Cavs’ Allen breaks finger on non-shooting hand
Cavaliers All-Star center Jarrett Allen will be sidelined indefinitely after breaking his left middle finger in Sunday’s victory over the Raptors.
Allen got hurt in the first quarter, when he also sustained a bruised quadriceps while driving to the basket. He went to the locker room, but the Cavs held on, 104-96, to tighten their grip on the No. 6 spot in the Eastern Conference.
The team did not provide a timetable for Allen’s return. It’s safe to assume he’ll miss at least a few games, depending on the severity of the fracture to his non-shooting hand. Cleveland begins a three-game trip at Indiana tonight.
The 7-foot Allen played a major role in Cleveland’s rise this season, and now the Cavs could be without him for a key stretch of their playoff push.
“He’s the anchor of our defense,” forward Kevin Love said after Monday’s practice. “He means so much to this team.”
SHERMAN PLEADS GUILTY TO MISDEMEANORS
Buccaneers cornerback Sherman pleaded guilty in Seattle on Monday to two misdemeanor charges stemming from a drunken driving and domestic disturbance last summer, as part of an agreement that spares him further jail time.
Sherman was arrested July 14 after police said he crashed his SUV in a construction zone and tried to break into his in-laws’ suburban Seattle home. His father-in-law, Raymond Moss, told officers that he armed himself with a handgun and fired pepper-spray at Sherman to protect his family.
The break-in attempt was captured on the home’s surveillance camera, which was later released by the court.
Sherman, who said after the arrest he was “deeply remorseful,” pleaded guilty Monday in King County Superior Court to two misdemeanor counts, first-degree negligent driving and second-degree criminal trespass. He also admitted to a criminal infraction of speeding in a roadway construction zone.
FIFA: OK TO LEAVE RUSSIA, FOR SEASON
FIFA intervened to allow foreign players and coaches based in Russia to leave their clubs on Monday, although only for the rest of the season.
Clubs in other countries will be allowed to sign up to two players who had been at clubs in Russia or Ukraine outside of the normal transfer window periods.
Ukraine’s league has been suspended since war engulfed the country, and its players are also allowed to leave temporarily until June 30.
FIFPRO and the organization representing the world’s soccer leagues — the World Leagues Forum — sought permission for Russia-based players to terminate their contracts. But they were told by FIFA that players and coaches “will have the right to unilaterally suspend their employment contracts with the (Football Union of) Russia-affiliated clubs in question until the end of the season in Russia,” which is June 30.
Global players’ union FIFPRO criticized the FIFA decision as “too timid.”
Richard