COLLEGES
The University of New England got a split in its softball doubleheader with Gordon on Wednesday, winning the nightcap 8-3 at Wenham, Massachusetts,
Trailing 2-0 after two innings, the Nor’easters (6-5, 4-3 Commonwealth Coast) scored five runs in the top of the third, paced by a two-run double from Grace Tutt and a run-scoring single from Kate Wilmot.
UNE added a pair of runs in the sixth on an RBI double from Nicole Cacciola and a wild pitch.
Gordon (11-14, 7-7) scored four runs in the bottom of the third and blanked the Nor’easters 8-0 in six innings in the opener.
HOCKEY: The University of Connecticut’s Board of Trustees on Wednesday approved a new $70 million plan to build a 2,600-seat hockey rink on campus, a facility that will be smaller and much more expensive than originally anticipated. The school has been discussing the new rink since 2013, when its men’s hockey program joined Hockey East, one the nation’s top conferences which includes the University of Maine.
The league, as a condition of admittance, required that UConn build a 4,000-seat, on-campus facility. The school went back and forth on whether to try to expand its existing 2,000-seat Freitas Ice Forum or build a new rink. UConn eventually asked for and received a waiver from the conference of the seating requirement, in part, because in non-pandemic years the Huskies have played their home games at the 16,000-seat XL Center in Hartford.
In 2018, trustees approved $45 million plan for a 2,500-seat on-campus rink that was expected to open this year. But the developer and the school parted ways after it became clear that the rink could not be built for that budget, sending the project back to the drawing board.
The new plan calls for the 97,300-square-foot building to be funded through $33 million in bonding, $20 million in philanthropy and $17 million in school funds, including $11.5 million from the sale of the school’s former satellite campus in West Hartford and its on-campus hotel in Storrs, officials said.
MEN’S BASKETBALL: National champion Baylor is adding transfer guard James Akinjo, the leading scorer for Arizona last season.
Coach Scott Drew announced Akinjo has signed with the Bears. The 6-foot-1 guard is expected to join the team this summer and will have two seasons of eligibility remaining.
• D.J. Carton is leaving Marquette to pursue a professional career, a move that means the Golden Eagles won’t return at least four of their top five scorers from this past season.
The 6-foot-2 guard said in a university release that he was entering his name in the upcoming NBA draft and planned to hire an agent.
• Minnesota has finalized the first of several expected transfers, adding former George Washington forward Jamison Battle.
The signing gives new coach Ben Johnson a 6-foot-7 sharpshooter and perimeter defender to help build a revamped lineup around. Battle is a native of Robbinsdale, Minnesota, who played at DeLaSalle High School in Minneapolis, just like Johnson did.
ROWING: Members of Connecticut’s women’s rowing team filed a federal lawsuit, alleging UConn’s plan to eliminate their program as part of budget cuts in the athletic department violates their civil rights.
Twelve rowers were named as defendants in the suit, which was filed as a class action on behalf of the entire team, citing Title IX, the federal law that ensures equal access to education for women, including in athletics.
TRANSFER RULE: The NCAA Division I Board of Directors ratified a rule change that will allow all athletes who have not yet transferred the ability to do so one time in a college career and be immediately eligible to play.
The Division I Council adopted the proposed legislation earlier this month. The board took the last step to make the historic rule change official and the NCAA clarified some of the details in a news release.
BOXING
Middleweight boxing champion Marvelous Marvin Hagler is being celebrated in his Massachusetts hometown with a street named in his honor.
The Brockton City Council on Monday approved a proposal by two councilors to name a currently under-construction street Marvin Hagler Drive, The Enterprise reported Wednesday. Hagler, who died in March at age 66, finished his professional career with a 62-3-2 record with 52 knockouts.
The street will intersect Petronelli Way, the site of the gym where Hagler was trained and managed by the Petronelli brothers, Goody and Pat.
“Growing up as a kid in Brockton, Marvin Hagler was a legend,” said Councilor Jeffrey Thompson, who made the proposal to name the street. “I never had the pleasure to meet the champ, but I watched his legendary fights and spoke to people who knew him. The lesson that I took was that Marvin Hagler had an obsession with sharing his boxing talent and his determination with the world. He literally got punched in the face and kept moving forward.”
