USA Olympian Garcia leads Athletes Unlimited softball picks Lakers’ James out at least 1 more game due to sprained ankle

United States Olympian Rachel Garcia was one of the 12 players chosen in the first Athletes Unlimited softball draft on Monday night.

Garcia, a right-handed pitcher for UCLA and Highland High grad, is a two-time USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year. She led the Bruins to the national title in 2019.

Three Arizona players were chosen — USA Olympic catcher Dejah Mulipola, infielder Jessie Harper and pitcher Alyssa Denham.

The players were not selected in a particular order.

Other draftees included Washington infielder Sis Bates, Oklahoma pitcher Giselle “G” Juarez, Oklahoma State pitcher Carrie Eberle, Texas outfielder Shannon Rhodes, Minnesota pitcher Amber Fiser, Louisiana-Lafayette outfielder Ciara Bryan, Iowa State infielder Sami Williams and LSU infielder Aliyah Andrews.

The athletes can accept the invitation and join contracted returnees and free agents to make up the league’s 60-player roster. Athletes Unlimited will crown an individual champion after games played at Parkway Bank Complex in Rosemont, Illinois, from Aug. 28 to Sept. 27.

“We could not be more excited to celebrate these amazing players and their accomplishments over their collegiate careers and hope that they all decide to join the Athletes Unlimited family,” said Gwen Svekis, a member of the Athletes Unlimited Softball Player Executive Committee.

The league will allow fans at full capacity this season. All 30 Athletes Unlimited softball games will broadcast or streamed around the world as part of a distribution package that includes CBS Sports Network, FOX Sports, FOX Deportes, Facebook and YouTube.

LOS ANGELES — LeBron James will miss at least one more game to make sure his sprained right ankle is as healthy as possible.

The four-time MVP will not play against the New York Knicks on Tuesday after practicing on Monday. Coach Frank Vogel said it is possible that James could return on Wednesday when the Lakers have their final regular-season home game against Houston.

“It is sort of a soft plan for him to play tomorrow,” Vogel said. “He’s going to do some more rehab work today and we’ll evaluate the response to that work tomorrow.”

Vogel said James came out of Monday’s practice fine and would not term Tuesday’s absence as precautionary.

James originally sprained the ankle on March 20 against the Atlanta Hawks. He returned to play on April 30 against Sacramento and also took part in the May 2 game against Toronto before aggravating the injury and missing five straight.

Los Angeles is 38-30 and the seventh seed in the Western Conference. The Lakers are 1 1/2 games behind Portland for the sixth seed, which would get them out of the play-in tournament. They are 10-14 when James isn’t in the lineup.

Baffert: Antifungal meds given to Medina Spirit had steroid

BALTIMORE — Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit was treated with an antifungal ointment containing the steroid betamethasone that may have caused the horse to fail a postrace drug test, trainer Bob Baffert said Tuesday.

In a statement issued by his lawyer, Baffert said Medina Spirit was treated for dermatitis with the ointment once a day leading up to the May 1 race and that equine pharmacology experts have told him this could explain the test results. Baffert said the horse tested positive for 21 picograms of the substance, which is typically given to horses therapeutically to help their joints and is a violation even at a trace amount on race day in Kentucky.

Regardless of the reason, Medina Spirit would be disqualified from the Derby and Mandaloun named the winner if a second round of testing shows the presence of betamethasone.

“My investigation is continuing, and we do not know for sure if this ointment was the cause of the test results, or if the test results are even accurate, as they have yet to be confirmed by the split sample,” Baffert said. “I have been told that a finding of a small amount, such as 21 picograms, could be consistent with application of this type of ointment.”

Baffert said at a news conference Sunday at Churchill Downs that he did not know how the substance made its way into the colt’s system.

Lawyer Craig Robertson said the plan is still for Medina Spirit to run in the Preakness on Saturday. The horse and stablemate Concert Tour arrived at Pimlico Race Course on Monday and jogged on the track Tuesday morning, though Baffert does not plan to be in Baltimore for the race and put assistant Jimmy Barnes in charge.

MLB tells Athletics to explore relocation if no new ballpark

OAKLAND— Major League Baseball instructed the Athletics to explore relocation options as the team tries to secure a new ballpark it hopes will keep the club in Oakland long-term.

MLB released a statement Tuesday expressing its longtime determination that the current Coliseum site is “not a viable option for the future vision of baseball.”

“MLB is concerned with the rate of progress on the A’s new ballpark effort with local officials and other stakeholders in Oakland,” MLB said. “The A’s have worked very hard to advance a new ballpark in downtown Oakland for the last four years, investing significant resources while facing multiple roadblocks. We know they remain deeply committed to succeeding in Oakland, and with two other sports franchises recently leaving the community, their commitment to Oakland is now more important than ever.”

In November 2018, the A’s announced they had found a waterfront location for their ballpark, with picturesque views toward San Francisco, the Bay Bridge and Port of Oakland. The goal had been to open in 2023.

A’s owner John Fisher said in a statement Tuesday he will honor MLB’s instructions but remains committed to continuing to pursue the waterfront ballpark proposed for construction in the city’s Howard Terminal location, close to the popular Jack London Square neighborhood.

“The future success of the A’s depends on a new ballpark,” Fisher said. “Oakland is a great baseball town, and we will continue to pursue our waterfront ballpark project. We will also follow MLB’s direction to explore other markets.”

The proposed ballpark site is about 6 miles from the Coliseum and there is no mass transit. The A’s and city have said they plan to build a gondola that would go from the waterfront area of ballpark over Interstate 880 to downtown.

The team’s new downtown offices would have a view of the project, including right from President Dave Kaval’s large corner window.

Kaval has asked the City Council to make a decision on the ballpark plan via a vote before summer break.

Famed Hawaii quarterback Colt Brennan dead at age 37

HONOLULU — Colt Brennan, a star quarterback at the University of Hawaii who finished third in the 2007 Heisman Trophy balloting, died early Tuesday, his father said. He was 37.

Brennan, who has had public struggles with alcohol, died at a hospital in California, his father, Terry Brennan, told The Associated Press.