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  • MLS: LAFC head home, seek revenge against Dynamo

    MLS: LAFC head home, seek revenge against Dynamo


    After being routed by the Houston Dynamo last Saturday, Los Angeles FC are looking for quick redemption when they host Wednesday’s rematch.

    Houston’s 4-0 result on Saturday was both the Dynamo’s highest-scoring game of the MLS season and the largest margin of defeat for LAFC (7-2-5, 26 points) since their inaugural 2018 campaign.

    Midfielder Ilie Sanchez felt Los Angeles FC were “not thinking as a team” on Saturday, resulting in the “very bad performance.”

    “We are thinking about individuals on the field, and that’s where the disconnection is coming from,” Sanchez said. “… When LAFC doesn’t win or doesn’t perform as we expect, 99 percent of the time it’s going to be because of us and the way that we perform on the field.”

    Amine Bassi scored on a penalty kick in the 50th minute for his team-leading seventh goal. Houston (6-7-3, 21 points) also had some new faces on the scoresheet, as Nelson Quinones scored his first MLS goal and Franco Escobar, formerly of LAFC, collected his first tally since signing with the Dynamo in the offseason.

    The Dynamo are 6-1-1 at home this season but are still winless (0-6-2) in eight away games.

    “At some point we need to turn the corner on the road,” Dynamo assistant coach Brendan Burke said. “We need to just find a way to get results and we might have to do it in a different way. We’ve been a little too open on the road, a little too willing to go forward on the road, and we might have to be a little more conservative to just grind stuff out.”

    Escobar (caution accumulation) and Adalberto Carrasquilla (international duty) aren’t available for Houston’s lineup on Wednesday. Chase Gasper is questionable after making an early exit last game due to a hip injury.

    Los Angeles FC have an undefeated 5-0-2 home record, though the team is in its first downturn in form of the season. LAFC are 0-1-1 without any goals scored in their last two games, marking only the second two-game regular-season scoreless drought in franchise history.

    –Field Level Media

  • WTA: WTA roundup: Teen Celine Naef ousts Venus Williams in first main draw

    WTA: WTA roundup: Teen Celine Naef ousts Venus Williams in first main draw


    Celine Naef, a 17-year-old from Switzerland, won her WTA main draw debut on Tuesday at the Libema Open at ‘s-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands, and had to come from behind against a legend to do it.

    Nervous at the outset of her biggest outing ever, Naef was down a set and a break against seven-time Grand Slam winner Venus Williams, but she turned the match around to win 3-6, 7-6 (3), 6-2 in two hours, 18 minutes. Both Naef and the 42-year-old Williams were wild-card entrants at the grass-court tournament.

    With her younger sister Serena in the crowd, Venus Williams took a 3-2 lead in the second set. But Naef fought back to send the match to a tiebreak, with Williams making three unforced errors. Naef took control early in the deciding set, helped by 16 unforced errors by Williams in the final frame — 41 in all during the match.

    Next up for Naef in the second round is another American, No. 8 seed Caty McNally, who defeated Katie Volynets 6-2, 6-1 in 65 minutes.

    Other winners in the first round included No. 4 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova, who topped fellow Russian Evgeniya Rodina 6-3, 6-4; No.6 seed Bianca Andreescu of Canada, who beat Turkish qualifier Zeynep Sonmez 6-4, 6-4; and No. 7 seed Aliaksandra Sasnovich of Belarus, who eliminated Italy’s Lucrezia Stefanini 6-0, 6-3.

    Rothesay Open

    Daria Snigur of Ukraine upset No. 2 seed Beatriz Haddad Maia of Brazil 6-4, 6-3 in first-round play at Nottingham, Great Britain.

    After reaching the semifinals of the French Open last week, the Brazilian reached the top 10 in world rankings for the first time this week at No. 10. Yet, it was the No. 157 Snigur who came out on top, helped by five service breaks that prevented Maia for winning more than one game in a row.

    No. 3 seed Magda Linette of Poland advanced with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Olivia Gadecki, Australia, and No. 5 seed Anhelina Kalinina of Ukraine eliminated Spain’s Nuria Parrizas Diaz 7-5, 6-3.