Hagler was born in Newark, New Jersey, and moved with his family to Brockton in the late 1960s. Some relatives still live in the city south of Boston.
SOCCER
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: Kevin De Bruyne and Riyad Mahrez scored in quick succession during the second half as Manchester City rallied to beat Paris Saint-Germain 2-1 in the first leg of their semifinal at Paris.
After PSG captain Marquinhos headed PSG ahead in the 15th minute, De Bruyne equalized in the 64th with a dipping cross that eluded goalkeeper Keylor Navas and bounced inside the post.
De Bruyne then left a free kick for Mahrez – who grew up in the Paris suburbs – and he curled the ball through a gap in the wall and into the bottom left corner in the 71st.
MLS: The LA Galaxy signed French defender Sega Coulibaly to a two-year contract with a one-year option.
Coulibaly, 24, spent the past three years with AS Nancy in France’s Ligue 2, making 45 appearances for the club. He has started 19 of Nancy’s 30 games this season.
Coulibaly is the third French player added to the Galaxy’s roster this year, joining forward Kevin Cabral and winger Samuel Grandsir.
The Galaxy are off to a strong start to the new MLS season at 2-0-0 with five goals already from star forward Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez.
HOCKEY
NWHL: The National Women’s Hockey League announced it is doubling its salary cap to $300,000 for each of its six teams based on projections that it is making strides in achieving financial stability entering its seventh season.
“Making an investment in those players by doubling the salary cap we believe is a very strong signal that we’re serious about this,” Boston Pride chairman Miles Arnone told The Associated Press. “This is something we can afford to do. It’s substantial, yet it doesn’t mark the end. It marks the beginning of a process we expect to go on over the next number of years.”
At the same time, Arnone said the league is putting off adding an expansion franchise in Montreal until the 2022-23 season because of continuing uncertainties due to the coronavirus pandemic, particularly in Canada.
The decision to increase the cap from $150,000 means salaries will average $15,000 based on 20-player rosters. Arnone estimated salaries will range between $10,000 to $35,000, not including additional bonuses that come with the league’s revenue-sharing agreement with its players.
Though the NWHL is not yet turning a profit, first-year commissioner Tyler Tumminia cited inroads made in generating major sponsorship deals – including a high-six-figure agreement with Discover – and growing its fanbase despite playing a shortened two-week season that was disrupted by a COVID-19 outbreak and forced a near two-month postponement of the playoffs.
TENNIS
MUNICH OPEN: Alexander Zverev began his bid for a third Munich Open title by beating Ricardas Berankis 6-2, 6-4 Wednesday in the second round.
The top-seeded Zverev, who won the tournament in 2017 and 2018, hit six aces, saved three of the five break points he faced and converted five of his own against his 89th-ranked opponent. The sixth-ranked German will next face either Ilya Ivashka or American qualifier Mackenzie McDonald in the quarterfinals. McDonald upset sixth-seeded Dusan Lajovic on Tuesday.
Also, second-seeded Casper Ruud defeated Pablo Cuevas 6-3, 6-2 and John Millman progressed after opponent Guido Pella retired with injury while trailing 6-4, 2-0.
CRICKET
PLAYER BANNED: Former Sri Lanka fast bowler Nuwan Zoysa has been banned from all cricket for six years after being found guilty of violating the International Cricket Council anti-corruption code.
The ICC issued a statement Wednesday saying the ban for Zoysa is backdated to Oct. 31, 2018, when the former test left-arm paceman was provisionally suspended.
An independent anti-corruption tribunal last November found Zoysa guilty of breaching three counts that included failing to disclose full details of any approaches or invitations received to engage in corrupt conduct under the code.
The charges related to the T10 League in the United Arab Emirates in 2017 when Zoysa was a Sri Lanka bowling coach.
“Contriving to fix a game betrays the basis of sporting principles. It will not be tolerated in our sport,” Alex Marshall, general manager of the ICC’s integrity unit, said in a statement.
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