Soccer coach gets extension
Dusquesne University athletic director Dave Harper announced Thursday that women’s soccer coach Al Alvine’s contract has been extended through the 2020-21 season.
Alvine, who is entering his fifth season at Duquesne, guided the Dukes to their first Atlantic 10 Championship and NCAA tournament berth in 2015.
“Al has exhibited a clear vision for his program that aligns with the academic mission of our institution and has strong competitive aspirations,” Harper said. “He has assembled an excellent staff and has recruited and developed outstanding student-athletes during his tenure at Duquesne ...”
Alvine, who inherited a three-win Duquesne team in 2012, has recruited five A-10 All-Rookie and four All-Academic team members in his first four seasons on the Bluff.
He is 159-103-25 in 14 seasons as a head coach, which includes stops at Castleton State, Saint Anselm and California University of Pennsylvania.
Pro basketball
LeBron James is returning to the Cleveland Cavaliers on a three-year, $100 million deal, a league source confirmed to the Akron Beacon Journal. His $31 million salary for this season will make him the league’s highest-paid player for the first time in his career, according to ESPN, which first reported the signing. James, 31, made it clear on the day of the Cavaliers’’ championship parade he was returning to defend the title. What wasn’t clear until Thursday was the type of contract he would sign. James played on one-year deals during his first two years in Cleveland.
College basketball
Memphis has added 6-foot-11 center Chad
Rykhoek, a Baylor graduate transfer who never played at his original school because of injuries. Tigers coach Tubby
Smith announced the addition of Rykhoek in a news release. Rykhoek was rated as a top-150 recruit by Rivals when he enrolled at Baylor in 2012, but a series of injuries prevented him from playing for the Bears.
Golf
Vijay Singh rebounded from a bad shot on the 17th to birdie the final hole and take a two-stroke lead with a 4-under 66 after the first round of the U.S. Senior Open at Scioto Country Club in Upper Arlington, Ohio, a suburb of Columbus. Miguel Angel Jimenez, Jeff Gallagher, Michael Allen, Gene Sauers and Glen Day all carded 68s.
• Zach Johnson, a two-time major champion, shot a 6-under 65 for share of the lead with Patrick Rodgers and Ryan Moore in the suspended first round of the John Deere Classic in Silvis, Ill. Play was delayed for 31 ⁄ hours 2 at TPC Deere Run by a heavy rain.
Auto racing
Ten days ahead of the fourth annual ABC Supply 500, Pocono Raceway announced the Verizon IndyCar Series will be back at the 2.5-mile triangular track in Long Pond in 2017 and 2018. IndyCar first competed at Pocono from 1971 to 1989. It returned after a 23-year absence in 2013 on a three-year deal that expired in August 2015.