Michigan hoops tabs May
Florida Atlantic’s Dusty May has been hired as the new men’s basketball coach at Michigan, the latter school announced Sunday morning.
May agreed to a five-year contract with an average value of $3.75 million annually.
May, 47, replaces Juwan Howard, who was fired on March 15 after five seasons with the Wolverines.
Michigan limped to an 8-24 overall record, marking the school’s worst percentage (.250) since 196061 and the most losses in program history. The Wolverines dropped their ninth straight decision with a 66-57 setback to Penn State in the first round of the Big Ten conference tournament.
The mission for May, who served as a student manager under coach Bob Knight as an undergraduate at Indiana, is to get Michigan back on track.
“The University of Michigan is among the elite institutions in the world, and it is both an honor and privilege to be named its head men’s basketball coach,” May said in a statement.
“… This was an incredibly difficult decision, however, I am deeply committed to reigniting the proud tradition of Michigan basketball. I can’t wait to get started.”
May won 60 games the past two seasons at FAU, leading the Owls to the Final Four in 2023. FAU lost in the first round of this year’s tournament as a No. 8 seed to Northwestern.
Overall, May went 126-69 in six seasons at FAU. His .822 winning percentage the past two years was the fifth best in Division I, according to ESPN.
GOLF
Peter Malnati rolled in five birdies, charged up the leaderboard and captured the Valspar Championship title on Sunday in Palm Harbor, Florida.
Malnati, 36, won his second career PGA Tour event and his first since November 2015. The victory qualified Malnati for his first career Masters in three weeks.
Malnati finished the week 12-under 272. He beat Cameron Young by two strokes after Young bogeyed his final hole en route to a 68.
Chandler Phillips (69) and Canada’s Mackenzie Hughes (70) tied for third at 9 under.
AUTO RACING
Alex Palou of Spain earned himself a tidy $500,000 payday by winning the Thermal Club $1 million challenge, the IndyCar Series’ new nonpoints exhibition race, on Sunday near Palm Springs, Calif.
Palou, the defending series champion, drove his No. 10 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda to a pair of victories at the Thermal Club, a private motorsports club in the California desert.
New Zealand’s Scott McLaughlinwon $350,000 for second place, Sweden’s Felix Rosenqvist took third for a $250,000 check and Colton Herta and Marcus Armstrong rounded out the top five finishers.
Formula One: Max Verstappen’s win streak ended at nine after a brake fire cut short his race on Sunday at the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne.
Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz took advantage and captured the checkered flag as Verstappen dealt with smoke coming from the right rear tire in the fourth lap. Sainz also benefited from a final-lap crash by Mercedes driver George Russell to win the race. Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc came in second and McLaren’s Lando Norris secured a third-place finish.
NBA
Boston Celtics starting point guard Jrue Holiday, who has not played since March 17 due to a right shoulder joint strain that has caused “dead arm,” remains out, with no timetable set for his return, multiple outlets reported.
Holiday, who has earned first-team NBA All-Defensive team honors in three of the past six seasons, sustained the injury when he hit the Wizards’ Richaun Holmes, who was setting a screen.
The 15-year veteran and two-time all-star is averaging 12.8 points per game, the lowest since his rookie season with the Philadelphia 76ers. But he is on pace for career highs in three-point shooting (44.5 percent) and rebounds (5.4), to go with 4.9 assists.
TENNIS
Third-seeded Coco Gauff started slow and finished strong while recording a 6-4, 6-0 victory over lucky loser Oceane Dodin of France to advance to the round of 16 at the Miami Open on Sunday in Miami Gardens, Fla.
Dodin led 4-2 in the first set but Gauff saved two break points and went on to win the seventh game. It was the start of Gauff winning 10 straight games to close the match.