C’s drop Dragic
In an expected move, the Celtics waived Zoran Dragic, the NBA team announced yesterday.
Dragic was acquired from the Miami Heat in a July 27 trade in which the C’s also received a 2020 second-round draft pick and cash considerations in exchange for a protected 2019 pick.
With a mass ive logjam at the guard position, it didn’t seem the Ce lt i c s had much room for the 6 - foot- 5 Dragic, who appeared in just 16 games and averaged 1.8 points in 4.7 minutes per game split between the Phoenix Suns and Heat last season. The C’s will have to pay out $1.5 million to Dragic, but the team received $1.6 million from Miami in the trade.
The move trims the roster down to 16 players with guaranteed contracts, one more than the league allows going into the regular season.
— STEPHEN HEWITT
Los Angeles billionaire Donald Sterling has filed a lawsuit against celebrity website TMZ and ex-girlfriend V. Stiviano over a recording of off-color remarks that cost him ownership of the Clippers. The suit is the latest salvo in a litigious soap opera after Sterling was forced from the NBA and the basketball team was sold for $2 billion.
NHL: Stoll to Rangers
The New York Rangers signed recently arrested Los Angeles Kings center Jarret Stoll. The Rangers announced the signing without mentioning Stoll’s legal matter, and terms of the contract were not made available.
Stoll gives the Rangers a top faceoff man and penalty killer. He has played in 792 NHL games over parts of 12 seasons with the Edmonton Oilers and Los Angeles, with 140 goals and 239 assists.
The 33-year-old Stoll pleaded guilty in June to two reduced misdemeanor charges to resolve a felony cocaine case stemming from his April arrest at a Las Vegas Strip swimming pool. A felony charge of cocaine possession was dismissed.
Stoll was sentenced to 32 hours of community service. He’s also starting a program to help others understand the dangers of using alcohol and controlled substances. . . .
The NHL Players’ Association filed a grievance on behalf of center Mike Richards, contesting the termination of his contract by the Los Angeles Kings. The Kings terminated the final five years of Richards’ contract June 29, saying the two-time Stanley Cup champion committed “a material breach” of his deal. Reports then surfaced saying Richards had been arrested earlier in June at the U.S.-Canada border when Royal Canadian Mounted Police discovered OxyContin in his vehicle. . . .
The St. Louis Blues said forward Jori Lehtera will be sidelined 6-8 weeks after recent ankle surgery.
Soccer: U.S. adds on
The U.S. women’s national team added an October match against Brazil to its World Cup victory tour. Officials announced that the reigning champions will face the Brazilians in a friendly on Oct. 25 at the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Fla. The Americans will open the tour Aug. 16 against Costa Rica in Pittsburgh. There are also matches set for Chattanooga, Tenn.; Detroit and Birmingham, Ala. . . .
A German Cup match between two lower-tier teams was abandoned in the second half after the referee was hit in the head by a lighter thrown from the stands. Referee Martin Petersen did not appear to be seriously hurt but he sent home side Osnabrueck and RB Leipzig off the field in the 71st minute.
Misc.: U.S. rowers sick
Thirteen rowers on the 40-member U.S. team came down with stomach illness in Brazil at the World Junior Rowing Championships, a trial run for next summer’s Rio de Janeiro Olympics, and the team doctor said she suspected it was due to pollution in the lake where the competition was held. . . .
The University of Minnesota is responding to a third woman’s claims that she was sexually harassed by former Golden Gophers athletic director Norwood Teague by asking that anyone else with similar allegations come forward. President Eric Kaler said the university takes such allegations seriously. . . .
American Pharoah trainer Bob Baffert checked out Saratoga (N.Y.) Race Course in case his Triple Crown-winning horse is up for the Travers Stakes on Aug. 29.
— HERALD WIRE SERVICES