Delle Donne doubtful for tonight’s game
As the Washington Mystics wrapped up practice Thursday morning at Smith Center by casually shooting 3-pointers, Elena Delle Donne was not with her teammates. The All-Star forward instead was testing her ailing left knee in the nearby pool at the arena where the No. 3 seed Mystics are set to face the second-seeded Atlanta Dream tonight in Game 3 of the best-of-five semifinals. Delle Donne’s availability for Washington’s first home game of the series will remain in serious doubt until the 8 p.m. tipoff, according to general manager-coach Mike Thibault. He added that the 2015 WNBA MVP would take part in this morning’s shootaround to gauge the pain level of a bone bruise from Tuesday night’s Game 2 loss. “She’s tough. If she can play, she will,” Thibault said. “We’ll see. It’s been kind of round-the-clock rehab.”
An Ohio State trustee who thought football coach Urban Meyer deserved more than a three-game suspension and resigned from the board over it said he was alone in advocating a stiffer penalty when trustees discussed the matter. Former board chairman Jeffrey Wadsworth told the New York Times he felt Meyer hadn’t demonstrated “highintegrity behavior” and that the findings of the investigation “raised an issue of standards, values — not how many games someone should be suspended for.” The findings included that Meyer should have told university officials about domestic violence allegations made against assistant coach Zach Smith in 2015 and that Meyer intentionally misled reporters about what he knew. ... Notre Dame DB Shaun Crawford will miss the season with a left knee injury suffered in practice this week. Coach Brian Kelly said Crawford, set to be the team’s top nickel back, tore an ACL during one-on-one drills Tuesday. ... Wilton Speight won a three-way QB competition, and UCLA coach Chip Kelly announced that Speight will start against Cincinnati on Saturday at the Rose Bowl. Speight, 23, transferred from Michigan last winter after starting 16 games over three seasons with the Wolverines. ... McKenzie Milton threw for 346 yards and five touchdowns, and No. 21 UCF routed UConn 56-17 in East Hartford, Conn., to extend the longest winning streak in the nation to 14 games. The reigning AAC offensive player of the year completed 24 of 32 passes and ran for another 50 yards.
Marina Alex matched the course record with a 10-under 62 to take a two-stroke lead over Brooke Henderson and Minjee Lee in the Cambia Portland Classic in Portland, Ore. ... Jeff Wilson became the first medalist in 31 years to win the U.S. Senior Amateur Championship, beating defending champion Sean Knapp 2 and 1 in Eugene, Ore. Wilson, 55, a car dealership owner from Fairfield, Calif., won his first USGA title.
David West, a key big man off the bench for the Warriors’ last two championship seasons, retired. West, 38, averaged 13.6 points, 6.4 rebounds and 2.2 assists over a 15-year career. ... The Kings said federal authorities are investigating a former top executive after team officials uncovered suspicious financial transactions. The Kings said the FBI and federal prosecutors took formal action to recover $13 million former chief revenue officer Jeffrey David is suspected of embezzling. David holds the same position with the Heat after leaving the Kings in June.
Croatia captain Luka Modric was voted the best player in Europe, edging former Real Madrid teammate Cristiano Ronaldo and Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah for the UEFA award. Modric helped Madrid to win a third straight Champions League title before leading his country to the World Cup final.
The NCAA cleared Michigan State of rules infractions in the Larry Nassar sexual-assault scandal, the school said. The school released a letter from Jonathan Duncan, the NCAA’s vice president for enforcement, that addressed the Nassar case, as well as an investigation into how the university handled allegations involving football and men’s basketball players. “This review has not substantiated violations of NCAA legislation,” Duncan wrote. “Based on available information, it does not appear there is need for further inquiry.”