Off the wire

BASKETBALL Slur sprayed on James’ home

A racial slur was spray-painted on a Los Angeles home owned by LeBron James on Wednesday, the police said, just a day before the basketball superstar was set to play in his seventh consecutive NBA Finals. Officer Norma Eisenman, a spokesman for the Los Angeles Police Department, said the episode was being investigated as a hate crime, and that the slur had been painted over by the property’s managers. Officer Aareon Jefferson, a spokesman for the Police Department, said that someone had called to report the slur at 6:44 a.m. Wednesday and that it was covered up by the time officers arrived at the home in West Los Angeles a short while later. He said the incident was still being investigated and that he did not know who had reported the slur. He did not know whether anyone was home at the time of the incident. The vandalism came the day before the opening game of the NBA Finals, in which James’ Cleveland Cavaliers will face the Golden State Warriors for the third consecutive season.

BASEBALL Harper’s suspension reduced

Washington Nationals star Bryce Harper has agreed to drop his appeal of a four-game suspension and will have one game shaved from the punishment. Harper reached the agreement Wednesday with Major League Baseball and was to begin serving the suspension immediately. The punishment stemmed from a bench-clearing brawl on Monday after Harper was hit by a 98-mph fastball from Giants reliever Hunter Strickland. There’s no word on Strickland, who received a six-game suspension and also had planned to appeal. The bad blood between the two stemmed from a pair of home runs Harper hit off Strickland in the 2014 playoffs. MLB Chief Baseball Officer Joe Torre’s explanation of the disciplinary decisions said Strickland intentionally hit “Harper with a pitch, inciting the bench-clearing incident and fighting,” while Harper’s suspension came “for charging the mound, throwing his helmet and fighting.” Each player also was fined an undisclosed amount.

Trout has thumb surgery

Mike Trout has undergone successful surgery on his injured left thumb, and the Los Angeles Angels slugger is likely to be out for at least six weeks. Dr. Steve Shin performed surgery on Trout on Wednesday, the Angels said. Trout had surgery on his ulnar collateral ligament and dorsal capsule. The typical recovery time for the procedure is six to eight weeks.

GOLF Video out of Woods’ arrest

Police in Jupiter, Fla., have released video of Tiger Woods’ DUI arrest. Police released the dash-cam footage Wednesday night. Officers on patrol early Monday noticed a Mercedes pulled awkwardly to the side of the road with the engine running, the brake lights on and a right turn signal blinking. Both tires on the left side of the car were flat, and police described fresh damage to the driver’s side. The video shows officers approach the car and Woods, who didn’t know where he was. The footage also shows Woods stumble and sway through a field sobriety test before being arrested.