ALBECK, LONGTIME NBA COACH, DIES AT 89 IN HOSPICE CARE
the former San Antonio, Cleveland, New Jersey and Chicago head coach during a long NBA career, died Thursday in hospice care at son John’s home. He was 89.
John Albeck told the San Antonio Express-News his father entered hospice care Thursday after having a stroke March 14. He also had a stroke in 2001 while an assistant coach with Toronto.
Albeck coached the ABA’s Denver Rockets in 1970-71, then directed Cleveland in 1979-80, San Antonio from 1980-83, New Jersey from 1983-85 and Chicago in 1985-86 — with Michael Jordan in his second season.
He took San Antonio to consecutive Western Conference Finals in 1982 and 1983. The Spurs had a moment of silence to honor Albeck before their game against the Clippers on Thursday night.
“Coach Albeck wasn’t just important to the Spurs, he was what I call a lifer,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “People like myself don’t come close to loving the game as he did, and his whole family did. They participated in so many ways and followed him so many places.”
Soccer
The U.S. feels right with Sergino Dest. And left. Four days after scoring his first two goals for Barcelona as a right back, the 20-year-old defender shifted to the left and got his first international goal with a spectacular 25-yard strike. Dest’s 34th-minute goal started the United States to a 4-1 win over Jamaica in an exhibition at Wiener Neustadt, Austria.
• The United States will play Honduras for a berth in the Olympic men’s soccer tournament in a doubleheader opener Sunday night at Guadalajara, and host Mexico will play Canada for a spot at the Tokyo Games.
• Italy started its World Cup qualifying campaign with a comfortable 2-0 win over Northern Ireland as the Azzurri set out to rectify their failures from four years ago.
• Spain was held to a 1-1 draw by Greece in its opening World Cup qualifier. In the other Group B match, Sweden defeated Georgia 1-0 as Zlatan Ibrahimovic set up the winning goal on his return to international soccer after almost five years.
NFL
Less than three weeks after being released in a salary cap move, Carlos Dunlap is returning to the Seahawks on a two-year deal. Dunlap’s agent, Drew Rosenhaus, confirmed the sides agreed on a new contract that is expected to be worth more than $16 million.
• The Patriots re-signed running back James White,
bringing back a key veteran cog of their offense. The deal is for one year and according to reports will pay him a guaranteed $2.5 million, returning White to New England for his eighth season.
• The Bills agreed to sign running back Matt Breida
to a one-year contract.
• The Cardinals added cornerback Malcolm Butler
on a one-year deal in an effort to bolster a thin secondary and also traded center
Mason Cole to the Minnesota Vikings for a sixthround draft pick.
Tennis
Three-time Grand Slam winner Stan Wawrinka has undergone surgery for an injury to his left foot. Wawrinka said that he would be out “for a few weeks,” with the French Open starting May 23. He won at Roland Garros in 2015.
• Top-ranked Ash Barty rallied from a big third-set deficit and overcame a match point to win her opening match at the Miami Open against qualifier
Kristina Kucova, 6-3, 4-6, 7-5. Wild card Ana Konjuh of Croatia upset No. 18-seed
Madison Keys in the second round, 6-4, 6-2.
Also
The San Diego Gulls (1110-0-0), fresh off a 5-3 win over Ontario on Wednesday night, will host Bakersfield (11-6-0-1) tonight in Irvine. The Condors are one point ahead (23-22) of the Gulls in the AHL Pacific Division standings.
• Paul Cayard has raced in the America’s Cup and the Olympics, and was the first American skipper to win one of sailing’s toughest challenges, the Whitbread Round the World Race. One of America’s most accomplished sailors, Cayard now faces another arduous task: guiding the underperforming U.S. Olympic Sailing Team as its new executive director.
• Bobby Brown, an infielder who played on five World Series champions with the New York Yankees and later became a cardiologist and president of the American League, died. He was 96.
• Notre Dame is out of the NCAA Division I men’s hockey tournament due to multiple positive COVID-19 test results and contact tracing within its Tier I testing group.
• Olympic ski jumping champion Daniel-Andre Tande was hospitalized after a heavy fall at a World Cup event in Slovenia, with Norwegian team officials saying he was in a medically induced coma.