Cycling
Intxausti wins Stage 16; Nibali leads Giro d’Italia
IVREA, Italy – Benat Intxausti of Spain won the 16th stage of the Giro d’Italia on Tuesday, and favorite Vincenzo Nibali retained the overall lead as the race entered the final week.
Intxausti won in 5 hours, 52 minutes, 48 seconds, beating Tanel Kangert and Przemyslaw Niemiec in a final sprint of the hilly 148-mile stage.
Nibali maintained his lead of 1 minute, 26 seconds over Cadel Evans and remains on course to win his country’s biggest cycling race for the first time. He finished third and second in his last two Giro d’Italia races.
Golf
Sport’s governing body bans long putters’ hinge effect
Golf’s governing bodies approved a rule Tuesday that outlaws the putting stroke used by four of the last six major champions, a move opposed by two major golf organizations that contend long putters are not hurting the game.
The Royal & Ancient Golf Club and U.S. Golf Association said Rule 14-1b will take effect in 2016.
The new rule does not ban the long putters, only the way they commonly are used. Golfers no longer will be able to anchor the club against their bodies to create the effect of a hinge.
The announcement followed six months of contentious debate, and it might not be over. The next step is for the PGA Tour to follow the new rule or decide to establish its own condition of competition that would allow players to anchor the long putters.
NBA
Del Negro gets the pink slip from the L.A. Clippers
LOS ANGELES – Vinny Del Negro is out as coach of the Los Angeles Clippers after their first-round playoff exit.
The team said Tuesday he won’t be offered a new contract when his current one expires at the end of June.
Del Negro had a 128-102 regular-season record in three years with the team. The Clippers made the playoffs the last two seasons, including last year when they advanced to the second round for only the second time since the franchise moved to Los Angeles in 1984.
This season, the Clippers won a franchise-record 56 games, had a 17-game winning streak and won the club’s first Pacific Division title before their early playoff exit. They led Memphis 2-0 before losing in six games.
Charlotte listens to the fans: They ‘wanted the name back’
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Bobcats owner Michael Jordan said he’s changing his team’s name to the Charlotte Hornets.
Jordan said at a Tuesday news conference he informed the league of his decision and is optimistic the NBA board of governors will approve the name change when they convene in July.
Charlotte will remain the Bobcats next season, but if all goes as planned Jordan anticipates his team will become the Hornets for the start of the 2014-15 season.
Jordan said the team listened to the fans, and “the fans wanted the name back.”
Soccer
Man City and Yankees pair up to buy an MLS franchise
NEW YORK – The New York Yankees are going into the soccer business.
The Yankees are partnering with Manchester City to own Major League Soccer’s 20th team, which will be called the New York City Football Club and plans to start play in the 2015 season.
Manchester City, owned by Sheik Mansour bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan of Abu Dhabi, will be the majority owner of the new team. Yankees President Randy Levine will be the lead person responsible for launching it.
The expansion fee for the new team is $100 million. It will compete for attention and dollars with 10 other professional big league teams in the New York market.
MLS has been negotiating with New York City to build a stadium in Flushing Meadows Corona Park, near the home of the New York Mets.
Associated Press
