MLBPA puts Georgia on notice
Major League Baseball Players Association executive director Tony Clark said Friday that he “would look forward” to discussing moving the All-Star Game from Atlanta in the wake of Georgia’s decision to overhaul how its state elections are run.
“Players are very much aware,” Clark said. “As it relates to the All-Star Game, we have not had a conversation with the league on that issue. If there is an opportunity to, we would look forward to having that conversation.”
On Thursday, Georgia governor Brian Kemp signed into law a sweeping Republican-sponsored bill that includes new restrictions on voting by mail and greater legislative control over how elections are run.
The MLB All-Star Game is set to be played July 13 at Atlanta’s Truist Park. It’s the first time the game has been held in the city since the 2000 event was held at Turner Field.
There is some precedent for pro leagues moving all-star games. In 2017, the NBA moved its game out of Charlotte, North Carolina, after a bill that limited anti-discrimination protections was enacted.
♦ Twins bench coach Mike Bell, the younger brother of Reds manager David Bell, died of kidney cancer. He was 46. He had surgery Jan. 28 to remove a growth that was discovered earlier that month and had taken a leave from the team to focus on his health.
♦ “Smokey” Joe Cunningham, who got off to a smashing start with the Cardinals and became a minor-league manager, major-league coach, key figure in their front office and team ambassador, died. He was 89.
GOLF
Garcia ends playoff with a hole-in-one
Sergio Garcia ended one of the record eight sudden-death playoffs in the Dell Technologies Match Play in Austin, Texas, with a hole-in-one.
Garcia beat Lee Westwood in the longest of the eight playoffs with a 9-iron from 161 yards to a front pin on the par-3 fourth hole that landed just beyond the pin and trickled back into the cup.
“Well, 28 years on tour and I thought I had seen everything. I hadn’t!” Westwood posted on Twitter.
♦ Rafael Campos, Fabrizio Zanotti and Justin Suh shared the second-round lead n the PGA Tour’s windy Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship in the Dominican Republic.
MISCELLANEOUS
Drummond, Cavs agree to buyout
Center Andre Drummond is a free agent and can sign with a contending team after reaching a buyout with the Cavaliers.
♦ The Sabres’ overhaul began with the spiraling team trading veteran center Eric Staal to the Canadiens for their third and fifth-round selections in the 2021 draft. ✶
Sun-Times wires