Bryant not coming out of retirement to play BIG3 basketball
Kobe Bryant won’t be coming out of retirement to play in the BIG3 next year.
A spokesperson for the longtime Los Angeles Lakers star said Tuesday that Bryant isn’t playing next season in the 3-on-3 league of former NBA players.
Speculation that Bryant would play had heated up earlier in the day when league co-founder and entertainment executive Jeff Kwatinetz said during the league’s weekly conference call that he “did hear from a credible source yesterday that Kobe says he’s playing next year.”
But Molly Carter, chief marketing officer of Kobe Inc., says the NBA’s No. 3 career scorer has no plans to do so.
The BIG3 wraps up its second season with the title game on Friday in Brooklyn’s Barclays Center.
NHL
OTTAWA GM RESIGNS AMID HARRASSMENT CHARGES >> Ottawa Senators assistant general manager Randy Lee resigned amid charges of harassment stemming from an incident at the NHL scouting combine in May. The team announced Lee’s resignation and added a search is underway to find his replacement.The team said it would have no further comment.
Lee had been suspended by the Senators since June.
College football
LSU LINEMAN ARRESTED >> Authorities in Dallas say LSU offensive lineman Ed Ingram was arrested on sexual assault charges in early August, around the same time the projected starter was suspended from the Tigers’ football program for an unspecified violation of team rules.
The Dallas County Sheriff’s Office says Ingram was arrested Aug. 2, a day before LSU coach Ed Orgeron announced the sophomore’s indefinite suspension.
Sheriff’s spokesman Raul Reyna says deputies were acting on an outstanding DeSoto Police Department warrant alleging two counts of aggravated sexual assault when they arrested the 19-year-old Ingram in Texas. Reyna says Ingram was released Aug. 4 on $40,000 bond. OREGON, GEORGIA TO OPEN ‘22 SEASON >> Oregon and Georgia will meet for only the second time when the schools play in the 2022 season opener at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The teams were announced to play in the annual Chick-fil-A Kickoff game on Sept. 3, 2022. MEMPHIS PICKS STARTER >> Memphis’ Brady White, a graduate transfer from Arizona State, will start at quarterback for the Tigers’ Sept. 1 season opener with Mercer. White had been competing with sophomore David Moore. Memphis coach Mike Norvell announced that Moore has left the program and plans to transfer.
Motorsports
INJURED INDYCAR DRIVER HAS SURGERY >> IndyCar driver Robert Wickens had titanium rods and screws placed in his spine to stabilize a fracture associated with a spinal cord injury suffered in a weekend crash at Pocono Raceway. IndyCar said in a statement the severity of the spinal cord injury was unknown. Wickens is expected to undergo more surgeries to treat fractures and is in stable condition.
College basketball
TRANSFERS, WAIVERS APPROVED >> North Carolina State says the NCAA is allowing Missouri transfer Blake Harris to play for the Wolfpack this season. Coach Kevin Keatts said that the NCAA approved Harris’ request to be immediately eligible . ... Miami Hurricanes transfer Anthony Mack has been granted a waiver by the NCAA and will be eligible to compete during the 2018-19 season. The 6-foot-6 shooting guard was a freshman at Wyoming last year.
Also
FEDERER, DJOKOVIC HIGHLIGHT LAVER CUP ROSTERS >> Roger Federer and Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic will headline the team from Europe next month in the Laver Cup. A six-player team from Europe will face a team of players from the rest of the world in the second year of the competition on Sept. 21-23. Joining Federer and Djokovic will be Alexander Zverev of Germany, Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria, David Goffin of Belgium and Kyle Edmund of Britain. Only Edmund is not ranked among the world’s top-10 players. BOLT-ING TO SOCCER >> Usain Bolt practiced with Australian soccer club Central Coast Mariners for the first time, taking part in light passing drills and agility tests on his 32nd birthday. Bolt, who said he passed up chances to try out for clubs in Europe before accepting an offer to come to Australia, pledged to stay with the club for an “indefinite” period. The retired eight-time Olympic champion has a long-held ambition to play professional soccer. BECKHAM HONORED >> David Beckham will get the UEFA President’s Award for 2018 next week in Monaco to recognize his soccer achievements and humanitarian work.
SWIM RECORD >> Liu Xiang swam a world-record time of 26.98 seconds to win the women’s 50-meter backstroke gold medal at the Asian Games. The 21-yearold Liu became the first woman to break 27 seconds in the event, lowering the record of 27.06 set by fellow Chinese swimmer Zhao Jing at the world championships in Rome in 2009 before the contentious rubberized suits were banned.