    Other winners included Brits Harriet Dart, Katie Boulter and Jodie Anna Burrage. Viktorija Golubic defeated Jil Teichmann 6-4, 6-3 in an all-Swiss clash.

    –Field Level Media

  • NHL: Rangers hire Peter Laviolette as head coach

    NHL: Rangers hire Peter Laviolette as head coach


    Peter Laviolette was hired as head coach of the New York Rangers on Tuesday, ending a lengthy search for Gerard Gallant’s replacement.

    Laviolette has coached four other Metropolitan Division teams and last season coached the Washington Capitals, who missed the playoffs for the first time in his tenure that began in 2020. The club opted not to renew his contract.

    Terms were not released by the Rangers. ESPN reports it’s a three-year deal.

    Laviolette, 58, has a career record of 752-503-25 as an NHL head coach. He ranks eighth all-time in NHL history in wins, first among U.S. born head coaches.

    He played 12 career games in the NHL, all coming with the Rangers during the 1988-89 season.

    He stepped out of the frying pan and into the fryer in many ways with Cup expectations brimming around the Rangers and general manager Chris Drury, who makes Laviolette his second coaching hire. Gallant was swiftly shown the door after the Rangers were ousted from the playoffs.

    “We are thrilled that Peter will be the next Head Coach of the New York Rangers,” Drury said. “With Peter’s extensive experience as a Head Coach in the National Hockey League, as well as the success his teams have had at several levels throughout his career, we are excited about what the future holds with him leading our team.”

    Laviolette has taken three teams to the Stanley Cup Final and won with the Carolina Hurricanes in the 2005-06 season. He also went to the Final in 2009-10 with the Flyers and the Predators (2016-17). He has 13 total postseason appearances and a 76-72 record in the playoffs, per the Rangers’ release.

    MSG executive chairman James Dolan said Cup experience helped push the Rangers to Laviolette.

    “As we move forward in our goal to consistently contend for the Stanley Cup, I am confident that Peter is the right head coach to lead our team,” he said in a statement.

    –Field Level Media

  • NHL: Senators sold for nearly $1B to Michael Andlauer

    NHL: Senators sold for nearly $1B to Michael Andlauer


    Michael Andlauer won the bidding for the Ottawa Senators, reaching agreement to purchase the NHL franchise.

    While the club announced the agreement on Tuesday, no sale price was released. Multiple reports said Andlauer will pay nearly $1 billion for the Senators after agreeing to terms of the sale, which prohibited moving the team from Ottawa. He shared plans for a new arena as part of his bid.

    Under terms of the sale, Andlauer will own 90 percent of the team and take control of its operations. The remaining 10 percent will be owned by Anna and Olivia Melnyk, the daughters of Eugene Melnyk, the late owner.

    The transaction next goes before the NHL’s Board of Governors, to whom Andlauer is familiar. He owns a 10 percent stake in the Montreal Canadiens and is an alternate governor.

    Andlauer, 57, would divest his stake in the Montreal franchise before being fully approved to take over the Senators.

    “We are very pleased to announce that we have entered into an agreement to sell controlling interest of the Senators to Michael Andlauer,” said Sheldon Plener, the chairman and governor of the Senators, in a statement. “Michael represents everything we could have hoped to find coming into this process — a passionate owner who is committed to Ottawa.”

    Andlauer sounded eager to get to work.

    “The Senators’ fanbase is one of the most passionate in the league and I’m excited to take the franchise’s success both on and off the ice to the next level,” he said. “The short and long-term future of the team is incredibly bright, and I look forward to getting to know the team, the fanbase and the community.”

    Andlauer’s offer edged a joint effort by Jeffrey and Michael Kimel of Harlo Capital to purchase the Senators. The Ottawa Sun reported the bid submitted by Los Angeles-based producer Neko Sparks was “underfunded” and Toronto-based billionaire Steve Apostolopoulos, who dropped out of the bidding.

    Eugene Melnyk purchased the team out of bankruptcy in 2003. He died in March 2022, and his daughters inherited the franchise. In November, a process for the team’s sale was initiated.

    Andlauer is the CEO of the Andlauer Healthcare Group Inc. and also has 35 years of experience in the transportation industry in Canada. He also founded Bulldog Capital Partners, a merchant bank based in Toronto.

