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Athletics' Andújar has surgery, could miss month

Published in Baseball
Wednesday, 27 March 2024 20:52

OAKLAND, Calif. -- Athletics outfielder Miguel Andujar had surgery Wednesday to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee, an operation that usually requires a month of rehabilitation.

The team said Dr. Doug Freedberg performed a right knee lateral meniscectomy at Pima Surgical Center in Scottsdale, Arizona, and Andújar will return to Oakland later this week to start rehabilitation.

Andújar agreed in November to a $1.7 million, one-year contract and hit .357 in spring training with five homers and 15 RBI in 42 at-bats over 14 games. He last played March 19.

A seven-year major league veteran, Andújar has a .270 average, 39 homers and 149 RBI for the New York Yankees (2017-22) and Pittsburgh (2022-23). He hit .250 with four homers and 18 RBI in 30 games last year with the Pirates and was third in batting in the Triple-A International League .338 for Indianapolis with 16 homers and 86 RBI in 103 games.

Sources: Baylor assistant Jakus to be FAU coach

Published in Breaking News
Wednesday, 27 March 2024 20:13

Florida Atlantic is hiring Baylor assistant John Jakus as its next head coach, sources told ESPN on Wednesday.

Jakus is replacing Dusty May, who left last week to become the head coach at Michigan. May led FAU to the 2023 Final Four and back-to-back NCAA tournament appearances.

Jakus has been on Scott Drew's staff for seven seasons, helping lead Baylor to the national championship in 2021 and back-to-back Big 12 regular-season titles in 2021 and 2022. He also spent three seasons on Mark Few's staff at Gonzaga as director of basketball operations and began his college coaching career as a graduate assistant at Baylor.

He also has coaching experience overseas, as the head coach of ABA Strumica in Macedonia and Agape Bulgaria.

Drew's coaching tree has produced several head coaches, including Kansas State's Jerome Tang, Texas Tech's Grant McCasland, Wichita State's Paul Mills and North Florida's Matt Driscoll.

Sources: SMU targeting USC's Enfield as coach

Published in Breaking News
Wednesday, 27 March 2024 20:13

SMU is targeting Andy Enfield for the school's basketball job, sources told ESPN.

Enfield has been the focus of the search for days, but sources indicated that a deal isn't expected to be finalized imminently. Sources indicated that SMU's search is solely focused on Enfield at this point, as the school isn't engaged with other candidates. It could take days to resolve and finalize the hire.

SMU initially reached out to Enfield over the weekend, as the school has been looking to make a splashy hire in the wake of firing Rob Lanier after just two seasons. Lanier went 20-13 this season, but SMU's brass wanted someone who could deliver an immediately competitive team in the ACC.

Enfield has been the coach at USC for 11 seasons, going 261-175 with five NCAA tournament appearances. Enfield's profile includes the power conference résumé that SMU is seeking, as he had reached three straight NCAA tournaments before going 15-18 this season.

SMU will enter the ACC next season, a move that is based in part on the school's financial prowess. Its location in the talent-rich Dallas market, combined with the new league affiliation, hints at the job's potential.

The expected opening at USC will mark the first marquee hire for first-year athletic director Jennifer Cohen, who took over in August. She'll be recruiting candidates to a Big Ten job, as USC enters that league for the 2024-25 school year.

USC has a modest basketball history and hasn't reached the Final Four since 1954.

Robinson back after long absence in Knicks' win

Published in Basketball
Wednesday, 27 March 2024 20:12

TORONTO -- New York Knicks center Mitchell Robinson returned to the court Wednesday night against the Toronto Raptors, his first action since a left ankle injury in December sidelined him for 50 games.

Robinson checked in with 5:08 remaining in the first quarter, replacing Isaiah Hartenstein. He finished with eight points and two rebounds in the Knicks' 145-101 win.

The 7-footer had not played since he was injured in a Dec. 8 loss at Boston and needed surgery. Despite his lengthy absence, Robinson still leads the NBA with an average of 5.3 offensive rebounds per game.

Robinson had been listed as questionable on New York's injury report but Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said before the game that the center would play as long as he felt fine after warming up.

"We're glad to have him back," Thibodeau said.

The Knicks entered fourth in the Eastern Conference standings and had won six of seven.

Robinson, in his sixth season, finished the night averaging 6.2 points and a career-high 10.3 rebounds in 22 games.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

Monaghan fit to return for Ireland against Italy

Published in Rugby
Wednesday, 27 March 2024 15:32

Ireland defence coach Declan Danaher says that co-captain Sam Monaghan is fit to return for the second Women's Six Nations game against Italy.

She is in line to return for the game at the RDS, as Ireland look to build on a much-improved display in Le Mans.

