Celtics to buy minor league affiliate in Maine

PORTLAND, MAINE (AP) >> The Boston Celtics say the organization has reached an agreement to buy the Maine Red Claws, a minor league team it has been affiliated with for a decade.

The Red Claws are an NBA G League team that plays in Portland and has been affiliated with the Celtics since getting started in the 2009-10 season. The Portland Press Herald reports the purchase of the Red Claws by the Celtics reflects a trend of NBA teams buying their minor league affiliates.

The sale still needs to be approved by the G League.

Portland City Manager Jon Jennings says the purchase means the Celtics “have decided to fully invest in the Red Claws and be a long-term partner with the city.” Jennings is a former Red Claws general manager and president. KALAMAZOO, MICH. (AP) >> A charitable organization founded by former New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter is donating about $3.2 million to renovate a baseball and softball complex at his Michigan high school.

The Kalamazoo Public Schools district announced the donation Thursday from the Turn 2 Foundation. Planned work includes new fields, seating and dugouts as well as synthetic turf. The Kalamazoo Gazette reports school officials say the project is scheduled to be completed in 2021.

Jeter, who is the Miami Marlins CEO, says in a statement that he hopes the project “will inspire local youth to work hard to achieve their full potential and accomplish their goals.”

Jeter graduated from Kalamazoo Central High School in 1992 and the baseball field at the complex was named Derek Jeter Field in his honor in 2012.