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  • NBA: Victory parade? No, Nikola Jokic ready to go home

    NBA: Victory parade? No, Nikola Jokic ready to go home


    Finals MVP Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets finished the job, and his preference would be to return to Serbia and celebrate in his hometown of Sombor.

    But professional sports champions celebrate in the streets with a victory parade and, in the case of the Nuggets, that won’t happen until Thursday, delaying Jokic’s return to his home country.

    Asked after a Game 5 and Finals victory on Monday night if he was looking forward to the parade, Jokic replied with a question.

    “When is parade?” Jokic asked.

    The answer: Thursday.

    “No. I need to go home,” said Jokic, who told media before Game 5 he was most looking forward buying another horse.

    “I mean, we succeed in our jobs, and we won the whole thing. It’s an amazing feeling. But like I said before, it’s not everything in the world. I think. OK, I won it. OK, not I, we won it. But I think it’s not the most important thing in the world still. There is a bunch of things that I like, that I like to do. Probably that’s a normal thing. Nobody likes his job, or maybe they do. They’re lying.”

    Nuggets head coach Michael Malone said he appreciates that Jokic puts family and basketball in proper perspective.

    “He’s never changed with all the success, and he never will. It’s just not in his nature,” Malone said. “I love Nikola. Eight years, love Jamal Murray, seven years. Been through a lot. Just for all of us to stay the course, to challenge ourselves, to all get better collectively, individually. Yeah, it’s great to be a part of such a historically great player who’s an even better person, and I mean that sincerely. This is not coach-talk. Nikola is just a great, great man.”

    –Field Level Media

  • NBA: Denver PD: 10 shot during celebration of Nuggets’ title

    NBA: Denver PD: 10 shot during celebration of Nuggets’ title


    The celebration following the Nuggets’ first-ever NBA championship turned violent overnight, with at least 10 people injured in a shooting in downtown Denver.

    Three victims were hospitalized in critical condition. Police said a suspected gunman was among those wounded and had injuries not considered life-threatening.

    “We took him into custody pretty quickly and without incident,” Denver police spokesman Douglas Schepman told the Denver Post.

    After the Nuggets’ 94-89 win over the Miami Heat in Game 5 of the NBA Finals on Monday night, a crowd gathered for a street celebration about a mile from Ball Arena. The shooting occurred near the intersection of Market and 20th streets following an altercation between groups of people.

    Police were investigating the incident Tuesday morning and trying to figure out who shot the suspect.

    Schepman said police had beefed up their presence in the area in advance of the celebration.

    “We had a lot of officers in that immediate area of 20th and Market when the shooting occurred, which is why the response to it was so quick,” he said.

    The city has set a celebratory parade in downtown Denver for Thursday morning.

    –Field Level Media

  • MLB: Twins reinstate 1B/OF Joey Gallo (hamstring) from IL

    MLB: Twins reinstate 1B/OF Joey Gallo (hamstring) from IL


    The Minnesota Twins reinstated first baseman/outfielder Joey Gallo from the injured list on Tuesday.

    Gallo missed the past nine games with a left hamstring strain. He returns after a three-game rehab assignment.

    The Twins made room for Gallo by optioning OF Kyle Garlick to Triple-A St. Paul.

    Gallo, 29, is batting .188 with 11 home runs and 23 RBIs in 46 games this season, his first with the Twins.

    Garlick, 31, went 1-for-11 with five strikeouts in six games in place of Gallo.

    –Field Level Media

  • NHL: Panthers aren’t panicking as Golden Knights eye first Cup

    NHL: Panthers aren’t panicking as Golden Knights eye first Cup


    The Florida Panthers were in a deep hole seven weeks ago but found the will and determination to claw their way out and extend their season.

    Now, the Panthers will try to find another route back from a 3-1 series deficit when they meet the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final on Tuesday night in Las Vegas.

    Florida trailed 3-1 to the top-seeded Boston Bruins in the opening round of the Eastern Conference playoffs before rallying to win the series, beginning with an overtime road win in Game 5.

    “I believe, fully, we’ve earned the right to play our best hockey in a difficult situation,” said Panthers coach Paul Maurice. “All we want to do is get this thing back (to Florida). It’s not the series, it’s not a game, it’s just get this thing back home and give our fans another look at us.”

    Vegas will have plenty of motivation to raise its first Stanley Cup in team history, especially inside its energized home arena.

    “It’s a different game than the other ones,” Vegas forward Chandler Stephenson said. “A lot more emotion, a lot more of everything.”

    The Golden Knights dominated the Panthers in the first two games of the series in Las Vegas, outscoring them 12-4 before Florida tied the score late in regulation of Game 3 and won in overtime.

