NBA
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry “definitely” plans to return this season from his broken left hand and is hoping to be back on the court at “some point in early spring.”
When exactly the two-time NBA MVP will be able to play again remains uncertain.
Curry addressed the media Monday night for the first time since getting injured Oct. 30 and said he needs a second surgery on his non-shooting hand, probably in early December, to remove pins that were inserted during the first procedure Nov. 1 that involved his hand and index finger.
The Warriors initially said Curry would be re-evaluated three months after the surgery, which would be early February.
Curry referred to himself and injured teammate Klay Thompson as “caged animals right now, wanting to be unleashed.”
Thompson, the other part of Golden State’s Splash Brothers combo, is recovering from surgery to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee. The team hopes he can return in the second half of the season.
BASEBALL
NEW YORK (AP) - Young sluggers known for their prodigious power, Pete Alonso and Yordan Álvarez knocked the Rookie of the Year voting out of the park.
In a rarity for the major league home run leader, Alonso didn’t land the biggest blow.
Alonso, a star first baseman with the New York Mets, got 29 of 30 first-place votes for NL Rookie of the Year. Braves right-hander Mike Soroka got the other first-place vote and finished second in balloting by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America revealed Monday night.
Álvarez, a hulking designated hitter from the Houston Astros, earned all 30 first-place votes to become the 24th unanimous selection since the award was introduced in 1949.
The 24-year-old Alonso led the majors with 53 homers, one better than Yankees slugger Aaron Judge’s rookie record from 2017. “Polar Bear” Pete became the face of baseball in Flushing, beloved for his power, personality and philanthropy. He’s the sixth Met to win the award and first since teammate Jacob deGrom in 2014.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Kentucky is back in a familiar position under John Calipari: No. 1 in The Associated Press men’s college basketball poll.
The Wildcats rose one spot after winning a 1-vs-2 matchup with Michigan State to open the season in the Champions Classic, followed by an easy win against Eastern Kentucky. They earned 64 of 65 first-place votes in Monday’s poll to finish ahead of No. 2 Duke.
It marks the first time the Wildcats (2-0) have reached No. 1 in the AP Top 25 since spending two weeks there early in the 2016-17 season.
Yet it’s the seventh of Calipari’s 11 seasons that the Wildcats have spent at least one week atop the AP Top 25. That includes 10 weeks during the 2011-12 season on the way to the national championship and a start-to-finish stay in 2014-15 as the Wildcats carried an unbeaten record to the Final Four, where they lost to Wisconsin.
WOMEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL
NEW YORK (AP) - Oregon remained No. 1 in The Associated Press women’s college basketball poll. The Ducks received 28 of 30 first-place votes from a national media panel Monday while Baylor claimed the other two. Oregon had a stunning exhibition win over the U.S. women’s national team on Saturday, handing the Americans only their second loss ever to a college program.
All-America Sabrina Ionescu led the way with 30 points. The Ducks opened their season Monday night with an easy win against Northeastern.
Stanford, Connecticut and Texas A&M followed second-ranked Baylor in the women’s AP Top 25. It’s the first time the Aggies are ranked in the top five since they were fifth on Dec. 29, 2014.
South Carolina moved up to sixth after a road victory over then-No. 4 Maryland on Sunday. The Terrapins dropped to eighth. Oregon State was seventh, with Louisville and Mississippi State rounding out the top 10.
South Florida entered the poll at No. 25, replacing Minnesota, which fell out.
GYMNASTICS
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) - An accomplished gymnast at Southern Connecticut State University has died following a serious spinal cord injury suffered in a training accident.
Melanie Coleman, 20, of Milford, Connecticut, was training Friday at New Era Gymnastics in Hamden when she was injured, said her mother, Susan Coleman.
She was taken to Yale-New Haven Hospital and died Sunday.
Coleman was a former All State gymnast at Jonathan Law High School in Milford and was captain of the school’s gymnastics team. She was named a Women’s Collegiate Gymnastics Association Scholastic All-American this year.
Her former club coach, Tom Alberti, said she attained a level 10, the highest level in the USA Junior Olympics Program.
She was a junior studying nursing, following in the footsteps of her two older sisters, her mother said.
She volunteered at gym where her accident occurred.
Her coaches and professors described her as a special young woman who excelled in both the classroom and gym, college President Joe Berolino said in a written statement.
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