BASKETBALL
Wade to re-sign with Heat
Dwyane Wade is staying with the Miami Heat. Wade informed the Heat on Thursday that he will accept their one-year offer to re-sign for $20 million for next season, said a person familiar with the negotiations. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because no NBA deals can be finalized this summer until July 9. The decision ends a weeks-long, sometimes-contentious saga between the Heat and their franchise player. Wade was open to the idea of leaving Miami over a contract dispute, moreso than ever before. But in the end, the three-time champion and the only team for whom he’s played worked out a deal that conceivably could mean he will finish his career in Miami. An 11-time All-Star, Wade averaged 21.5 points per game this past season.
HORSE RACING
Pharoah to run Haskell
Next up for American Pharoah: the $1 million Haskell Invitational on Aug. 2 at Monmouth Park in New Jersey. ESPN.com reported Thursday afternoon that the first Triple Crown winner since Affirmed in 1978 will return in the 1 1/8-mile race on the Jersey Shore. The Haskell originally was the favorite for the 3-year-old colt’s first race since the Belmont Stakes, but owner Ahmed Zayat recently said that Saratoga’s Travers Stakes was in the lead. ESPN.com quoted Zayat as saying: “I’ve decided to do the logical step and run American Pharoah at Monmouth. I’m trying to create one of the best days racing has ever seen for its fans and one that will also fit the prestige that surrounds American Pharoah. I want it to be a great day for everyone that will celebrate racing.”
FOOTBALL
Texans release Ivory
The Houston Texans have released defensive lineman Brandon Ivory a day after he was charged in a residential burglary in Tuscaloosa, Ala. The team announced his departure on Thursday. Ivory, 23, a former Alabama standout, signed a free-agent contract with the Texans in May. Police said Wednesday that Ivory was arrested with a second man after two people said two men busted down a door and took two Apple iPads and cash. One of the suspects was allegedly armed with an assault rifle and the other had a knife. Ivory and the other man, who police identified as Nicholas Gerald Gibson III, were each charged with two counts of burglary.
BASEBALL
Smoltz unique in HOF
When John Smoltz is inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in three weeks he’ll be unique — the only player enshrined to have undergone Tommy John surgery. Likely, he won’t be the last. “That’s pretty doubtful that he would be the last,” said renowned orthopedic surgeon Dr. James Andrews, who performed Smoltz’s surgery. “You can’t believe how many are out there now that are pitching very successfully. It’s quite an accomplishment to go through that and make the Hall of Fame. It’s not going to be the easiest thing to reproduce, but I’m sure somebody will come along and duplicate that.” There will be plenty of candidates. In a four-year span alone (2004-2007), Andrews performed the surgery on 588 pitchers, nearly one-fourth of them of high school age or younger.
Kansas City Royals first baseman Eric Hosmer was back in the starting lineup Thursday night after missing a three-game sweep at the hands of Houston with a sprained right ring finger. Hosmer said he isn’t 100 percent, but he felt good enough after taking swings against Jason Vargas in a simulated game earlier Thursday to play in the series opener against Minnesota.
The St. Louis Cardinals placed outfielder Jon Jay on the 15-day disabled list with a left wrist stress reaction and bone bruise, making room on the roster for call-up Tim Cooney. Jay has struggled coming off wrist surgery in the offseason and is batting .223 with one home run and 10 RBI in 57 games. He was also on the DL in May with left wrist tendinitis.
Houston Astros outfielder George Springer has been placed on the 15-day disabled list with a broken right wrist. Springer was injured when he was hit on the wrist by a 95 mph fastball thrown by Edinson Volquez in the fifth inning of Houston’s victory over Kansas City on Wednesday night. It’s a blow for the first-place Astros, who count Springer as their best outfielder for dazzling defense play and power on offense where he is hitting .264 with 13 home runs and 29 RBI. A firstround pick in 2011, Springer injured his quadriceps last July and missed the rest of the season. Outfielder Alex Presley was called up from Class AAA Fresno to take his spot on the roster.
HOCKEY
Voynov gets jail time
Los Angeles Kings defenseman Slava Voynov pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor Thursday in a domestic violence incident with his wife that escalated after a Halloween party last year. Voynov was immediately sentenced in Los Angeles County Superior Court to 90 days in jail and three years of probation for corporal injury to a spouse. The plea averted a trial on a felony count of corporal injury to a spouse with great bodily injury for the Russian Olympian. Voynov left court with his wife and made no comment. He must begin serving his jail term by July 14. Authorities said Voynov choked and hit his wife and pushed her into a TV in their Redondo Beach bedroom after an argument that began at a party attended by other Kings players. His wife required eight stitches to close up a cut over her eye. The case against Voynov became more difficult for prosecutors when his wife refused to testify. A judge ruled that other witnesses could testify about statements Marta Varlamova made when she sought medical treatment.
MOTOR SPORTS
NASCAR asks fans: No Confederate flags
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — NASCAR’s national series tracks announced Thursday that they are asking fans to refrain from displaying the Confederate flag at races following the deadly attack at a South Carolina church two weeks ago.
The facilities vowed to have the most “welcoming environments in all of sports and entertainment.”
The statement was signed by International Speedway Corp. and Speedway Motorsports Inc. — which own most of the tracks in the Sprint Cup Series, stretching from Florida to New York to California — as well as 30 specific tracks. It also includes independent tracks such as Tony Stewart’s Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio, Pocono Raceway and Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.
“We are asking our fans and partners to join us in a renewed effort to create an all-inclusive, even more welcoming atmosphere for all who attend our events,” the statement read. “This will include the request to refrain from displaying the Confederate flag at our facilities and NASCAR events.”
The move follows NASCAR’s statement last week reiterating that the flag be banned from official use at its events. And it comes ahead of Sunday’s race at Daytona International Speedway — the first in the South since the mid-June attack that left nine black churchgoers dead in Charleston. The suspect had embraced Confederate symbols, including the battle flag.
Daytona plans to hold a voluntary exchange program this weekend in which fans can swap any flag of their choice for an American flag.
“We want to be inclusive to everyone, and the last thing you want is for anyone to come to a sporting event and really not enjoy that experience because of symbols that really represent things we’re not proud of,” track President Joie Chitwood said. “Going forward, we’ll really have to look at where that other flag goes, because it doesn’t have a place in our sport and we’ve got to take a thoughtful process on how we get to that place.”