Ohtani becomes 2-way All-Star for 3rd straight year; 8 Braves selected for July 11 game
Shohei Ohtani became a two-way All-Star for the third straight year when he was picked for the American League pitching staff, and eight Atlanta Braves were chosen for the July 11 game in Seattle โ the most of any team since 2012.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott says he will boycott Major League Baseball events after the league pulled its All-Star Game from Georgia
Gov. Greg Abbott on Monday announced he would not throw out the ceremonial first pitch at the Texas Rangersโ home opening game and would boycott any other Major League Baseball events, citing the leagueโs decision to pull its All-Star Game from Georgia in response to new voting restrictions there.
NBA tells teams rules will be relaxed for vaccinated persons
No one in the NBA will be considered fully vaccinated until two weeks after receiving the final vaccine dose. Once that happens, rules for some of those individuals will change, the NBA said in a memo sent early Thursday to teams and obtained by The Associated Press. Had they been fully vaccinated, they would not have had to miss any time even after being around someone who tested positive for COVID-19. Torontoโs Fred VanVleet revealed earlier this week that he tested positive for the virus and that his recovery process, at times, was not easy. More than 100 players have tested positive this season, nearly half of them doing so in November just before training camps around the league opened.
Simmons, Embiid both to miss 76ers' second-half opening game
Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid will both be unable to start the second half of the season with the Philadelphia 76ers, though neither All-Star will be missing from the Eastern Conference leadersโ lineup for long. Both will miss Philadelphiaโs game Thursday in Chicago, and Simmons will also miss the 76ersโ contest on Friday against Washington. Provided both continue to test negative for COVID-19, they would be cleared after those games, the 76ers said. Simmons and Embiid both traveled to Atlanta for Sundayโs All-Star Game, only to learn the night before that they were flagged by contact tracing data. Dallas and Washington both have 38 games remaining, tied for the third-most in the league.
NBA: Nobody tested positive for COVID-19 at All-Star Game
No players, coaches or game officials tested positive for COVID-19 while in Atlanta, the NBA said Monday after the final tests were processed and results were returned to the league and the teams involved. A barber both saw before going to Atlanta tested positive, and that meant Embiid and Simmons were potentially exposed to the virus. โAll players, coaches, and game officials were tested for COVID three times after arriving in Atlanta, including a final test immediately prior to last nightโs All-Star Game," the league said in a statement Monday. All players and coaches who were involved in the game arrived in Atlanta on Saturday and left late Sunday following the game. But the league and NBA Commissioner Adam Silver insisted throughout the planning for the game that players would be safe in Atlanta.
James, Durant choose their teams for Sunday's All-Star Game
1 overall pick on Antetokounmpo โ the NBAโs two-time reigning MVP from Milwaukee โ in the draft for Sundayโs All-Star Game in Atlanta. Kevin Durant, who will not play in the All-Star Game because of injury but still is the captain for Team Durant, took Brooklyn teammate Kyrie Irving with his first pick. This is the fourth year of the NBA's playing captain format for the All-Star Game. Itโs the All-Star Game, so thereโs going to be some shenanigans out there. AdTHE COACHESRivers, who played in one All-Star Game, is coaching the game for the third time.
NBA reveals All-Star skills, 3-point, dunk participants
(AP Photo/Darron Cummings)Golden Stateโs Stephen Curry and Phoenixโs Devin Booker have been 3-point champions at All-Star weekend before, and theyโll try to win that trophy again Sunday. The NBA revealed the 15 players Tuesday who will be taking part in the other on-court events besides the All-Star Game in Atlanta, with the overwhelming majority of them pulling double-duty between those competitions and the game itself. Theyโll be joined by Portlandโs Robert Covington, the only current NBA player who is a graduate of a historically Black college and university. It will be held at halftime of the All-Star Game, while the skills competition and 3-point contest will occur pregame. Atlanta, Charlotte, Cleveland, Detroit, Houston, Memphis, Miami, Minnesota, Oklahoma City, Sacramento, San Antonio and Toronto have no one participating in All-Star night events.
