Dick Allen, 7-time All-Star, dies at 78
Dick Allen, a fearsome hitter who was a seven-time All- Star, the 1964 NL Rookie of the Year and the 1972 AL MVP, has died. He was 78.
The Philadelphia Phillies, the team Allen started out with, announced his death on Monday.
Allen’s No. 15 was retired by the Phillies in September, an honor that was considered long overdue by many for one of the franchise’s greatest players who fought against racism during a tumultuous period with the team in the 1960s.
“The Phillies are heartbroken over the passing today of our dear friend and co-worker, Dick Allen,” the team said.
“Dick will be remembered as not just one of the greatest and most popular players in our franchise’s history, but also as a courageous warrior who had to overcome far too many obstacles to reach the level he did. Dick’s iconic status will resonate for generations of baseball fans to come as one of the all-time greats to play America’s pastime,” the Phillies said. ANGELS ACQUIRE CLOSER RAISEL IGLESIAS FROM REDS » The Los Angeles Angels acquired closer Raisel Iglesias from the Cincinnati Reds for right-hander Noé Ramirez and a player to be named or cash Monday in the first trade of the week of baseball’s winter meetings.
Iglesias has been the Reds’ closer for the past four seasons, racking up 100 saves in 114 opportunities over that stretch with a career 3.15 ERA and a 1.12 WHIP.
College basketball
GONZAGA, BAYLOR REMAIN ATOP AP TOP 25 » Gonzaga and Baylor remained atop the AP Top 25 men’s basketball poll after their hotly anticipated weekend game in Indianapolis was called off about 90 minutes before tipoff because of positive COVID-19 tests and contact tracing within the Bulldogs’ program.
Gonzaga received 54 of 61 firstplace votes from a national media panel while the Bears had the other seven. Iowa remained third after Luka Garza’s monster week powered the Hawkeyes to a pair of easy victories, Michigan State climbed four spots to No. 4 and
Kansas jumped two spots to round out the top 5.
NBA
LEAGUE TO DOLE OUT $900M TO BUOY TEAMS’ FINANCES » The NBA is planning to dole out $30 million per team — $900 million total — to bolster each organization’s finances and aid with liquidity issues caused by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, Sports Business Journal reported Monday.
The money was raised from notes issued by the NBA in the private placement market, per SBJ. The league will pay back the notes from “general collective league sources,” and it’s unclear what the interest rate is, per the report.
Each team should receive the funds this month ahead of the 2020-21 season and can spend it on any need within their organization, according to the report.
Soccer
TORONTO FC’S POZUELO WINS LANDON DONOVAN MVP AWARD » Toronto FC midfielder Alejandro Pozuelo has been named the recipient of the 2020 Landon Donovan MVP Award, Major League Soccer announced.
Pozuelo had a league high-tying 10 assists to go along with nine goals this season to help Toronto FC to a second-place finish in the Eastern Conference. His five game-winning goals led MLS.
The 29-year- old Spaniard edged Los Angeles FC’s Diego Rossi, Seattle’s Nico Lodeiro and Jordan Morris and Philadelphia goalkeeper Andre Blake for the award.
College football
INAUGURAL LA BOWL POSTPONED UNTIL 2021 » The LA Bowl will not play its inaugural game until 2021 after organizers announced that this year’s game was being postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The scheduled Dec. 30 matchup at SoFi Stadium was supposed to pair the Mountain West champion with a team from the Pac12.
The LA Bowl is the 11th bowl game to be postponed this year. That leaves 33 bowl games currently scheduled plus the College Football Playoff championship game.
The postponement leaves the Mountain West with two bowl ties — the Famous Idaho Potato and Arizona bowls. The Pac12 is down to a New Year’s Six game along with the Alamo, Independence and Armed Forces bowls.