"Sam's good to go, she's passed all her relevant protocols she's needed to do," he said.

"She's training and it's good to be working with her. She's an important part of our team in terms of lineout, so she's good to go.

"Off the back of the weekend, in what was a pretty physical encounter, the girls were all battered and bruised, but they're all good to go."

Danaher, who joined as defence coach ahead of this campaign was pleased with aspects of Ireland's display against France, but still believes there is room for improvement.

Ireland host an Italian side that were defeated 48-0 by England last weekend. They did manage to inflict a 24-7 defeat on Ireland in last year's tournament and Danaher is wary of their threat from the lineout.

"The positives for me are the effort, the work rate and the intent we showed [against France].

"We've had a good look at ourselves and what we can control better, things like stopping driving tries and little thing around system when we're under pressure," he explained.

"We know Italy will come potentially with a [lineout] drive as well so we have to be ready for that."

Danaher keen for 'all-round' Irish performance

The former London Irish coach is delighted with the progress Ireland have made so far in a short space of time and with the application of the players to the tactics being implemented.

"I'm only here six or seven week but I've seen a massive step up from the first week I was here. I can see the progress that's happening.

"You can see it at training, we want and Scott [head coach Scott Bemand] wants training to be incredibly competitive. We know if we can compete at training and drive the standards there, you probably then start to see performances like you did at the weekend.

"There's still a long way to go," he admitted.

"It's all marrying up the different areas so that we get an all-round performance that you can put out at the weekend that you're proud of and I would love for us to be all-round at the weekend."

Capitals' Bear enters player assistance program

Published in Hockey
Wednesday, 27 March 2024 17:22

WASHINGTON -- Washington Capitals defenseman Ethan Bear has entered the NHL/NHLPA player assistance program.

Bear will be away from the team indefinitely while he receives care. The league and union, which jointly run the program, made the announcement Wednesday.

He is fifth player this season announced to be in the program after Columbus' Patrik Laine, Colorado's Samuel Girard and Valeri Nichushkin and former teammate Evgeny Kuznetsov. The Capitals put Kuznetsov on waivers after he was cleared to practice, sent him to the minors and then traded him to Carolina.

Bear, 26, has played 24 games since signing a two-year contract with Washington in December. He has been a healthy scratch for the past seven, as the team has won five of those to move into playoff position.

The Capitals recalled defenseman Vincent Iorio as well as winger Matthew Phillips after the news about Bear broke, and with three games left on Tom Wilson's suspension. They visit the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday.

Hollywood might struggle to match what looks like being an edge-of-your-seat finish to this season's Premier League title race, with the top three of Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City separated by just a single point with 10 games to play. We await to see what is on the final reel with some relish.

Conventional wisdom says City, with the experience of being champions five times in the past six years, will forge from third place to go clear on the run-in. But is it really that simple? The injuries to John Stones and Kyle Walker on England duty are a concern for City, while Liverpool fans will worry that Andy Robertson limped out of Scotland's game with Northern Ireland.

- Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, more (U.S.)

The drama resumes on Sunday when Arsenal travel to the Etihad, where City are unbeaten all season -- though they have been held to home draws by Liverpool, Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur, and Crystal Palace. This looks like the acid test for Arsenal's challenge. This time last year they led the table by eight points, but dropped 15 points in the last 10 games including a 4-1 thrashing at City. In plain language, most observers thought they "bottled it."

The question now: is this version a steelier, mentally tougher Arsenal with defender William Saliba -- crucially injured for the run-in last season -- fit and Declan Rice making a vast difference in midfield?

The Gunners have reeled off eight successive wins, scoring 33 goals and conceding only four while exploding the theory that they could not possibly sustain their challenge without a proper No.9.

play
2:20
Marcotti: Premier League title is Man City's to lose

Gab Marcotti says he backs Manchester City to win the Premier League despite them sitting behind Arsenal and Liverpool.

Others have taken on the scoring load, notably Kai Havertz (four in his last four), Bukayo Saka (seven in seven) and Rice (three in five). Saka missed the two recent England friendlies, but it will be a shock if he is not fit for the crunch game with City. Gabriel Martinelli is likely to be in contention, too, at the time of writing.

Arsenal have won their last three away games 6-0, 5-0, and 6-0, but City will, of course, be a different proposition. How bold will Gunners manager Mikel Arteta be against his old mentor Pep Guardiola? He knows that a draw keeps Arsenal's one point lead over City intact. Or will he look at how Liverpool's intensity and adventure broke City's normal rhythm at Anfield recently and go toe-to-toe with the champions? Neutrals will hope so.