    The Panthers were unable to ride that momentum into Game 4 back on their home ice in Sunrise, Fla., however, falling behind 3-0 before ultimately losing 3-2 on Saturday.

    That put the Golden Knights in a position they’ve never experienced before, one game from winning their first Stanley Cup.

    Vegas reached the Stanley Cup Finals five years ago in its inaugural season, but lost the series 4-1 to the Washington Capitals.

    “Everybody is going to be into it,” Stephenson said of Game 5. “The emotion is going to be high. Adrenaline. Everything. The biggest thing is to just be composed. Shift by shift. It’s all the cliches, but I feel confident.”

    The Golden Knights will continue to lean on goalie Adin Hill, who has allowed two goals in regulation in each of the first four games of the series.

    Jonathan Marchessault, who scored 30 goals for the Panthers in the 2016-17 season before they lost him to the Golden Knights in the expansion draft, has 24 points (13 goals, 11 assists) in 21 playoff games.

    Stephenson (10) and William Karlsson (11) have also reached double figures in goals during this postseason for Vegas.

    The Panthers will look for Matthew Tkachuk to give them some early momentum — assuming he is on the ice. Tkachuk missed part of Game 4 due to an undisclosed injury, and he sat out practice on Monday. His status will be reassessed before Game 5.

    Tkachuk has tallied 24 points (11 goals, 13 assists) in 20 playoff games, including three goals and three assists in the final three games against the Bruins to lead the Florida comeback.

    “You’ve got to win four,” Florida center Aleksander Barkov said. “It’s 3-1. I know they’re one win away, we’re three wins away, but all we can do is think about one game, bringing it back to Florida and that’s our goal. That’s what we want to do in Vegas, go there and try to win that game.”

    –Field Level Media

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

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


    Michael Andlauer won the bidding for the Ottawa Senators, reaching agreement to purchase the franchise for nearly $1 billion, according to multiple reports Tuesday.

    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. He also owns the Ontario Hockey League’s Brantford Bulldogs.

    Andlauer, 57, would divest his stake in the Montreal franchise before being fully approved to take over the Senators. He agreed to terms of the sale, which prohibited moving the team from Ottawa and shared plans for a new arena as part of his bid.

    His 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.

    Previous owner Eugene Melnyk purchased the team out of bankruptcy in 2003. He died in March 2022, and his daughters, Anna and Olivia Melnyk, inherited the franchise. In November, a process for the team’s sale was initiated. A condition of the sale requires keeping the franchise in Ottawa.

    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

  • NHL: Panthers unsure of Matthew Tkachuk’s status for Game 5

    NHL: Panthers unsure of Matthew Tkachuk’s status for Game 5


    Matthew Tkachuk, who has been in and out of action for the Florida Panthers during the Stanley Cup Final, faces an uncertain status ahead of Game 5 on Tuesday in Las Vegas.

    The star winger didn’t practice on Tuesday after missing much of the third period of Game 4 against the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday in Sunrise, Fla. The Panthers lost that game 3-2 to fall behind three games to one in the best-of-seven finals.

    Tkachuk also was sidelined was sidelined for part of Game 3 on Thursday due to a possible head injury.

    Florida coach Paul Maurice said after practice on Tuesday, “The update will be tomorrow. We’ve been at an optional point for the last two months in terms of skating (on) off days, but you’ll get all that big information tomorrow night.”

    Defensemen Brandon Montour and Radko Gudas and forwards Eetu Luostarinen and Nick Cousins also skipped the optional Tuesday practice, according to NHL.com. Luostarinen last played when the Panthers clinched a four-game sweep of the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals on May 24.

    Tkachuk, 25, stood alongside goalie Sergei Bobrovsky as the Panthers’ top two players in the run through the Eastern Conference playoffs. Tkachuk logged nine goals and 12 assists in 16 games as the eighth-seeded Panthers upset the Boston Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs and Carolina.

    In the finals, Tkachuk has two goals and one assist in four games.

    Tkachuk put up 40 goals and 69 assists in 79 games during the 2022-23 regular season. An All-Star for the Flames in 2021-22, Tkachuk is in his first season with Florida after he was acquired in an offseason trade that sent Jonathan Huberdeau to Calgary.

    –Field Level Media

  • PGA: Senate committee questioning PGA-LIV alliance

    PGA: Senate committee questioning PGA-LIV alliance


    A U.S. Senate subcommittee is asking the PGA Tour and others to submit records as it launches a probe into the proposed alliance between the PGA Tour, the DP World Tour and LIV Golf.

    Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) sent letters Monday to PGA commissioner Jay Monahan and LIV commissioner Greg Norman asking to see documents, emails and other records having to do with merger.

