COMMANDERS HIT WITH FINE
Excessive contact in practice costs team 100G
A person with knowledge of the decision said the NFL has fined the Washington Commanders $100,000 and stripped the team of two offseason workouts next year because of excessive contact in practice among players.
The person spoke to The Associated Press on Friday on condition of anonymity because the league did not announce the disciplinary move.
The fine, which was first reported by ESPN, applies to coach Ron Rivera, who was incensed by one particular hit during organized team activities to the point he stopped practice to lecture his team. Safety Jeremy Reaves made significant contact with second-year receiver Dyami Brown during practice without pads June 8.
“We just got to be careful and work with each other,” Rivera said afterward. “The last thing we want is somebody to be hurt.”
The fine and loss of 2023 OTA practice time is the latest off-field development for the Commanders after assistant Jack Del Rio was fined $100,000 for downplaying the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.
Virginia lawmakers tabled plans for a stadium bill, and a lawyer for Dan Snyder told Congress the team’s owner would not testify at a hearing next week.
Dallas coach Mike McCarthy was fined $100,000 and the club was stripped of one offseason practice next year because of practices deemed too physical by the NFL, owner Jerry Jones confirmed.
GIANT LB BANNED
The NFL has suspended Giants linebacker Justin Hilliard without pay for the first two games of the regular season for violating the league’s policy on performance-enhancing substances.
Hilliard will be eligible to participate in all preseason practices and games. He will be allowed to return to the Giants’ active roster on Sept. 19, following the team’s game against Carolina.
The former Ohio State player was awarded to the Giants on waivers in 2021. He played in two games, was active for a third game but did not play and was inactive for a fourth game.
Hilliard was sidelined the rest of the season because of a COVID-19 issue, the team said.
BRYCE LEADS PHILS
Bryce Harper had three hits against his old team, and the Philadelphia
Phillies beat the skidding Washington Nationals 5-3 Friday in a doubleheader opener for their 13th win in 15 games.
Nick Castellanos drove in two runs and scored another for the Phillies, who improved to 12-2 under interim manager Rob Thomson. Philadelphia’s 10-game winning streak against the Nationals is its longest against the franchise since 10 in a row against 1991 Montreal Expos.
Harper raised his average to .323. Washington has lost six straight, dropping to an NL-worst 23-44. Josh Bell homered for the Nationals, who have lost nine of 11 overall and nine straight home games to the Phillies.
Playing a makeup of a game postponed by the lockout on a 91-degree afternoon, the Phillies staked starter Ranger Suarez to a 2-0 lead before he threw a pitch thanks to Castellanos’ two-run double off Joan Adon (1-11).
Castellanos was in the middle of Philadelphia’s rally in the third, following Harper’s single by poking a double to right that Juan Soto appeared to misjudge. Odubel Herrera had a run-scoring groundout and Alec Bohm hit an RBI double to a 4-0 lead.
Castellanos is batting .359 (14 of 39) in his last 11 games and is a .435 hitter (10 of 23) with nine RBIs in six career games at Nationals Park.
DAVIDSON COACH RETIRES
Bob McKillop watched his former star player Stephen Curry closely as he celebrated winning another NBA championship with tears.
It felt like a timely bit of reassurance for the longtime Davidson men’s basketball coach as he prepared to announce his retirement.
“Everything happens for a reason,” McKillop said Friday as he choked up. “Did you see Steph after the game last night? He was crying, crying, tears. I thought that was a message to me: It’s OK to cry today.”
McKillop’s 33-year run at the small private school of fewer than 2,000 students north of Charlotte, North Carolina, included coaching the eventual NBA star with the Wildcats before Curry became a household name. It also included becoming one of the most respected voices in Division I men’s basketball on the way to 634 wins and 10 trips to the NCAA Tournament.
He announced his retirement in a campus news conference for the end of this month to make way for his son, associate head coach and former Wildcats player Matt McKillop, to take over as his successor.
The retirement announcement came shortly after athletic director Chris Clunie said Davidson would make Curry’s No. 30 the first number retired by the school after he earned his degree this year - 13 years after he left school early for the pros and one day after Curry won his fourth title with Golden State while being named NBA Finals MVP.