Noah signs with Clips
Joakim on board for rest of season
The Los Angeles Clippers have signed free agent Joakim Noah to a new contract for the rest of the season, three months after he first signed a 10-day deal with the team.
The two-time All-Star averaged 7.1 points, 5.7 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 42 games for Memphis last season. Noah originally signed with the Clippers on March 9, two days before the NBA put its season on hold because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The 35-year-old center was the 2014 defensive player of the year. Noah provides the Clippers with playoff experience and additional depth at the position.
Noah’s 12 years in the NBA also includes stints with Chicago and the Knicks.
FOX, USGA PART WAYS
The U.S. Open is returning to NBC starting this year at Winged Foot after Fox Sports has asked to end its 12-year contract with the USGA.
The U.S. Open, originally scheduled to be played last week, was postponed to Sept. 17-20 at Winged Foot when the COVID-19 pandemic shut down golf for three months.
GRIDDERS BOYCOTT AT K-STATE
Kansas State football players say they will boycott all team activities until administrators create a policy that would allow a student to be expelled for “openly racist, threatening or disrespectful actions.”
The move that most players announced Saturday on social media follows a tweet by a student about the death of George Floyd that prompted outrage on campus.
On Thursday, one month after Floyd, a black man, died after a white Minneapolis police officer pressed his knee on his neck for nearly eight minutes, student Jaden McNeil tweeted, “Congratulations to George Floyd on being drug free for an entire month!”
University officials have said they are exploring their options for action after the tweet. University president Richard Myers said Friday that “divisive statements do not represent for the values of our university.”
HAMLIN TAKES POCONO
Round 2 at Pocono went to Denny Hamlin. Hamlin seized the spotlight, specifically in victory lane when Pocono had to set up lights after the race ended in the dark.
Hamlin topped Kevin Harvick on Sunday night to win the second Cup race of the weekend at Pocono Raceway and flip the result of the opener. The 1-2 finish out of each driver is a clear sign two of the best drivers in the game are poised again to make a championship push.
TRACK OWNER FACES THREATS AFTER NOOSE ‘JOKE’
The owner of a North Carolina racetrack said he has faced death threats, lost employees and seen “all but two” of his sponsors evaporate amid the backlash over his social media post invoking the noose found in the garage stall of black NASCAR driver Bubba Wallace.
Mike Fulp, who owns the half-mile, dirt track 311 Speedway in Stokes County, told the News & Record he knew his troubles from what he described as a joke were selfinflicted. Fulp’s post advertised “Bubba Rope” for sale on Facebook Marketplace the day after an FBI investigation determined the noose found at the Talladega Superspeedway garage had been there since at least October.
“I’ve lost all but two of my sponsors,” Fulp told the newspaper. “I’m responsible. I’m responsible for trying to make some jokes.”
Fulp said he’s been getting death threats and received messages threatening his family.
The Greensboro newspaper reported Fulp canceled a “Stand for America” event planned for Saturday for safety reasons but plans to reopen 311 Speedway, perhaps as soon as next Saturday. He said he wants “low-profile” racing and he plans to stay off social media. Fulp said he is not a racist in an interview in which the newspaper reported he broke down in tears and sobbed.
PIRATES’ SANTANA SUSPENDED
Pirates reliever Edgar Santana will miss all of the abbreviated 2020 season after being suspended 80 games for violating Major League Baseball’s Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program.