THE HOT CORNER

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PRO BASEBALL:

Kansas City Royals OF Alex Gordon announced he will retire after the season. Gordon was the second overall pick in the 2005 first-year player draft following a standout career at Nebraska, where he won the Golden Spikes Award as the best amateur in baseball. He made his big league debut two years later and, after a few years shuttling back and forth to the minors, moved from third base to the outfield and finally found success. The three-time All-Star wound up playing his entire 14-year career in Kansas City, joining only George Brett and Frank White as position players with that much longevity with the franchise.

PRO BASEBALL:

Randy Arozarena homered twice and the Tampa Bay Rays clinched their first AL East title in 10 years Wednesday with an 8-5 win over the New York Mets. Tampa Bay will be home at Tropicana Field for a best-of-three first-round playoff series beginning Tuesday.

PRO HOCKEY:

Another slow start doomed the Dallas Stars in Edmonton, Alberta. Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final slipped away from the Western Conference champs in a hurry Wednesday night, with Anton Khudobin allowing goals by Nikita Kucherov and Steven Stamkos in the first seven minutes during the Tampa Bay Lightning’s 5-2 victory. A trio of Tampa Bay goals in the second period built the lead to 5-1, ending an ugly night for Khudobin. Game 4 is tonight.

COLLEGES:

North Carolina State announced temporary salary cuts or furloughs for coaches and staff members because of financial concerns amid the pandemic, citing expected losses of $25 million to $35 million in revenue.

OLYMPICS:

Two-time Olympic biathlon champ Olga Zaitseva lost her appeal against disqualification from the 2014 Sochi Olympics for her part in Russia’s state-backed doping program.