    Last week, the three golf tours and the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (PIF), which bankrolls LIV Golf, said they intend to join under one umbrella organization. Monahan will serve as chief executive and Yasir al-Rumayyan from PIF will be the chairman, under the plans.

    LIV Golf began play last year when the Saudis promised guaranteed, multimillion contracts to lure big-name players from the PGA Tour. At the time, Monahan and others blasted the act of taking money from Saudi Arabia, citing its human-rights record and its involvement in the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.

    “While few details about the agreement are known, PIF’s role as an arm of the Saudi government and PGA Tour’s sudden and drastic reversal of position concerning LIV Golf raise serious questions regarding the reasons for and terms behind the announced agreement,” Blumenthal, the chair of the Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, wrote in the letter.

    When the announcement was made about the tours’ merger, Blumenthal showed his anger on Twitter.

    “We should focus outrage, & potential action, where it belongs — PGA betrayal, Saudi human rights abuses, threats to legal norms & national security,” he tweeted.

    The PGA Tour and LIV Golf were given until June 26 to turn over the documentation.

    –Field Level Media

  • PGA: Matt Fitzpatrick asked if PGA Tour loyalty should be compensated: ‘Pass’

    PGA: Matt Fitzpatrick asked if PGA Tour loyalty should be compensated: ‘Pass’


    Matt Fitzpatrick offered to answer the question, then paused a few moments, exhaled and said, “Yeah, pass.”

    It was one of the several burning questions almost every PGA Tour player who takes the podium ahead of this week’s U.S. Open will be asked. Does Fitzpatrick feel as though he should be compensated for staying loyal to the tour in the wake of the planned merger between the PGA Tour and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund?

    Fitzpatrick is in a peculiar position as the reigning champion of the first major tournament following the June 6 announcement. While he’s trying to focus on becoming the first player to successfully defend a U.S. Open title since Brooks Koepka in 2018, the buzz around the Los Angeles Country Club this week is clearly focused on the great many unknowns of the framework agreement.

    “The whole thing is just confusing, yeah,” Fitzpatrick acknowledged Monday when asked what is most confusing about the current state of the professional game. “I think that I just don’t know what’s going on. I don’t think anyone knows what’s going on.

    “Are we signing with the PIF? Are we not signing with the PIF? I’ve no idea. Even though I guess it is confusing, it’s pretty clear that no one knows what’s going on apart from about four people in the world.”

    Fitzpatrick said he learned about the proposed merger the same time that everyone else did and doesn’t know anything more than he did last week.

    Asked about what the conversations have been like amongst his peers since the announcement, the moderator shut down further questions about the merger and turned the session back to the U.S. Open.

    Fitzpatrick returned the silver U.S. Open trophy, which he said took a few day trips while on a boat trip around Italy. Other than the great unknown regarding the future makeup of men’s professional golf, Fitzpatrick’s focus is on trying to reclaim that trophy this week.

    “I can’t believe it’s been a year already. It’s just gone so fast,” he said with a smile. “I didn’t feel like I spent enough time with it.”

    –Field Level Media

  • PGA: Golf Glance: Los Angeles Country Club opens doors for U.S. Open

    PGA: Golf Glance: Los Angeles Country Club opens doors for U.S. Open


    Field Level Media’s Golf Glance provides weekly news and storylines from each of the major North American golf tours.

    PGA TOUR
    LAST TOURNAMENT: RBC Canadian Open (Nick Taylor)
    THIS WEEK: U.S. Open, Los Angeles, June 15-18
    Course: The Los Angeles Country Club, North Course (Par 70, 7,421 yards)
    Purse: TBA (Winner: TBA)
    Defending Champion: Matt Fitzpatrick
    FedEx Cup leader: Jon Rahm
    HOW TO FOLLOW
    TV: Thursday-Friday, 9:40 a.m.-1 p.m. (Peacock); 1-8 p.m. ET (USA), 8-11 p.m. (NBC); Saturday, 1-11 p.m. (NBC); Sunday, 12-1 p.m. (Peacock), 1-10 p.m. (NBC)
    Twitter: @USOpenGolf
    NOTES: The 156-player field will be cut to the low 60 players and ties following 36 holes. … This is the first major championship to be held at the Los Angeles Country Club, and it will be contested on the North Course. The first edition of the Los Angeles Open (now The Genesis Invitational) was played on the North Course in 1926 and was held there four additional times. … Jon Rahm will make another attempt to become the first player to win five times in a season since Justin Thomas in 2016-17. He’s also attempting to be the first winner of multiple majors in a year since Jordan Spieth in 2015. … Fitzpatrick is trying to become the first player to successfully defend a U.S. Open title since Brooks Koepka in 2018. … Rory McIlroy has 18 top-10s in majors since claiming the most recent of his four career majors at the 2014 PGA Championship. This will be his 33rd start in a major since that victory. … No. 4 Patrick Cantlay, a Los Angeles-area native, is the highest-ranked player in this week’s field who has yet to win a major title.
    BEST BETS: Scottie Scheffler (+700 at BetMGM) has 16 consecutive finishes of T12 or better, including a win at this year’s The Players and T2 at the Masters. He finished T2 to Fitzpatrick last year. … Rahm (+1000) won the 2021 U.S. Open and captured his second major at this year’s Masters. … Koepka (+1100) is already a two-time U.S. Champion. In this year’s first two majors, he finished T2 at the Masters and won his third PGA Championship. … Viktor Hovland (+1600) battled Koepka down the stretch on Sunday at the PGA and followed it up with a win at the Memorial. He’s the only player to finish in the top 10 in each of the past three majors. … Max Homa (+2800) set the course record at the Los Angeles Country Club with a 61 in the first round of the 2013 Pac-12 Championship.
    NEXT TOURNAMENT: Travelers Championship, Cromwell, Conn., June 22-25

