Cycling

2015 Giro d’Italia will make Grand Tour history

MILAN – The 2015 Giro d’Italia will start with a team time trial from San Lorenzo al Mare to San Remo along a cycle path down the Ligurian coast.

It will be the first time that a stage in a Grand Tour will take place entirely on a cycle path, with the 18-kilometer (11-mile) opening leg on the stunning Riviera dei Fiori course built on a former rail track.

The region of Liguria will host the first three stages of the 98th Italian Grand Tour, race organizer RCS Sport announced Tuesday.

Tour de France champion Vincenzo Nibali, who won the Giro in 2013, hinted he would ride in next year’s race as part of a possible Giro-Tour double.

The second stage is one for sprinters. It is a 150-kilometer route between Albenga and Genoa, including a final four circuits in the city center.

It will be followed by a hilly stage on the spectacular Cinque Terre coastal roads, with a 185-kilometer leg from Chiavari to La Spezia.

The Giro is May 9-31.

MLB

Vin Scully to return to L.A. for 66th season in 2015

LOS ANGELES – Vin Scully is staying in the booth for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The 86-year-old Hall of Fame announcer will return for his record 66th season with the team in 2015. The announcement was made by Dodgers players Hyun-Jin Ryu, Yasiel Puig and Justin Turner in Korean, Spanish and English, respectively, on the Dodger Stadium videoboard in the second inning of Tuesday night’s game against Atlanta.

The news was greeted with loud cheers and a prolonged standing ovation for Scully, who stood and waved to fans from his booth, where he hugged his wife, Sandi.

A decision about Scully’s future has become an annual rite of passage in recent years as he evaluates his health and his family’s wishes in considering whether he wants to continue.

Scully’s consecutive years of service make him the longest-tenured broadcaster with one team in sports history. He began his professional broadcasting career in 1950 with the Brooklyn Dodgers.

NBA

NBA elects the first female to lead male sports union

LAS VEGAS – The National Basketball Players Association elected Michele Roberts as executive director, making her the first woman to lead a North American male sports union.

Roberts received 32 of 36 votes in a process that was completed in Tuesday’s early morning hours. The Washington trial lawyer defeated tech industry chief executive officer Dean Garfield and Dallas Mavericks CEO Terdema Ussery in the final vote.

The vote capped an arduous and long process to replace Billy Hunter, who was ousted in February of 2013.

Her appointment comes at a critical time for the players, who could face another round of collective bargaining talks in 2017 if either the union or the league opts out of the current agreement.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver issued a statement congratulating Roberts.

Byron Scott sees swift title contention for Lakers

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. – Byron Scott is taking over the Los Angeles Lakers with the vocal support of his fellow Showtime greats.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson and Jamaal Wilkes attended Tuesday’s introductory news conference for Scott, the 25th head coach in franchise history.

Scott boldly predicted a quick return to NBA title contention for the Lakers, who are coming off their worst season since moving to Los Angeles.

The Lakers spent nearly three months without a head coach before finally hiring Scott, a shooting guard on three Showtime championship teams in the 1980s.

Scott has been a head coach with Cleveland, New Jersey and New Orleans. But the Lakers always have been the ideal job for the Inglewood product who grew up sneaking into the Forum to watch Jerry West.

Associated Press