HOCKEY

Two-time Stanley Cup-winning forward Kris Versteeg is retiring after 11 NHL seasons.

The 33-year-old announced his decision through the NHL Players’ Association on Tuesday, and after ending this season playing with his brother, Mitch, with Slovakia’s HK Nitra.

Versteeg was a member of the Blackhawks’ championship teams in 2010 and ’15. He described the winning the Cup in 2010 as the highlight of his career, coming during a postseason in which he had six goals — including two game-winners — and 14 points in 22 games.

He spent five seasons over two separate stints with Chicago. He played his final NHL game with Calgary in March 2018, before spending much of the past two years in Europe.

HIGH SCHOOLS

BOYS’ BASKETBALL: Emoni Bates of Michigan was awakened with good news on Tuesday.

Bates was named Gatorade’s national player of the year in high school basketball, becoming the first sophomore to win the award, and was informed during a FaceTime call with Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum.

“I was shocked and real surprised,” Bates said later in a phone interview with The Associated Press. “It means a lot to me, especially to be the youngest to win this award.”

Bates beat out Evan Mobley of California and Cade Cunningham of Texas, the top-ranked seniors in the country. The 6-foot-11 Mobley has signed to play at Southern California next season and the 6-6 Cunningham is headed for Oklahoma State.

A 6-foot-9 guard, Bates averaged 32 points this year. His chance to help Ypsilanti Lincoln High School repeat as state champions was cut short during the playoffs due to the coronavirus pandemic.

WNBA: The New York Liberty logo is getting an update for the first time since the team joined the WNBA 24 years ago in the league’s inaugural season.

The Liberty are moving away from the orange-and-blue color scheme that was associated with their previous owner, New York Knicks owner James Dolan, to a logo that includes black, white and a pale green similar to the Statue of Liberty.

The new colors are similar to those used by the Brooklyn Nets, who are owned by the group that bought the Liberty last year. The team is moving to the Barclays Center in Brooklyn starting this season, which is on hold because of the coronavirus pandemic.

MEN’S BASKETBALL: Kentucky forward Nick Richards will enter the NBA draft and forego his final season of collegiate eligibility by signing with an agency.

The 6-foot-11 junior is the fourth Wildcats starter to turn pro. He’s coming off a breakout season in which he was named a first-team All-Southeastern Conference selection by The Associated Press and league coaches. His per-game scoring average increased 10 points from his sophomore season to 14.0 while starting 30 of 31 contests to help the Wildcats (25-6) earn the SEC regular season title before the postseason was cancelled because of coronavirus concerns.

• Florida will have its top scorer back next season.

Forward Keyontae Johnson announced on social media Tuesday that he plans to return for his junior year with the Gators, a huge boost for coach Mike White’s program.

Johnson averaged 14.0 points a game to lead the team in scoring, and was second in rebounding (7.1). He also led the team in steals (38), was second in 3-point shooting (38%) and ranked third in assists (49). He played his best basketball down the stretch, notching five double-doubles in Florida’s final nine games before the coronavirus pandemic canceled most of the postseason.

FOOTBALL

NFL: Donald Parham Jr., who led XFL tight ends in yards and receptions, has signed a multi-year contract with the Los Angeles Chargers.

Parham had 24 receptions for 307 yards and four touchdowns for the Dallas Renegades before the XFL season ended due to the coronavirus pandemic. Parham was also the only tight end in the league to have a 100-yard receiving game.

Parham spent time with the Detroit Lions and Washington during the offseason last year.

SOCCER

JURISPRUDENCE: The former head of South American soccer will remain in a U.S. prison.

A federal judge denied the request by Juan Ángel Napout to be released on bail, four days after she rejected his application for compassionate release.

“The court finds that defendant has not demonstrated by ‘clear and convincing evidence’ that he ‘is not likely to flee,'” U.S. District Judge Pamela K. Chen wrote in a brief order. “If anything, the court finds that defendant’s incentive to flee is greater now than when he was initially remanded, given that defendant has been in prison for approximately 28 months and faces the prospect of having to return to prison for five more years if his appeal is unsuccessful.”

Napout, who is from Paraguay, was convicted in December 2017 of one count of racketeering conspiracy and two counts of wire fraud conspiracy related to bribes involving broadcast and marketing rights of South American tournaments.

ROAD RACING

DOPING: Former London Marathon winner Daniel Wanjiru of Kenya has been provisionally suspended for suspected doping.

The charge against Wanjiru was announced Tuesday by track and field’s Athletics Integrity Unit, which cited suspicious readings in his biological passport. No timetable was given for a disciplinary case.

The 27-year-old Wanjiru won in London in 2017 before returning to the city to finish eighth in the marathon at that year’s world championships.

Wanjiru said he was innocent of the charge in a statement posted on social media accounts by his management company.

“The (biological passport) finding is confusing and frustrating me,” the athlete said. “I feel I am already seen as a sinner of doping, but I am not.”

Wanjiru has not returned a positive test, but an athlete’s blood passport can reveal the effects of doping by interpreting sample results taken over a longer period of time.

Wanjiru set a career-best time of 2 hours, 5 minutes, 21 seconds when winning the Amsterdam marathon in October 2016, a course record.

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