Toronto Raptors assistant named Pacers coach

Indiana wanted its next coach to take the franchise in a new direction.

The Pacers were seeking someone who could communicate with today’s players, who was open to a new offensive philosophy and who could win some postseason games.

On Tuesday, president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard found his man in Toronto assistant Nate Bjorkgren.

“Nate is the right coach for us at the right time,” Pritchard said in a statement released by the team. “He comes from a winning background, has experienced championship success, is innovative and his communication skills along with his positivity are tremendous.”

Terms were not immediately available though several reports said the 4 5 - yea r- old Bjork g ren agreed to a multi-year deal.

He comes to Indiana after spending two seasons as an assistant on Nick Nurse’s staff in Toronto. There, Bjorkgren helped the Raptors capture their first NBA championship in 2018-19 and was part of a team that earned the Eastern Conference’s No. 2 seed each of the past two seasons.

LUE HIRING CONFIRMED >> The Los Angeles Clippers confirmed their hiring of Tyronn Lue to replace Doc Rivers as coach. Lue spent last season as an assistant on Rivers’ staff. Rivers coached the Clippers for the last seven seasons and is now guiding the Philadelphia 76ers.

The team will introduce Lue virtually today.

Lawrence Frank, the team’s president of basketball operations, said the Clippers conducted a “thorough” search.

“We found that the best choice for our team was already in our building,” Frank said. “He’s one of the great minds in our league, and he’s able to impart his vision to others, because he connects with everybody he meets.”

College basketball

LABOR DEPT.: UCONNWOMEN BASKETBALL COACHES UNDERPAID >> The University of Connecticut has agreed to pay a total of just under $250,000 to seven women, including four members of Geno Auriemma’s 2014 women’s basketball coaching staff, after the U.S. Labor Department found they had been underpaid when compared with men in similar positions.

A total of $249,539 will go to the women, who were identified by the Labor Department as two law professors and five women who hold the title of Specialist IA and Specialist IIA in the school’s athletic department.

UConn, responding to an email request from The Associated Press, identified those employees by title as its women’s associate head basketball coach (Chris Dailey), the team’s two assistant coaches in 2014 (Shea Ralph and Marisa Moseley), the director of women’s basketball operations (Sarah Darras) and the director of football operations (Sarah Lawless).

The agreement follows a review by the U. S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs. UConn spokeswoman Stephanie Reitz said the school contends each case had “complexities that were unique to those employees, but which UConn maintains was not due to gender.” COACH DISPUTES FIRING IN LAWSUIT >> Former Texas Tech women’s basketball coach Marlene Stollings, who was fired after USA Today published a report detailing players’ claims of physical and emotional abuse, filed a lawsuit against the school and athletic director Kirby Hocutt.

T he lawsuit cla ims breach of contract, fraud, fraudulent inducement, defamation and sex discrimination. Stollings was fired on Aug. 6, a day after the scathing report was published.

“This termination could not properly have been for cause,” the lawsuit said. “Texas Tech’s own internal reviews had found — accurately — that Coach Stollings had not taken any actions which were in violation of her employment contract.”

The lawsuit says the school’s decision to fire Stollings was based on discriminatory biases against female coaches.

College football

NEW MEXICO - COLORADO STATE GAME CANCELED >> The Mountain West Conference canceled the scheduled game between New Mexico and Colorado State. The game was set to be played Saturday night in Fort Collins, Colo., to open the season for both teams. The game will not be rescheduled.

The cancellation came because of restrictions related to COVID-19 in Bernalillo County, N.M., where the Albuquerque campus is located. A spike in cases in New Mexico led to the state limiting gatherings to no more than five people, including team practices.

Soccer

RONALDO- LESS JUVENTUS TOPS DYNAMO 2-0 >> No Cristiano Ronaldo, no problem for Juventus as Álvaro Morata scored twice to help the Bianconeri win 2- 0 at Dynamo Kyiv in their opening Champions League match.

Ronaldo was ruled out after testing positive for the coronavirus last week but Morata marked his return to Juventus by netting twice in the second half.

“Playing in the Champions League with this shirt is a great emotion,” said Morata.

In Paris, forward Marcus Rashford returned to haunt Paris Saint- Germain, scoring another late winner as Manchester United won 2-1 in their opening Group H game. Two seasons ago United knocked PSG out in dramatic style to reach the competition’s quarterfinals, with a nerveless Rashford scoring a last-gasp injury-time penalty. BAYERN’S GNABRY TESTS POSITIVE FOR CORONAVIRUS >> Bayern Munich forward Serge Gnabry tested positive for the coronavirus, ruling him out of the defending champion’s opening game of the Champions League today.

The club said in a brief statement that the 25-yearold Gnabry is “doing well” and is in quarantine at home. He is Bayern’s first player to test positive for COVID-19. UEFA SAYS SUPER LEAGUE IDEA IS ‘ BORING’ >> UEFA warned of the damage that would be caused to soccer by the potential creation of a European super league of the continent’s elite clubs, potentially usurping its existing Champions League.

Europea n gover ning body UEFA denounced the idea as “boring” after FIFA did not deny taking part in talks about creating a rival league featuring continent’s wealthiest clubs.

In a statement, FIFA did not push back on a Sky News report that it was developing plans for an 18team annual European Premier League. Such a competition would directly challenge UEFA and potentially undermine its existing Champions League.

Manchester United and Liverpool are two of the teams in talks with Europe’s elite clubs to join the competition, Sky News reported.

Tennis

QUA L I F I E R K A S AT K I NA , BRADY ADVANCE >> Qualifier Daria Kasatkina upset sixth-seeded Elena Rybakina 6-2, 3- 6, 6-3 to advance to the second round of the Ostrava Open in the Czech Republic.

Kasatkina broke 19thranked Rybakina for a 3-1 lead in the deciding set and held her serve on the way to her first win over a top-20 player this season.

Kasatkina will face U. S. Open semifinalist Jennifer Brady in the second round. The American came from a set down to defeat Ukraine’s Dayana Yastremska 3- 6, 7- 6 (6), 6-1.

Cycling

ROGL IC WI NS VUE LTA’ S OPENING STAGE >> Defending champion Primoz Roglic attacked in the final kilometer after a difficult climb to win the opening stage of the Spanish Vuelta.