In Brief: Los Angeles Sparks steal title from Minnesota Lynx on last-second shot
WNBA: Nneka Ogwumike’s short jumper with 3.1 seconds left gave the Los Angeles Sparks a 77-76 victory over the defending champion Minnesota Lynx for their first title in 14 years in the deciding game of the WNBA Finals on Thursday night in Minneapolis.
The league MVP joined her teammates in celebration as a stunned crowd slowly filed out after finishing with 12 points and 12 rebounds. Candace Parker had 28 points and 12 rebounds to earn MVP honors of the Finals. It was Parker’s first WNBA title.
Rebekkah Brunson made one of two free throws with 23 seconds left to give the Lynx a 74-73 lead. Parker answered with a layup on the other end that Maya Moore countered with a jumper with 15 seconds remaining. Ogwumike’s first try for the win was off the mark, but she worked her way over to the loose ball for another attempt that she coolly swished.
Silvers’ 395 yards passing leads Troy
College athletics: Brandon Silvers passed for a career-high 395 yards and rallied Troy with the final 18 points to beat South Alabama 28-21 in Mobile, Alabama.
Silvers delivered the key strike on a 42-yard pass to Sidney Davis that moved the Trojans (6-1, 4-0 Sun Belt Conference) to the 1 with 1:22 left. The South Alabama (3-4, 0-4) defense then allowed Jordan Chunn a free path into the end zone, conceding the go-ahead score to preserve some time for a response.
But South Alabama’s Dallas Davis was mostly stifled, getting sacked twice on the final drive. He rolled out on the final play and completed a deep throw to Kevin Kutchera near the 25. Kutchera spun free toward some open field but was caught from behind by Blace Brown, who forced a fumble to secure the win.
Davis had 195 yards passing and Kutchera caught three passes for 92 yards.
NCAA accuses Louisville basketball of four violations: The NCAA accused Louisville of four serious violations and criticized the conduct of coach Rick Pitino for failing to monitor a former basketball staffer who hired escorts and strippers for sex parties with recruits and players.
The governing body’s report did not mention a lack of institutional control – considered the most serious violation in some cases.
Pitino disputed the finding that he did not monitor Andree McGee, saying his tendency is to over-monitor. If anything, the coach said he was guilty of trusting someone to tell him what was going on.
“This man (McGee) made a mistake and we apologize for his mistakes,” he said during a news conference. Pitino has denied knowledge of the alleged violations.
The NCAA’s letter is the first step in a process that could extend into next spring. Louisville has 90 days to respond.
Ex-coach recalls learning of Sandusky complaint: Jurors heard that a former Penn State head football coach testified that Mike McQueary told him years before Jerry Sandusky’s arrest that he had made a complaint about Sandusky to university administrators.
The deposition by Tom Bradley was read during the fourth day of trial in McQueary’s defamation and whistleblower lawsuit against the university over his treatment after Sandusky’s 2011 child molestation arrest.
Bradley said he fielded a rumor that made him approach McQueary, a fellow assistant under Paterno, in 2004 or 2005.
“I’m not sure how this happened, but somebody said something and I asked Mike about it. He said there was an incident,” Bradley said in May 2015. “I don’t know his exact words.”
Bradley said he asked McQueary what he did.
“He said, ‘I turned it in to Joe and Curley and Schultz,’” Bradley said, references to then-head coach Joe Paterno, then-athletic director Tim Curley and then-vice president Gary Schultz. He said he did not remember if McQueary used the word, “sexual.”
“It was not a long, detailed description, if that’s what you’re asking me,” Bradley said.
Bradley also said he believes the school mistreated McQueary, citing a bowl game bonus McQueary wasn’t given at the end of the 2011 season. Bradley was briefly the school’s head coach after university trustees fired Paterno, in part over his handling of the McQueary complaint.
Bradley said he never discussed the McQueary incident with Sandusky, although he would occasionally see him in team facilities after Sandusky retired in 1999.
Questions about whether rumors regarding Sandusky had cropped up before the investigation that produced charges have long hung over the Penn State football program.
A lawyer for Bradley, now UCLA’s defensive coordinator, told The Associated Press this summer he never witnessed any inappropriate behavior and had no knowledge of alleged incidents in the 1980s and 1990s.
The lawyer, Brett Senior, said Thursday he was not aware the testimony was being read. “I think whatever’s been said is old and stale,” Senior said.
Penguins rally in third, top Sharks
NHL: Evgeni Malkin, Scott Wilson and Patric Hornqvist scored during a furious third-period rally to lead the Pittsburgh Penguins to 3-2 victory over the visiting San Jose Sharks.
The Penguins trailed by two goals after two largely lifeless periods in a rematch of last June’s Stanley Cup Final before catching fire late. Hornqvist and Malkin both finished with a goal and an assist. Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 32 shots and bought the Penguins time until the offense finally got going.
Tomas Hertl and Patrick Marleau scored for the Sharks, who controlled the first 40 minutes and appeared well on their way to a one-sided victory before falling apart late. Martin Jones made 17 saves but saw the play in front of him break down in the third.
