Jazz select Celtics assistant Hardy as new head coach
Boston Celtics assistant Will Hardy has accepted an offer to become the coach of the Utah Jazz, a person with knowledge of the negotiations said Tuesday.
Hardy and the Jazz were in the process of finalizing contract language, according to the person who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because neither side announced the deal publicly.
Hardy will become an NBA head coach for the first time. He will replace Quin Snyder, who decided to leave the Jazz earlier this month after eight seasons.
ESPN and The Athletic first reported the agreement between Hardy and the Jazz.
Hardy spent one season in Boston, helping the Celtics reach the NBA Finals. His previous 11 seasons were spent with the San Antonio Spurs, starting as a basketball operations intern, moving into the video room and eventually becoming an assistant under all-time wins leader and five-time NBA champion Gregg Popovich.
Hardy also assisted Popovich during USA Basketball's appearances at the 2019 Basketball World Cup and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Hardy left San Antonio for Boston to work for another former Spurs assistant, Ime Udoka, who took the Celtics to the finals in his first season as a head coach.
Storm sign former MVP Charles
The Seattle Storm signed five-time first-team allWNBA center Tina Charles for the rest of the season on Tuesday, three days after she was let go by Phoenix.
“We are excited to add one of the premier players in our league to our roster,” Storm head coach Noelle Quinn said. “Tina is a prolific scorer who brings veteran experience and adds depth to our front court. We look forward to seeing the immediate impact she can make for our team.”
Charles, 33, was averaging 17.3 points and 7.3 rebounds in 16 games this season with the Mercury before the sides settled on a contract divorce last weekend. She's expected to make her debut with Seattle on Wednesday night against Las Vegas.
• Courtney Vandersloot, Kahleah Copper and Emma Meesseman will get a chance to play before their home fans, as the trio was selected Tuesday as reserves for the WNBA AllStar Game on July 10 in
Chicago.
The Sky stars will join Candace Parker, who was voted as a starter to the game last week.
But Diana Taurasi won't be in Chicago, left off the All-Star list for the first time in her career when healthy. Instead, the 10time All-Star told The Associated Press she'll be vacationing in Mexico.
“I'm really happy,” Taurasi said, laughing. “I always hated All-Star.”
Sue Bird, who will be a co-captain for one squad, said her longtime U.S. national team teammate should be there.
“She should have been chosen. It's ridiculous,” Bird said. “I feel like Dee should be there. If she's happy going to Cabo, I have to support that.”
Chicago's James Wade will coach one team, while Las Vegas' Becky Hammon will lead the other. The league announced last week that Breanna Stewart and Sylvia Fowles will co-captain one squad, while Bird and A'ja Wilson will draft for the other. All four were chosen starters. Fowles and Bird announced earlier this year that they would retire after the season ended.
The teams will be drafted on Saturday.
NFL seeks indefinite suspension for Watson
The NFL insisted on an indefinite suspension while Deshaun Watson's legal team argued there's no basis for that punishment as both sides presented their cases in front of a retired judge in Delaware on Tuesday, two people in attendance told The Associated Press.
The hearing will continue on Wednesday and Watson is scheduled to be there for the duration, according to one person who spoke on condition of anonymity because the hearing isn't public. It's expected to conclude Thursday but it's not known when a ruling will be made.
Former U.S. District Judge Sue Robinson, who was jointly appointed by the league and the NFL Players' Association, will determine whether Watson violated the NFL's personal conduct policy and whether to impose discipline.
Watson agreed to settle 20 of 24 civil lawsuits for sexual misconduct, but the league is seeking at least a one-year suspension, one of the people told The AP. Watson's side, led by attorneys Jeffrey Kessler and Rusty Hardin, wants the three-time Pro Bowl quarterback to play this season for the Cleveland Browns.
Two separate Texas grand juries declined to indict Watson on criminal complaints stemming from the allegations.
Watson has denied any wrongdoing and vowed to clear his name.
• Terry McLaurin and the Washington Commanders hammered out a new contract for the star receiver, ending the team's biggest football-related saga of a tumultuous offseason a month before training camp begins.
McLaurin agreed to terms on a three-year contract, according to two people with knowledge of the move who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Tuesday because the deal had not been announced.
One person confirmed the new deal is worth up to $71 million with roughly $53 million guaranteed, including a $28 million signing bonus. According to Spotrac, a website that tracks contracts, it's the highest signing bonus for a receiver, slightly more than the $27.5 million DeAndre Hopkins got from the Arizona Cardinals in 2020.
European tour players get PGA Tour cards
The PGA Tour is awarding 10 cards to European tour players and bringing back a direct path to the big leagues from Q-school as part of an expanded partnership with Europe that aims to strengthen themselves against the Saudifunded LIV Golf.
The joint venture with Europe is a 13-year deal that goes through 2035, and the PGA Tour increases its stake in European Tour Productions, the tour's media and commercial branch, from 15% to 40%.
PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan last week outlined significant changes to the schedule that will feature a January-to-August season starting in 2024 and create purses of $20 million on average for eight elite events.
The changes outlined in a conference call Tuesday give European tour players immediate access to the PGA Tour. The leading 10 players — excluding those already on the PGA Tour, such as Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm — will have full cards for the following year.
The partnership is likely to create better coordination of a global schedule for both tours. The Scottish Open next week is the first tournament co-sanctioned by both, and the field is the strongest in tournament history.
Ex-Sporting KC player had CTE, first for MLS
Researchers have diagnosed chronic traumatic encephalopathy in a Major League Soccer player for the first time, saying Tuesday that former Sporting Kansas City defender Scott Vermillion suffered from the degenerative brain disease.
The Boston University CTE Center said Vermillion, who died of an accidental drug overdose in December 2020 at the age of 44, had CTE. Although it is not possible to connect any individual case to a cause, the disease has been linked to repeated blows to the head.
CTE has been found in more than 100 former NFL players as well as semipro and high school soccer players. Vermillion is the first from MLS.
“Mr. Vermillion has shown us that soccer players are at risk for CTE,” said Dr. Ann McKee, director of the BU CTE Center. “We need to make every effort to identify players who are suffering and provide them compassionate care and appropriate medical support.”
Vermillion began playing soccer at the age of 5 and continued for 22 years, culminating in four MLS seasons for D.C. United, the Colorado Rapids and Sporting KC. He also played for the United States at the 1993 Under-17 World Championship and made some appearances for the Under-20 team in 1996.
After retiring in 2001 with an ankle injury, his family said, he became depressed and had problems with impulse control and aggression. Eventually, he suffered from memory loss and developed a substance abuse problem.
All have been associated with CTE, which has been linked to concussions or subconcussive blows in athletes, combat veterans and others who sustain repeated head trauma.
The MLS Players Association called upon the league to break with the sport's international governing bodies and adopt a rule expanding substitutions to allow for players with concussions.
• Mexico will play a pair of World Cup warmups in September but is likely to be missing its Europeanbased players because the matches are not on FIFA international fixture dates.
No. 12 Mexico said Tuesday it will play 21st-ranked Peru on Sept. 24 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, and No. 17 Colombia three days later at Santa Clara. It also announced a Nov. 16 exhibition against 20th-ranked Sweden at Girona, Spain.