NBA All-Star captains: Itโs LeBron James vs. Kevin Durant
(AP Photo/Jim Mone)The voters have spoken: They wanted LeBron James of the reigning champion Los Angeles Lakers to be an All-Star captain, again. James and Durant were revealed Thursday as the leading fan votegetters in the Western and Eastern Conferences for the All-Star Game, meaning theyโll be captains for the matchup in Atlanta on March 7. James will start for the 17th time, extending his record, and Durant is an All-Star for the 11th time. James โ the leading overall votegetter this year, with more than 5.9 million votes from fans โ and Durant will then pick their teams, with the rosters for Team LeBron and Team Durant to be revealed March 4. The game has been criticized by some of the leagueโs top players, James included, who voiced concerns about having it during a pandemic.
NBA tells teams it plans March 7 All-Star Game in Atlanta
(AP Photo/Kathy Willens)The NBA told its teams on Thursday night that it expects to finalize plans in the coming week to have an All-Star Game in Atlanta. The game and skills competitions will be held on March 7, the NBA told clubs in the memo, a copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press. Sacramento guard DeโAaron Fox said Wednesday night he thought the notion of an All-Star Game was โstupidโ during a pandemic. โIf we have to wear masks and do all this for a regular game, then whatโs the point of bringing an All-Star Game back? โI have zero energy and zero excitement about an All-Star Game this year,โ James said.
Spurs-Pelicans game called off, as NBA's virus woes continue
San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich, center, talks to his players during a time out in the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Washington Wizards, Sunday, Jan. 24, 2021, in San Antonio. San Antonio won 121-101. San Antonio became the 24th team to have at least one game postponed so far this season because of the virus. The Celtics are scheduled to visit San Antonio on Wednesday. The Grizzlies are supposed to play in San Antonio on Saturday.
Lasorda, fiery Hall of Fame Dodgers manager, dies at 93
Lasorda had been the oldest living baseball Hall of Famer โ that distinction now belongs to Willie Mays, who turns 90 in March. Lasorda spent 71 years in the Dodgers organization, starting as a player when the team was still based in Brooklyn. Lasorda was the franchiseโs longest-tenured active employee since Hall of Fame broadcaster Vin Scully retired in 2016 after 67 years. That was the beginning of a steady climb through the Dodgersโ system that culminated in his 1973 promotion to the big league staff under longtime Hall of Fame manager Walter Alston. In 1998, Lasorda became interim general manager after Fred Claire was fired in the middle of the season.
NWHL semifinals, final to air live on NBCSN in February
FILE - In this Jan. 24, 2016, photo, National Women's Hockey League All-Star players take time for a photo before an All-Star game at Harborcenter in Buffalo, N.Y. The National Women's Hockey League semifinals and final will air on NBC Sports Network in early February 2021. It will be the first time professional women's hockey games are shown live on a major television network in the U.S. (AP Photo/Gary Wiepert, File)Women's professional hockey will be televised live in the U.S. by a major cable network for the first time when NBC Sports Network airs the National Women's Hockey League semifinals and final in early February. โAs the home of hockey in the U.S., NBC Sports is proud to showcase the NWHL to a national audience,โ NBC Sports vice president of programming Michael Perman said. The NWHL fell short of completing its season last spring because of the pandemic.
Bucks first to clinch playoff spot โ after just 56 games
MILWAUKEE, Wis. โ The Milwaukee Bucks have a spot in the postseason, only a week after the All-Star Game. The Bucks became the first team in the NBA to clinch a berth Sunday after Washington lost to Chicago. Earliest playoff clinch in NBA history. The Bucks did clinch on an earlier date than the Warriors, but the NBA season also now starts slightly earlier. The postseason starts April 18.
3 Astros pitchers named to AL All-Star team
Major League Baseball announced that three Astros pitchers, Justin Verlander, Ryan Pressly and Gerrit Cole, were named to the 2019 American League All-Star team. The three will join three other Astros players, Alex Bregman, George Springer and Michael Brantley, who are starters for the All-Star Game on Tuesday, July 9 via fan vote. The Houston team is the only major league team with six players at the All-Star Game. congrats to Justin Verlander (@JustinVerlander). Gerrit Cole and Ryan Pressly named AL All Stars.