Tour stage full of mishaps
Richie Porte sat on the pavement grasping his right shoulder and grimacing in pain. A fan helped Chris Froome get going after he tumbled onto grass. Romain Bardet recovered from three punctured tires.
And they were only the highest-profile riders to face mishaps in the action-packed cobblestoned Stage 9 of the Tour de France on Sunday.
Every cyclist who reached the finish was covered in dust – many with their jerseys torn to shreds from crashes.
Spanish rider Gorka Izaguirre had the unusual experience of his rear wheel buckling to the point that it looked like something out of a scrap heap.
John Degenkolb won a three-man sprint to take victory in the stage, while contender Porte crashed out of the race. Yellow-jersey holder Greg Van Avermaet crossed second and increased his overall lead to 43 seconds ahead of Geraint Thomas.
BASEBALL
Mike Shildt wasn’t sure what to expect in his first day as interim manager of the St. Louis Cardinals.
He certainly didn’t foresee the treatment he received in a wild post-game celebration that occurred following the Cardinals’ 6-4 win over the Cincinnati Reds on Sunday.
“They got me in a laundry basket and they spin you around and then they go at you with a bunch of cold water to the point where I was hyperventilating,” Shildt said.
Rumors of discontent in the locker room, along with inconsistent play, spelled the end for manager Mike Matheny, who was fired after Saturday’s 8-2 loss after six-plus seasons. The Cardinals were 591474 during Mathey’s tenure and made the playoffs in each of his first four years.
HOCKEY
Retired NHL goaltender Ray Emery, who helped the Ottawa Senators reach the final in 2007 and won the Stanley Cup with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2013, drowned in his hometown of Hamilton, Ontario. He was 35.
Hamilton Police said Emery was identified as the victim of a swimming accident in the harbor Sunday morning.
Nicknamed “Razor” for his aggressive style, Emery played parts of 11 seasons with the Ottawa Senators, Philadelphia Flyers, Chicago Blackhawks and Anaheim Ducks from 2003-’15.
Emery’s body was recovered just before 3 p.m. Sunday.
Former Admiral dies: Wayne Caufield, who played semi-pro hockey from 1963-’76 and ended his career with the Milwaukee Admirals, died last week at 75.
Caufield also coached youth hockey in the Milwaukee area for two decades and was elected to the Wisconsin Hockey Hall of Fame in 2011.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
The reloading UW-Milwaukee men’s basketball team has added Will Sessoms, a 6-foot-8 forward from Linden, N.J., who will be playing for his third school in three seasons.
Sessoms transferred in from Lee College, a community college in Baytown, Texas, Panthers announced Friday. He also spent one season at New Mexico Military Institute, a junior college in Roswell, N.M.
Earlier this month, UWM announced the addition of Harrison Henderson, a 6-10 forward/center who spent two season at Southern California. He will sit out this season per NCAA transfer rules.