Newsmakers: Former Cavs coach David Blatt accepts championship ring from team
Announced Former Cavaliers coach David Blatt accepted a championship ring from the team despite being fired midway through last season. The Cavs were 30-11 at the time he was replaced by assistant Tyronn Lue, who guided the Cavs to an historic comeback in the finals to capture the first major sports championship by a Cleveland team since 1964.
U.S. captain Steve Stricker said he has chosen Tiger Woods, Ryder Cup captain Davis Love III and three-time Presidents Cup captain Fred Couples to be his assistants for the matches next year at Liberty National.
The 17-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer will compete at the Hopman Cup in January as part of his buildup to the Australian Open. Federer will join Belinda Bencic for Switzerland at the eight-team tournament which runs from Jan. 1-7.
Signed Team Penske has signed Josef Newgarden to drive the No. 2 Chevrolet in the IndyCar Series. Newgarden will replace Juan Pablo Montoya, who drove Penske’s No. 2 last season but had not signed a new deal.
The 25-year-old Newgarden, who is from Tennessee, finished a career-best fourth in the IndyCar season standings in 2016 behind Penske drivers Simon Pagenaud, Will Power and Helio Castroneves.
Reported Former University of Florida quarterback and Edgewater High School (Orlando, Florida) football coach Chris Leak is under investigation after an alleged sexual assault of a 16-year-old girl, according to police. Leak, 31, has not been charged with a crime and the investigation is ongoing, police said. He resigned as Edgewater’s coach on Monday after leading the team for just five games. The team was 0-5.The alleged incident on Sept. 5 was reported Monday. It reportedly occurred on Sept. 5 in the athletic trainer office near the football field, according to an investigative report.
Lawyers for former New England Patriots star Aaron Hernandez asked a judge to prevent the jury at his upcoming double murder trial from hearing descriptions of the shooter from two witnesses who were inside a car prosecutors say Hernandez sprayed with bullets. In a hearing, defense attorney Jose Baez said the descriptions given by two other men in the car have changed over time, are unreliable and should be excluded from the trial.
Hernandez is scheduled to go on trial in February in the 2012 killings of two Boston men prosecutors allege he shot after an encounter at a nightclub. He is accused of following the men and then opening fire on their car after one of them accidentally bumped into him in the club and caused him to spill a drink.
Retired Defenseman Dan Boyle retired from the NHL at SAP Center, where he played six seasons with the San Jose Sharks during a 17-year career.
Boyle won the Stanley Cup in 2004 with the Tampa Bay Lightning, one of his four NHL teams, won an Olympic gold medal with Team Canada in 2010 and was a two-time NHL All-Star.
Boyle, who played his final two seasons with the New York Rangers, retired as San Jose’s career leader among defensemen in points (269) and assists (201). He ranks second in goals (68) and shots (1,095).
Returned Tennis star Maria Sharapova returns to the court for the first time since her doping ban was reduced when she makes her World Team Tennis Smash Hits debut next week in Las Vegas. She will play in World Team Tennis Smash Hits, a charity event co-hosted by Billie Jean King and Elton John, on Monday in Las Vegas. Proceeds go to the Elton John AIDS Foundation.
Died UFC fighter Josh Samman has died after spending nearly a week in a Florida hospital. He was 28. Dr. Craig Mallak said the cause of death would be listed as a probable drug overdose.
American basketball player Cameron Moore, who joined Macedonian team AV Ohrid this week, died suddenly in his first practice session. Ohrid police spokesman Stefan Dimeski said the player collapsed was rushed to the hospital but was pronounced dead on arrival.