Update on the latest sports
APTENNIS-WIMBLEDON
Serena Williams stopped by injury
WIMBLEDON, England (AP) — Serena Williams is out of Wimbledon after she stopped playing her first-round match because of a left leg injury.
The 23-time Grand Slam champion was serving in the fifth game at Centre Court when she lost her footing near the baseline. Williams took a medical timeout and tried to continue playing. But with tears in her eyes, the 39-year-old American dropped to her knees, then walked to the net to shake hands with her opponent, Aliaksandra Sasnovich.
Williams has won seven Wimbledon singles titles and was the runner-up at the All England Club in 2018 and 2019.
Meanwhile, the All England Club says the wettest two opening days of Wimbledon “in almost a decade” indirectly led to “additional moisture” on the grass at Centre Court while the retractable roof has been closed for long periods. The statement from the club comes after players in consecutive matches in the tournament’s main stadium on Tuesday — Serena Williams and Adrian Mannarino — both slipped, hurt themselves and had to stop playing.
In other action today at Wimbledon:
— Venus Williams won a match at Wimbledon for the 90th time. She also beat the rain. The 41-year-old Williams advanced to the second round by defeating Mihaela Buzărnescu 7-5, 4-6, 6-3. The match ended moments before a light shower forced an interruption in play on some courts.
— Coco Gauff is making noise again at Wimbledon. Now 17, Gauff advanced to the second round by beating British wild card Francesca Jones 7-5, 6-4.
— No. 1-ranked Ash Barty overcame a wobbly stretch to reach the second round. Playing on grass for the first time in two years, Barty defeated Carla Suárez Navarro 6-1, 6-7 (1), 6-1.
— Alison Riske of the United States lost in the first round to Tereza Martincová 6-2, 4-6, 6-1. The 28th-seeded Riske committed 42 unforced errors.
— No. 8 Karolina Plíšková eliminated Tamara Zidansek 7-5, 6-4, and No. 13 Elise Mertens beat wild card Harriet Dart 6-1, 6-3. No. 15 Maria Sakkari also won, and American qualifier Claire Liu outlasted Misaki Doi.
— Roger Federer survived a tough test at Wimbledon with an asterisk. Adrian Mannarino, playing on his 33rd birthday, won the second and third sets before retiring with a leg injury. The Frenchman was behind in the fourth set when he slipped on the grass and fell, grabbing his right knee in pain.
— Sebastian Korda is looking good on grass, just like his sister. The 20-year-old American made his Wimbledon debut and upset No. 15-seeded Alex de Minaur 6-3, 6-4, 6-7 (5), 7-6 (5). Korda’s sister, golfer Nelly Korda, won her first major title last week and is the first American in seven years to reach No. 1 in the women’s world rankings.
MLB-NEWS
Mariners’ Santiago suspended 10 games for foreign substance
UNDATED (AP) — Seattle Mariners pitcher Héctor Santiago has become the first player disciplined under Major League Baseball’s crackdown on grip-enhancing foreign substances. He was given a 10-game suspension and fined an undisclosed amount.
MLB’s senior vice president for on-field operations announced the penalty two days after Santiago was ejected from a game at the Chicago White Sox.
Santiago said the sticky substance the umpires found was a combination of rosin and sweat. He appealed and the suspension will be delayed until the appeal is decided. A 33-year-old left-hander, Santiago is in his 10th major league season, his first with the Mariners.
In other MLB news:
—San Francisco Giants pitcher Gregory Santos was suspended for 80 games without pay under Major League Baseball’s drug program following a positive test for Stanozolol. The 21-year-old right-hander made his debut on April 22 and was 0-2 with a 22.50 ERA in two innings over three games when he was optioned to the minors six days later. He is 1-1 with a 5.17 ERA in 14 relief appearances for Triple-A Sacramento.
— The family of former Los Angeles Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs filed lawsuits in Texas and California charging the team and two former employees with negligence in his drug-related death two years ago. Skaggs, 27, was found dead in his suburban Dallas hotel room on July 1, 2019, before the start of what was supposed to be a four-game series against the Texas Rangers.
