In the raw aftermath of another killing of a Black man by police in Minnesota, there was no place for pro sports in the Twin Cities.
The Minnesota Twins, Wild and Timberwolves all postponed their games a day after the shooting of 20-year-old Daunte Wright following a traffic stop in a nearby suburb.
Major League Baseball’s Twins were set to begin a four-game series against the Boston Red Sox on Monday afternoon at Target Field. About an hour before the scheduled first pitch and as players warmed up in light rain, the police chief in Brooklyn Center - a city adjacent to Minneapolis where violent protests took place the night before - announced that the shooting was an “accidental discharge,” with the officer involved firing her handgun instead of a stun gun.
The NBA’s Timberwolves called off their game against the Brooklyn Nets, without immediately announcing when it would be rescheduled.
The NHL’s Wild were supposed to host the St. Louis Blues on Monday night. The postponement was made “out of respect for heartbreaking incident” in Brooklyn Center, the team said. That game was rescheduled for May 12, during the extra week the league has added to the regular season to accommodate postponements due to COVID-19 protocols.
NFL
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - Former Kansas City Chiefs assistant coach Britt Reid was charged with driving while intoxicated resulting in serious physical injury after a crash that left a young girl critically injured.
The Jackson County prosecutor’s office said Reid’s blood alcohol content shortly after the Feb. 4 crash was 0.113, above the legal limit of .08. He was driving about 84 mph in a 65 mph zone seconds before his truck crashed into two cars stopped on an entrance ramp to Interstate 435 near Arrowhead Stadium, prosecutors said.
One of the vehicles had stalled because its battery was dead and the second was owned by a cousin who had arrived to help, according to the charging documents. A 5-year-old girl in the second car, Ariel Young, suffered a traumatic brain injury. Her family’s attorney told The Kansas City Star on Monday that she was released from the hospital on April 2 and is being treated at her home. She is unable to talk or walk and is being fed through a feeding tube.
Reid, the son of Chiefs coach Andy Reid, could be sentenced to up to seven years in prison if convicted of the felony charge.
CLEVELAND (AP) - The Browns appear to be closing in on Jadeveon Clowney.
Continuing a pursuit that began with a contract offer Clowney turned down last year, Cleveland remains interested in signing the free agent defensive end, a person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.
Clowney visited the Browns on March 24, and NFL Network reported on Monday that he’ll return to Cleveland’s headquarters Wednesday - a visit that could include a physical that may lead to a contract agreement.
BASEBALL
MILWAUKEE (AP) - The Chicago Cubs are concerned about a possible COVID-19 outbreak after two coaches tested positive for the virus and three relievers were placed on the COVID-19-related injured list.
The team announced the positive test for bullpen coach Chris Young before its series opener at Milwaukee. First base coach Craig Driver already was away from the team following his positive test.
Relievers Brandon Workman, Jason Adam and Dan Winkler were placed on the COVID-19-related injured list. There was no word on whether their designation was the result of a positive test or contact tracing.
Manager David Ross said the team is being “extra cautious” right now.
ST. LOUIS (AP) - Kyle Schwarber doubled home a run in his delayed Nationals debut, Andrew Stevenson had a pinch-hit homer and Washington beat the St. Louis Cardinals 5-2.
Schwarber, Josh Bell and Josh Harrison were in the starting lineup after being sidelined for Washington’s first six games by a coronavirus outbreak that prompted the postponement of the team’s season-opening series and left the club short-handed. The Nats ended a five-game skid, while the Cardinals lost their third straight.
NBA
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Stephen Curry scored 53 points to pass Wilt Chamberlain for the most in Warriors franchise history as Golden State beat the Denver Nuggets 116-107.
Curry scored 21 points in the first quarter, giving him 17,786 in his career. That passed Chamberlain’s 17,783 with the franchise, a record he’d held since 1964.
Curry shot 14 of 24 from the field, making 10 of 18 3-pointers. The two-time league MVP added six rebounds and four assists in 35 minutes. It marked his seventh straight game scoring at least 30 points, the longest streak by a Warrior since Rick Barry during the 1966-67 season.
NHL
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) - Forward Taylor Hall hopes a fresh start with the Boston Bruins can boost his confidence after three dreadful months with the Buffalo Sabres.
Hall didn’t pan out in Buffalo after signing a one-year $8 million contract in October. He managed just two goals and 19 points in 37 games, while closing his tenure with a 16-game goal drought. He leaves the last-place Sabres to join the banged-up Bruins, who are in a tightly contested race to secure the East Division’s fourth and final playoff spot.
Boston, which sits fourth in the standings and four points ahead of the Rangers and Philadelphia, also added checking line forward Curtis Lazar in the trade. Buffalo acquired fourth-year forward Anders Bjork and a second-round pick, while also agreeing to retain half of the remainder of Hall’s salary.
WASHINGTON (AP) - Not long after the Boston Bruins acquired 2018 NHL MVP Taylor Hall from Buffalo, the Capitals responded by mortgaging a valuable portion of their future to acquire forward Anthony Mantha from the Detroit Red Wings.
With the championship window beginning to close on the Alex Ovechkin-led roster, Washington went all-in on Mantha by trading wingers Jakub Vrana and Richard Panik, a 2021 first- and a 2022 second-round pick to Detroit. They have literally no room to maneuver now with $0 in salary cap room but felt it was worth the risk.
The 26-year-old Mantha is a two-time 20-goal scorer, who uses his big 6-foot-5, 234-pound frame to create space and is signed for three more seasons at an average salary cap hit of $5.7 million.
DALLAS (AP) - Dallas Stars forward Tyler Seguin could make his season debut in a couple of weeks after the All-Star had offseason hip surgery, general manager Jim Nill said Monday.
Nill said Seguin is set to begin skating with the taxi squad, which goalie Ben Bishop has already been doing. Bishop hasn’t played this season either after offseason knee surgery.
The defending Western Conference champion Stars are battling for the final playoff spot in the realigned Central Division in the coronavirus-shortened season.
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