- Associated Press - Saturday, April 3, 2021

MLB

NEW YORK (AP) - Atlanta lost Major League Baseball’s summer All-Star Game on Friday over the league’s objections to sweeping changes to Georgia voting laws that critics - including the CEOs of Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines and Coca-Cola - have condemned as being too restrictive.

The decision to pull the July 13 game from Atlanta’s Truist Park amounts to the first economic backlash against Georgia for the voting law that Republican Gov. Brian Kemp quickly signed into law March 25.

Kemp has insisted the law’s critics have mischaracterized what it does, yet GOP lawmakers adopted the changes largely in response to false claims of fraud in the 2020 elections by former President Donald Trump and his supporters.

WASHINGTON (AP) - A COVID-19 outbreak affecting more than a third of the Washington Nationals’ roster caused the postponement of the 2019 World Series champions’ season-opening three-game series against the visiting New York Mets.

Four of Washington’s players have tested positive for the illness caused by the novel coronavirus, and another five were quarantining after contact tracing determined they might have been exposed, general manager Mike Rizzo said Friday in a video call with reporters.

WOMEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL

SAN ANTONIO (AP) - It’s been nearly three decades since Tara VanDerveer last won a national championship at Stanford.

She’ll have a chance to win her third title Sunday night when the Cardinal face Pac-12 rival Arizona.

The Wildcats are playing in their first championship game ever after knocking off top-ranked UConn in the Final Four.

It’s the first meeting of conference rivals in the championship game since South Carolina beat Mississippi State in 2017.

WASHINGTON (AP) - Caroline McCombs was hired by George Washington as its women’s basketball coach on Friday.

McCombs has been the coach for seven years at Stony Brook on New York’s Long Island. She led the school to the NCAA Tournament this season after winning the America East Conference tourney.

She replaces former UConn star Jennifer Rizzotti, who was fired by GW last month.

MEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL

Oklahoma has hired Loyola Chicago’s Porter Moser as its men’s basketball coach, a person familiar with the situation said Friday.

The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because the move has not been announced.

Moser will replace Lon Kruger, who retired last month after 10 years coaching the Sooners.

Moser led Loyola to two deep runs in the NCAA Tournament — the Ramblers reached the Final Four in 2018 and the Sweet 16 this year. He went 188-141 in 10 years at Loyola and has a 293-242 record in 17 seasons as a college head coach, with stops at Arkansas Little Rock (2000-03) and Illinois State (2003-07).

- AP Sports Writers Cliff Brunt, Andrew Seligman.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) - Michigan senior Isaiah Livers had surgery on his right foot Friday.

The school said the operation was performed by Dr. David Porter at Methodist Sports Medicine Center in Carmel, Indiana. Recovery time is expected to be a minimum of six months.

Michigan announced during the Big Ten Tournament that Livers had a stress injury in his foot, and he did not play in the NCAA Tournament. The Wolverines made it to the Elite Eight before losing to UCLA.

ROCK HILL, S.C. (AP) - Winthrop has picked Mark Prosser, son of the late Skip Prosser, as its new men’s basketball coach.

The younger Prosser succeeds Pat Kelsey, one of his father’s most trusted players and assistant coaches, who took the head coaching job at College of Charleston last month.

Mark Prosser was Kelsey’s assistant with the Eagles from 2012 to 2018, then became Western Carolina’s head coach.

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Austin Peay has named former Duke associate coach Nate James to his first head coaching job with the Governors.

The school announced James’ hiring on its web site Friday and will formally introduce him on Tuesday. James, 43, has spent much of the past two decades under Mike Krzyzewski as a player and staffer, helping the Blue Devils win NCAA championships in 2010 and ’15 as an assistant before becoming associate head coach in 2017. He also logged 20 minutes in Duke’s 2001 national championship game victory against Arizona.

NFL

HOUSTON (AP) - Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson, who is accused of sexual assault and harassment in lawsuits filed by 21 women, is being investigated by police after a report was filed regarding the NFL player, officials said Friday.

In a tweet Friday, the Houston Police Department said a complainant had filed a report with the agency about Watson.

Watson’s attorney, Rusty Hardin, has called the allegations “meritless” and has questioned the claims made against the NFL player, alleging they were made following a failed attempt to blackmail his client for $30,000.

NBA

NEW YORK (AP) - Kevin Durant was fined $50,000 by the NBA on Friday for his offensive and derogatory language in social media messages to actor Michael Rapaport.

Rapaport released images of the private messages Tuesday on his Twitter account, and they included homophobic and misogynistic language from the Brooklyn Nets star.

Durant apologized Thursday, saying: “I’m sorry that people seen the language that I used. That’s not really what I want people to see and hear from me, but hopefully I can move past it and get back out on the floor.”

WORLD UNIVERSITY GAMES

LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) - The World University Games that were due to open in China in just over four months have been postponed until next year, the governing body the FISU said on Friday.

The Switzerland-based FISU said COVID-19 and travel restrictions prompted the postponement, adding the decision was made jointly with officials in China.

The multi-sport event, which features about 8,000 athletes, was to have opened in Chengdu in western China on Aug. 18, just days after the closing of the Tokyo Olympics. A rescheduled date has not been announced.

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More AP sports: https://apnews.com/hub/apf-sports and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

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