MLB
CLEVELAND (AP) - Indians manager Terry Francona called racist social media messages sent to first baseman Yu Chang “stupid and ignorant” and said they have no place in baseball or “anywhere.”
On Tuesday, Chang shared some anti-Asian postings he received on Twitter after he made a costly error in the ninth inning of Monday night’s game in Chicago. The throwing error allowed the White Sox to score the winning run.
Chang, who is Taiwanese, posted some of the tweets on his account while asking for tolerance. One of the messages referred to the shape of his eyes and another referred to the coronavirus.
NFL
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) - Denver Broncos, Seattle Seahawks and Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers players announced they are shunning in-person voluntary offseason workouts because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Players on other teams were expected to follow suit.
“We find ourselves still in the midst of a pandemic with no comprehensive plan to keep players as safe as possible, yet teams are pressuring players to attend voluntary workouts,” that begin next week, tweeted DeMaurice Smith, executive director of the NFL Players Association.
“The union has advised players that given the continued risk of exposure and the goal of a full 2021 NFL season, that they should not attend these voluntary workouts,” Smith added. “It is every player’s decision, but our advice is to continue to use an abundance of caution given the current environment.”
NBA
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - The Golden State Warriors have promoted Brandon Schneider to president and chief operating officer to replace Rick Welts, a Basketball Hall of Fame member who is moving to an advisory role after the season.
Schneider will assume his new position July 1. He has nearly two decades of experience with the franchise and worked closely with Welts for 10 years.
Schneider grew up in the Bay Area loving the Warriors, attending his first game in 1987 with his father. He expressed his gratitude to Welts for serving as a mentor to help prepare him for his new challenge.
WNBA
NEW YORK (AP) - The WNBA will play a 32-game schedule that includes mini two-game series in the same city to reduce travel amid the coronavirus pandemic, the league announced Tuesday.
The season opens on Friday, May 14, with New York hosting Indiana - one of four games that night. Seattle will receive its rings for winning the WNBA title last season when the Storm host the Las Vegas Aces in a finals rematch the next day.
The regular season will conclude on Sept. 19 and be followed by the traditional playoffs format. The league will take a break for the Tokyo Olympics from July 15 through Aug. 11.
MEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - IUPUI hired former basketball star Matt Crenshaw as its head coach on Tuesday.
The decision could bring stability back to the program after two seasons of uncertainty. Jason Gardner resigned as coach in August 2019 after he was charged with operating a vehicle while intoxicated. The Jaguars promoted Byron Rimm II to interim head coach, then kept him last season, without the interim title, in part because the COVID-19 pandemic prevented the school from conducting a full coaching search.
WOMEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Vanderbilt has hired Shea Ralph away from UConn to help revive the Commodores’ struggling women’s basketball program, which hasn’t reached the NCAA Tournament since 2014.
Athletic director Candice Lee announced the hiring Tuesday, a week after firing Stephanie White following five seasons. Ralph will be introduced at a news conference Wednesday.
Ralph has been an assistant with the Huskies since 2008, and she helped lead UConn to 13 consecutive Final Fours and six NCAA championships.
SOCCER
CHICAGO (AP) - The National Women’s Soccer League has imposed an additional one-game suspension for Kansas City’s Kristen Edmonds following her actions in a game against the Portland Thorns.
Edmonds was issued a red card and sent off the field after a scuffle with Portland’s Morgan Weaver in the final moments of the Thorns’ 2-1 victory on Friday. As a result of the red card, she was fined and suspended a game. The NWSL added the second game after a disciplinary review announced Tuesday.
SPORTS BUSINESS
Serena Williams has signed a deal with Amazon Studios under which she will create scripted and non-scripted programming, including a docuseries that follows her exploits on and off the court, the tennis star said Tuesday.
Williams made the announcement during a conversation with actor Michael B. Jordan that was part of a charitable event organized by Vanity Fair magazine.
The 39-year-old Williams, who ranks second all-time with 23 Grand Slam singles titles, said she hopes to “bring really special stories to film, and to people’s homes.”
OBITUARY
Conn Findlay, a four-time Olympic medalist in the sports of rowing and sailing and a member of two winning America’s Cup crews, has died. He was 90.
He died Thursday at a care facility in the Northern California city of San Mateo, according to Mike Sullivan, a longtime friend who coaches club rowing at UC Irvine. Findlay had been in declining health and died just short of his 100th birthday on April 24.
Findlay won gold medals in the coxed pair rowing event at the 1956 Melbourne and 1964 Tokyo Olympics, and a bronze in the event at the 1960 Rome Games. At Montreal in 1976, he competed in sailing and earned a bronze medal in the tempest two-man keelboat class event, crewing for Dennis Conner.
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Bobby “Slick” Leonard, the former NBA player and Hall of Fame coach who won three ABA championships with the Indiana Pacers and spent more than a half century with the organization, has died. He was 88.
His death was announced by the Pacers on Tuesday. No details were given. He had been in failing health in recent years.
Leonard had a record of 573-534 in 14 seasons as a coach, the last 12 with the Pacers.
He also made the winning free throws in the 1953 NCAA Tournament to give the Indiana Hoosiers the second of its five national titles and was later named one of the school’s 50 greatest players.
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