    LPGA Tour
    LAST TOURNAMENT: ShopRite LPGA Classic (Ashleigh Buhai)
    THIS WEEK: Meijer LPGA Classic, Belmont, Mich., June 15-18
    Course: Blythefield Country Club (Par 72, 6,556 yards)
    Purse: $2.5M (Winner: $375,000)
    Defending Champion: Jennifer Kupcho
    Race to the CME Globe leader: Jin Young Ko
    HOW TO FOLLOW
    TV: Thursday-Saturday, 3-6 p.m. ET (Golf Channel); Sunday, 1-2 p.m. (Peacock), 2-4 p.m. (CBS/Paramount+)
    Streaming: (All times golfchannel.com, NBCSports.com, NBC Sports App and Peacock)
    Twitter: @MeijerLPGA
    NOTES: Kupcho defeated Nelly Korda and Leona Maguire in a playoff last year. … This is the final tune-up before the second major of the year next week at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. … Brooke Henderson is a two-time winner of the event. … Rachel Kuehn, the No. 5-ranked amateur in the world, is in the 144-player field on a sponsor’s invitation. So, too, is former Michigan State star Brooke Biermann, who will make her LPGA Tour debut, and The John Shippen National Invitational winner Paige Crawford.
    NEXT TOURNAMENT: KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, Springfield, N.J., June 22-25

    Champions Tour
    LAST TOURNAMENT: American Family Insurance Championship (Steve Stricker)
    THIS WEEK: OFF.
    Charles Schwab Cup leader: Steve Stricker
    HOW TO FOLLOW
    NEXT TOURNAMENT: Dick’s Sporting Goods Open, Endicott, N.Y., June 23-25

    LIV Golf League
    LAST TOURNAMENT: LIV Golf D.C. (Individual: Harold Varner III; Team: Torque GC)
    THIS WEEK: OFF.
    NEXT TOURNAMENT: LIV Golf Valderrama, Andalucia, Spain, June 30-July 2

    –Field Level Media

  • NFL: Jets, Broncos kicker Jim Turner dies at 82

    NFL: Jets, Broncos kicker Jim Turner dies at 82


    Former New York Jets and Denver Broncos kicker Jim Turner passed away at age 82, his family revealed Monday.

    According to reports, Turner died of heart failure on Saturday with his family at his side.

    Turner kicked for the Jets from 1964 when they were a member of the AFL until the team’s first season after the NFL merger in 1970. He then moved on to the Broncos from 1971-79, playing 16 total professional seasons after he was a quarterback and kicker at Utah State.

    The Crockett, Calif., native and straight-footed kicker made 304 of his 488 field-goal attempts over 228 games in both the AFL and NFL. He also made 521 of 534 extra-point attempts for 1,439 total points.

    He was named to the Pro Bowl in 1968 and 1969 — topping the AFL in each season in total points — and was the NFL’s second-leading scorer when he retired following the 1979 season.

    Turner kicked three field goals in New York’s 16-7 win over the heavily favored Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III, winning a title with the Jets, and also converted a field goal in the Super Bowl XII with the Broncos. He was also named to the Broncos’ Ring of Fame in 1988.

    “Jim was instrumental in helping establish the Broncos’ winning tradition in the 1970s as a key member of our first Super Bowl team,” the Broncos said in a statement. “While his competitive spirit and reliability defined him as a player, Jim’s dedicated mentorship and support of youth following his career with leave a lasting legacy in our community.”

    Turner is survived by his wide Mary Kay and daughters Lisa, Chris and Allison.

    –Field Level Media