Rooney to leave DC, head back to England
Wayne Rooney will be leaving Major League Soccer after less than two seasons to return to play in England and be closer to his family.
The 33-year-old former England captain will remain at D.C. United until the end of the season before joining second-tier Championship team Derby County as player-coach from January.
Rooney has signed an 18month contract that can be extended until the end of the 2021-22 season.
“I am very excited about the opportunity that Derby County have provided me with,” Rooney said. “I am sure I can make a big contribution and can’t wait to meet everyone, especially the supporters. I am equally excited to begin my coaching career at Derby County working with both the first team and academy.”
Rooney had another two years remaining on the contract he signed with D.C. United after joining from Everton in 2018.
Heat’s Haslem stays
Udonis Haslem , who was considering retirement, announced he is returning for a 17th season with the Miami Heat. The 39-yearold has spent his entire NBA career with the Heat, and should become just the sixth player in league history to play such a long career with only one franchise.
It’s a veteran’s minimum contract, worth just under $2.6 million this season.
Haslem has appeared in only 40 games over the past three seasons, and averaged 2.5 points in 10 appearances last season . ...
Philadelphia 76ers guard Ben Simmons explained a social media post that seemed to imply he had been racially profiled by security staff at a Melbourne, Australia, casino by saying he and his friends felt “singled out.”
Simmons posted a video on Instagram in which he asked why he and two black friends were asked for identification but another person in their group who is white was not. He deleted the post when it started making news and after the casino issued a statement saying its security staff routinely did ID checks on anyone who appears younger than 25.
The 23-year-old Simmons, who recently became the highest-paid Australian athlete when he signed a fiveyear, $170 million contract extension with the 76ers, apparently wasn’t recognized by security at one of the casino’s entry points Monday night. But he was allowed in at a second entry point after providing identification.
Olesen suspended
The European Tour suspended Thorbjorn Olesen pending the investigation into his arrest on charges of being drunk on an aircraft and assaulting a female passenger while she slept.
Olesen is to appear in court Aug. 21 on charges of sexual assault, being drunk on an aircraft and common assault, according to Metropolitan Police in London.
Edmundson gets deal
Blues defenseman Joel Edmundson was awarded a $3.1 million, one-year contract in arbitration.
Edmundson was one of four St. Louis restricted free agents to file for playerelected salary arbitration this summer after helping the team win its first Stanley Cup in franchise history. Goaltender Jordan Binnington and forwards Oskar Sundqvist and Zach Sanford agreed to multiyear deals before their arbitration hearings.
The 26-year-old Canadian had 11 points in 64 regularseason games and seven points in 22 playoff games during the Blues’ Cup run. Edmundson has 52 points in 269 regular-season games over four NHL seasons . ...
All four defending champions are returning for the New York City Marathon.
Mary Keitany, Lelisa Desisa, Manuela Schar and Daniel Romanchuk will compete in the marathon Nov. 3. The New York Road Runners also announced U.S. Olympians Des Linden and Jared Ward will highlight the American field.