— The Toronto Blue Jays have acquired injured outfielder Corey Dickerson and right-handed reliever Adam Cimber in a trade with the Miami Marlins. Miami obtained infielder Joe Panik and minor league reliever Andrew McInvale. Dickerson is sidelined with a bruised left foot and is expected to be in a walking boot for at least two more weeks. He is batting .260 with two homers and 14 RBIs.
— The Chicago White Sox have placed Jake Lamb on the 10-day injured list and reinstated fellow outfielder Billy Hamilton from the IL. The White Sox also recalled first baseman Gavin Sheets from Triple-A Charlotte and optioned outfielder Luis González to their top farm club. The 30-year-old Lamb has a strained right quadriceps.
CWS-VANDERBILT-RACIAL SLURS
Vandy AD condemns slurs directed at player parents at CWS
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Vanderbilt athletic director Candice Storey Lee is condemning the use of racially offensive language directed at some of the parents of the Commodores players during Game 1 of the College World Series finals.
Storey Lee tweeted that she’s deeply troubled that some of the parents were subjected to racist slurs. She called the behavior unacceptable and disgraceful. Vanderbilt is playing Mississippi State in the best-of-three finals. Vandy won the opener. The communications director for the agency that operates TD Ameritrade Park says stadium officials are gathering information from event staff. The NCAA said in a statement racist and abusive language has no place in college sports and is not tolerated at NCAA championships.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL-TCU-NCAA
NCAA puts TCU basketball on probation, punishes ex-assistant
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — The NCAA has placed the TCU men’s basketball program on three years’ probation. It has also punished a former assistant coach it says accepted $6,000 from a business management company and then lied to the school about it.
The case is the latest development in a federal corruption case tied to college basketball.
TCU was fined $5,000 and 1% of its men’s basketball budget. Former assistant Corey Barker was given a five-year show-cause penalty. That requires any school that employs him to prove to the NCAA he can perform athletic-related duties.
NFL-NEWS
Tight end Pitts is last of Falcons’ 9 draft picks to sign
UNDATED (AP) — The Atlanta Falcons have signed first-round pick Kyle Pitts, the tight end from Florida.
Pitts signed the four-year deal with a fifth-year option. The Falcons have signed each of their nine selections in this year’s NFL draft. Pitts, the No. 4 overall pick, is expected to play a prominent role from the beginning of his rookie season. The Falcons will be looking to replace the production of wide receiver Julio Jones, who was traded to the Tennessee Titans for a package including a 2022 second-round draft pick.
In other NFL news:
—The Indianapolis Colts will play home games in front of crowds at full capacity after the local county health department approved the team’s plan. Tuesday’s announcement means all 32 NFL teams will be playing in front of full houses this fall. Indy played home games last season in front of fans at about 20% capacity of the stadium’s 63,000-seat capacity.
NHL-NEWS
Sabres hire Don Granato as coach to turn around franchise
UNDATED — The Buffalo Sabres have removed the interim tag from Don Granato and named him the team’s full-time coach.
Granato replaced Ralph Krueger behind the bench midseason. After losing 22 of the first 28 games under Krueger, the Sabres won nine of their final 28 with Granato at the helm and rallied to win three times when trailing after two periods. This is Granato’s first NHL head-coaching job after assistant stints with Buffalo, Chicago and St. Louis. Granato is the sixth coach since Lindy Ruff was fired a month into the lockout-shortened 2013 season
Elsewhere in the NHL:
— The Edmonton Oilers signed forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins to an eight-year extension with an average annual value of $5.125 million. Nugent-Hopkins’ previous deal for seven years and $42 million expired after this season. He had 16 goals and 19 assists in 52 games this year.
— Veteran forward Wayne Simmonds signed a two-year contract extension with the Toronto Maple Leafs. The team says his contract has an average annual value of $900,000. Simmonds played in 38 regular-season games with the Maple Leafs during this past season, with seven goals and two assists.
