Update on the latest sports
APMLB-NEWS
Pitchers face crackdown on foreign substances
UNDATED (AP) — Pitchers will be ejected and suspended for 10 games for using illegal foreign substances to doctor baseballs in a crackdown by Major League Baseball that will start June 21.
The move announced by the commissioner’s office comes in response to record strikeouts and a league batting average at its lowest since 1968.
The commissioner’s office says major and minor league umpires will start regular checks of all pitchers, even if opposing managers don’t request inspections. Repeat offenders will receive progressive discipline, and teams and club employees will be subject to discipline for failure to comply. The increased use of foreign substances to alter baseballs is viewed as the largest instance of widespread cheating in the sport since the rise of steroids.
In other MLB news:
— The winningest manager in Oakland Athletics history is staying put through at least next season after the club exercised Bob Melvin’s contract option for 2022. Melvin has guided the A’s to an 808-715 record since taking over on June 9, 2011. He recently passed Tony La Russa for most victories by an Oakland manager and last weekend became the 35th person in major league history with 1,300 managerial wins. The 59-year-old Melvin previously led the Seattle Mariners and Arizona Diamondbacks before taking over the A’s.
—The New York Yankees will resume 100% capacity at Yankee Stadium starting with Friday night’s series opener against the Oakland Athletics. More than half the 30 teams have announced plans to resume full capacity. Only the Texas Rangers began this season at 100% after fans weren’t permitted during the shortened 2020 regular season because of the coronavirus.
—Chicago White Sox second baseman Nick Madrigal will miss the rest of the season after having surgery to repair tears in his right hamstring. The AL Central leaders, who have overcome significant injuries this season, said Madrigal was expected to be fully recovered by next spring. The 24-year-old rookie had been a sparkplug for the White Sox, hitting .305 while scoring 30 runs and driving in 21 over 54 games.
—Tampa Bay Rays ace Tyler Glasnow has a partially torn elbow ligament, putting in doubt his future for the rest of this season and beyond. An MRI done Tuesday showed Glasnow had a tear in his ulnar collateral ligament and also a flexor strain. Glasnow said he won’t have surgery for now, and instead will try to strengthen the area. There’s no timeline for his return. The 27-year-old Glasnow is 5-2 with a 2.66 ERA.
—The Washington Nationals have placed ace Max Scherzer on the 10-day injured list Tuesday because of groin inflammation. Scherzer tweaked his groin in the first inning of his last start on Saturday. Scherzer has a 5-4 record with a 2.21 earned run average. He insists the injury is minor.
NHL NEWS
Devils re-sign Bastian
UNDATED (AP) — The New Jersey Devils have re-signed right wing Nathan Bastian to a two-year deal worth $1.65 million. General manager Tom Fitzgerald announced the signing, saying the restricted free agent would be paid $775,000 next season and $875,000 the following year.
Bastian completed his first full NHL season with the Devils, collecting 10 points in 41 games. He led the club in hits with 136 and ranked second among all NHL rookies, only two behind Montreal’s Alexander Romanov. Bastian was one of 11 New Jersey rookies in 2020-21.
NFL NEWS
Belichick won’t expect Gilmore to take part
UNDATED (AP) — New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick says he doesn’t expect cornerback Stephon Gilmore to participate in any of the team’s remaining mandatory minicamp workouts this week. It’s an indication the former defensive player of the year could be a holdout as the team prepares to open training camp next month. Gilmore also has skipped the team’s voluntary workouts in recent months. He is entering the final season of a five-year, $65 million deal.
In other news from NFL camps:
— Tua Tagovailoa threw five interceptions in practice as the Miami Dolphins opened mandatory minicamp. Worse, all those giveaways came with the player who picked off more passes than anyone else in the NFL last season nowhere to be found. Xavien Howard was a no-show for the first day of minicamp, which coach Brian Flores called “a contract situation.”
— The Carolina Panthers have agreed to terms on a four-year contract with first-round draft pick Jaycee Horn, a cornerback from South Carolina. The team has a fifth-year option as part of the contract.
— New Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator Matt Canada intends to build off the strengths of two-time Super Bowl winner Ben Roethlisberger while also placing a renewed emphasis on the run game. The Steelers promoted Canada after Randy Fichtner’s contract wasn’t renewed following a first-round playoff loss to the Browns. They hope Canada injects some life into an offense that sputtered down the stretch last season.
—The Dallas Cowboys are headed back to California for training camp after the pandemic kept them home last year. The club says its first practice will be in Oxnard on July 22, and fans will be allowed. The Cowboys had gone to Oxnard every year since 2012 before COVID-19 prompted the NFL to order all teams to stay home for camp in 2020. The Cowboys break camp Aug. 12 before a preseason game at Arizona.
TENNIS-QUEEN’S CLUB
Andy Murray defeats Benoit Paire 6-3, 6-2 at Queen’s Club
LONDON (AP) — Former world No. 1 Andy Murray defeated Benoit Paire 6-3, 6-2 at the Queen’s Club grass-court tournament. Murray dispatched the Frenchman in 65 minutes for his first match victory in more than a year. It was Murray’s first grass-court match in three years and he converted all three break points and never faced one himself.
Murray had not played on the ATP Tour since Rotterdam in March and had won both of his previous meetings with Paire, including at Wimbledon in 2017.
Other winners were top-seeded Matteo Berrettini of Italy, British No. 1 Daniel Evans, Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan and American Frances Tiafoe.
Elsewhere in tennis:
— Garbine Muguruza and Victoria Azarenka are among the winners in the first round of the German Open. Muguruza saved both of the break points she faced in a 6-3, 6-2 win over Sorana Cirstea. That sets up a second-round meeting between Muguruza and Elena Rybakina. The seventh-seeded Azarenka had to break back twice in the second set on her way to a 6-4, 7-6 (2) win over Andrea Petkovic. Another experienced German player awaits Azarenka in the second round after Angelique Kerber swept past qualifier Misaki Doi 6-2, 6-1.
MICHIGAN-DOCTOR-SEXUAL ASSAULT
Abuse victims to seek school action on Schembechler’s legacy
DETROIT (AP) — Former University of Michigan football players and others who say they were sexually abused by a now-deceased team doctor are expected to call for action by the University of Michigan’s board as the legacy of the school’s gridiron coach is being questioned over what he knew.
The group has planned a news conference Wednesday in Ann Arbor — a day before Michigan regents are to hold a regularly scheduled meeting. No action items involving former head coach Bo Schembechler, Dr. Robert E. Anderson or litigation against the school by abuse victims were listed on the agenda. Hundreds of men allegedly were abused by Anderson during his nearly four decades working for the university.
GOLF-US OPEN-DRAW
DeChambeau and Koepka keep distance on US Open tee sheet
SAN DIEGO (AP) — Anyone hopeful of a Bryson DeChambeau-Brooks Koepka pairing at the U.S. Open will have to wait. The USGA has them on opposite sides of the course at Torrey Pines, one playing in the morning and one in the afternoon.
DeChambeau is grouped with U.S. Amateur champion Tyler Strafaci and Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama. Koepka is playing with former PGA champions Collin Morikawa and Justin Thomas.
Phil Mickelson is trying to win an elusive U.S. Open. He starts the opening two rounds with fellow San Diego native Xander Schauffele and Max Homa. Dustin Johnson is playing with Rory McIlroy and Justin Rose.