The Gunners' defense is statistically the best in the Premier League (league low of 24 goals conceded), and remember they did shut out City in a 1-0 win at the Emirates earlier in the season, albeit the winner came via a wicked late deflection. For all of that, City carry an air of invincibility and always find a route to goal at home, and Arteta's team will need to produce a perfect display to stop them.

This is a pivotal game and Liverpool might watch on hoping for a draw, which would enable them to return to the top with a home win over an erratic Brighton at Anfield on Sunday. Jurgen Klopp's men do not slip up often on home soil and have a few of their injured stars nearing fitness again in the next fortnight. The likes of Trent Alexander-Arnold, Diogo Jota , Curtis Jones, Ibrahima Konaté and Darwin Núñez are not far away -- though Sunday might come a little soon for some and keeper Alisson might not return until mid-April.

Liverpool's chances of giving Klopp a farewell Premier League title are surely boosted by the fact that their European campaign is far less intense than that of their two rivals. Remember Arsenal have to face Bayern Munich and Manchester City meet Real Madrid in two huge Champions League quarterfinals, and those matches will be far more of a distraction than Liverpool's Europa League mission against Atalanta, when Klopp can probably rotate his squad.

Indeed, there is the possibility of a two-legged Champions League semifinal between City and Arsenal. How Liverpool would like that! Coping with the emotional as well as physical demands of these vital last few weeks is likely to decide which of these three excellent teams ends up wearing the crown.

In the past, City have shown that they can fight on more than one front successfully. Around the two legs of their semifinal win over Real Madrid last season, they beat Leeds 2-0, Everton 3-0 and Chelsea 1-0 on their way to a third successive league title. This time they also have to fit in an FA Cup semifinal against Chelsea at Wembley.

Looking at the matches down the home straight, Arsenal probably have it toughest with four teams in the top six to play -- trips to City, Manchester United and a North London derby at Spurs plus a home game against Aston Villa.

Meanwhile, Liverpool have to go to Old Trafford -- scene of their dramatic 4-3 FA Cup exit recently. United, desperate for the points themselves, would love to hammer another nail into the hopes of their biggest rivals and Klopp does not often win at the Theatre of Dreams. Spurs at home and Villa away in the last three matches also look significant tests for Liverpool, as does a Merseyside derby against Everton at Goodison. That derby game comes amid a run of three away matches in seven days, which also includes trips to Fulham and West Ham. Not easy.

City's next two -- Arsenal and Villa at home -- are two of their toughest games, and they still have to play a makeup game against Tottenham, where they had failed to score or win in five visits until a 1-0 FA Cup win there earlier this season. History tells you there is little room for error from anyone.

It could easily come down to the final moments on the final day. Memories here of Arsenal's Michael Thomas ripping the title from Liverpool's grasp with almost the last kick at Anfield in 1989, Blackburn's agony to ecstasy as they lost in the last minute at Liverpool then learned they had still won the title in 1995, and the two famous Manchester City comeback wins against Queens Park Rangers in 2012 (the Sergio Aguero moment) and Aston Villa in 2022, when they scored three times in the last 14 minutes to win 3-2 and clinch the championship.

This league invariably lights up our weekend and deserves a photo finish, even if it will shred the nerves of the fans. It all looks too tight to call. Ninety points will certainly win it. Possibly even 87.

My one hunch is that Arsenal are for real this season and will not fall by the wayside again, although that theory could go up in smoke as early as Sunday at City. How Arsenal cope with that stern examination of their credentials will be revealing, especially as they failed it so miserably a year ago.

South Africa 198 for 5 (Wolvaardt 102, Kapp 60) beat Sri Lanka 119 (Samarawickrama 38) by 79 runs

Laura Wolvaardt struck her first T20I century as South Africa racked up their second-highest total in the format to start their series against Sri Lanka in emphatic fashion. They won the opening fixture of the three-match series by 79 runs, after posting 198 for 5 and bowling Sri Lanka out for 119 in the first meeting between these two sides since the last T20 World Cup.

On that occasion, South Africa lost to Sri Lanka in the tournament opener but went on to reach the final, and since then, the teams have faced contrasting fortunes. South Africa have played ten completed T20Is and lost seven; Sri Lanka have played 12 matches and won seven. But, recent form counted for nothing when Sri Lanka sent South Africa in to bat on a flat Benoni pitch.

Tazmin Brits was dismissed in the third over and Marizanne Kapp sent in to No.3, and made the most of the opportunity for more time in the middle. Wolvaardt and Kapp shared a second-wicket stand of 116.

Kapp recorded her fourth half-century in the format in an innings laced with cut shots but it was Wolvaardt who took centre stage, with 12 fours and three sixes, including a gorgeous hit over extra cover. She reached fifty off 39 balls and a hundred off 61 to finish with a strike rate of 161.90 - well above her career strike rate of just over 111.18.