Martinez’s overtime goal lifts Kings: Alec Martinez scored 1:20 into overtime and the Los Angeles Kings beat the host Dallas Stars 4-3.
Martinez’s wrist shot from the slot went past a screen by Tanner Pearson to beat Stars goalie Kari Lehtonen. The Kings had lost their first three games. Dallas fell to 2-1-1.
Price makes 27 saves in debut, Habs win: Carey Price made 27 saves in his season debut to help the Montreal Canadiens beat the Arizona Coyotes 5-2 on Thursday night.
Price made his first NHL start since injuring his right knee on Nov. 25, 2015. He also missed the first three games of this season because of the flu. Alexei Emelin, Torrey Mitchell, Shea Weber, Alex Galchenyuk and Artturi Lehkonen scored for Montreal.
Jakob Chychrun and Laurent Dauphin scored for the Coyotes.
Duchene, Colorado blanks Tampa Bay: Matt Duchene had two goals and an assist, Semyon Varlamov made 27 saves for his 21st career shutout and the Colorado Avalanche beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-0in Tampa, Florida.
Andreas Martinsen and Carl Soderberg scored for the Avalanche, who are 2-1 on a four-game trip. Colorado beat Pittsburgh in overtime and lost to Washington earlier on the trip.
Duchene scored in the final minute of both the first and second periods. Varlamov made a strong save on Nikita Kucherov’s low right circle shot in the second.
Penguins sign Murray to three-year extension: Matt Murray’s breakout performance in last year’s Stanley Cup playoffs earned the Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender a hefty raise. The 22-year-old and the team agreed to a three-year extension beginning next season that will pay Murray $3.75 million per season.
Murray helped the Penguins to the franchise’s fourth championship last spring after taking over for injured Marc-Andre Fleury then held onto the job once Fleury returned from a concussion. Murray went 15-6 with a 2.08 goals against average and a .923 save percentage in the postseason. He would have been a restricted free agent at the end of this season. The new deal will keep him in the fold through 2020.
NHL, NHLPA launch player assistance program: The NHL and NHLPA announced a new program intended to help players further their education, network and find out what jobs they may be suited for, such as finance and broadcasting. The goal of the Core Development Program is to connect with players early so the transition to life after hockey is easier.
The NFL, NBA and MLB all have resources to help players transition after retirement, and the NHL Alumni has one with the Break Away program. This new endeavor is closer to the NFL and NFLPA’s Player Engagement department that focuses on continued education, financial stability and career development.
Elias upsets Monfils
at Stockholm Open
Tennis: Gastao Elias of Portugal stunned top-seeded Gael Monfils 7-6(4), 6-1 in the second round of the Stockholm Open. Elias booked a slot in the quarterfinals against Jack Sock of the U.S., who edged Germany’s Dustin Brown 7-6 (5), 4-6, 6-4.
Ranked 61 in the world, Elias saved four break points against the seventh-ranked Monfils. He celebrated the win by jumping into the air like Portuguese soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo.
No. 2-seeded Grigor Dimitrov also advanced by beating Jurgen Zopp of Estonia 6-3, 6-2, and will face Kevin Anderson of South Africa in the quarterfinals.
Wozniacki withdraws, Niculescu moves to semis: Second-seeded Caroline Wozniacki withdrew ill from the Luxembourg Open, allowing Monica Niculescu of Romania to advance to the semifinals.
Niculescu will play third-seeded Kiki Bertens after the Dutchwoman beat Denisa Allertova of the Czech Republic 6-0, 6-4. Top-seeded Petra Kvitova also advanced by beating eighth-seeded Johanna Larsson of Sweden, 6-2, 6-0.
Kvitova will play U.S. qualifier Lauren Davi, who beat Andrea Petkovic of Germany 2-6, 7-5, 6-2.
Lee takes two-stroke lead at Blue Bay LPGA
Miscellany: Minjee Lee birdied the final three holes for a 7-under 65 and a two-stroke lead Thursday in the Blue Bay LPGA in Hainan, China, playing in perfect conditions two days after Typhoon Sarika hit the resort.
Lee hit a long flop shot to a foot from a difficult angle on the par-5 18th on Jian Lake’s Blue Bay course, back in top shape after a large cleanup effort. The 20-year-old Australian, a two-time LPGA Tour winner, was delayed traveling from the event last week in South Korea and finally got to the resort Wednesday.
American Jessica Korda and Germany’s Sandra Gal shot 67 on the long course with large rolling, tiered greens with small effective landing areas. Gal holed out from 89 yards for eagle on the par-4 second.
UEFA open Champions League final beyond Europe: The Champions League final could be contested outside Europe for the first time, new UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin said.
In an exclusive interview with The Associated Press, Ceferin said he will revive an open bidding process for the right to host the climax to the European club season and is open to the game being staged in New York.
“It might be an idea in future but we have to speak about it,” Ceferin said, highlighting how travel times across Europe can be as long as flights to the United States. “To go from Portugal to Azerbaijan for example is almost the same or the same as if you go to New York. For the fans it’s no problem but we should see. It’s a European competition so let’s think about it.”