Idaho State assistant held on murder charge
Idaho State assistant football coach DaVonte’ Neal was arrested on suspicion of killing a man in Arizona and the school intends to terminate his contract.
Pocatello police said Neal has been charged with one count of first-degree murder, one count of drive-by-shooting, and one count of discharging a firearm at a structure, the Idaho State Journal reported.
The alleged incident involved the shooting of a man on Nov. 11, 2017, police said.
Neal was indicted by a grand jury in Maricopa County on May 16. The newspaper reported the indictment has been sealed via judicial order.
Neal, who played college football at the University of Arizona, is being held without bail at the Bannock County Jail awaiting extradition to Arizona.
ELSEWHERE Sooners open title defense with rout
Tiare Jennings and Jana Johns hit grand slams and No. 1 seed
Oklahoma rolled past No. 9 seed Northwestern 13-2 in five innings in Oklahoma City on the opening day of the Women’s College World Series.
Northwestern’s Rachel Lewis hit a solo blast over the left field fence in the third inning to open the scoring. It was her 23rd homer of the season. But that was the only hit Oklahoma starter Hope Trautwein (19-1) allowed. She struck out seven and walked five in 42⁄3 innings.
Oklahoma (55-2) advanced to play rival Texas on Saturday in their first World Series meeting.
⏩ Texas freshman Mia Scott went 4 for 4 to help the Longhorns beat No. 5 seed UCLA 7-2 in the opening game. The Longhorns (44-19-1) hadn’t won a World Series game since a semifinal run in 2013. UCLA (48-9) faces Northwestern (45-12) in an elimination game on Friday.
⏩ Cheyenne Lindsey went 3 for 3 and scored three runs to help 14th-seeded Florida beat Oregon State 7-1. Avery Goelz had two hits and knocked in three runs and Charli Echols hit a solo homer for the Gators (49-17).
The Beavers (39-21) play the Oklahoma State-Arizona loser in an elimination game Friday.
WNBA: In one small bit of normalcy, center Brittney Griner has been able to receive emails and letters from WNBA players during her detainment in Russia. Hundreds of emails have been sent by players to an account Griner’s agent set up to allow communication with her.
Motor sports: IndyCar driver Alexander Rossi (Nevada City), who won the Indianapolis 500 as a rookie in 2016, confirmed that he’s signed a multiyear deal to drive for Arrow McLaren SP next season after a seven-year run with Andretti Autosport.
College basketball: The USF men landed Washington State guard transfer Tyrell Roberts. He played in 36 of 37 games last season, averaging 11.4 points.
⏩ Malachi Smith of Chattanooga, one of the top players in the transfer portal, signed with Gonzaga, whose starters Drew Timme, Julian Strawther and Rasir Bolton decided this week to return for another season.
Track and field: Barring a sudden end to the Ukraine war, athletes from Russia and Belarus are banned from June’s world championships.