Clemson WR out for season

Clemson receiver Justyn Ross, considered a first-round NFL draft pick next spring, will miss the upcoming college season due to a spinal condition uncovered after he was hurt at practice in March.

Tigers coach Dabo Swinney said Ross will have surgery on June 5 because of a congenital fusion of vertebrae he has had since birth. Ross also has a bulging disc.

The condition was found after Ross apparently hurt his shoulder during a spring practice session before workouts were shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“I was shocked,” Swinney said

Ross is a 6-foot-4, 205-pound sophomore from Phenix City, Alabama, who led the Tigers with 66 catches a year ago. He first gained national attention as a freshman in Clemson’s 44-16 national championship win over Alabama in January 2019 when he had six catches for 153 yards including a 74-yard TD.

MLB

LAWSUIT TOSSED » A judge has dismissed Lenny Dykstra’s defamation lawsuit against former Mets teammate Ron Darling, ruling the outfielder’s reputation already was so tarnished it could not be damaged more.

Dykstra claimed he was defamed when Darling alleged he had made racist remarks toward Boston pitcher Oil Can Boyd during the 1986 World Series. Justice Robert D. Kalish in New York Supreme Court in Manhattan did not evaluate whether the remarks occurred.

“It is only to say that Dykstra’s reputation for unsportsmanlike conduct and bigotry is already so tarnished that it cannot be further injured by the reference,” Kalish said in a decision issued May 29.