NBA
Former Shenendehowa and Maryland basketball star Kevin Huerter was taken 19th overall in Thursday's NBA Draft by the Atlanta Hawks.
Deandre Ayton is the latest key component to the Phoenix Suns' rebuilding process. The Suns picked the University of Arizona center first overall in Thursday’s NBA draft. Ayton averaged 20.1 points and 11.6 rebounds in his lone season in Tucson, tying for the national lead with 24 double-doubles in 35 games.
Ayton joins Michael Thompson as the only players from the Bahamas to be the No. 1 pick in the draft.
The Kings followed by taking Duke's Marvin Bagley III at No. 2. The 6-foot-11 forward was the AP's Player of the Year after averaging 21 points and 11.1 rebounds while shooting better than 60 percent for the Blue Devils last season.
Luka Doncic of Slovenia went third to the Hawks and was quickly traded to the Mavericks for point guard Trae Young, the fifth pick in the draft. Doncic won Euroleague MVP and Final Four MVP honors while helping Spain's Real Madrid win its league championship. Young led the nation with his averages of 27.4 points and 8.7 assists for the Sooners.
The Memphis Grizzlies used the No. 4 pick to select forward Jaren Jackson Jr. of Michigan State. Jackson is a one-and-done power forward who averaged 10.9 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 3 blocks per game.
The Magic picked up Texas center Mohammed Bamba with the No. 6 choice. Another Duke player went with the No. 7 choice as the Bulls took Wendell Carter Jr.
Alabama's Collin Sexton went eighth to the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Knicks used the ninth overall selection to get Kentucky forward Kevin Knox. Knox and Sexton shared SEC Freshman of the Year honors.
Mikal Bridges thought he was staying in Philadelphia after being selected with the 10th pick, but the 76ers sent the former Villanova standout to the Suns for Zhaire Smith and an unprotected first-round choice in 2021.
MLB
The New York Yankees continue to pace the American League East by two games over Boston following wins by both teams this afternoon.
Aaron Judge and Miguel Andujar hit two-run homers off James Paxton in the first inning before the Yankees held on to beat the Seattle Mariners, 4-3. Luis Severino tied Cleveland's Corey Kluber for the major league wins lead, giving up three runs and eight hits over 5 2/3 innings.
Kyle Seager hit a two-run homer off Severino, who was pulled after surrendering Ben Gamel's RBI single.
The Yankees homered eight times in the three-game sweep and improved to a major league-best 50-22. New York heads to Florida to take on the Rays Friday at 7:10 p.m.
The Red Sox avoided a three-game sweep as Rick Porcello tossed one-hit ball over seven innings of a 9-2 rout of the Twins in Minnesota. Porcello gave up only a first-inning single and improved to 9-3 with a 3.44 ERA.
Xander Bogaerts had two RBIs for the Red Sox, who also got homers from Mookie Betts and Andrew Benintendi as part of a season-high 16-hit attack.
Boston is returning home following a 6-4 road trip. The Sox take on the Mariners Friday at 7:10 p.m.
Checking out Thursday's other major league action:
The Diamondbacks hammered the Pirates, 9-3 to extend their lead in the NL West to 2 ½ games over the Dodgers. Alex Avila and Ketel each hit two-run homers off Chad Kuhl while Arizona was building an 8-0 lead by the third inning. Winning pitcher Zack Godley held Pittsburgh to a pair of earned runs and four hits over six frames.
Eric Thames laced a bases-loaded triple and Manny Pina homered as the Brewers roughed up the Cardinals, 11-3. Brent Suter was reached for two runs and just two hits over seven frames, including Matt Carpenter's first-inning blast. St. Louis infielder Greg Garcia gave the bullpen a break by working a scoreless ninth.
Jesse Winker launched a go-ahead grand slam while the Reds put together a six-run sixth to beat the Cubs, 6-2. Matt Harvey worked six innings and blanked Chicago after Javier Baez nicked him for a two-run double in the third. The Cubs fell one game behind Milwaukee in the NL Central race.
The Nationals pulled out a 4-2 win over the Orioles on Juan Soto's two-run double in the eighth inning. Anthony Rendon hit a solo homer to help the Nationals win for just the fourth time in 11 games. Max Scherzer gained a no-decision after allowing two runs and five hits while striking out nine over seven innings, helping the Nats get within three games of the NL East-leading Braves.
Madison Bumgarner picked up his first win of the year by scattering three hits over eight innings of the Giants' 3-0 shutout of the Padres. Bumgarner struck out eight and walked two in his best start since coming off the disabled list. He also delivered a sacrifice fly in San Francisco's fourth win in five games.
Nolan Arenado crushed a three-run homer in the first inning and had five RBIs in the Rockies' 6-4 downing of the Mets. The Rockies took the last three of the four-game series, with Arenado homering in each victory. New York dropped three of four in Denver despite scoring 32 runs. The Mets host the Dodgers Friday at 7:10 p.m.
Luis Valbuena homered twice and had three RBIs in the Angels' 8-5 verdict over the Blue Jays. Kole Calhoun also hit a two-run blast and Noe Ramirez struck out four over 2 2/3 innings of perfect relief to get the win. Los Angeles climbed back to .500 at home.
