Ex-NBA, NFL owner McCombs dies at 95
A former owner of two NBA teams, an NFL franchise and longtime Texas businessman, Billy Joe “Red” McCombs died at his home in San Antonio, his family said. He was 95. McCombs twice owned the San Antonio Spurs and between those two ownership stints owned the Denver Nuggets and later the Minnesota Vikings.
Olympic silver medalist hurdler and UCLA standout Greg Foster died Sunday after a battle with amyloidosis, UCLA announced. He was 64. Foster won silver in the 110-meter hurdles at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics and was a three-time world champion, in addition to helping the Bruins win the 1978 NCAA track and field championship.
Nevada Las Vegas defensive lineman Ryan Keeler died at 20, the university announced. No cause of death was given. Keeler, who is from Chicago, transferred to UNLV from Rutgers last year and played in seven games as a redshirt freshman this past season.
Three weeks after signing with the Sparks, forward Stephanie Talbot will miss the upcoming WNBA season after getting hurt in her native Australia.
The Sparks said they learned that Talbot suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament while playing for the Adelaide Lightning of the WNBL, where she was most valuable player in 2020.
Talbot signed a two-year deal with the Sparks on Feb. 1. She was 10th in the WNBA in three-point shooting last year. She averaged 5.0 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 34 games with the Seattle Storm.
The governments of 34 nations released a statement calling on the International Olympic Committee to clarify the definition of “neutrality” as it seeks a way to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes back into international sports and, ultimately, next year’s Paris Olympics.
“As long as these fundamental issues and the substantial lack of clarity and concrete detail on a workable ‘neutrality’ model are not addressed, we do not agree that Russian and Belarusian athletes should be allowed back into competition,” the statement read.
Among those signing the statement were officials from the United States, Britain, France, Canada and Germany. Those five countries brought nearly one-fifth of all athletes to the Tokyo Games in 2021.
Midfielder Tyler Boyd signed a oneyear contract with the Galaxy. This will be Boyd’s first appearance in Major League Soccer after playing in New Zealand, Portugal and Turkey. He also has made 10 appearances and six starts for the U.S. national team.
New York Islanders center Mat Barzal is out indefinitely with a lowerbody injury in a devastating blow to their playoff pursuit. He was injured on a hit from Boston’s Craig Smith early in a 6-2 loss at the Bruins last Saturday. Barzal appeared to take a knee-onknee hit and left the ice immediately.
Canada defeated the United States 5-1 for its third straight win to even the best-of-seven women’s hockey Rivalry Series at 3-3, in Trois-Rivieres, Canada. Kelly Pannek scored for the U.S.
Dominic Thiem lost in the first round of the Rio Open, falling to Thiago Monteiro 6-1, 3-6, 7-6 (2).
The former world No. 3 and 2020 U.S. Open champion Thiem fell to 1-2 on the year.