Spurs star Victor Wembanyama to miss remainder of season after blood clot diagnosis
San Antonio star Victor Wembanyama’s season is over. The Spurs say Wembanyama has been diagnosed with a blood clot in his right shoulder. It is a massive blow to the Spurs, who are contending for a playoff spot in the Western Conference. The condition was diagnosed this week after Wembanyama returned from the All-Star Game. Wembanyama’s situation comes about 3 1/2 months after Spurs coach Gregg Popovich had a stroke and was forced to take a leave from the sideline. A person familiar with the situation tells The Associated Press that the Spurs expect Wembanyama to recover fully.
ESPN and Major League Baseball will end their national television deal after 2025 season
ESPN’s coverage of Major League Baseball games — at least in its current form — will conclude at the end of the 2025 season. ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro informed baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred on Thursday morning that the network was opting out of the final three years of its contract, two people told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss financial matters. ESPN and MLB both made statements Thursday night confirming the end of the current rights deal. There was a March 1 deadline for MLB and ESPN to opt out of the final three years of their contract. The sides agreed to a seven-year deal in 2021 that averaged $550 million per season.
Players 1, umpires 0: Cubs hurler Cody Poteet makes first ABS challenge in spring training and wins
GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Chicago Cubs pitcher Cody Poteet believed the 95 mph fastball he threw to Los Angeles Dodgers slugger Max Muncy was in the strike zone. Plate umpire Tony Randazzo disagreed and called it a ball. Instead of arguing, Poteet simply patted the top of his cap, signifying he wanted to challenge the call. After a few seconds, the verdict was ready on the video board in right-center field. Poteet was correct — it was a strike, just catching the bottom of the zone. The first test of the Automated Ball-Strike System went off without a hitch Thursday, with Randazzo quickly reversing the call.
Tiger Woods joins another White House meeting as PGA Tour moves closer to Saudi deal
Tiger Woods and PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan have taken part of a White House meeting with President Donald Trump that signals more progress in getting a deal done with the Saudi backers of LIV Golf. Yasir Al-Rumayyan, governor of the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia and the financial muscle behind the rival league, also was part of the meeting. The PGA Tour said in a statement that the parties discussed “the reunification of golf.” It was the second meeting in two weeks at the White House on the future of the sport.
Wembanyama getting no shortage of well-wishes from other NBA players, coaches
Tyronn Lue and Doc Rivers said they were saddened. Michael Malone and Erik Spoelstra were shocked when they heard the news. Victor Wembanyama being diagnosed with deep vein thrombosis in his right shoulder was an obvious blow to the San Antonio Spurs. But as other coaches and players processed the news on Thursday, it was clear that it was seen as a blow to the league as well.
Victor Wembanyama’s season is over. What’s next for the Spurs star?
Victor Wembanyama is one of the faces of the NBA, the star of the San Antonio Spurs and already one of the biggest names in basketball around the world. And his season is over, after the Spurs announced Thursday that he has been diagnosed with deep vein thrombosis in his right shoulder. The 7-foot-3 center from France was averaging 24.3 points, 11 rebounds, 3.8 blocks and 3.7 assists this season. Since blocked shots became an official statistic, only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar — nearly a half-century ago — finished a season with all those numbers.
One-armed basketball player makes women’s Division III history with basket
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) — Being cut cut from her high school basketball team was painful for Baileigh Sinaman-Daniel, but she refused to let that rejection, or being born with one arm, stop her from pursuing her basketball dreams. The 22-year-old Lesley University player has made NCAA history as the first Division III women’s basketball player with one arm to score in collegiate games. Inspired by LeBron James as a child, Sinaman-Daniel emailed hundreds of college coaches seeking a chance to play. Lesley University coach Martin Rather says she is now the team’s hardest-working player. Since her historic first basket, Sinaman-Daniel has scored again and helped lead her team to its best season in 14 years.
WADA drops lawsuit against USADA but still believes it would have won
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) — The World Anti-Doping Agency has dropped a lawsuit and an ethics case it had filed against critics in the United States who disagreed with its handling of a doping case involving Chinese swimmers who tested positive for performance enahncers but were not penalized. The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency said Thursday that a defamation lawsuit filed in Swiss court against the American drug-fighting agency along with an ethics complaint against former U.S. drug czar Rahul Guptha had both been withdrawn. USADA CEO Travis Tygart called the end of the legal action “complete vindication for us both.”