The only real disappointment from the South African innings was the run-out of Sune Luus, who was playing in her 115th T20I - the most by any South African - but had an outing to forget. Luus left the field in the second over of Sri Lanka's innings after she dug her knee into the turf while chasing a ball to the boundary. She returned in the fifth over.

Sri Lanka used six bowlers, all expensive, and Achini Kulasuriya was the most successful. Her 2 for 39 included the wickets of Wolvaardt and Kapp, consolation for a poor fielding effort. Both Wolvaardt and Kapp were dropped in their innings - Wolvaardt in the 60s and Kapp in the 20s, and they made Sri Lanka pay.

Sri Lanka have never scored above 182 in a T20I, let alone chase that much and they suffered a massive early setback as they began their task. Kapp had Chamari Athapaththu caught behind off the final ball of the opening over, with a delivery that shaped away and took the edge. Kapp bowled only two overs as Wolvaardt shared the workload around either side of a rain break.

Sri Lanka's innings was interrupted after seven overs, with their score on 48 for 2, but no overs were lost. On resumption, they needed 151 runs in 13 overs and only Harshita Samarawickrama and Hasini Perera, who scored 38 and 30 respectively, and put on 44 runs for the third wicket gave them any chance. Sri Lanka were bowled out inside 19 overs to give South Africa a series lead.

Marcus Stoinis and Ashton Agar have lost their Cricket Australia central contracts for 2024-25 despite both being firmly in the mix to play in the upcoming T20 World Cup while fast bowler Xavier Bartlett has been rewarded with a deal for the first time having vaulted into international cricket late this summer.
Aaron Hardie, Matthew Short and Nathan Ellis have all been added to the 23-player list. Jhye Richardson retains his spot despite not playing international cricket since 2022 and appearing in just two Marsh Cup games, one Sheffield Shield match and eight BBL in the recent domestic summer due to a spate of injuries.
Michael Neser and Marcus Harris have both dropped off the list after not playing any Test cricket in the last contract period while Matt Renshaw also misses out on a deal despite being the spare batter selected in Australia's squad for the last four Test matches.
The omission of Stoinis and Agar is noteworthy given they could both be involved in Australia's T20 World Cup campaign. Tim David is another who is locked in for the World Cup but is not on the contract list. However, the T20 World Cup will be in June and falls under the previous contracting period.

The new contracts for 2024-25 do not come into effect until July 1. Australia do not play much T20 cricket in the 2024-25 contract year with only six matches scheduled. Australia's focus is on the seven Tests scheduled against India at home (five) and Sri Lanka away (two), in the hopes of qualifying for the 2025 World Test Championship final, and the ODI Champions Trophy in Pakistan in February.

Chair of selectors George Bailey said the list was put together with an eye to the future.

"Matt, Aaron and Xavier have been extremely impressive in the early stages of their international careers," he said. "Their performances and the way they have embraced the international stage has been exciting to watch.

"The panel believes they have strong futures and are deserved of their contracts as they work towards striving to become regulars in the Australian setup."

Players not contracted for 2024-25 still have the opportunity to qualify for upgrades. Eight players, including Hardie, Ellis, David, Short, Matthew Wade, Tanveer Sangha, Jason Behrendorff and Spencer Johnson all qualified for upgrades last year by accruing enough points through selection. Players need 12 points for an upgrade. Five points are awarded for a Test match, two for an ODI and two for a T20I.

David Warner has also come off the contract list after announcing his retirement from international cricket following the T20I World Cup in June.

Australia men's contracts 2024-25 Sean Abbott, Xavier Bartlett, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Aaron Hardie, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Lance Morris, Todd Murphy, Jhye Richardson, Matt Short, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa

Draymond gets 4th ejection after arguing with ref

Published in Basketball
Wednesday, 27 March 2024 17:51

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green was ejected less than four minutes into Wednesday night's game against the Orlando Magic.

Green had been chirping at official Ray Acosta after being called for his first personal foul. A few plays later, after Stephen Curry was called for a shooting foul, Green approached Acosta and began yelling at him. Acosta issued a technical foul, and when Green didn't stop, Acosta gave him another, ending his night at the 8:24 mark of the first quarter.

As Green made his way off the court, Warriors coach Steve Kerr voiced his displeasure with the referees. During the subsequent timeout, Curry paced back and forth while shaking his head.

It was Green's career-high fourth ejection of the season. He is the first player to be ejected at least four times in a season since Kevin Durant was tossed five times in 2017-18, according to ESPN Stats & Information research.

Wednesday also marked the second time Green was ejected in the first quarter this season. Per ESPN Stats & Info, he is the only player with multiple first-quarter ejections in a season over the past 20 campaigns.

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