Terps picked to win Big Ten by coaches, media
The Maryland women’s basketball team was picked to win the Big Ten by both the league’s head coaches and media panel, the conference announced Monday. Both the head coaches and the media panel picked the Terps to finish atop the league standings, ahead of Iowa. The head coaches voted Michigan to finish third and the media panel voted Minnesota to finish third. Jun- BASEBALL: The Diamondbacks signed infielder Eduardo Escobar to a three-year, $21 million contract. The D’backs acquired the switch-hitting Escobar from the Twins on July 27 for three minor-league prospects. Between the teams, the 29-year-old set career highs in home runs (23), doubles (48), walks (52), runs (75), games (151), hits (154) and total bases (277). ... Agent Brodie Van Wagenen interviewed to switch sides and become general manager of the Mets, and he is among three finalists along with former Brewers GM Doug Melvin and Rays senior vice president Chaim Bloom. COLLEGE BASKETBALL: Kansas is No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 preseason poll. Bill Self’s Jayhawks earned 37 of 65 first-place votes, nearly double those of second-ranked Kentucky. Gonzaga is No. 3, followed by Duke and Virginia to round out the top 5. The rest of the top 10 is: No. 6 Tennessee, No. 7 Nevada, No. 8 North Carolina, reigning national champion Villanova at 9 and Michigan State at 10. The ACC has seven ranked teams, the most for any conference. ... Alabama transfer Braxton Key has received a waiver from the NCAA and will be eligible to play for No. 5 Virginia this season. Key has two years of eligibility remaining. ... A jury has begun deliberating the fate of three men charged with conspiring to cheat major college programs by paying young athletes to sign with schools sponsored by Adidas. Attorneys for the defendants say their clients broke NCAA rules but no laws. The defendants are Adidas marketing manager Jim Gatto, aspiring sports agent Christopher Dawkins and Merl Code, a former Adidas consultant. COLLEGE FOOTBALL: There will be no quarterback controversy for TCU: Starter Shawn Robinson is facing surgery that is expected to end his season. Two days after a midgame switch, coach Gary Patterson said his sophomore quarterback will have surgery and former Penn transfer Michael Collins will get his first start Saturday at Kansas. ... TCU receiver and standout returner KaVontae Turpin was suspended indefinitely from the team after his arrest over the weekend on an assault charge for an alleged altercation with his girlfriend. SOCCER: Speaking publicly for the first time since being accused of rape, Cristiano Ronaldo defended himself against the allegation and said he is confident the truth will come out. Kathryn Mayorga filed a civil lawsuit last month in Nevada claiming Ronaldo raped her in his Las Vegas hotel room in 2009. “I’m not going to lie in this situation,” Ronaldo said at a news conference ahead of a Champions League match between his Italian team, Juventus, and former club Manchester United on Tuesday. “I’m very happy. My lawyers, they are confident and of course I am too. ... Of course, the truth is always coming in the first position.” TENNIS: Sloane Stephens beat Naomi Osaka 7-5, 4-6, 6-1 at the WTA Finals in Singapore in a matchup of the last two U.S. Open champions. Both players are making their debut appearances at the season-ending round-robin tournament for the top eight players in the world. ... Three-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka ended his season by withdrawing from the Swiss Indoors in Basel with a back injury, saying there is “disappointment and sadness” in making the long-term decision. — Edited from news services