RAPIDS ACQUIRE MIDFIELDER IN TRADE
The Rapids on Wednesday announced the acquisition of attacking midfielder Sam Nicholson in a trade with Minnesota United. The Rapids sent defender Eric Miller and $50,000 in general allocation money in exchange for Nicholson and an international roster spot for 2018.
“We’re very pleased to add another key element to our attack,” Padraig Smith, the Rapids executive vice president said in a statement. “Sam is a high-intensity player who looks to break lines and get forward. He also has a very high soccer IQ (and) fits our system very well.”
The 23-year-old from Edinburgh, Scotland, has appeared in 20 games (14 starts) for the Loons with two goals and two assists since 2017.
Miller, a native of Woodbury, Minn., returns to his home state. The 25-year-old appeared in 56 games for Colorado, including 26 games along the back line in 2016 for Colorado’s historically stingy defense.
Suns hire Jazz’s coach.
Phoenix hired Utah Jazz assistant Igor Kokoskov as its new coach.
The 46-year-old Serbian becomes the first NBA head coach born and raised outside North America. He served as a Suns assistant from 2008 to 2013.
Kokoskov inherits an exceedingly young team that compiled a 21-61 record, worst in the NBA.
• Thunder general manager Sam Presti said coach Billy Donovan’s job is safe, despite a disappointing season.
Oklahoma City had high expectations this season after trading for Paul George and Carmelo Anthony to join reigning MVP Russell Westbrook. Even with the added star power, the Thunder won just one more regular-season game than last year and lost in the first round of the playoffs to Utah.
Umpire brings lawsuit against USTA.
YORK» The United States NEW
Tennis Association is denying that a black tennis umpire was forced out of the sport because he complained about racial discrimination.
A USTA spokesman said the sport’s national governing body will fight the allegations in a lawsuit brought by Anthony Nimmons.
The suit filed last week in federal court in Brooklyn claims Nimmons was demoted and ultimately fired for speaking up about a racist environment in the world of tennis officiating. He says he suffered a series of indignities, including having a fellow umpire at the 2013 U.S. Open call him a “monkey.”
The suit, which seeks unspecified damages, says the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has backed up Nimmons’ claims.
Footnotes.
San Francisco righthander Johnny Cueto may meet with specialist Dr. James Andrews on the Giants upcoming road trip to get his sore pitching elbow evaluated. Cueto was placed on the disabled list Tuesday night with inflammation in his right elbow. … Yankees starter Jordan Montgomery could miss up to eight weeks because of an injury to his left elbow. The Yankees put him on the 10-day DL Wednesday with a strained left flexor. He is 2-0 with a 3.62 ERA in six games this year. … Liverpool advanced to its first Champions League final in more than a decade despite a 4-2 loss at Roma. The Reds scored two early goals and that was all they needed to advance 7-6 on aggregate after a 5-2 win in the first leg. … Spencer Gallagher has been suspended indefinitely from NASCAR for violating its substanceabuse policy, less than a week after winning his first career Xfinity Series race. The 28-year-old Gallagher agreed to participate in NASCAR’s substance-abuse recovery program. … Formula One has announced plans for a street race in Miami starting in 2019. Miami officials still need to approve it. … Alexander Zhukov, the head of the Russian Olympic Committee says he will step down, three months after athletes from his country were forced to compete at the PyeongChang Games as neutral athletes. — The Associated Press