LOS ANGELES (AP) - PRO BASKETBALL
NBA Hall of Famer Magic Johnson says Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling has badly outdated views about minorities and is shockingly ignorant about HIV and AIDS for such a prominent public figure.
“He’s living in the stone ages,” Johnson said in an interview that aired Tuesday with CNN’s Anderson Cooper, a day after Sterling made his first public comments since racist recordings emerged last month and earned him a lifetime NBA ban. “You can’t make those comments about African-Americans and Latinos. You just can’t do it.”
In Sterling’s interview with Cooper, Sterling repeatedly brought up the ex-NBA star’s HIV and called him an unfit role model for children.
Johnson mostly avoided lashing back at criticism from Sterling, who at one point cut off Cooper’s listing of Johnson’s achievements to loudly say “He’s got AIDS!” Johnson, who is HIV positive but does not have AIDS, said he was surprised Sterling didn’t make the distinction.
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BASEBALL
Miami Marlins ace Jose Fernandez has a significant tear in his right elbow and the team doctor has recommended season-ending Tommy John surgery.
Team president Michael Hill made the announcement in the Dodger Stadium press box during Tuesday night’s game against Los Angeles.
The 21-year-old Fernandez is 4-2 with a 2.44 ERA in eight starts. Last season’s NL Rookie of the Year was examined Tuesday by Marlins team physician Lee Kaplan in Florida.
Fernandez would be the latest star pitcher in the majors to have Tommy John surgery this year. The recovery time for the elbow ligament transplant procedure can be 12 to 18 months.
The Marlins put their Cuban ace on the 15-day disabled list Monday.
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PRO FOOTBALL
ST. LOUIS (AP) - The overflow crowd at Rams Park did not intimidate Michael Sam.
He seemed almost eager for the attention and scrutiny.
The first openly gay player drafted by an NFL team was confident and engaged Tuesday as he was formally introduced by the St. Louis Rams, handling questions and scrutiny with aplomb well beyond that of a typical seventh-round pick.
Sam put his arm around coach Jeff Fisher after sharing the podium with other late-round picks.
He joked that he’d never before heard the term “tweener” and even rose in his chair in mock intimidation of fellow Missouri draftee E.J. Gaines, a sixth-rounder who’d been asked what the SEC co-defensive player of the year was like as a teammate.
Sam, who came out to teammates and coaches before his senior season at Missouri, disagreed that his sexuality had been a secret.
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COLLEGE BASEBALL
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - Alex Bregman and Tyler Moore each hit grand slams and drove in eight runs, and five LSU pitchers combined on a six-inning no-hitter as the Tigers routed Northwestern State 27-0 on Tuesday night.
It was the largest margin of victory in LSU’s storied baseball history - and could have been bigger if the game hadn’t been called because of lightning in the area with two outs and two runners on in the sixth for the Tigers.
Bregman hit two home runs, while Moore, Jake Fraley and Kramer Robertson each had one for LSU (37-14-1), which had 23 hits and scored in every inning but the fifth. Jared Poche’ (1-0) pitched a perfect first inning for the win, and combined with Kyle Bouman, Nate Fury, Kurt McCune and Joe Broussard to blank Northwestern State (30-22).
The no-hitter was the first for LSU since March 14, 1979, when Bobby Landry beat Southern Mississippi in seven innings.
Bregman and Moore each finished one RBI shy of the school record for a single game. The last time an LSU player recorded eight RBIs was April 19, 2000, by Brad Cresse against Tulane.
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COLLEGE FOOTBALL
MANKATO, Minn. (AP) - Rutgers announced Tuesday that it has dismissed quarterback Philip Nelson from its football program after he was charged in connection with an assault that left another man critically injured in Minnesota.
Head football coach Kyle Flood made the announcement Tuesday in a statement.
Nelson, 20, is a former quarterback for Minnesota. He announced after last season he would transfer to Rutgers.
He was charged Monday with two counts of felony assault in connection with a weekend fight that left another man severely injured. Authorities say Nelson kicked 24-year-old Isaac Dallas Kolstad in the head after another man punched Kolstad as bars were closing early Sunday in downtown Mankato.
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