College Basketball
Three from the West Coast declare for the NBA draft
TEMPE, Ariz. – Jahii Carson has made it official: He’s headed to the NBA.
The Arizona State point guard, a 5-11 junior, averaged 18.6 points, 4.6 assists and four rebounds.
LOS ANGELES – UCLA guards Kyle Anderson and Zach LaVine are leaving early for the NBA draft.
Anderson, a sophomore, averaged 14.6 points, 8.8 rebounds and 6.5 assists this season, while LaVine, a freshman, averaged 9.4 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.8 assists.
Cycling
Quintana will sit the Tour but will lead the Giro and Vuelta
MADRID – Tour de France runner-up Nairo Quintana will lead Movistar at the Giro d’Italia next month.
The Giro will begin May 9.
Movistar announced its preliminary list of 11 riders Wednesday; it will reduce the list to nine before the race.
Quintana finished second to Christopher Froome at the Tour last year, but he will not ride in cycling’s biggest race this summer. Instead, the Colombian will be Movistar’s lead rider in the Italian grand tour and ride in the Spanish Vuelta. Alejandro Valverde will lead Movistar at the Tour.
Golf
PGA Tour turns the TPC into an unprecedented playoff
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – The Players Championship is changing this year to a three-hole aggregate playoff involving the closing stretch at the TPC Sawgrass.
The Players Championship previously was a sudden-death playoff that began on the par-3 17th hole, famous for having an island green. Starting this year, a playoff would take place on the par-5 16th hole, the 17th and the par-4 18th. If players remain tied, it would go to sudden death on the 17th.
The Players Championship is May 8-11.
HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. – Jason Day has a cast on his left hand to immobilize his injured thumb and isn’t expected to return until The Players Championship in three weeks.
NBA
After nearly 30 years, Kohl agrees to sell the Bucks
MILWAUKEE – Bucks owner and former U.S. senator Herb Kohl reached a deal to sell the franchise to New York investment firm executives Wesley Edens and Marc Lasry for about $550 million.
The deal is subject to approval by the NBA and its Board of Governors.
It appears the Bucks won’t be going anywhere after Edens and Lasry committed another $100 million to help build a new arena. Kohl announced he, too, would donate $100 million to help fund a new arena.
NHL
Winnipeg gives Maurice a four-year deal as coach
WINNIPEG, Manitoba – The Winnipeg Jets confirmed Paul Maurice as their new head coach for the next four years Wednesday.
Maurice took the Jets to an 18-12-5 record over 35 games after Claude Noel was fired. Maurice has a career coaching record of 478-469-172 over 1,119 NHL games.
Soccer
Falcons’ NFL owner officially lands an MLS franchise
ATLANTA – Major League Soccer announced its newest team Wednesday, unveiling an expansion team for Atlanta that will begin play in 2017 at the city’s new retractable roof stadium.
The team will be owned by Arthur Blank, who also owns the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons. The team’s name has not yet been determined.
MLS, which has 19 teams this season, is expanding rapidly with a goal of having 24 teams. New York City and Orlando are scheduled to begin play next season, and the league has awarded a provisional team in Miami to a group led by David Beckham, contingent on a new stadium deal.
Associated Press
