NBA keeping coach’s challenge
The NBA coach’s challenge is back, and here to stay.
Following the recommendation from the league’s competition committee, the NBA’s board of governors voted Thursday to keep the challenge as an option for coaches going forward. It was introduced last year on a one-year trial.
Coaches challenged 700 calls last season, including the playoffs. Calls were overturned 308 times, a rate of 44%.
Also approved by the board of governors Thursday: a plan to give teams the ability to expand their active roster on game nights from 13 to 15 for this season — a move being made largely in response to the coronavirus pandemic and in anticipation of the likelihood that teams will be missing players from time to time.
Plus, the trade deadline is finally set for this season: It’ll be March 25, or about two weeks into the “second half ” of the schedule. The schedule is known through March 4, with the remainder to be set later.
More NBA: The NBA is investigating allegations made against Jerry West and the Clippers involving the free-agency recruitment of Kawhi Leonard in 2019, a league source confirmed to ESPN.
TMZ Sports reported this week that a man who claims to be close to Leonard filed a lawsuit against West and the Clippers, alleging that West owes him $2.5 million for helping the Clippers sign Leonard.
“I deny engaging in any improper conduct in connection with the signing of Kawhi Leonard,” West told TMZ Sports.
The NBA’s investigation into the allegations was first reported by The Athletic.
College football: UCLA will not pursue the opportunity to play in a bowl game, the school announced. The Bruins joined a growing list of teams to make the decision not to extend the season due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The Bruins (3-3) are one of just two teams in the Pac-12 that have played the full six-game allotment that the conference had scheduled to this point, and they’re expected to host Stanford on Saturday in what will be the season finale for both teams.
NFL: Washington placed S Deshazor Everett on IR with a torn pectoral muscle.
NHL: The Panthers and All-Star winger Anthony Duclair agreed to a one-year contract worth $1.7 million, according to reports. Duclair, 25, had a career-high 23 goals last season for the Senators. ...
Blues winger Alexander Steen, who won a Stanley Cup with St. Louis in 2019, announced his retirement due to a back injury suffered last season. Steen ended a 15-year career that began with the Maple Leafs and ended with over 11 seasons with the Blues. The 36-year-old Steen has degenerative herniated disks in his spine. He finished with 245 goals and 377 assists in 1,018 career games.
Soccer: Bayern Munich forward Robert Lewandowski has won The Best FIFA Men’s Player of the Year for 2020, beating Barcelona’s Lionel Messi and Juventus’ Cristiano Ronaldo.