Nurse to coach Raptors
Nick Nurse spent almost three decades paying his coaching dues, toiling with teams in Britain, Italy and Belgium, college basketball and the G League.
The chance he’s long coveted finally has arrived. Nurse has agreed to become the next coach of the Toronto Raptors. Nurse will be replacing his former boss, Dwane Casey — under whom he spent the past five seasons as a Raptors assistant. Casey was fired after the Raptors were swept out of the second round of this year’s playoffs by Cleveland. ESPN first reported the hiring.
The move seems to suggest there will be at least some continuity between what the Raptors have been doing and what they’ll do on his watch. Toronto went 59-23 this season, the best record in the Eastern Conference and second-best record in the NBA behind only Houston — and Nurse was in charge of the offense, led by all-star guards DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry.
The decision comes a month after Casey was let go and one day after he was hired by the Detroit Pistons as their new coach.
Nurse spent more than a decade in Europe, was an assistant coach for Britain at the 2012 London Olympics, is a past G League coach of the year and coached Rio Grande to that league’s title in 2013.
MLB
New York Mets right-hander Noah Syndergaard received a second opinion Tuesday on his strained right index finger, according to Mets general manager Sandy Alderson.
“Nothing else has happened,” Alderson said. “We want to make sure the next step he takes and we take is the right one.”
Syndergaard is currently on the disabled list due to the strain, and did not return as planned this past Sunday due to discomfort and swelling.
He is expected to need at least one rehab start before returning.
NHL
The wife of star NHL defenseman Erik Karlsson has sought a protection order against the fiancée of one of Karlsson’s Ottawa Senators teammates.
The fiancée allegedly led a harassment campaign targeting the unborn child the Karlssons ultimately lost in March, according to a published report.
Melinda Karlsson swore in a filing in an Ottawa court that Monika Caryk, the longtime girlfriend of forward Mike Hoffman, “uttered numerous statements wishing my unborn child dead,” the Ottawa
Citizen reported.
“There is a 150 percent chance that my fiancée Monika and I are not involved in any of the accusations that have been pursued (that are) coming our way,” Hoffman said.
GOLF
An eagle on No. 7 helped Burlington native and former NFL quarterback Tony Romo reach the round of 16 in the WSGA match play championship. Romo also had two birdies, winning his match over Fond du Lac’s Brady Sarauer, 4 and 2, at Blackhawk Country Club in Madison.