BASKETBALL
TORONTO (AP) - Gunfire broke out and a stampede ensued as fans celebrated at a rally Monday for the NBA champion Raptors, leaving four people shot and thousands fleeing less than a block from where the players and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau sat on stage.
Three people were arrested and two guns were recovered, Toronto police said, and investigators did not discuss a possible motive for the attack.
Droves of Raptors fans ran from the shooting in a stampede from the City Hall square, which was packed with tens of thousands of people. Earlier Monday, well over a million fans packed downtown Toronto for a parade for the Raptors, raising concerns about safety and overcrowding as the city celebrated its first major sports title in more than a quarter-century.
Police Chief Mark Saunders said four people suffered gunshot wounds but said none of the injuries were life-threatening. Others suffered minor injuries as they tried to get away from the shooting, said Saunders, who asked for witnesses and people who might have video to come forward and help investigators.
METAIRIE, La. (AP) - New Orleans Pelicans basketball operations chief David Griffin says the club is exercising its option to extend coach Alvin Gentry’s contract through the 2020-21 season.
Gentry has coached four seasons in New Orleans and made one playoff appearance, when New Orleans swept Portland in the first round in 2018 before falling to eventual champion Golden State.
Griffin worked with Gentry in Phoenix when the veteran coach helped the Suns reach the Western Conference finals in 2010 and says Gentry is “exactly the right coach at the right time” for the Pelicans.
SYDNEY (AP) - American teenager LaMelo Ball has signed with the Illawarra Hawks for the upcoming National Basketball League season, the second top U.S. prospect to join the Australian league under its Next Stars Program.
The 17-year-old guard is rated as one of the best U.S. high school basketball players and is expected to be one of the top picks in the 2020 NBA Draft.
Ball is the brother of Lonzo Ball, who is being traded from the Los Angeles Lakers to the New Orleans Pelicans as part of the Anthony Davis deal.
American guard R.J. Hampton decided last month to forego his college eligibility and sign with the New Zealand Breakers in the nine-team NBL.
BASEBALL
NEW YORK (AP) - San Diego Padres star Manny Machado has been suspended one game and fined for making contact with an umpire who ejected him over the weekend for arguing called strikes.
Machado is appealing the penalty imposed Monday by Chief Baseball Office Joe Torre. Machado can continue to play until there’s a final ruling; the Padres play Milwaukee on Monday night.
The third baseman had two hits and scored twice before being ejected by plate umpire Bill Welke in the fifth inning Saturday night in Denver after a called third strike. MLB said the punishment was for “aggressively arguing and making contact” with Welke.
NFL
NEW YORK (AP) - Quarterback Josh McCown has announced he is retiring from playing football after an NFL career that spanned 16 NFL seasons and included stints with 10 teams.
McCown, who turns 40 on July 4, writes in a piece for The Players’ Tribune on Monday that he will be helping coach his two sons - also quarterbacks - in high school this year.
He played the last two seasons with the New York Jets, serving as the starter in 2017 and as a veteran backup to rookie Sam Darnold last year.
McCown issued a statement through agent Mike McCartney shortly before the NFL’s new business year began in March that his desire to continue playing remained strong, but he wanted to spend more time with his family to consider his options. McCown, an unrestricted free agent, made the Jets aware of his situation, and New York signed Trevor Siemian to serve as the backup to Darnold this season.
McCown finished with 17,707 career yards passing with 98 touchdowns and 82 interceptions. He was a third-round draft pick of Arizona in 2002 and also spent time with Detroit, Oakland, Miami, Carolina, San Francisco, Chicago, Tampa Bay and Cleveland before joining the Jets.
NHL
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) - The San Jose Sharks re-signed pending free agent Erik Karlsson to a $92 million, eight-year deal on Monday, turning a one-year rental into a long-term commitment to one of the league’s most dynamic defensemen.
Karlsson was eligible to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1 but decided to stay in San Jose, where he will try to win his first championship and the first for a franchise that has reached the conference final five times in the past 15 years without ever winning it all.
A person with knowledge of the deal confirms that it carries an annual cap hit of $11.5 million and includes a full no-movement clause. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the team did not announce terms of the contract.
-By AP Sports Writer Josh Dubow.
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) - Dallas Eakins is the Anaheim Ducks’ new coach.
The Ducks announced the move Monday, filling the NHL’s last head coaching vacancy with the veteran coach of their AHL affiliate in San Diego.
Eakins spent the past four seasons with the Gulls, leading them to the AHL’s conference finals this season. He has worked extensively with the homegrown talent that currently fills much of the Ducks’ roster.
Eakins coached the Edmonton Oilers from the start of the 2013-14 season until December 2014, going 36-63-14.
Eakins replaces Ducks general manager Bob Murray, who stepped behind the bench for the final 26 games of last season after firing Randy Carlyle. Anaheim went 14-11-1 under Murray but missed the playoffs for the first time since 2012.
NEW YORK (AP) - The New York Rangers acquired defenseman Jacob Trouba from the Winnipeg Jets for defenseman Neal Pionk and the 20th overall pick in the draft.
The teams announced the trade Monday. Trouba is a restricted free agent who needs a new contract.
Trouba, 25, gives the rebuilding Rangers a legitimate top-pairing defenseman to speed their move toward being playoff contenders again. The right-handed-shooting blue liner had eight goals and 42 assists for 50 points last season.
Winnipeg is facing a salary-cap crunch and would have had trouble fitting in Trouba. Pionk, 23, is also a restricted free agent but will cost less than the more-established Trouba.
Pionk had six goals and 20 assists last season with New York in his second NHL season.
___
More AP sports: https://apnews.com/apf-sports and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
Please read our comment policy before commenting.