Apple to stream all MLS games
Ten-year deal follows one for baseball
Apple and Major League Soccer announced a 10-year partnership that will allow fans to watch every game without local blackouts or restrictions on Apple TV beginning next year.
The deal is Apple’s second venture into streaming professional sports.
In April, it began airing “Friday Night Baseball,” an exclusive weekly doubleheader of Major League Baseball games.
MLS Commissioner Don Garber said Apple is not paying a rights fee but rather a minimum guarantee against revenues that will be generated with both selling subscriptions.
People with knowledge of the deal said that the minimum guarantee is worth $250 million per year.
Baseball
Nick Ward hit a two-run single and Ramon Osuna added a two-run homer in the top of the seventh, but the visiting Washington Wild Things (17-11) could not slow down the offense of the Joliet Slammers (16-13) in a 13-4 loss.
Hockey
The Vegas Golden Knights have hired Bruce Cassidy as their new head coach. Cassidy, the longtime Bruins coach who was surprisingly let go by the team this month, replaces the fired Peter DeBoer.
Pro basketball
Charlotte forward Montrez Harrell faces felony drug charges stemming from a traffic stop in Richmond, Ky., last month. According to police records, Harrell 28, was pulled over by a state trooper at 9:58 a.m. May 12 on I-75. During a subsequent search of the vehicle, “three pounds of marijuana in vacuum sealed bags” were found in a backpack in the back seat.
• Atlanta guard Bogdan Bogdanovic is recovering from surgery on his right patella tendon after being hampered by knee inflammation this past season.
College basketball
Connecticut self-reported 15 minor NCAA violations in 2021, including a women’s basketball player accepting $40 from a fan for her birthday. All violations were considered to be “breach of conduct” violations by the university, the least serious category.
Soccer
England is staring at the prospect of relegation from UEFA Nations League Group A3 after suffering its worst home loss since 1928 in a 4-0 defeat to Hungary at Molineux.
• Joel Campbell’s goal sent Costa Rica to the World Cup for a third successive tournament as it edged 10-man New Zealand, 1-0, and secured the last place at the finals in Qatar.
Elsewhere
Vitali Klitschko, the Hall of Fame boxer and mayor of Kyiv, Ukraine, will be honored with the Arthur Ashe Courage Award at the 2022 ESPYS on July 20 in Los Angeles, ESPN announced.