MLB

BALTIMORE (AP) – New York Mets hitter Pete Alonso has accused Major League Baseball of manipulating baseballs to harm the earning potential of star free agents and umpire-eligible players.

Alonso’s comments came in response to a question about cracking down on sticky substances used by launchers.

“I think the biggest concern is that Major League Baseball is handling baseballs year after year based on the free agency class – or guys being in an advanced part of their officiating,” Alonso said. “… Maybe if the league didn’t change baseball, pitchers wouldn’t need to use so much sticky stuff.”

When asked a follow-up question about it, Alonso stood firm. His implication was that the balls are more hitter-friendly in a year when a number of top pitchers are about to hit free agency – and vice versa.

NBA

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) – The Indiana Pacers fired Nate Bjorkgren on Wednesday after missing the playoffs in his only season as a coach.

The Pacers went 34-38 and their season ended in a 142-115 loss to Washington in the play-in tournament that ended their streak of five straight playoff appearances.

Team president Kevin Pritchard subsequently chose to take the time to assess the coaching position.

NEW YORK (AP) – Utah’s Rudy Gobert won his third Defensive Player of the Year award on Wednesday after helping the Utah Jazz achieve the best NBA record.

Gobert had the most blocked shots and defensive rebounds in the league this season and became the fourth player to win the award at least three times.

Gobert received 84 first-place votes and 464 points from a global panel of 100 sports writers and broadcasters. Ben Simmons of Philadelphia was second with 15 first-place votes and 287 votes, while Draymond Green of Golden State was third with 76 points.

NEW YORK (AP) – Brooklyn’s James Harden will miss Game 3 of the Eastern Conference semifinals with a right hamstring injury that forced him to retire from Game 1 of the series.

Harden narrowly allowed 43 seconds in that game, but the Nets didn’t miss it, taking a 2-0 lead over the Bucks. Game 3 is Thursday in Milwaukee.

Harden missed 20 of 21 late-season games with hamstrings.

NEW YORK (AP) – Miami Heat president Pat Riley was fined $ 25,000 by the NBA on Wednesday for making it too clear he would eagerly host a meeting with LeBron James.

The league said Riley violated its anti-tampering rule with his remarks during an interview on Friday’s Dan Le Batard radio show.

Riley said he would “leave the key under the doormat” if James called and said he wanted to return to Miami. James led the Heat to two NBA titles and four consecutive finals appearances before returning to Cleveland in 2014.

NFL

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) – Peyton Manning was named to the Broncos’ Ring of Fame on Wednesday in recognition of his record-breaking four-year run in Denver that culminated with a Super Bowl 50 victory.

Manning will be honored in a game against Washington at Empower Field at Mile High on Halloween, less than three months after his induction into the Professional Football Hall of Fame on August 8.

The six-member selection committee unanimously selected Manning as the team’s 35th Ring of Fame member. Last year’s winner, former coach Mike Shanahan, will also be honored this season after the pandemic prevented his ceremony in 2020.

LONDON (AP) – The NFL is keen to expand its international playoffs by hosting regular season games in Germany, kicking off a process on Wednesday to identify a partner city.

Germany has a strong NFL fan base and is one of the world’s largest economies, making the country an attractive partner.

The NFL has hosted 28 regular season games in London since 2007 and will play two more in October at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. German supporters often travel to London to watch matches, the league said.

NHL

ST. PAUL, Minnesota (AP) – The Minnesota Wild on Wednesday hired longtime NHL general manager Ray Shero as senior adviser to general manager Bill Guerin, who played for Shero and worked under him with the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Shero was fired last year by New Jersey, midway through his fifth season as general manager for the Devils. Prior to arriving there, he spent eight years as general manager of the Penguins, overseeing the 2009 Stanley Cup champions.

Shero is from St. Paul, where the Wilds play. He was assistant general manager of the Ottawa Senators (1993-98) and the Nashville Predators (1998-2006).

College athletics

A federal law governing how varsity athletes can make money from their fame seems certain to be passed – at some point.

There is no real debate among lawmakers on Capitol Hill as to whether athletes should be allowed to monetize their name, image and likeness.

But less than a month before NIL laws came into effect in several states, NCAA President Mark Emmert was back in Washington to renew his call for help from Congress.

This help is unlikely to come as soon as the NCAA would like it to. For some lawmakers, federal varsity sports regulation shouldn’t end with NIL and now is the time to tackle other issues – from long-term health care and educational opportunities for athletes to high standards. more uniform and enforceable security.

FOOTBALL

LOS ANGELES (AP) – The Major League Soccer All-Stars will meet their top Mexican League counterparts in Los Angeles on August 25 in a game that was originally scheduled to take place last year but has been postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The game against the Liga MX players at Banc of California Stadium, home of MLS Los Angeles FC, represents a change from the format of the last 15 All-Star games that had MLS top players against European clubs. Los Angeles is a great place to play – not only does it have one of the largest Latin American populations in the world, it’s a battleground for both leagues.

FRISCO, Texas (AP) – United States National Team defenders Steve Cherundolo and Christie Pearce have been elected to the National Football Hall of Fame along with Bolivian forward Jaime Moreno and former DC United general manager Kevin Payne .

The four will be inducted into the hall on October 2 along with former US captain Carlos Bocanegra and Colin Jose Media award winner Andrés Cantor, whose ceremonies have been delayed from last year due to the coronavirus pandemic. .

OLYMPIC GAMES

SYDNEY (AP) – The Australian Olympic baseball team has given up on qualifying for the Tokyo Games due to travel complications from the coronavirus.

Baseball Australia general manager Glenn Williams said on Wednesday the “heartbreaking” decision to step down makes Olympic qualification impossible. The final qualifying tournament June 22-26 was originally scheduled to be hosted by Taiwan, but late last month it was moved to Puebla, Mexico.

COLLEGE BASEBALL

COLLEGE STATION, TX (AP) – Texas A&M hired Jim Schlossnagle as their new baseball coach on Wednesday after his 18 seasons with the TCU, including five trips to the College World Series.

Schlossnagle replaces Rob Childress, whose contract was not renewed after the Aggies missed the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2006.

The Horned Frogs this year shared the Big 12 regular season title with Texas, won the conference tournament and were a national No.6 seed in the NCAA tournament before losing at home on the weekend. latest. Schlossnagle had a 734-346 record at TCU, who competed in the College World Series in 2010 and then made four consecutive trips to Omaha from 2014 to 2017.

CROSS COUNTRY COLLEGE

TUSCON, Ariz. (AP) – Arizona has promoted two-time Olympic medalist Bernard Lagat to cross country head coach.

Lagat had been an interim co-coach with Doug Keen and Dave Murray after longtime coach James Li retired in November. Murray was the interim coach until the end of the 2020-21 cross country season.

Lagat will continue to serve as assistant athletics coach.