    –Field Level Media

  • PGA: Jon Rahm: Players ‘don’t have any of the answers we’d like’

    PGA: Jon Rahm: Players ‘don’t have any of the answers we’d like’


    Jon Rahm believes the opinions of players are valued “to an extent” by those running the PGA Tour, but the world’s No. 2 player also admitted there is a sense of betrayal among the membership.

    Rahm said he was at home making breakfast for his kids and wife Kelley on June 6 when text messages started flowing about a planned merger between the PGA Tour and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF).

    “I thought my phone was going to catch on fire at one point,” he said on Tuesday ahead of this week’s U.S. Open. “There were so many questions that I just couldn’t answer.

    “At one point I told Kelley I’m just going to throw my phone in the drawer and not look at it for the next four hours because I can’t deal with this anymore.”

    Rahm still doesn’t have any more answers a week later, which is part of his frustration. After more than a year of meetings, debate and questions about the LIV Golf League and the future of the PGA Tour, Rahm along with everyone else found out about the proposed merger via a press release.

    “They’ve certainly heard us throughout the whole process and some of the issues. But we’re certainly in a spot in time where there’s a big question mark,” he said. “We don’t have any of the answers we’d like, so it’s hard to say.

    “I think it gets to a point where you want to have faith in management, and I want to have faith that this is the best thing for all of us, but it’s clear that that’s not the consensus. I think the general feeling is that a lot of people feel a bit of betrayal from management.”

    Like most players at the Los Angeles Country Club this week, Rahm offered a mixed viewpoint of disappointment in the PGA Tour along with a wait-and-see attitude. The 2021 U.S. Open and reigning Masters champion admitted it was tough to receive the “bombshell” news the week before a major, but he’s trying to focus on the task at hand.

    “I understand why they had to keep it so secret,” he said of the proposed merger. “I understand we couldn’t make it through a (Player Advisory Committee) meeting with more than 10 minutes after people spilling the beans right away in some article by you guys already being out there. So I get it. I get the secrecy.

    “It’s just not easy as a player that’s been involved, like many others, to wake up one day and see this bombshell. That’s why we’re all in a bit of a state of limbo, because we don’t know what’s going on and how much is finalized and how much they can talk about, either.

    “It’s a state of uncertainty that we don’t love, but at the end of the day, I’m not a business expert. Some of those guys on the board and involved in this are. So I’d like to think they’re going to make a better decision than I would, but I don’t know.

    “We’ll see. There’s still too many questions to be answered.”

    –Field Level Media

  • PGA: PGA commish: Congressional inaction forced LIV alliance

    PGA: PGA commish: Congressional inaction forced LIV alliance


    PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan blamed congressional inaction for the decision to ally with LIV Golf.

    In a letter sent to the U.S. Senate, Monahan said vows of support for the PGA Tour did little to stem the tide in fending off litigation and poaching of talent from the rival tour.

    “While we are grateful for the written declarations of support we received from certain [congressional] members,” the letter reads, “we were largely left on our own to fend off the attacks, ostensibly due to the United States’ complex geopolitical alliance with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This left the very real prospect of another decade of expensive and distracting litigation and the PGA Tour’s long-term existence under threat.”

    Three days after Monahan said the letter reached the Senate, a subcommittee opened an inquiry into the planned alliance between the PGA Tour, LIV Golf and the DP World Tour, with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund at the center of the controversy.

    PIF governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan will chair the resulting new company, while Monahan will be the CEO.

    The PGA Tour operates as a tax-exempt organization, while the PIF and LIV lured multiple PGA veterans with guaranteed contracts over $200 million. The gray areas in the merger appear to be significant from a legal and operational perspective. Monahan said the PGA will continue to “operate as its own entity,” but Al-Rumayyan would hold a seat on the Tour board.

    Connecticut Sen. Richard Blumenthal sent letters to Monahan and LIV CEO Greg Norman on Monday citing “concerns” the government plans to raise around PIF and use of profit from the investment in the new alliance.

    “PGA Tour’s agreement with PIF regarding LIV Golf raises concerns about the Saudi government’s role in influencing this effort and the risks posed by a foreign government entity assuming control over a cherished American institution,” Blumenthal wrote to the leadership of both circuits. “PIF has announced that it intends to use investments in sports to further the Saudi government’s strategic objectives.”

