COYOTES FIRST IN NHL TO HIRE FULL-TIME FEMALE COACH
glendale, ariz.» The Arizona Coyotes hired Dawn Braid as skating coach and said she is believed to be the first full-time female coach in NHL history.
Braid has a long association with the NHL.
She worked part-time for the Coyotes last year and has served as a skating consultant with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Anaheim Ducks, Buffalo Sabres and Calgary Flames.
Braid also spent seven years with the Athletes Training Center as director of skating development.
The hiring is the latest in a series of breakthroughs for women in men’s sports.
Last year, the Buffalo Bills made Kathryn Smith the NFL’s first fulltime assistant coach. Smith is the team’s quality control coach.
The NBA has had two female assistant coaches — Becky Hammon of the San Antonio Spurs and Nancy Lieberman of the Sacramento Kings.
A year ago, the Arizona Cardinals made Jen Welter the first woman to hold a coaching position of any kind in the NFL when she served as an intern in the preseason.
Earnhardt not ready to return
B concord, n.c.» Dale Earnhardt Jr. has not been cleared by doctors to return to racing and will miss at least two more races — at Michigan and Darlington — as he recovers from a concussion.
Earnhardt was evaluated by doctors at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Sports Medicine Concussion Program.
Owner Rick Hendrick said Earnhardt is working hard to get back and will follow doctors’ recommendations for his recovery.
Alex Bowman, who drove for Earnhardt at New Hampshire, will return to drive the No. 88 Chevrolet at Michigan this weekend. Jeff Gordon will fill in at Darlington, where he has won seven races.
Gordon has driven the past four races for Earnhardt.
New York makes U.S. final
B south williamsport, pa.»
Jude Abbadessa was 5-for-5 with six RBIs to lead Endwell, New York past Bowling Green, Kentucky 13-10 for a place in the U.S. championship game.
Esmith Pineda smashed a go-ahead three-run homer in the fifth inning and Panama beat South Korea 3-2 for a spot in the international title game of the Little League World Series.
It’s Kobe’s day as Lakers sign top pick, veteran. Lakers fans packed
Los Angeles City Hall chambers to witness the mayor and other officials declare Kobe Bryant Day in honor of the retired NBA superstar.
The Lakers also made news, signiing top draft pick Brandon Ingram and Chinese NBA veteran Yi Jianlian and re-signed center Tarik Black.
Ingram was the No. 2 overall pick in this summer’s draft. The Duke product’s rookie contract is expected to be worth more than $23 million over four years.
The 28-year-old Yi hasn’t played in the NBA since 2011-12 with Dallas.
The 6-foot-11 Yi spent the past four seasons with the Chinese Basketball Association’s Guangdong Southern Tigers. Yi averaged 20.4 points per game for China at the Rio Olympics.
Moves made for World Cup.
Canada selected Jay Bouwmeester to replace Duncan Keith on its roster for the World Cup of Hockey.
Sweden added Hampus Lindholm to its World Cup roster and removed two-time Olympian Niklas Kronwall from the 23-man team.
• Free-agent right wing Jiri Hudler signed a $2 million, one-year deal with the Dallas Stars.
Footnote.
Minnesota Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns, the NBA rookie of the year, has been tabbed to be the face of 2K’s mobile companion application to NBA 2K17 video game, which is set to launch Sept. 8.