Bob Lanier, Hall of Fame center, dies at age 73
Bob Lanier, the left-handed big man who muscled up beside the likes of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as one of the NBA’s top players of the 1970s, died Tuesday. He was 73.
The NBA said Lanier died after a short illness. The Athletic reported in 2019 that the Hall of Famer was being treated for bladder cancer.
Lanier played 14 seasons with the Detroit Pistons and Milwaukee Bucks and averaged 20.1 points and 10.1 rebounds for his career. He is third on the Pistons’ career list in both points and rebounds. Detroit drafted Lanier with the No. 1 overall pick in 1970 after he led St. Bonaventure to the Final Four. JOKIC CAPTURES MVP TITLE » Denver Nuggets big man Nikola Jokic earned a second straight NBA
Most Valuable Player trophy Wednesday to become the second consecutive international player to win two in a row.
The 27-year-old from Sombor, Serbia, averaged 27.1 points, 13.8 rebounds and 7.9 assists to take home MVP honors.
Baseball
GUARDIANS-WHITE SOX GAME POSTPONED OVER COVID-19 OUTBREAK » A COVID-19 outbreak in Cleveland’s clubhouse, including a positive test for manager Terry Francona, led Major League Baseball to postpone the series finale between the Guardians and White Sox to allow for more testing and contact tracing.
It was the first coronavirus-related postponement in the league so far this season, which started on April 7.
Horse racing
DERBY-WINNING RIDER LEON SERVING SUSPENSION
BY OHIO STEWARDS » The jockey of Kentucky Derby upset winner Rich Strike is currently serving a four-day suspension handed down by Ohio racing stewards that his agent says won’t prevent him from riding the horse in next week’s Preakness.
Stewards last week suspended Sonny Leon for careless riding in the third race on April 27 at Thistledown Racecourse, during which he “deliberately and aggressively” steered One Glamorous Gal toward the rail to block other horses in the stretch. Leon interfered with jockey Alexander Chavez aboard Ultra Rays, the ruling stated, and One Glamorous Gal was disqualified from third and placed sixth.
It is Leon’s fifth suspension since last fall and includes a 15-day penalty in West Virginia for providing a false and altered document. Leon’s original eightday suspension in Ohio was reduced to four because he did not appeal, and he began serving the penalty on Monday and it ends Thursday.