Virus protocols leave Raptors short
The Raptors were without six members of their coaching staff, including head coach Nick Nurse, and starting forward Pascal Siakam for Friday night’s game against the Rockets in accordance with the NBA’s health and safety protocols regarding the coronavirus.
Assistant coach Sergio Scariolo was promoted to coach the team’s game in Tampa, Florida, against the Rockets.
The Raptors said Nurse and the remainder of his staff will continue to work remotely.
Scariolo had been away from the Raptors while coaching Spain in FIBA’s EuroBasket 2022 qualifiers and just cleared quarantine Friday.
The Raptors were considering other options if he was not cleared to coach in time, including bringing their G League staff from that league’s bubble season, currently going on in Lake Buena Vista, Florida — about an hour from Tampa. The Raptors lost an assistant coach last weekend when Chris Finch was hired as the Timberwolves’ head coach.
“I don’t know how many hundreds or thousands of games he’s been a head coach,” Raptors general manager Bobby Webster said. “But it’s unique, and he acknowledged that much, especially under the circumstances.”
Nets star Kevin Durant’s “mild” left hamstring strain is more severe than originally expecte. A routine follow-up MRI determined Durant requires “an additional recovery period” that will keep him out through the March 5-10 NBA All-Star break. Commissioner Adam Silver announced Pacers star Domantas Sabonis as Durant’s injury replacement for the All-Star Game.
College basketball: Wichita State removed the interim tag from coach Isaac Brown’s title Friday, agreeing in principle to a fiveyear deal with the longtime assistant who took a program in chaos to the top of the American Athletic Conference this season. The Shockers (13-4, 9-2) head into the weekend with a slim conference lead — mere percentage points — over No. 12 Houston, which it beat last week for one of the biggest home victories in school history. They haven’t lost since Jan. 21, winning five straight while navigating COVID-19 pauses that have forced four postponements.
Golf: Brooks Koepka hit one of his worst tee shots of the day that barely cleared the water on the 15th hole. That turned out to be the start of three straight birdies that led to a 6-under 66 and a one-shot lead Friday in the Workday Championship. In some respects, that’s how his recent surge has been. Coming off a pair of missed cuts, Koepka won the Phoenix Open to end an 18-month drought. He’s starting to hit his stride with the first major of the year ahead. ... Annika Sorenstam went more than 12 years without playing on the LPGA Tour. Now she gets two more days. Sorenstam made three birdies after making the turn Friday at Lake Nona and posted a 1-under 71 in the Gainbridge LPGA. And even with the wrong ruling the previous day that led to an extra stroke, she still made the cut on the number. “I did what I could,” Sorenstam said. “The goal was to shoot under par and I did, and so that’s all I can do.” She still was 12 shots out of the lead as Lydia Ko posted a 3-under 69 and took a one-shot lead over Nelly Korda (68). Ryan O’Toole had her second straight 68 and was a shot behind.
ATLANTA — Real estate investor Larry Gottesdiener was approved Friday as the lead owner of the Dream following pressure on former Sen. Kelly Loeffler to sell her share of the WNBA team.
The three-member investor group also includes former Dream guard Renee Montgomery and Suzanne Abair, president of Northland Investment Corp. in Massachusetts, the firm Gottesdiener founded.
Montgomery becomes the first former player to become both an owner and executive of a WNBA team. She sat out the 2020 season to focus on social justice issues and recently announced her retirement from the league after 11 seasons. The approval by the WNBA and NBA Board of Governors was expected and unanimous. It means co-owner Mary Brock also sold her share of the team, which will remain in Atlanta.
The WNBA announced on Jan. 20 the ownership change was close to being completed. Players around the league have called for Loeffler to sell her 49% stake in the Dream after she wrote a letter to WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert over the summer objecting to the league’s initiatives to advocate for racial justice and the Black Lives Matter movement.
“With the unanimous WNBA and NBA votes, today marks a new beginning for the Atlanta Dream organization and we are very pleased to welcome Larry Gottesdiener and Suzanne Abair to the WNBA,” Engelbert said in a statement.
“I admire their passion for women’s basketball, but more importantly, have been impressed with their values. I am also thrilled that former WNBA star Renee Montgomery will be joining the ownership group as an investor and executive for the team. Renee is a trailblazer who has made a major impact both in the game and beyond.”
Montgomery said her new role can set a tone.
“Breaking barriers for minorities and women by being the first former WNBA player to have both a stake in ownership and a leadership role with the team is an opportunity that I take very seriously,” Montgomery said. “I invite you to join me as the Dream builds momentum in Atlanta!”
Montgomery is in her first season as a studio analyst on Atlanta Hawks broadcasts for Fox Sports Southeast.
Montgomery won titles with the Minnesota Lynx in 2015 and 2017. She was an All-Star with the Connecticut Sun in 2011, when she set a career high with her average of 14.6 points per game. She was the WNBA’s Sixth Woman of the Year in 2012.
Gottesdiener said he considers it “a privilege to join a team of inspiring women who strive for excellence on the court and equity off the court.”