Nash, Kidd lead Hall class
Former two-time NBA MVP Steve Nash, former All-Stars Jason Kidd, Grant Hill and Maurice Cheeks and longtime front office executive Rod Thorn are among those who will be inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame on Sept. 7, five people familiar with the news told USA TODAY. They requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly until the Basketball Hall of Fame made the announcement Saturday in San Antonio at the men’s Final Four. In February at NBA All-Star Weekend, the Hall announced
13 finalists for the class of 2018.
❚ Japan’s Ayako Uehara, who has never won on the LPGA tour since turning pro in 2013, held the early lead with an opening 6-under-par 66 in the ANA Inspiration in Rancho Mirage, Calif. It’s the first major championship of the LPGA season. American Jessica Korda, who had major jaw surgery in the offseason, was tied for second after shooting 67 at Mission Hills Country Club. Korda won the LPGA event in Thailand in February.
❚ Pitcher Greg Holland and the St. Louis Cardinals agreed to a one-year deal, according to a baseball official with direct knowledge of the deal. The official spoke to USA TODAY on the condition of anonymity because the deal has not been finalized. Holland, who declined to exercise his $15 million player option and rejected a $17.4 million qualifying offer from the Colorado Rockies after the 2017 season, agreed to a
$14 million deal. Holland led the National League leader in saves (41) last season after missing the 2016 season recovering from Tommy John surgery.
❚ Sloane Stephens is heading to the Miami Open final after rallying to beat Victoria Azarenka 3-6, 6-2, 6-1 in the semifinals. Stephens dropped the first three games of the tennis match, then rolled through the final two sets to oust a three-time Miami champion in Azarenka. It was Stephens’ second time rallying from a set down to win in this tournament.
❚ Buffalo Bills Hall of Fame quarterback Jim Kelly is expected to be hospitalized for two weeks as he recovers from another cancer surgery. Dr. Mark Urken says he successfully removed cancer from Kelly’s upper jaw and lymph nodes and reconstructed his upper jaw during an all-day surgery Wednesday. Urken operated on the 58year-old former football player at Mount Sinai Health System in New York City. Kelly had surgery in June 2013 to have a portion of his upper jaw removed after first being diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma.
❚ The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs says the United States is attempting to bar its freestyle wrestlers from competing in a World Cup tournament next week in Iowa. In a statement, the ministry said the U.S. embassy in Moscow did not schedule visa interviews for members of the freestyle wrestling team. The ministry accused the United States of “direct and open discrimination” and said the country is unfit to hold international competitions. The Freestyle World Cup starts April 5 in Iowa City. “We estimate this U.S. move as yet another notorious example of efforts to prevent Russian athletes from participating in international competitions,” the ministry said in a statement.