PRO BASKETBALL
It’s official: The NBA is coming back Dec. 22.
The NBA and the National Basketball Players Association announced they’ve struck a deal on rules for this coming season, setting the stage for what will be a frenzied few weeks before games resume.
Instead of the standard 82 games, teams will play a 72-game schedule that will be revealed in the coming weeks. The league said a new system will be used to ensure the split of basketball-related income continues, one of the many details that had to be collectively bargained with the union because the current agreement between the sides had a great deal of language that needed reworking because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Negotiations with free agents will be allowed to begin at 6 p.m. on Nov. 20, with signings permitted starting at 12:01 p.m. on Nov. 22 - an extraordinarily fast window for the NBA, which typically has about a week spanning the start of talks and the beginning of signings.
Training camps open Dec. 1. The salary cap and tax level will remain unchanged.
MILWAUKEE (AP) - Milwaukee Bucks guard Sterling Brown and the Milwaukee city attorney have agreed to a revised $750,000 settlement of a lawsuit Brown filed after getting taken to the ground, shocked with a Taser and arrested during an encounter with police in 2018.
City Attorney Tearman Spencer is recommending the payment plus an admission that Brown’s constitutional rights were violated during the arrest that began with a parking violation outside a Walgreen’s store. Brown’s attorney signed the agreement on his behalf Friday.
The settlement is subject to approval by the city.
BASEBALL
Seattle Mariners center fielder Kyle Lewis was a unanimous winner of the AL Rookie of the Year award, and Milwaukee Brewers reliever Devin Williams took the NL honor.
Williams became the first pitcher to win the award without recording a save or making a start.
San Diego second baseman Jake Cronenworth and Philadelphia infielder Alec Bohm tied for second in NL balloting by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. Chicago White Sox center fielder Luis Robert finished second in the AL.
CHICAGO (AP) - White Sox manager Tony La Russa has been charged with driving under the influence again.
According to the Maricopa County Justice Courts website, the arrest occurred in February in Arizona, but the case was filed on Oct. 28, one day before La Russa’s hiring was announced by the White Sox.
Team spokesman Scott Reifert said the White Sox were aware of the arrest when the 76-year-old Hall of Famer was hired.
La Russa pleaded guilty to driving under the influence in Florida in 2007. He said then he accepted full responsibility and it would never happen again.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Tom Izzo has tested positive for COVID-19, relegating the Basketball Hall of Fame coach to leading No. 13 Michigan State virtually while he is in isolation.
The 65-year-old Izzo said he has minor symptoms and remains in good health. Associate head coach Dwayne Stephens will run practices while Izzo is in isolation for 10 days.
GOLF
AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) - Sergio Garcia pulled out of the Masters after informing Augusta National he tested positive for the coronavirus.
Garcia won his only major at the Masters three years ago in his 19th appearance, the most of any player before winning a green jacket. He said he and his family are “feeling good.”
AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) - In a year marked by racial injustice, Augusta National announced it would honor Lee Elder with two scholarships in his name at Paine College and an honorary tee shot next year for the first Black player in the Masters. Elder made his barrier-breaking debut in 1975.
PHOENIX (AP) - Kevin Sutherland made a 4-foot birdie putt on the ninth playoff hole to beat Paul Broadhurst in the Charles Schwab Cup Championship.
Sutherland and Broadhurst were forced to return to Phoenix Country Club to finish the final PGA Tour Champions event of the year after playing to a stalemate over six playoff holes in near darkness on Sunday.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
The Southeastern Conference postponed Saturday’s game between No. 20 Auburn and Mississippi State because of positive COVID-19 cases and quarantining within the Bulldogs’ program.
Elsewhere around the league, No. 5 Texas A&M paused in-person activities after a player and a staff member tested positive for the coronavirus. LSU is battling an outbreak that could put Saturday’s game against No. 1 Alabama in jeopardy. And Arkansas coach Sam Pittman has tested positive and could miss the game at No. 6 Florida.
WACO, Texas (AP) - Baylor junior linebacker Terrel Bernard, the Big 12′s top tackler, will miss the rest of the season because of a shoulder injury.
Bears coach Dave Aranda said Bernard has a torn labrum and likely a fracture in his shoulder.
Bernard and freshman running back Craig Williams were both hurt in Saturday’s loss at Iowa State. Williams injured the ACL and MCL in his knee, and will also miss the rest of the season.
HORSE RACING
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) - Authentic, winner of the Kentucky Derby and Breeders’ Cup Classic, has been retired to stud.
The 3-year-old colt will stand at Spendthrift Farm in Lexington, Kentucky, next year for a breeding fee of $75,000. The farm is owned by B. Wayne Hughes, who co-owns Authentic with MyRacehorse, Starlight Racing and Madaket Stables.
Authentic earned wire-to-wire victories in the Kentucky Derby in September and the $6 million Classic last weekend at Keeneland. He is a favorite to win an Eclipse Award for 3-year-old of the year.
Trained by Bob Baffert, Authentic had six wins in eight starts and career earnings of $6,191,200. His only losses this year came in the Santa Anita Derby and the Preakness, where he finished second both times.
PRO FOOTBALL
FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. (AP) - The Atlanta Falcons waived defensive end Takk McKinley, a 2017 first-round draft pick, less than one week after he made public his displeasure he had not been traded.
McKinley battled groin injuries this season and missed five of the Falcons’ first nine games, including Sunday’s win over Denver.
HOCKEY
FRISCO, Texas (AP) - The Dallas Stars signed restricted free agent forward Roope Hintz to a $9.45 million, three-year contract. Hintz had 19 goals and 14 assists in 60 games during the regular season for the Western Conference champions, including five game-winning goals. He had two goals and 11 assists in 25 playoff games before missing the last two games of the Stanley Cup Final because of injuries.
FIGURE SKATING
LAS VEGAS (AP) - The U.S. Figure Skating Championships are being moved from San Jose, California, to Las Vegas.
The national federation said the switch was based partly on the successful bubble environment used for Skate America last month at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas. San Jose will now get the 2023 nationals, while the 2022 event, which serves as the Olympic trials, will be in Nashville.
Nationals will take place Jan. 11-21 in Las Vegas. Nathan Chen, a two-time world champion who has won the last four U.S. titles, will lead the field. He won Skate America.
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