Heat still leads the East Finals but the Celtics return with history in mind
MIAMI (AP) — The Boston Celtics are halfway into history, and that alone got them a foothold at what is a very small club. Of the first 150 teams to trail a best-of-seven series 3-0 in NBA history, only 14 found a way to extend the match to game six. Most are usually eliminated by now. Not the Celtics. They cut the deficit to 3-2 in the Eastern Conference Finals against the Miami Heat. They’re behind in the series but appear to have the momentum ahead of Saturday night’s sixth game in Miami.
The Yankees’ Aaron Boone has been suspended for an MLB game for dealing with referees
NEW YORK (AP) — Yankees manager Aaron Boone has been suspended for one game and fined by Major League Baseball “for his recent behavior towards the Major League umpires.” Michael Hill, MLB’s senior vice president of oncourt action, made the announcement and said Boone’s behavior following his suspension from Thursday night’s game against Baltimore was one of the factors in the disciplining. Boone was ejected for the fourth time this season in the major league peak, the most common among big league managers, when he fretted over the strike zone. He appeared to have been spat on to a referee while screaming after being thrown.
Analysis: The NFL can’t shake perceptions, they don’t care what players and coaches think
Even if the NFL adopts a concussion reduction rule, it can’t shake the impression that it doesn’t care what players and coaches think. The league took a step towards eliminating kickoffs this week by expanding the touchback rule for a year-long trial period with a focus on player safety. The receiving team now receives the ball at their own 25-yard line with a fair catch of a kick-off anywhere past that yard-line. Some of the league’s most prominent coaches have criticized the decision.
DeAndre Hopkins is fired from the Arizona Cardinals as the team suffers a major pay cap slump
TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) – The Arizona Cardinals have fired three-time All-Pro-wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins in a salary cap change after failing to find a trading partner in the offseason. The Cardinals made the move three seasons after acquiring Hopkins in a deal with Houston and signing him for a $54.5 million contract extension. The soon-to-be-31-year-old would have netted nearly $31 million against the cap this season. His cap hit in Dead Money is $22.6 million. Hopkins had 221 catches for 2,696 yards and 17 touchdowns in 35 games with Arizona.
Biden celebrates the LSU women’s and UConn men’s basketball teams at separate White House events
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden called for more support for women athletes during a White House event celebrating the Louisiana women’s basketball championship. The event once seemed in jeopardy after Biden’s wife, Jill, suggested inviting the losing Iowa team as well. Friday’s ceremony was briefly interrupted when forward Sa’Myah Smith appeared to collapse on stage. The Bidens praised the LSU Tigers for their performance and the way they helped advance women’s sports. Neither mentioned the uproar Jill Biden’s previous comments had caused. Biden also welcomed the UConn men’s basketball championship team to a celebration at the White House later Friday.
Sport isn’t a safe diversion from politics when champs visit the White House
WASHINGTON (AP) — Politics and sports go together like baseball and apple pie. For decades, title-winning teams have visited the White House. But what began as an impartial rite of passage becomes increasingly entangled in politics. It’s a shift some associate with the presidency of Bill Clinton. A professional golfer declined an invitation from the White House and described Clinton in unflattering terms. On Friday, President Joe Biden will welcome the NCAA champion women’s basketball team, LSU, along with the men’s team from UConn. Some were outraged when First Lady Jill Biden suggested inviting the Iowa team, which lost to LSU in the Finals, as well. After considerable resistance, this idea disappeared.
Over the course of more than 100 years, nine women have raced at the Indianapolis 500, and the urge for more has faltered
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Katherine Legge recalls her days as a teenager driving go-karts and how at times she was ruthlessly bullied by the boys. Or the difficulties she faced growing up around racing and securing sponsors and support. There are many reasons Legge is the only driver competing at the Indianapolis 500 this year. The women’s movement that once promised to get more women into racing appears to have stalled. In more than 100 years there were still only nine women at the start.
Column: Remembering Castleberry and others who paid the ultimate price of the war
ATLANTA (AP) — Clint Castleberry had a glorious season at Georgia Tech. He was a whirlwind on both sides of the line and seemed to pop up everywhere. And then he was gone. All that potential snuffed out by the horrors of war. This Memorial Day weekend, Castleberry’s largely forgotten exploits are a grim, painful reminder of what might have been without the war. As a freshman in 1942, he placed third in the Heisman election. He then went into World War II, where he died piloting a B-26 off the coast of Africa. He was just 21.
“Block” party at the Colonial for the PGA Championship Sensation Club Pro
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) – There will be no weekend party at the Colonial for Michael Block. The California club pro, who finished 15th in the PGA Championship, hit 15 over par on a grueling 36 holes at the Colonial. He was exhausted but grateful after last week’s wild ride. His 4-over-74 on Friday was seven shots better than his opening round at the Charles Schwab Challenge, where he received a late sponsorship waiver after Oak Hill. He also has a dispensation to compete in the RBC Canadian Open in two weeks. So the block party isn’t quite over yet.
After Serena, women’s tennis heads to the French Open, led by Big 3 Swiatek, Sabalenka and Rybakina
PARIS (AP) – Any questions about who would come to the fore if Serena Williams leaves the tennis tour appear to be answered with three names: Iga Swiatek, Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina. As Sunday gets closer to the start of the French Open, defending champion Swiatek is 1st, Sabalenka 2nd and Rybakina 4th. More specifically, maybe if there’s a big trophy up for grabs on the red clay of Roland Garros: this group has split the last four Grand Slam titles, the prizes that make up the greatness of their sport.
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