    American and foreign players who united to defend the legacy of the PGA Tour, including Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland, shared their sense of betrayal after steadfastly supporting the PGA Tour and resisting massive paydays in the initial roster build of LIV Golf.

    A key motive for the alliance is dissolving existing litigation between the rivals, which likely would end the discovery phase of any trial either side faced. However, the U.S. Department of Justice is in the midst of an investigation of the PGA Tour’s alleged monopolistic business practices and discovery could be possible in the U.S. Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations review that was just launched to study the out-of-nowhere pact.

    “Rather than a foreign-funded entity taking over an American sport, the end result is that the PIF has agreed to work within the existing golf ecosystem as a minority investor with the PGA Tour in full control,” Monahan wrote. “The PGA Tour is, and will remain, an American institution dedicated to its players and generating charity in the communities where we play.”

    –Field Level Media

  • PGA: Rory McIlroy, Brooks Koepka paired at U.S. Open

    PGA: Rory McIlroy, Brooks Koepka paired at U.S. Open


    Rory McIlroy spent much of the past year defending the PGA Tour against the upstart LIV Golf tour. At the same time, Brooks Koepka served as one of the faces of the controversial rival circuit.

    And just as the two golf leagues announced last week they will ally under one umbrella, McIlroy and Koepka will be paired together for the opening two rounds of the 123rd U.S. Open, which opens Thursday at the Los Angeles Country Club.

    World No. 3 McIlroy and Koepka, who won last month’s PGA Championship, will tee off 4:54 p.m. ET and be joined in the pairing by Hideki Matsuyama of Japan, the 2021 Masters tournament winner.

    But that won’t be the only group to watch at the U.S. Open, which features a handful of tempting trios.

    Next among them is the group of World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, the 2022 Masters winner, Collin Morikawa and Los Angeles-area native Max Homa, now World No. 7. The latter is searching for his first major title, while Morikawa has two — the 2020 PGA Championship and the 2021 Open Championship. They will tee off at 11:13 a.m. ET on Thursday.

    Current Masters champion Jon Rahm is paired in a high-profile group with Xander Schauffele and Viktor Hovland. The three players, all ranked in the top six in the world, will tee off at 11:24 a.m. in the opening round.

    Phil Mickelson, who also jumped to the LIV circuit, is making another attempt to capture the U.S. Open — the only major title that has eluded him. He is set to tee off at 3:59 p.m. with Padraig Harrington and Keegan Bradley.

    Defending U.S. Open champ Matt Fitzpatrick is paired with Cameron Smith, the reigning winner of the Open Championship. Joining them in the 4:32 p.m. group is Sam Bennett, holder of the U.S. Amateur title who turned pro two weeks ago following his season at Texas A&M.

    And in another notable group, three-time major winner Jordan Spieth is joined by two players seeking their first major titles — Tony Finau and Patrick Cantlay. They tee off at 4:43 p.m.

    The U.S. Open is returning to Los Angeles for the first time since 1948, when Ben Hogan won at Riviera Country Club.

    –Field Level Media

  • NFL: Bills ‘very concerned’ with Stefon Diggs’ no-show for camp

    NFL: Bills ‘very concerned’ with Stefon Diggs’ no-show for camp


    Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott is “very concerned” by the no-show of star wideout Stefon Diggs for the team’s mandatory minicamp.

    However, Diggs is in Buffalo and took part in pre-minicamp medical testing on Monday, according to WGRZ Buffalo and ESPN, citing Diggs’ agent.

    Agent Adisa Bakari told ESPN that Diggs met with McDermott and Bills general manager Brandon Beane the past two days and “will be there for the entirety of the minicamp.”

    Save for the part where Diggs didn’t show up Tuesday.

    Diggs skipped the team’s entire offseason program, but those sessions were all voluntary until Monday.

    Whatever the reason for his absence, it likely isn’t financial; Diggs signed a four-year, $96 million extension in April 2022. He’s set to make $24.415 million in 2023. That puts him fifth among all wide receivers for the 2023 season, per Spotrac.

    Diggs carries a dead cap hit of $45.5 million this season, making him untradeable.

