IN BRIEF Manager winners: Molitor, Lovullo
Paul Molitor and Torey Lovullo presided over turnaround seasons, guided their teams into the playoffs and won Manager of the Year awards by wide margins Tuesday in voting by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. Molitor took American League honors after his Twins became the first team to make the playoffs following a 100-loss season. In his first full season as a bigleague skipper, Lovullo’s Diamondbacks reached the National League playoffs a year after going 69-93. The Indians’ Terry Francona was second and the World Series-winning Astros’ A.J.
Hinch finished third in the AL balloting, while Dave Roberts of the Dodgers was second and the Rockies’ Bud Black was third in the NL. Voting was completed before the playoffs.
Irving back, Celtics’ streak now 13
Kyrie Irving returned to the lineup and scored 25 while wearing a mask, and the Boston Celtics (13-2) beat the host Brooklyn Nets 109-102 on Tuesday for their 13th win in a row. Irving missed one game with a minor facial fracture.
NCAA clears Beverly to play
North Carolina State’s Braxton Bev
erly won’t have to sit out this college basketball season for attending class after all. The NCAA cleared the 6-0 guard to play immediately Tuesday after reconsidering an ineligibility ruling tied to summer courses the freshman took at Ohio State before a surprise late coaching change led him to seek his release.
❚ Georgia Tech star Josh Okogie will serve a six-game suspension and teammate Tadric Jackson must sit out three games for accepting illegal benefits.
Federer advances in ATP Finals
Roger Federer extended his stay in the ATP Finals at O2 Arena in London to the weekend. The 19-time Grand Slam tennis tournament champ guaranteed his place in the semifinals by defeating Alexander Zverev 7-6 (8-6), 5-7, 6-1 Tuesday. Jack Sock recorded the USA’s first victory in the event in 10 years, beating Marin Cilic 5-7, 6-2, 7-6 (7-4).
Denmark earns World Cup bid
Christian Eriksen scored a hat trick as Denmark qualified for soccer’s World Cup in Russia with a 5-1 victory over Ireland in their playoff Tuesday in Dublin. The two teams played to a scoreless draw in the first leg.
U.S. men tie Portugal in soccer
Weston McKennie, 19, scored in his U.S. debut and the Americans tied Portugal 1-1 Tuesday in Leiria in their first match since failing to qualify for next year’s World Cup. The USA used eight starters 24 or younger in Dave Sarachan’s first match as interim coach.
No. 1 Duke edges Michigan State
In a down-to-the-wire game that saw Duke freshman superstar Marvin Bagley III play only 10 minutes because of an eye injury, Grayson Allen carried the No. 1 Blue Devils to an 88-81 victory against No. 2 Michigan State on Tuesday in Chicago in the Champions Classic basketball tournament. National player of the year candidate Miles Bridges led the Spartans with 19 points. Allen led freshman-laden Duke with blistering hot shooting and energy, finishing with 37 points on 7-for-11 shooting from beyond the arc. Allen is playing at the same national player of the year level he was at as a sophomore and acting like a natural leader. That’s a far cry from his controversy-plagued junior year in which he could never get into a rhythm. The senior had plenty of it Tuesday, hitting clutch three after clutch three. His two treys with less than 2:30 remaining helped Duke pull away for good.