MLB
Bud Selig, 79, announces his retirement for January, 2015
Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig said he plans to retire in January, 2015.
The 79-year-old Selig repeatedly has said since 2003 that his retirement was imminent, but Thursday marked the first time he issued a formal statement.
Selig said he will announce a transition plan shortly that will include a reorganization of central baseball management.
Selig bought the Seattle Pilots in bankruptcy court in 1970 and moved the team to Milwaukee. He was part of the group that forced Fay Vincent’s resignation.
Selig took over as acting commissioner Sept. 9, 1992, in his role as chairman of the executive council. He repeatedly said he would not take the job full time but formally was elected commissioner July 9, 1998. He agreed to new contracts in 2001, 2004, 2008 and 2012.
NBA
Mills back and Grunwald out as Knicks’ general manager
NEW YORK – Steve Mills is returning to the New York Knicks as president and general manager, replacing Glen Grunwald in a front-office shake-up just days before the start of training camp.
Mills spent a decade as an executive at Madison Square Garden and before that worked at the NBA for 16 years. He left MSG in 2009 after the arrival of Donnie Walsh as Knicks president.
Grunwald replaced Walsh in 2011 and constructed much of the roster that helped the Knicks win a playoff series last season for the first time since 2000. He will remain with the organization as an adviser, the Knicks said in a release Thursday.
Mills, who played basketball at Princeton, joined the NBA in 1983 and held a number of positions, including his final role as senior vice president of basketball and player development. He had been considered a candidate to replace Billy Hunter as executive director of the NBA Players Association.
USA Basketball
Women’s team sets its roster for national training camp
Three-time Olympic gold medalists Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi and Tamika Catchings highlight the 33 players invited to the U.S. women’s basketball national team training camp that will take place the first weekend in October in Las Vegas.
Joining the three veterans are seven other members of the 2012 London Games that won a fifth consecutive gold medal for the U.S., as well as 2008 Olympian Cappie Pondexter.
Also invited are WNBA rookies Brittney Griner, Elena Delle Donne and Skylar Diggins. Griner was part of the 2012 pool but turned down a chance to play in the Olympics to focus on school and her ailing mother.
Joining the veterans are seven college athletes, including four of U.S. coach Geno Auriemma’s own UConn players. Stefanie Dolson, Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis, Bria Hartley and Breanna Stewart are joined by Maryland’s Alyssa Thomas, Notre Dame’s Kayla McBride and Baylor’s Odyssey Sims.
NHL
N.Y. businessman buys the Florida Panthers for $250M
SUNRISE, Fla. – Vincent Viola grew up in Brooklyn, graduated from West Point, is a former chairman of the New York Mercantile Exchange and after the Sept. 11 attacks founded a center devoted to combating terrorism.
He’s now the new owner of the Florida Panthers, a person familiar with the situation said.
Viola will be introduced in that role Friday after paying $250 million to buy the NHL franchise, the person said, speaking to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the terms have not been made public.
Viola will replace Cliff Viner, a longtime Panthers fan who became a co-general partner of the team in 2009 and took over as general partner, chairman and chief executive officer the next year.
Viola is the chairman and CEO of Virtu Financial, an electronic trading firm with offices in the U.S., Singapore and Ireland. He’s buying a franchise that has been to the playoffs only once since 2000 and finished with the fewest points in the NHL last season.
Associated Press
