Silver: No apology over tweet
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said the league isn’t apologizing for Rockets GM Daryl Morey’s since-deleted tweet showing support for anti-government protesters in Hong Kong, even after China’s state broadcaster canceled plans to show a pair of preseason games in that country later this week.
Silver, speaking Tuesday at a news conference in Tokyo before a preseason game between the Rockets and league champion Raptors, went as far as to say that he and the league are “apologetic” that so many Chinese officials and fans were upset by Morey’s tweet and comments that followed — but insisted that Morey has the right to freedom of expression.
Silver is going to Shanghai on Wednesday and said he hopes to meet with officials and some of the league’s business partners there in an effort to find some sort of common ground.
Auto racing: Chip Ganassi Racing will field a third IndyCar next season for Marcus Ericsson, a former Formula One driver who just completed his first year in the American open-wheel series. Ericsson, 29, spent his rookie year with Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports. At Ganassi, he will drive the No. 8 alongside five-time IndyCar champion Scott Dixon and countryman Felix Rosenqvist, who was the 2019 rookie of the year. College football: Auburn sophomore RB JaTarvious Whitlow will miss four to six weeks as he recovers from knee surgery. Whitlow, who leads the SEC with seven rushing TDs and ranks second with 544 yards, suffered the injury during the Tigers’ loss to Florida on Saturday. ... Freshman QB Kedon Slovis will start against Notre Dame on Saturday after missing almost two full games with a concussion.
Gymnastics: Simone Biles won a record 21st career medal at the world championships in Stuttgart, Germany, as the U.S. retained its team title. It was the 22-yearold Biles’ 15th gold and broke a tie with Russia’s Svetlana Khorkina for the most world medals by a woman. She’s now two short of Vitaly Scherbo’s all-time record of 23 among men or women.
Soccer: Germany and Fire midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger retired. Schweinsteiger, 35, won eight Bundesliga titles with Bayern Munich and the 2014 World Cup with Germany. He also played for Manchester United from 2015-17.
WNBA: Alyssa Thomas had 17 points, 11 assists and eight boards to help the Sun force a decisive Game 5 of the WNBA Finals with a 90-86 win over the Mystics in Uncasville, Conn.