LeBron leads U.S. Olympic team
LeBron James plans to go back to the Olympics. Stephen Curry is planning on going for the first time. Kevin Durant will go there with his eye on history.
And they’re just part of a star-studded roster the Americans have assembled for the Paris Games.
USA Basketball has gotten confirmations from 12 players — James, Curry, Durant, Bam Adebayo, Devin Booker, Joel Embiid, Jayson Tatum, Anthony Davis, Jrue Holiday, Tyrese Haliburton, Anthony Edwards and Kawhi Leonard — that they will accept invitations to be on the Olympic roster, three people with knowledge of the decisions said. It was believed USA Basketball was planning to release the names on Wednesday.
Durant will be trying to become the first fourtime gold medalist in men’s basketball.
Griffin retires: Blake Griffin announced his retirement Tuesday after a 14-year career that included six All-Star selections, Rookie of the Year honors and a dunk contest victory.
Griffin, 35, was the No. 1 overall pick by the Los Angeles Clippers in 2009 and helped rejuvenate the franchise.
He was traded to Detroit during the 2018 season and made his final All-Star team in the 201819 season when he averaged 24.5 points.
COLLEGES
UH WR Brown enters portal
University of Houston wide receiver Sam Brown said Tuesday he plans to enter the transfer portal.
Brown led the Cougars with 62 catches and 815 yards last season.
Also Tuesday, reserve quarterback Lucas Coley and offensive linemen Karson Jones and Tevin Shaw said they will transfer.
Meanwhile, UH and Oregon State will play a home-and-home series in 2025 in Corvallis, Ore., and 2026 at TDECU Stadium.
Joseph Duarte
Michigan sanctioned: Michigan was given three years of probation, fined and hit with recruiting limits by the NCAA on Tuesday after football coaches and staff had impermissible contact with recruits and players under then-coach Jim Harbaugh while access was restricted during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Allegations that Harbaugh failed to cooperate with investigators and alleged impermissible in-person scouting and sign stealing will be part of separate cases.
Stanford elevates assistant: Longtime assistant Kate Paye will be introduced as Stanford’s new women’s coach on Wednesday, succeeding Hall of Famer Tara VanDerveer.
Paye, 50, spent nearly two decades as Stanford's coach-in-waiting. Her chance to take over finally arrived when VanDerveer decided last week to retire as the winningest NCAA coach in men's or women's basketball after 38 seasons at Stanford and 45 in all.
BYU hires Suns assistant: BYU hired Phoenix Suns associate head coach Kevin Young to replace Mark Pope, who left to coach Kentucky.
MISCELLANEOUS
Sabres fire coach as drought grows
The Buffalo Sabres fired head coach Don Granato, making him the seventh coach to be ousted during what’s grown into an NHLrecord 13-season playoff drought. The Sabres finished with a 39-37-6 record in Granato’s third full season.
Nadal returns with win: Rafael Nadal looked injury-free in a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Flavio Cobolli to advance to the second round of the Barcelona Open in his first tournament in more than three months due to a hip issue.