Heat still leads Eastern Final, but Celtics return with eye to history
MIAMI (AP) — The Boston Celtics are halfway through history, and that alone got them into a very small club. Of the first 150 teams to follow a 3-0 best-of-seven streak in NBA history, only 14 of them have found a way to extend the game to Game 6. Most are usually eliminated nowadays. Not the Celtics. They cut the Eastern Conference Finals deficit against the Miami Heat to 3-2. They’re following the series but seem to have all the momentum for Game 6 in Miami on Saturday night.
Yankees’ Aaron Boone suspended 1 game by MLB for conduct towards umpires
NEW YORK (AP) — Yankees manager Aaron Boone has been suspended for one game and fined by Major League Baseball “for his recent conduct toward major league umpires.” MLB senior vice president for field operations Michael Hill made the announcement and said Boone’s actions after his ejection from Thursday night’s game against Baltimore were among the factors in the discipline. Boone was ejected for the fourth time this season, a major league record, the most among major league managers, while angry at the strike zone. He appeared to get spat on a referee screaming after being thrown.
Analysis: NFL can’t shake perception, it doesn’t care what players and coaches think
Even when the NFL institutes a rule designed to reduce concussions, it can’t shake the perception that it doesn’t care what players and coaches think. The league took a step toward eliminating kickoffs this week by improving the touchback rule to a one-year trial with a priority on player safety. The receiving team will now receive the ball at their own 25 with a good hold of a kickoff anywhere behind that yard line. Some of the league’s most prominent coaches criticized the decision.
DeAndre Hopkins released by Arizona Cardinals, team suffers big salary cap hit
TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — The Arizona Cardinals released three-time All-Pro receiver DeAndre Hopkins as part of a salary cap change made after failing to find a business partner during the offseason. The Cardinals made the move three seasons after acquiring Hopkins in a trade from Houston and signing him to a $54.5 million contract extension. Hopkins, soon to be 31, would have gone nearly $31 million off the cap this season. His cap reached in dead money is $22.6 million. Hopkins had 221 catches for 2,696 yards and 17 touchdowns in 35 games for Arizona.
Biden celebrates LSU women’s and UConn men’s basketball teams at separate White House events
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden called for more support for female athletes at a White House event celebrating the Louisiana State Championship women’s basketball team. The event once appeared in jeopardy after Biden’s wife Jill suggested that the losing Iowa team be invited as well. Friday’s ceremony was briefly interrupted when forward Sa’Myah Smith appeared to collapse on stage. The Bidens praised the LSU Tigers for their performance and how they helped advance women’s sports. Neither mentioned the uproar caused by Jill Biden’s previous comments. Biden also hosted the UConn men’s championship basketball team at a celebration at the White House later Friday.
No certain respite from politics as title-winning athletes visit the White House
WASHINGTON (AP) — Politics and sports go together like baseball and apple pie. Title-winning teams have been visiting the White House for decades. But what started as a nonpartisan rite of passage has increasingly become entangled in politics. It’s a change that some associate with Bill Clinton’s presidency. A professional golfer declined an invitation to the White House and described Clinton in unflattering terms. On Friday, President Joe Biden will host the NCAA-champion LSU women’s basketball team as well as the UConn men’s team. Some took umbrage when first lady Jill Biden suggested also inviting the Iowa team that lost in the Finals to LSU. After a significant setback, this idea faded away.
In over 100 years, 9 women have raced the Indianapolis 500 and the push for more has stagnated
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Katherine Legge recalls her days as a youth driving go-karts and how she was sometimes ruthlessly bullied by boys. Or the difficulty she had growing up in racing and getting sponsors and support. There are several reasons why Legge is the only female driver to compete in the Indianapolis 500 this year. The women’s movement that once promised to bring many more into the race seems to have stalled. There have always been only nine women to start the race in over 100 years.
Chronicle: Remembering Castleberry, others who paid the ultimate price of war
ATLANTA (AP) — Clint Castleberry had a glorious season at Georgia Tech. He was a whirlwind on both sides of the line, seeming to pop up everywhere. And then he was gone. All that potential, stifled by the horrors of war. On this Memorial Day weekend, the largely forgotten exploits of Castleberry are a dark and painful reminder of what might have been without the war. He finished third in the Heisman ballot as a freshman in 1942. Then he headed into World War II, where he died while piloting a B-26 off the coast of Africa. He was only 21 years old.
‘Block’ party at Colonial for PGA Championship sensation club pro
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — There will be no weekend party at the Colonial for Michael Block. The California pro club that finished tied for 15th in the PGA Championship was 15 over par over a grueling 36 holes at Colonial. He was exhausted but grateful after last week’s wild ride. His 4 of 74 on Friday was seven strokes better than his first round of the Charles Schwab Challenge, where he earned a late sponsor exemption after Oak Hill. He also has a bye to compete in the RBC Canadian Open in two weeks. The Block party is therefore not yet completely over.
After Serena, women’s tennis heads to Roland-Garros led by the Big 3 of Swiatek, Sabalenka, Rybakina
PARIS (AP) — All those questions about who would come to the fore once Serena Williams steps away from the tennis tour seem to be answered with three names: Iga Swiatek, Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina. As the start of the French Open approaches on Sunday, defending champion Swiatek is ranked No. 1, Sabalenka is No. 2 and Rybakina is No. 4. Specifically, perhaps, with a major trophy up for grabs on red clay. of Roland Garros: This group shared the last four Grand Slam titles, the prizes that define the greatness of their sport.
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