BASEBALL
Johan Mieses hit a three-run home run to break a tie in the bottom of the third inning Wednesday as the Portland Sea Dogs beat the Hartford Yard Goats 5-1 in a rain-shortened game at Hadlock Field.
The game was called after Hartford was retired in order in the top of the fifth inning.
Kutter Crawford got his first win, allowing one run in five innings. He gave up four hits and struck out five with no walks.
Mieses, who leads Double-A Northeast with nine home runs, was 3 for 3 to raise his average to .281.
SOCCER
Families of 96 Liverpool soccer fans who died in a stadium overcrowding disaster in 1989 slammed a British judge’s decision to end the trial of two former police officers and an ex-lawyer on charges of perverting the course of justice. After four weeks of evidence, Judge William Davis told jurors in Salford, northwest England, that he agreed with lawyers for the defendants that there was no case they could properly consider.
That decision brings to an end the families’ 32-year fight for justice for their loved ones who died on April 15, 1989, during the crush at an FA Cup semifinal match between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest at Hillsborough Stadium The deaths initially were ruled accidental – a ruling overturned in 2012 after a new, wide-ranging inquiry.
“We’ve got the death certificate with 96 unlawfully killed but yet not one person has been held to account,” Margaret Aspinall, whose 18-year-old son James died in the disaster, said at the Hillsborough memorial at Liverpool’s Anfield stadium. “To me that’s a disgrace on this nation, on the British system, on the law. I’m absolutely so devastated today for the hard work that the families have put in for all of these years.”
Donald Denton, an 83-year-old retired chief superintendent at South Yorkshire Police, former detective chief inspector Alan Foster, 74, and former solicitor Peter Metcalf, 71, had each been charged with acting to pervert the course of justice. They were accused of amending police officers’ statements after the disaster in an attempt to minimize the blame that would be heaped on the police force after a crush of fans inside two standing-room-only areas of the stadium led to the deaths and to hundreds of injuries.
But the judge said the amended statements were intended for a subsequent public inquiry into sporting event safety that was not a “course of public justice” and therefore could not be perverted.
COLLEGES
TRACK AND FIELD: Travis Snyder of Saco qualified for the NCAA Division I championships by clearing 17 feet, 2 3/4 inches in the pole vault at the East preliminary meet in Jacksonville, Florida.
Snyder, a sophomore at UConn, is one of 24 pole vaulters who will advance to the championship meet starting June 9 in Eugene, Oregon.
MEN’S BASKETBALL: Gonzaga forward Drew Timme, who led the West Coast Conference in scoring last season, announced he will return for his junior season with the Bulldogs and won’t pursue professional options.
Timme will improve a roster that includes the nation’s second-ranked recruiting class.
The Bulldogs won their first 31 games last season before losing to Baylor in the national championship game. The 6-foot-10 Timme won the Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year Award along with earning other honors.
Timme scored 19 points per game last season and also led the WCC in field-goal accuracy at 65.5%, which ranked third in the nation.
OLYMPICS
NEWSPAPER CALLS FOR CANCELLATION: Japan’s Asahi Shimbun newspaper called for the Tokyo Olympics to be canceled with the games set to open in less than two months. It is the first of Japan’s major newspapers to make the move and joins some regional newspapers that have recently added to the growing opposition to holding the Olympics.
Coming out against the Olympics could be significant since the newspaper, like many in Japan, is a sponsor of the postponed Tokyo Games that are scheduled to open on July 23. Asahi is typically liberal-leaning and often opposes the ruling party led by Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga.
“We cannot think it’s rational to host the Olympics in the city this summer,” the newspaper said in its editorial under a headline that read: “We Demand PM Suga Decide Cancellation.”
Asahi has a morning circulation reported at 5.16 million, and 1.55 million for its evening edition. It is second in circulation behind Yomiuri Shimbun, and subsequently is the second largest circulating newspaper in the world behind Yomiuri.
HOCKEY
WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: Adam Henrique had two goals and an assist and Canada beat Norway 4-2 at Riga, Latvia, for its first victory in four games.
Connor Brown added a goal and two assists, Andrew Mangiapane also scored and Darcy Kuemper made 13 saves.
In the other Group B game, Kazakhstan ended first-place Germany’s three-game winning streak with a 3-2 victory. Pavel Akolzin broke a tie on a breakaway with 4:18 left.
Nikita Boyarkin made 28 saves and Alexander Shin and Roman Starchenko also scored. Tom Kuhnhackl and Markus Eisenschmid scored for Germany.
The United States (2-1-0) will resume Group B play Thursday against Latvia.
In Group A, Britain beat Belarus 4-3 for its first regulation victory in the event since 1962, and Russia topped Denmark 3-0.
GOLF
THE MATCH: The next edition of The Match will feature PGA stars Phil Mickelson and Bryson DeChambeau along with NFL quarterbacks Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers.The celebrity fundraising competition will be held at the Reserve golf course at Moonlight Basin in Montana on July 6 and will be televised on TNT starting at 5 p.m., Turner Sports announced.
