Gobert wins third Defensive Player of the Year award
Utah’s Rudy Gobert won his third Defensive Player of the Year award Wednesday after helping the Utah Jazz to the best record in the NBA.
Gobert had the most total blocked shots and defensive rebounds in the league this season and became the fourth
player to win the award at least three times.
A night after a game-sealing blocked shot in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals, Gobert received 84 first-place votes and 464 points from a global panel of 100 sportswriters and broadcasters.
Philadelphia’s Ben Simmons was second with 15 first-place votes and 287 votes, while Draymond Green of Golden State was third with 76 points.
Gobert was the Defensive Player of the Year in 2018 and 2019. Dikembe Mutombo and Ben Wallace each won it four times and Dwight Howard three.
Pacers fire Bjorkgren as coach after just 1 season
INDIANAPOLIS — Kevin Pritchard hired Nate Bjorkgren to take the Indiana Pacers in a new direction.
They wound up going the wrong way.
After struggling defensively, missing the playoffs for the first time in six seasons and amid reports of locker room drama, the Pacers pulled the plug Wednesday when Pritchard, their president of basketball operations, fired Bjorkgren as coach after just one season.
“The 2020-21 season was not what any of us hoped or anticipated it would be, and our results on the court certainly did not meet the standards for what our organization and our fans have come to expect,” Pritchard said in a statement.
Indiana went 34-38, finishing the season with an embarrassing 142-115 loss to Washington in the play-in tournament. The Pacers also produced their first losing season at home in 32 years, and at times the effort didn’t appear to be there, either.
A rash of injuries was part of the problem. Indiana’s top scorer in 2019-20, T.J. Warren, suffered a season-ending foot injury after just four games. NBA blocks champion Myles Turner went down with a season-ending foot injury on April 18. And after trading two-time All-Star Victor Oladipo for swingman Caris LeVert in January, LeVert missed the next 24 games after team doctors found a cancerous growth on his left kidney.
Minor leaguer released from hospital after struck in head
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Minor league pitcher Tyler Zombro was released from the hospital and will transition to outpatiant occupational and speech therapy in Durham, North Carolina, after being struck in the head by a line drive last week.
Zombro, a right-hander in the Tampa Bay Rays organization pitching with Triple-A Durham, was hit by a sharp liner from Norfolk’s Brett Cumberland in the eighth inning on June 3. Zombro crumbled to the ground, lay motionless for a moment face down, then began to convulse uncontrollably as teammates and a trainer rushed toward the mound.
The Rays announced the news during Wednesday night’s home game against Washington.
“He and his family will remain in Durham and continue with his outpatient occupational and speech therapy,” the team said in statement. “The Rays extend their gratitude to the doctors, nurses and staff caring for Tyler, and continue to be overwhelmed by the support for his recovery.”
Harding leads Florida State past Oklahoma 8-4 in WCWS Game 1
OKLAHOMA CITY — Kalei Harding homered and drove in four runs, leading Florida State past No. 1 seed Oklahoma 8-4 in the opener of the Women’s College World Series championship on Tuesday night.
Sydney Sherrill added a two-run single during a fiverun fourth inning for the Seminoles (49-11-1), who need a victory on Wednesday or Thursday to win their second NCAA title in four years.
Kaley Mudge had three hits for Florida State, increasing her WCWS total to a record-tying 13.
Seminoles ace Kathryn Sandercock got the final four outs for the save, stopping a rally by Oklahoma, which scored two runs in the fourth inning and two more in the sixth after falling behind 7-0.
Kinzie Hansen and Nicole Mendes homered on consecutive pitches and Mackenzie Donihoo had a two-run single for the Sooners (54-4).
Harding opened the scoring with a two-run homer in the third inning off Oklahoma starter Nicole May, who allowed seven runs in 3 2/3 innings.
Harding’s two-run double in the fourth made it 4-0, and Sherrill — from nearby Moore, Oklahoma — drove in two more in the five-run inning. Sherrill also threw out Oklahoma’s Tiare Jennings at the plate in the bottom of the seventh to preserve the Seminoles’ four-run advantage.
The Seminoles got an unusual insurance run in the seventh. Josie Muffley was held up late at third on Harding’s single, and Anna Shelnutt was thrown out while scrambling back to second. Muffley broke for the plate and was tagged out, but an obstruction call gave Florida State the run.
Heat’s Riley fined $25,000 for remarks about a LeBron return
NEW YORK — Miami Heat President Pat Riley was fined $25,000 by the NBA on Wednesday for being too clear that he’d eagerly welcome a reunion with LeBron James.
The league said Riley violated its anti-tampering rule with his remarks during an interview Friday on Dan Le Batard’s radio show.
Riley said he would “leave the key under the doormat” if James called and said he wanted to return to Miami. James led the Heat to two NBA titles and four straight appearances in the finals before returning to Cleveland in 2014.
Riley is the second executive to be fined in three days for tampering. The NBA penalized Philadelphia’s Daryl Morey and the team $75,000 apiece on Monday for a tweet about Stephen Curry.
NFL wants to hold games in Germany, seeks partner city
LONDON — The NFL wants to expand its international series by holding regular-season games in Germany, launching a process Wednesday to identify a partner city.
Germany boasts a strong NFL fan base and is one of the world’s largest economies, making the country an attractive partner.