Panthers land forward
Forward Amir Allen signed a letter of intent to play for the UW-Milwaukee basketball team, coach Pat Baldwin announced Monday.
Allen comes to Milwaukee following a freshman season at Northern Oklahoma College.
The 6-foot-8-inch Allen found his way into the starting lineup quickly. He made 27 starts, shooting an impressive 63.1% from the floor. He averaged 11.8 points and seven rebounds.
As a prep, Allen was named 2015-’16 All Daily Record boys basketball player of the year after leading Morris Catholic in Denville, N.J., to three straight league titles.
GOLF
Tony Romo didn’t get out of the opening stage in another failed attempt to play in the U.S. Open.
Romo three-putted his opening hole at Gleneagles Country Club in Plano, Texas, made only two birdies and shot a 5-over 77 on Monday in the 18hole local qualifier. The top eight finishers from Gleneagles advance to 36-hole sectional qualifying on June 4.
Romo, the retired Dallas Cowboys quarterback and NFL analyst for CBS Sports, failed to get through local qualifying for the second straight year. He was tied for 24th among the first half of the field, meaning he would miss advancing by at least five shots.
HORSE RACING
Monomoy Girl is the early 2-1 favorite for the Kentucky Oaks but must do so from far outside if she is win the marquee race for 3-year-old fillies.
Monomoy Girl drew the No. 14 post and is one of three Brad Cox-trained entries in Friday’s $1 million race at Churchill Downs. Monomoy Girl has five wins and a second in six career starts. She won the Ashland Stakes at Keeneland on April 7.
Cox clearly would have preferred a better draw in the 144th Oaks. Florent Geroux will make his sixth consecutive start aboard Monomoy Girl, who has won her past two races by a combined eight lengths.
HOCKEY
The Carolina Hurricanes terminated the contract of demoted general manager and Hall of Fame player Ron Francis.
The Hurricanes announced the move nearly two months after Francis was reassigned to another front-office position while the team began a search for a new GM that will report directly to new owner Tom Dundon.
The 55-year-old Francis is a four-time all-star who won the Stanley Cup twice with Pittsburgh in the 1990s. He took over as Carolina’s general manager in 2014 after being groomed for the position by former GM Jim Rutherford.
Carolina’s nine-year playoff drought is one of the longest in NHL history.
SURFING
A Brazilian surfer rode a monster wave off Portugal to set a world record.
The World Surf League said its judges determined that a wave Rodrigo Koxa surfed at Nazare, Portugal, on Nov. 8 reached a height of 80 feet. The previous mark was by American Garrett McNamara in 2011 – 78 feet.