Warriors guard Payton II to be sidelined at least a month
Newly acquired Golden State guard Gary Payton II will be out for at least a month as he fully recovers from offseason surgery for a core muscle injury, and Warriors general manager Bob Myers is awaiting a decision from the NBA on whether the Trail Blazers withheld anything on Payton's health before trading him.
“What do I want? Whatever the NBA says is fair, just whatever that is,” Myers said Monday of receiving any potential compensation from Portland. “I just want a fair result. I don't know, whatever it takes it takes, I don't know how long.”
Myers is hopeful the defensive guard could return before the playoffs. Payton is listed on the injury report with right adductor soreness, stemming from the abdominal area — and there were no further details on whether that means the high-flying Payton's right leg is also compromised.
MLB
`GHOST RUNNER' IN EXTRA INNINGS MADE PERMANENT BY MLB >>
Starting extra innings with a runner on second base during the regular season was made a permanent rules change by Major League Baseball on Monday after three seasons of use during the coronavirus pandemic.
Known by some as the “Ghost Runner” and by others as the “Manfred Man” after baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred, the rule was unanimously adopted by the sport's 11-person competition committee.
Use of position players as pitchers also was tightened by the committee. They will be limited to extra innings, when a player's team is losing by eight or more runs or is winning by 10 or more runs in the ninth inning. Last year, a position player could pitch only in extra innings or if his team was losing or winning by six or more runs.
WASHINGTON NATIONALS OWNER TED LERNER DIES AT 97 >>
Ted Lerner, the billionaire real estate developer whose family bought the Washington Nationals in 2006, has died, the team announced. He was 97.
A Nationals spokesperson said Lerner died Sunday of complications from pneumonia at his home in Chevy Chase, Maryland.
Lerner's group purchased the Nationals from Major League Baseball in 2006 for $450 million after the team was moved to the U.S. capital from Montreal. He was managing principal owner until ceding that role to son Mark in 2018.
Men's basketball
ALABAMA HOOPS NO. 1 IN AP TOP 25 FOR FIRST TIME IN 20 YEARS >> Alabama is the new No. 1, rising to the top spot in The Associated Press Top 25 men's college basketball poll for the first time in 20 years.
Purdue's loss to Northwestern last week caused a jumble at the top of the AP Top 25 and that helped the Crimson Tide.
Alabama received 38 first-place votes from a 62-person media panel Monday, moving up two spots to leapfrog No. 2 Houston. The Cougars had 22 first-place votes to remain at No. 2 and Purdue, down to No. 3, still had two first-place votes.
UCLA and Kansas rounded out the top five. NEW MEX ST CANCELS SEASON AFTER SEX, HARASSMENT ALLEGATIONS >> New Mexico State called off the rest of its men's basketball season Sunday after reviewing a police report that cited three players for false imprisonment, harassment and counts of criminal sexual contact against a teammate.
In a statement, chancellor Dan Arvizu said “this action is clearly needed, especially after receiving additional facts and reviewing investigation reports related to the hazing allegations involving studentathletes on the team.”
The campus police report, obtained by The Associated Press, redacted the names of the players involved. The report, filed Friday, detailed the victim telling investigators that last Monday, three members of the team held the victim down “removed his clothing exposing his but- tocks and began to `slap his* (buttocks).' He also went on to state that they also touched his scrotum.”
Women's basketball UNLV RANKED FOR FIRST TIME IN 29 YEARS >>
UNLV is back in the The Associated Press Top 25 women's college basketball pollfor the first time since 1994: UNLV entered the poll at No. 23 on Monday.
South Carolina earned the No. 1 ranking for the 34th consecutive week. That is tied for the thirdlongest run atop the poll with UConn. Only the Huskies (51 weeks) and Louisiana Tech (36) have had longer streaks at No. 1.
The Gamecocks (25-0), who were again a unanimous choice from the 28-member national media panel, routed then-No. 3 LSU on Sunday in a showdown of unbeaten teams. The Tigers fell to fifth.
Indiana, Stanford and Utah were behind South Carolina. It's the best ranking in school history for the Utes, who moved up three places this week.
Soccer
UEFA BLAMED FOR NEARDISASTER AT CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL >>
UEFA-appointed investigators have held European soccer's ruling body mostly responsible for chaotic security failures at the 2022 Champions League final in Paris that put the lives of Liverpool and Real Madrid fans at risk.
“It is remarkable that no one lost their life,” the investigation panel wrote in a 220-page document published Monday into a near “mass fatality catastrophe” at the biggest club game in world soccer.
“The panel has concluded that UEFA, as event owner, bears primary responsibility for failures which almost led to disaster,” the report said.