OLYMPIC FIGURE SKATING MEDALIST DENIS TEN KILLED
MOSCOW» Olympic figure skating medalist Denis Ten was killed Thursday, and prosecutors in Kazakhstan said they were treating the case as murder.
Ten was stabbed after a dispute with people who allegedly tried to steal a mirror from his car in his home city of Almaty, Kazakh news agencies reported. Doctors in Almaty say the 25-year-old skater died in the hospital there.
Born in Kazakhstan to a family of Korean descent, Ten’s bronze at the Winter Olympics in Sochi in 2014 made him Kazakhstan’s first medalist in figure skating.
Canadian skater Patrick Chan, who won silver in the same competition, said on Twitter he was “honored and grateful to have shared the ice” with Ten. “One of the most beautiful skaters to have graced our sport. My thoughts are with his family during this unimaginable time.”
Ten struggled with injuries and could manage only 27th at the Pyeongchang Olympics in February.
New Mexico regents move forward with cutting sports.
ALBUQUERQUE»
The Board of Regents at New Mexico’s flagship university voted Thursday to eliminate four sports teams and make other changes to its troubled athletic department to address persistent budget problems and failures to meet federal gender equity requirements under Title IX.
University president Garnett S. Stokes and athletic director Eddie Nuñez presented recommendations to cut men’s soccer, along with the men’s and women’s skiing and beach volleyball programs, during a special meeting.
The unanimous vote came after the board heard hours of testimony from coaches, players, alumni and community members about the importance of the programs. Some in the crowd responded with boos and heckles.
Capitals re-sign Bowey to $2 million, 2-year deal.
The Washington Capitals re-signed defenseman Madison Bowey to a two-year deal worth $2 million.
General manager Brian MacLellan announced the contract Thursday.
Bowey, who will count $1 million against the salary cap in each of the next two seasons, did not dress in a game during Washington’s Stanley Cup run. In 51 regular-season games, he averaged almost 14 minutes and recorded 12 assists.
16-year-old Thai goes ace-albatross in AJGA event.
16-year-old Thai player made a holein-one and an albatross on consecutive holes Thursday in an American Junior Golf Association tournament.
Conor Kelly aced the 198-yard, par-3 eighth, hitting a 5-iron for his first hole-in-one. Using the same ball on the 480-yard, par-5 ninth, he holed a 4-iron second shot from 220 yards for the albatross.
Kelly followed with a birdie on the par-4 10th — for a 1-2-3 scorecard run — and finished with a 5-under 67 to tie for 17th at 8-over in the AJGA Junior Golf Hub Championship at the Country Club of Halifax.
Three tie for medalist at 4-under 67 in Colorado Open qualifier.
WESTMINSTER»
David Muttitt of Albuquerque, Steve LeBrun of Royal Palm Beach, Fla., and John Hurley of Tomball, Texas, each posted a 4-under par 67 in 100-degree heat at Legacy Ridge Golf Course on Thursday to share medalist honors and advance to the CoBank Colorado Open at Green Valley Ranch Golf Club on July 26-29. The final qualifying round is Monday, also at Legacy Ridge.
Longtime Lakers reporter Mitch Chortkoff dies at 78.
Mitch Chortkoff, a columnist and beat writer who covered the Los Angeles Lakers for over 50 years, has died. He was 78. Chortkoff was considered the dean of the Lakers’ press corps, having begun coverage of the team in the early 1960s, shortly after they arrived from Minneapolis.