TALKING POINTS
Editor’s Note
Due to an earlier deadline of 8 p.m. throughout the pandemic, some games might not make it into the print edition of your Valley Press. Please find the following full stories on our website at www.avpress. com: NHL — Golden Knights at Kings; College Basketball — updated late NCAA and NIT tournament games.
California cheerleaders score win against state ban
SAN FRANCISCO — After a spirited campaign, cheerleaders in California won the right Friday to return to high school football fields — and cheer.
Three days after the California Department of Public Health quietly banned cheerleading squads from attending sporting events, the agency reversed its decision Friday, bowing to an uproar from parents, coaches and cheerleaders who chanted in protest: “Let us cheer!”
“Yay!” said elated mother Courtney Gomez, who said her 9th grader heard the news and “came running out of her room yelling, ‘cheer is back on!’”
The reversal was tucked into the agency’s daily news release on COVID-19 statistics, as a clarification that said “sideline cheer is an allowable sport” under state guidelines.
The agency has not provided any explanation of the rule change or the earlier ban, which made an apparent distinction between competitive cheerleading, which was allowed, and cheering on the sidelines of a football game. The Tuesday ban, which was inserted in a “Youth Sports Q&A” on the agency’s website, said “sideline cheer, band, drumline or other supporting groups are not allowed to attend sporting events at this time.”
Clippers’ George fined $35,000 for ‘lies’ comment about refs
NEW YORK — Los Angeles Clippers star Paul George was fined $35,000 on Friday for saying conversations with referees are “just a bunch of lies” while questioning why more fouls weren’t called against Dallas in LA’s 105-89 loss to the Mavericks.
George said after Wednesday’s game that it was “insane” the Clippers weren’t getting to the free throw line more on drives to the basket, then was asked what conversations with officials are like when players don’t think they’re getting the calls.
“Just a bunch of lies,” George said. “Can’t go too much further than that. It’s a bunch of lies. They know what’s going on.”
George scored 28 points, but the Clippers shot just 42% in their second game with fewer than 90 points. The other was a 124-73 loss to the Mavericks in LA in December when Dallas set an NBA record with a 50-point halftime lead (77-27).
The latest loss to Dallas came two days after a 109-99 victory for the Clippers in the first of consecutive games in Dallas between the Western Conference first-round playoff opponents from last season. LA won that series in six games.
“I think a lot of calls are not going our way,” George said. “We’re putting a lot of pressure at the rim. It’s insane that we’re not getting these calls. Hopefully we’ll send a bunch of clips in there. The league’s got to take a look at this.”
NHL pauses Bruins after 4 players go in protocol
The NHL has paused the Boston Bruins after four more players entered the league’s COVID protocol.
Bruins games Saturday against the Buffalo Sabres and Tuesday against the New York Islanders were postponed and team facilities closed until at least Wednesday. They’re the 36th and 37th games to be postponed this season for virusrelated reasons.
Boston’s Sean Kuraly was the team’s only player on the COVID list Thursday. The Bruins played Thursday night against the Sabres, who had a staff member enter protocol.
The Bruins game Tuesday was scheduled to be the first in Massachusetts with fans back — at a limited capacity of 12%.
The pause provides the Sabres a three-day break before they play at the New York Rangers on Monday. It’s Buffalo’s longest rest since the team’s schedule was paused for two weeks in early February.
4 more women sue Texans QB Watson for sex assault
HOUSTON — Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson has been sued by four more women who accuse him of sexual assault and harassments.
The lawsuits were filed Thursday night, hours after the NFL said it was investigating earlier allegations by three massage therapists who said the quarterback sexually assaulted them during massages.
Watson, 25, has broadly denied that he acted inappropriately and said in a Tuesday statement that he looks forward to clearing his name. His attorney and agent have not responded to subsequent requests for comment.
The claims in the four new suits, which were filed in a Harris County court, mirror those in the three earlier cases. Each woman who sued Thursday worked in a spa or giving massages and claims that Watson exposed himself, touched them with his penis or kissed them against their will.
None of the seven women, who have sued separately but are all represented by Houston lawyer Tony Buzbee, are identified by name in the lawsuits. They are each seeking compensatory and punitive damages, as well as court costs. Houston police have declined to comment on whether any of the alleged sexual assaults were reported to the department, saying it does not identify people who have not been charged with a crime.
Wise takes three-shot lead at midway point of Honda Classic
PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — Aaron Wise is making PGA National look easy.
Wise shot his second straight 6-under 64 on Friday to take a three-stroke lead into the weekend at the Honda Classic. The 128 total is the lowest 36hole score at PGA National since the tournament moved there 15 years ago — and marks the first 36-hole lead of Wise’s PGA Tour career.
“It’s two great rounds of golf and I love that, and I love that I’m playing good,” Wise said. “But this place can get to you pretty quick and there’s a lot of golf left ahead and a lot of trouble out there.”
He had a pair of eagles to highlight the day, his first two of 2021. Brandon Hagy (62) and first-round leader Matt Jones (70) were tied for second.
Wise birdied the last to finish off the 64, the eighth round of 64 or lower surrendered by PGA National this week. Until this year, there’s never been more than seven rounds of 64 or lower in a Honda on that course; last year, no player even broke 66.
Wise made a 3-footer for a 3 at the par-5 18th, his ninth hole of the day, then connected on a 45-footer for eagle at the par-5 third.
“I’ve made so many bonus putts from outside 10 feet that I can’t complain,” said the 24-year-old Wise, the 2016 NCAA champion for Oregon.
Hagy didn’t even know he was playing in the tournament until it was almost too late to get a flight, getting in as the next-tolast alternate. He opened with a 69, then shot 62 — the fourth score that low in Honda history at PGA National — Friday.
Surprise! Smith-Schuster sticking with Steelers in 2021
PITTSBURGH — JuJu Smith-Schuster is keeping it “lit” with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The free-agent wide receiver surprisingly opted to return to the Steelers on Friday just days after strongly hinting that his departure on the open market was imminent.
“Can’t say it enough, I love you Pittsburgh,” SmithSchuster posted on Twitter. “Came in here a young 20 year old and you guys embraced me from the moment I got here. So much love. Had my back thru everything, all the struggles and success. So hard to leave. See you this Fall in Heinz.”
The deal coincides with what could be quarterback Ben Roethlisberger’s final season. Roethlisberger adjusted his contract earlier this month to free up a small bit of salary cap space for the Steelers.