Two-time defending champions in rare hole
AUTO RACING: Formula One announced plans for a street race in Miami starting in 2019 as it seeks to enlarge its presence in the United States. A Miami race would be the second in the U.S., along with the U.S. Grand Prix in Austin, Texas, and the fourth in North America, joining races in Canada and Mexico City.
NBA: Thunder general manager Sam Presti said coach Billy Donovan’s job is safe despite a disappointing season. Although they added Paul George and Carmelo Anthony to the roster, the Thunder won only one more regularseason game than in 2016-17 and lost in the first round of the playoffs.
NFL: The NFL players union said former 49ers S Eric Reid filed a grievance against the league, alleging that he remains unsigned as a result of collusion by owners. Reid, a Pro Bowler in 2013 who became a free agent this offseason, had joined former teammate Colin Kaepernick two seasons ago in kneeling during the national anthem to protest police brutality and racial inequality. Kaepernick previously filed a collusion grievance that is in the discovery stage . ... The Steelers placed LB Ryan Shazier on injured reserve for the 2018 season to give him more time to recover from spinal stabilization surgery . ... The Bears declined the fifth-year option on WR Kevin White’s contract, as expected, sending the No. 7 overall pick in the 2015 draft into a make-or-break season in 2018 . ... The Jaguars declined to exercise the fifth-year option in DE Dante Fowler’s rookie contract . ... A Houston woman hired by former Saints WR Robert Meachem to manage his finances has been accused of stealing more than $1 million from him. Federal prosecutors in Houston said Tonya Lynn Adkism, 44, was arrested on mail fraud, wire fraud, bank fraud and aggravated identity theft charges.
NHL: The Bruins and Flames will face off Sept. 15 in Shenzhen in southeast China and then again Sept. 19 in Beijing in the second incarnation of the China Games. The Kings and Canucks played preseason games in Shanghai and Beijing last September, the NHL’s first foray there . ... The Stars will reportedly hire the University of Denver’s Jim Montgomery to be their next coach. Montgomery takes over for Ken Hitchcock, who retired last month and will become a consultant for the Stars.
TENNIS: Former tennis umpire Anthony Nimmons said in a lawsuit that he was forced out of the sport because he complained about racial bias, including that another umpire called him a “monkey,” allegations the United States Tennis Association denied. The suit, filed last week in federal court in Brooklyn against the USTA, seeks unspecified damages . ... Alexander Zverev began his Munich Open title defense with a 6-7 (12), 6-4, 6-2 win over Yannick Hanfmann. The top-seeded Zverev needed over two hours to prevail over the 118th-ranked Hanfmann, a wildcard entry, and set up a quarterfinal against Jan-Lennard Struff, who defeated Yannick Maden 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 . ... Second-seeded Petra Kvitova cruised into the quarterfinals of the Prague Open with a 6-3, 6-1 victory over unseeded Natalia Vikhlyantseva. Kvitova will face Katerina Siniakova, who prevailed 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 over Ekaterina Alexandrova.
As a handful of Penguins trickled onto the ice for an optional morning skate at the team’s practice facility on Wednesday morning, they found themselves in an unfamiliar place.
It was less than 14 hours after they had suffered a crushing 4-3 loss in Game 3 to the Capitals, who are just the second team in as many years to own a playoff series lead over the two-time defending champions.
The Penguins had found themselves chasing the Capitals in Games 1 and 2 after slow starts in each, and finds themselves in the rare position of chasing in the series.
It is reminiscent of the 2-1 hole the Penguins fell into in last year’s Eastern Conference Finals against the Senators, which set up a pressure-packed Game 4 in that series. The Penguins won that game 3-2, a pivotal response as they outlasted the Senators in seven games before ousting the Predators in the Stanley Cup Final.
Thursday’s Game 4 against the Capitals carries similar stakes, so Wednesday for some players was a chance to work on their shortcomings and find full closure after Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin had shocked them in their own building with a game-winning goal with 67 seconds left on Tuesday night. “It’s good to be out there. mean, especially after a game if there’s things you want to work on,” said Penguins captain Sidney Crosby, who was one of the few players to skate Wednesday. “You know when there’s kind of a lower number of guys you get to do a little bit more out there sometimes.”
The Penguins couldn’t protect 2-1 and 3-2 leads Tuesday. That seemed out of character for a team that is chasing a third straight title.
“We have lots of experience to draw on, and circumstances,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. “It’s hard to win in the playoffs. You’re going to go through emotional highs and lows. Right now, our eyes are on Game 4.”
Going to review: The NHL is taking a look at a hit by Capitals forward Tom Wilson that left the Penguins’ Zach Aston-Reese with a broken jaw and a concussion.
The league’s department of player safety scheduled a hearing for Wilson to talk about the collision that occurred Tuesday during the Capitals’ Game 3 victory.
Aston-Reese was stickhandling near the Capitals’ bench when Wilson drilled the rookie with his left shoulder. The force propelled Wilson up into the bench while Aston-Reese lay on the ice for several moments before skating off.
News services