NHL prospect comes out as gay

A Nashville Predators prospect has come out as gay, a milestone moment for the sport of hockey as the first player signed to an NHL contract to make that declaration publicly.

Luke Prokop said he was proud to say he is gay. The 19year-old Canadian who was a third-round pick in the 2020 draft last fall, posted his announcement to Twitter.

The Walt Disney Co. announced a partnership with Peyton Manning and his Omaha Productions company in which Peyton and brother Eli Manning will be part of ESPN’s “Monday Night Football” MegaCast for 10 games a year the next three seasons . ... Kansas City Chiefs fans will have to get tickets in advance to visit the Super Bowl runner-up’s training camp this year, and they won’t be able to get autographs from players because of COVID-19 . ... Raiders team President Marc Badain resigned just before the start of training camp after helping orchestrate the team’s move to Las Vegas. Owner Mark Davis said Badain is leaving the organization and that executive vice president and general counsel Dan Ventrelle will take over on an interim basis.

Southeastern Conference Commissioner Greg Sankey echoed NCAA President Mark Emmert’s call for potential changes in how college athletics are governed, though he did not endorse a breakaway by the five most powerful leagues.

The NCAA spent nearly $68 million on legal services during the 2019-20 fiscal year even as it lost hundreds of millions in revenue in the pandemic, according to tax documents released. Revenue was down more than 50% over the previous year, from more than $1.1 billion to just over $520 million, mostly because the lucrative college basketball tournaments were canceled as the coronavirus hit the U.S. hard early in 2020.

Swiss player Jil Teichmann made a successful return to the Palermo Ladies Open in Italy two years after she won the title. Teichmann, the No. 3 seed, defeated Spanish qualifier Marina Bassols Ribera 3-6, 6-4, 6-1 in the first round in her bid for a third WTA title.

Former Olympian Julie Pomagalski, a snowboarder from France, died in an avalanche in the Swiss Alps.