NBA CHAMP, HALL OF FAME COACH KUNDLA DIES AT 101 YEARS OLD
MINNEAPOLIS» Before Phil Jackson and Pat Riley, before Gregg Popovich and Larry Brown, even before Red Auerbach, there was John Kundla.
Kundla, the Hall of Fame coach who led the Minneapolis Lakers to five NBA championships, died Sunday. He was 101.
Tom Kundla said his father died at an assisted living facility in Minneapolis that he called home for years.
With George Mikan in the middle and John Kundla the calm, steady hand directing the team, the Lakers won the 1949 championship in the BAA — the league that preceded the NBA — and NBA titles in 1950 and 1952-54, cementing the franchise’s place as the league’s first true dynasty. The Lakers also won an NBL title in 1948, but the NBL marks are not included in the NBA’s records.
Ledecky strikes gold at worlds.
Katie Ledecky claimed her first gold medal of the world championships Sunday, cruising to a dominating win in the women’s 400-meter freestyle though she failed to break her own world record.
As expected, the 20-year-old American star pulled away on the very first lap and was essentially racing the clock the rest of the way.
James won’t drop no-trade clause.
LeBron James will not waive his notrade clause for any teams at any point during the 2017-18 season, NBA sources told ESPN.
James, Dirk Nowitzki and Carmelo Anthony are the only players in the league equipped with no-trade clauses. James holds a $35.6 million player option for the 2018-19 campaign, which means the Cleveland star could decide to test unrestricted free agency next summer.
Touted receiver commits to CU.
BOULDER» Dylan Thomas, a 6-foot-3, 180-pound wide receiver from Santa Fe High School in Southern California, has committed to play football for the University of Colorado.
Thomas, rated as high as four stars by recruiting services, is CU’s 15th known commitment for the 2018 recruiting class. He turned down scholarship offers from most of the other Pac-12 schools.
Timbers defeat Whitecaps 2-1.
Sebastian Blanco scored early in the second half and the undermanned Portland Timbers beat the Vancouver Whitecaps to snap a six-game winless streak in MLS.
Jeremy Ebobisse set up the winner and also scored for Portland.
The Timbers were short-handed because of injuries, suspensions and players away for the CONCACAF Gold Cup. They were 0-3-3 during the winless streak. Andrew Jacobson scored for Vancouver.
Isner captures Hall of Fame Open.
Top-seeded John Isner beat Australian qualifier Matthew Ebden 6-3, 7-6 (4) for his third Hall of Fame Open title.
The hard-serving American also won the grass-court event in 2011 and 2012. He has 11th career titles, all at the ATP World Tour 250 level.
Arrogate’s upset loss no setback.
CALIF.» Bob Baffert wasn’t
DEL MAR, beating himself up after Arrogate’s upset loss Saturday in the San Diego Handicap at Del Mar that snapped the seven-race winning streak of the world’s top-ranked horse.
The Hall of Fame trainer said other than getting a lot of dirt in his eyes and mouth, the 4-year-old colt emerged in good physical condition after finishing fourth, beaten by 15¼ lengths as the 1-20 favorite.
Baffert said that as long as Arrogate continues working out well and nothing comes up, the colt will run in the $1 million Pacific Classic on Aug. 19 at Del Mar.
Footnote.
The Denver Outlaws fell to 8-4 with a 13-12 loss to the Ohio Machine. Eric Law led the Outlaws with a game-high five goals.