Players will have open mics and will be able to talk with other players and the commentators during the modified alternate shot match play event, which will raise money for Feeding America and other charities. Mickelson, winner of this year’s PGA Championship, will be paired with seven-time Super Bowl champion Brady to take on 2020 U.S. Open champion DeChambeau and Rodgers, a three-time NFL MVP and Super Bowl champion.
Mickelson won the inaugural edition of The Match against Tiger Woods in Las Vegas in 2018. Mickelson and Brady lost the second event to Tiger Woods and Peyton Manning in May 2020. But in November, Mickelson and former NBA star Charles Barkley upset three-time NBA champion Stephen Curry and Manning, who will be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in August.
LPGA: Danielle Kang and Inbee Park made themselves right at home at Shadow Creek in the Bank of Hope LPGA Match Play at North Las Vegas, Nevada.
Kang, a Las Vegas resident and ambassador for course owner MGM Resorts, routed Albane Valenzuela 7 and 6 in the most-lopsided match to start group play. Park, also an area resident, got up-and-down for birdie to win the par-5 18th to tie Jennifer Chang.
The tournament is the LPGA Tour’s first match play event since the 2017 Lorena Ochoa Invitational in Mexico.
BASKETBALL
WNBA: New York Liberty forward Natasha Howard will miss at least four weeks after suffering a sprained MCL in her left knee, the team said. Howard, who is averaging 14.5 points and 6.5 rebounds this season while playing in just two games, injured the knee in the fourth quarter of the Liberty’s 88-81 win over the Dallas Wings on Monday.
She joined the team late after completing her overseas season in Italy. Howard had 12 points and seven rebounds in her season debut on Sunday.
Howard was acquired by New York before the season in a three-team deal that sent the No. 1 overall pick in the draft to Dallas. She had started 89 of 90 games while playing with Seattle the past three seasons. She helped the Storm win WNBA championships in 2018 and last year.
SPORTS BETTING
SPORTSBOOK IN CAPITAL ONE ARENA: The first full-service sportsbook at a major sports arena or stadium in the United States opened its doors at the home of the NBA’s Washington Wizards and NHL’s Capitals. Capital One Arena is directly accessible from the William Hill sportsbook during Wizards playoff games without fans needing to leave the building. That possibility exists when the Capitals return to the ice this fall if the NHL adjusts its policies.
The New Jersey Devils opened a betting “lounge” inside Prudential Center in Newark in October 2018, but it’s only able to show odds with bettors able to place wagers on a mobile application. State restrictions there limit in-person wagers to casinos or racetracks. Caesars CEO Tom Reeg called it a groundbreaking moment for sports betting. Caesars is in the process of buying William Hill.
“This is the first integrated sports book in a physical stadium in the country, so this is the new paradigm,” he said. “This is where (sports betting is) going.”
The first opportunity for fans to go from an arena to a sportsbook comes Saturday when the Wizards face the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 3 of their first-round playoff series.
AUTO RACING
NASCAR: The spotter for defending NASCAR Cup Series champion Chase Elliott has been suspended by NASCAR and Hendrick Motorsports after his domestic violence arrest.
Edward James D’Hondt, 62, was arrested earlier this month in Catawba County and charged with battery of unborn child and assaulting a women, according to online North Carolina judicial records. He faces two court dates in June. Hendrick Motorsports issued a statement saying it had learned of D’Hondt’s arrest Wednesday and suspended him indefinitely “from his role with our company.”
NASCAR also suspended D’Hondt for his conduct and for failing to report the arrest to NASCAR within the required 72 hours. D’Hondt has been Elliott’s spotter since the 25-year-old driver joined the NASCAR Cup Series with Hendrick Motorsports, including last week when Elliott won the road event at the Circuit of The Americas in Texas.
Hendrick said it has not determined who’ll serve as Elliott’s spotter this week for the Coca Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
CYCLING
GIRO D’ITALIA: Irish cyclist Dan Martin won the 17th stage in Sega di Ala, Italy, to complete a set of Grand Tour victories, while Egan Bernal had three seconds shaved off his overall lead and saw one of his main rivals gain significant time after a disappointing day in the high mountains.
Martin, who rides for Israel Start-Up Nation, attacked from a breakaway at the start of a tough climb to the summit finish and rode solo to victory to add to his two stage wins in both the Tour de France and the Spanish Vuelta. João Almeida was second, 13 seconds behind Martin at the end of the 193-kilometer (120-mile) route from Canazei to Sega di Ala that also featured two other categorized climbs.
Simon Yates crossed the line in third, 30 seconds behind Martin, to move up from fifth into third place overall, 3 minutes, 23 seconds behind Bernal. Bernal, who rides for Ineos Grenadiers, was dropped from the group of his main rivals shortly before the end of the climb and crossed in seventh. The 2019 Tour champion saw his lead cut slightly to 2:21 ahead of Damiano Caruso.
The Giro finishes on Sunday in Milan with an individual time trial.
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