mile gallop. Pletcher says: "He was moving really well. As they say: It was exactly what we were looking for." Post positions will be drawn Wednesday.
PGA:
The PGA is hosting the U.S. Open qualifiers in Loudonville today. The Shaker Ridge Country Club will be the course for hopefuls during Northeastern NY PGA’s local qualifier for the famed golfing event scheduled to take place at Erin Hills in Wisconsin on June 15-18th this year.
Olympics:
The U.S. Olympic Committee made a $10 million payment to the International Olympic Committee last year, money designed in part to give the country a better chance of hosting an Olympics someday. The money was part of the more than $257 million spent last year by the USOC, which is hoping to secure the 2024 Summer Games for Los Angeles. The additional payment is for "International Games Cost Sharing" for the Rio de Janeiro Games and was part of a complex negotiation in which the USOC gave up millions to get back into the bidding game after years of embarrassing rejections. The USOC also paid $5 million in 2014 to offset expenses at the Sochi Games. The overall tab will rise to $20 million per Olympic cycle starting in 2020. USOC chairman Larry Probst said, "We hope this has removed a road block from a successful bid for the United States." Probst agreed to the deal five years ago.
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