Off the wire
BASEBALL
A federal grand jury indicted a former Los Angeles Angels employee on drug charges for allegedly providing Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs with the drugs that caused his overdose death. Eric Prescott Kay was charged with drug distribution and drug conspiracy in Skaggs’ overdose death, according to the indictment in Fort Worth. The charges carry a maximum of a life sentence and 20 years in prison, respectively. Kay remained free on his own recognizance. A message seeking comment from Kay’s attorney, Reagan Wynn, was not immediately returned. Skaggs, 27, was found dead in his suburban Dallas hotel room on July 1, 2019, before the start of what was supposed to be a four-game series against the Texas Rangers.
BASKETBALL Jayhawks’ forward opts out
Kansas forward Silvio de Sousa is opting out of the upcoming college basketball season, potentially ending what has been one of the most controversial tenures of any player to have joined Coach Bill Self’s program. Self said in a statement that de Sousa was opting out to “focus on matters in his personal life.” Self added that it became clear in recent workouts that de Sousa was distracted, and after the two of them talked recently, “it was clear this was the best decision for him and Kansas basketball to leave the program.” De Sousa joined the Jayhawks midway through the 2017-18 season and helped them reach the Final Four.
FOOTBALL Leading rusher out Sunday
first career start at running back. The Vikings have their bye scheduled for next week, so Cook’s absence was likely after getting hurt in the second half last week at Seattle. Mattison rushed for a career-high 112 yards in relief.
COLLEGE ATHLETICS UMass stripped of victories
The NCAA is stripping Massachusetts of victories in men’s basketball and women’s tennis for overpaying 12 athletes about $9,100 in financial aid over three years, prompting criticism of the penalty from the Atlantic 10 Conference commissioner. The NCAA announced Friday the Committee on Infractions had imposed a two-year probation on UMass that will end October 2022 in addition to vacating
results involving athletes who received what were determined to be a total of 13 inappropriate payments. The school will also pay a self-imposed fine of $5,000. UMass plans to appeal the committee’s decision to vacate results from 2014-17 that include 59 basketball wins and an Atlantic 10 Conference championship in women’s tennis. A-10 Commissioner Bernadette McGlade and UMass Athletic Director Ryan Bamford both took issue with the vacating penalty for what the COI conceded was a “misunderstanding,” according to the NCAA’s news release. McGlade said the decision was “unfortunate.”
TENNIS Zverev reaches semis
Top-seeded Alexander Zverev
advanced to the Cologne (Germany) Indoors semifinals by beating
Lloyd Harris of South Africa 6-4, 3-6, 6-0 on Friday. Zverev was leading 6-4, 1-0 but dropped two of his four service games as Harris forced the third set. He rebounded as Harris struggled with a leg injury and he closed out the match in 1 hour, 46 minutes. The seventh-ranked Zverev next faces Alejandro Davidovich Fokina. The Spaniard defeated Dennis Novak 6-3, 2-6, 6-3.
GOLF Two share Scottish lead
English golfer Matt Wallace carded a 5-under 67 at Fairmont St Andrews to join Adrian Otaegui in the Scottish Championship lead on Friday. Wallace took advantage of favorable morning conditions by making six birdies and a single bogey to reach 12 under par. He went into the clubhouse with a two-shot lead, but overnight leader Otaegui fought hard in his afternoon round, improving his fortunes on his back nine. There, the Spaniard made four birdies and a bogey to follow up his opening round of 62 with a 70.
HOCKEY Kings, draft pick reach deal
The Los Angeles Kings have signed No. 2 overall draft pick Quinton Byfield to a three-year contract. The Kings announced the entry-level deal Friday with Byfield, a powerful 6-5 center from Ontario. The 18-year-old Byfield is likely to play another year of junior hockey before he moves to the NHL, but the Kings haven’t ruled out anything with their top prospect before he attends his first training camp. Byfield became the highest-drafted Black player in NHL history when Los Angeles chose him earlier this month. He had 32 goals and 50 assists in 45 games last season with the OHL’s Sudbury Wolves.