The Athletics and White Sox were postponed in Chicago and will make up the game as part of a straight doubleheader on Friday. It's the 40th rainout already this season, one more than last year.
In other major league news:
Major League Baseball has handed down a five-game suspension to Marlins pitcher Dan Straily for his actions during Tuesday's loss in San Francisco. Straily intentionally threw a pitch at Giants catcher Buster Posey while warnings were in place for both teams. MLB also suspended Marlins manager Don Mattingly for Friday's game and fined Straily and Mattingly undisclosed amounts.
The Cardinals have placed right-handed pitcher Michael Wacha on the 10-day disabled list with a left oblique strain suffered during Wednesday's loss to the Phillies. Wacha is the team's victory leader, going 8-2 with 71 strikeouts and a 3.20 ERA in 15 starts this season. Right-hander John Gant was recalled from Triple-A Memphis to replace Wacha on the roster.
Shelby Miller is scheduled to return to the Arizona Diamondbacks' rotation Monday against the Marlins in Miami, 14 months after undergoing Tommy John surgery. The 27-year-old right-hander was injured in his fourth start last season. Miller has a 5-14 record and 5.78 ERA in 24 starts since the Diamondbacks acquired him from the Braves in a trade prior to the 2016 season.
The Mariners have placed right-handers Juan Nicasio and Dan Altavilla on the 10-day disabled list while promoting infielder Daniel Vogelbach and right-hander Mike Morin from Triple-A Tacoma. Nicasio has swelling in his right knee, while Altavilla is sidelined by a right elbow UCL sprain.
Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred has announced the Detroit Tigers will play a regular-season game against the Kansas City Royals at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, Nebraska, on June 13, 2019. That's two days before the start of the College World Series. Manfred says Major League Baseball wants to strengthen its relationship with the NCAA and college baseball and also bring the game to new markets.
NHL
The New York Islanders hadn't had a Stanley Cup-winning coach behind their bench since Al Arbour stepped down in 1994. President of hockey operations Lou Lamoriello has ended that run by hiring Barry Trotz, two weeks after he led the Washington Capitals to the Cup.
Trotz has the fifth-most wins of any coach in NHL history and led Washington to first-place regular-season finishes in 2015-16 and 2016-17.
The Capitals accepted Trotz's resignation three days earlier after failing to work out a contract extension. Trotz was due to make $2.1 million in Washington, but reports say he'll receive about twice that in New York.
SOCCER
Croatia has advanced to the knockout round of the World Cup while putting former champion Argentina on the brink of elimination.
The Croatians scored three times in the second half to beat Lionel Messi and Argentina, 3-0. Argentina goalkeeper Wilfredo Caballero miss-kicked a clearance and Croatia defender Ante Rebic recovered the ball and opened the scoring in the 53rd minute.
Messi failed to get even one shot off, five days after he missed a penalty in Argentina's 1-1 draw with Iceland.
France has advanced to the round of 16 with a 1-0 victory over Peru. Australia stayed alive with a 1-1 draw against Denmark.
Friday Brazil goes against Costa Rica at 8 a.m. EST Nigeria faces Iceland at 11 a.m. and Serbia takes on Switzerland at 2 p.m.
PGA
Zach Johnson and Jordan Spieth each fired 7-under 63 to move into a first-place tie through one round of the PGA's Travelers Championship near Hartford. Spieth had six birdies and an eagle out the bunker on par-5 sixth hole, one year after leading after every round of the tournament. Johnson's eight birdies included six straight on the back nine, one off the course record.
Rory McIlroy missed a 13-foot for par on the final hole that would have given him a share of the lead. He's tied for second with Brian Harmon and Peter Malnati.
NFL
New York Jets wide receiver Robby Anderson has received six months of probation following a January arrest in Florida where authorities initially said he tried to speed away from police.
Broward County court records show Anderson pleaded no contest Wednesday to misdemeanor reckless driving as part of a deal with prosecutors.
Anderson set career highs with 63 catches, 941 yards receiving and seven touchdowns in 2017, his second NFL season.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Wide receiver Demetris Robertson is leaving California after two years, tweeting that his decision is due to personal matters.
Robertson had seven catches for 70 yards and two runs for 40 yards and a touchdown in two games last season before a surgery ended his year. Robertson had 50 catches for 767 yards and seven touchdowns as a freshman for the Golden Bears in 2016.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
The University of Connecticut says it fired men's basketball coach Kevin Ollie after finding NCAA violations that included improper workouts and improper contact with recruits by Ollie and former UConn star Ray Allen.
The violations are laid out in more than 1,300 pages of documents released to The Associated Press and other media organizations after UConn President Susan Herbst upheld the decision to fire Ollie.
Ollie's lawyer is calling the infractions cited by UConn in firing Ollie minimal and isolated.
FIGURE SKATING
The International Skating Union says competitions at February's Olympics were marred by biased judging in favor of China, the next Winter Olympic host nation.
An ISU investigation found the judges guilty of boosting Chinese skaters' marks and says one just also dragged down scores of a gold medal-winning German pairs team. One judge received a two-year suspension, while the other was given a one-year ban.
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