    Diggs, 29, caught 108 passes for 1,429 yards and 11 touchdowns in 2022. His catches ranked fourth in the NFL, his yards fifth and his TD receptions tied for third.

    He made the Pro Bowl all three seasons in Buffalo after a March 2020 trade from Minnesota. He has 703 catches for 8,812 yards and 59 TDs in 119 career games (111 starts) for the Vikings and Bills. He was selected in the fifth round of the 2015 draft by the Vikings.

    –Field Level Media

  • WNBA: Wings, Sparks look to get back on winning track

    WNBA: Wings, Sparks look to get back on winning track


    Both the Dallas Wings and Los Angeles Sparks will look to put tough losses behind them when they square off on Wednesday afternoon in a Commissioner’s Cup game in Arlington, Texas.

    The Wings head home after a 102-93 loss in New York on Sunday that snapped a two-game winning streak. Arike Ogunbowale led Dallas (5-4) with 25 points (13 in the first quarter) while Satou Sabally racked up 17 points and 11 rebounds, Natasha Howard added 14 points and Kalani Brown had 10.

    Dallas led by six points at the half but was outscored 34-17 in the third quarter, in which the Liberty made 13 of 17 field-goal attempts.

    Part of the Wings’ success has been the play of rookie Maddy Siegrist, who has been a real competitor and a “glue” player in her first nine games. Dallas will need all of that to beat the Sparks.

    “I don’t care if she plays two minutes; I don’t care if she plays 11 minutes, 15 minutes — she is going to be ready,” Wings coach Latricia Trammell said. “She knows that she’s a rookie, but she already has impacted our team and our game, and she’s going to continue to be a great professional player.”

    The Sparks (4-4) travel south after a 91-86 loss at Minnesota on Sunday in which they coughed up an 11-point lead in the final 3:38 of the game. Los Angeles was up 83-72 after a 3-pointer by Lexie Brown but scored just three points the rest of the way as Minnesota rang up a 17-0 run, aided by four Sparks turnovers.

    Nneka Ogwumike scored 27 points to pace the Sparks, with Brown adding 21 and Jordin Canada tallying 18 points. Los Angeles was outrebounded 38-26 and had just two offensive boards in the loss.

    Ogwumike expects her team to bounce back as the new-look Sparks acclimate to coach Curt Miller.

    “We all fight in our own ways, and I think there’s also an aspect to us that we have a standard that we want to uphold,” Ogwumike said. “So keeping ourselves up in a way that allows us the grace to make mistakes but also understand our value (is important).”

    –Field Level Media

  • NBA: Raptors name Darko Rajakovic new coach

    NBA: Raptors name Darko Rajakovic new coach


    The Toronto Raptors made it official Tuesday, naming Memphis Grizzlies assistant coach Darko Rajakovic their new head coach.

    Rajakovic, 44, replaces Nick Nurse, who was fired by the organization in April after five seasons and an NBA championship.

    Terms were not released by the organization.

    “We’re entering a new era — one where we are embracing new ideas, a new attitude, and now a new head coach — but our goals remain the same. A championship. Winning,” Raptors vice-chairman and president Masai Ujiri said in a release. “Darko shares those goals, and our belief in culture, professionalism, and hard work. His commitment to both learning and teaching our game is elite, and we are all very excited to welcome him to the Raptors family.”

    Rajakovic, who is Serbian, got his coaching start in Europe before becoming the head coach of the then-NBA G League’s Tulsa 66ers from 2012-14. He has since been an assistant with the Oklahoma City Thunder (2014-19), Phoenix Suns (2019-20) and the Grizzlies the past three seasons.

    “To join and to lead an elite organization like the Raptors is what I have been working for my entire professional life,” Rajakovic said. “This is an amazing opportunity, to join a franchise with a supportive ownership group, fantastic front office and fanbase, and elite players. I’m looking forward to the journey ahead as we work together to achieve our goals: development, playoffs, championships.”

    The hire also sews up the final head coaching vacancy in the NBA.

    Nurse, who was named head coach in Philadelphia two weeks ago, compiled a 227-163 record during his five seasons as head coach of the Raptors. Nurse guided the Raptors to their lone NBA championship in franchise history in 2018-19.

    –Field Level Media