Kane to captain U.S. team in Denmark
Chicago Blackhawks star Patrick Kane will be the United States captain at the IIHF World Hockey Championship in Denmark next month.
USA Hockey announced Kane as its first player for the tournament after naming Jeff Blashill as head coach yesterday. General manager Bill Zito praised Kane’s enthusiasm and eagerness to play for the U.S. at the world championships after the Blackhawks missed the playoffs for the first time since 2008, when he also participated.
“I think what it says is it doesn’t matter where you are in hockey, if you love the game, you want to be part of it and respect USA Hockey, and Pat Kane showed up,” Zito said. “It’s really exciting. I think it’s exciting for the whole tournament.”
Kane played for the U.S. at the 2010 and 2014 Olympics and next month will lead a strong team that includes Buffalo Sabres rookie and world junior MVP Casey Mittelstadt and possibly Detroit Red Wings forward Dylan Larkin.
Former Pittsburgh Penguins and Sabres coach Dan Bylsma, Blackhawks assistant Don Granato and U.S. national team development program coach Seth Appert were named as Blashill’s assistants.
Colleges: Mich. State sued
A federal lawsuit was filed in East Lansing, Mich., against Michigan State University and three former men’s basketball players by a female student who accuses the athletes of sexually assaulting her at an off-campus apartment. The woman and players are not named in the suit, which was filed in U.S. District Court in Grand Rapids. It seeks compensatory and punitive damages . . . .
University of Minnesota women’s basketball coach Marlene Stollings is leaving to take over the program at Texas Tech . . . .
Tanya Vogel will become George Washington’s athletic director on July 1 after serving as acting AD since the start of the year . . . .
Miami Hurricanes sophomore guard Bruce Brown Jr., who attended Wakefield High School before going to a prep school and grew up in Boston, has decided to hire an agent and turn pro . . . .
Kentucky freshman point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander says he will enter the NBA draft pool and hire an agent . . . .
Forward Rui Hachimura has decided to return for his junior year at Gonzaga. The 6-foot-8 native of Japan had been listed on several NBA mock drafts . . . .
West Virginia reserve forward Maciej Bender plans to transfer. A native of Warsaw, Poland, Bender averaged 1.2 points and 1.9 rebounds in 35 games as a sophomore this past season.
Soccer: Torres moving on
Fernando Torres will leave Atletico Madrid at the end of the season. The 34-year-old Torres said it “wasn’t an easy decision” to make but he felt it was time to make way for other players at the club. The striker said he wants to keep playing but needed a change because he wasn’t getting many chances under coach Diego Simeone . . ..
After a career spanning six countries and countless titles both as a player and a coach, Fabio Capello announced his retirement and that he has no interest in the open job with Italy’s naitonal team.
Misc.: Fatality investigated
French judicial officials launched an investigation yesterday into the death of Belgian rider Michael Goolaerts during the Paris-Roubaix cycling race. Goolaerts died Sunday after collapsing in the one-day classic on cobblestones in France . . . .
Gilles Simon beat Benoit Paire 6-2, 6-7 (1), 7-6 (5) to reach the Grand Prix Hassan II second round in Marrakech, Morocco . . . .
Kathy Carter is quitting the marketing arm of Major League Soccer after her unsuccessful bid to become the U.S. Soccer Federation’s president . . . .
American professional tennis player Madison Brengle has sued the WTA and International Tennis Federation in Florida state court, seeking unspecified damages for “physical and emotional consequences” related to anti-doping blood tests that involve inserting a needle into a vein.