BASEBALL
Mariners hire Martinez
The Seattle Mariners are looking to the past to reinvigorate the worst hitting team in baseball, hiring Edgar Martinez as their hitting coach Saturday and reassigning Howard Johnson to the minor league system. The surprising announcement was made before the second game of a weekend series against first-place Houston. The surprise wasn’t so much the re-assignment of Johnson but the hiring of Martinez. Popular with teammates and fans, he joins a team that has the worst batting average in the majors at .233 and ranks 28th in runs scored. Martinez, 52, played 2,055 career games with Seattle and hit .312 with a .418 on-base percentage for his career and won two American League batting titles.
HORSE RACING
Dame Dorothy wins
Dame Dorothy, owned by celebrity chef Bobby Flay and named after his mother, won the $150,000 Bed o’ Roses Handicap for fillies and mares Saturday at Belmont Park. The flow of the race changed when expected pacesetter Room for Me started poorly. So jockey Javier Castellano changed tactics, and sent Dame Dorothy to the lead. She faced a stiff challenge from Street Story turning for home. The 4-year-old trained by Todd Pletcher turned back that bid, prevailing by 1 1/2 lengths. She improved to 3 for 4 this year, including a victory in the Humana Distaff on the Kentucky Derby undercard. The time was 1:24.19 for the 7 furlongs on the fast track as a light rain fell. Dame Dorothy, the 3/5 favorite, paid $3.50, $2.20 and $2.10. Street Story returned $3.40 and $2.60, while Expression paid $3.20 to show.
Stellar Wind won the $200,000 Summertime Oaks by a nose under Triple Crown-winning jockey Victor Espinoza at Santa Anita. The 3-year-old daughter of Curlin ran 1 1/16 miles in 1:42.53 to remain undefeated in three starts at the track. Stellar Wind paid $2.80, $2.20 and $2.10 as the heavy 2-5 favorite. She was coming off a fourth-place finish in the Kentucky Oaks on May 1. Tara’s Tango returned $3.80 and $2.80 in her graded stakes debut under Hall of Famer Mike Smith, while Conquest Curlgirl was another 3 1/4 lengths back in third and paid $3.60 to show.
Keep Crossing pulled away in the stretch to win the $70,000 Red Cross Stakes at Monmouth Park, beating Disco Chick by three lengths. Trained by J. Larry Jones and ridden by Gabriel Saez, the 4-year-old filly ran the 6 furlongs over a fast track in 1:10 and returned $11, $5.60 and $4.20. It was fourth win in 11 career starts for Keep Crossing, who has earned $145,120. Disco Chick paid $16 and $8, while Tea Time was a head back in third and returned $3.40.
HOCKEY
Fake gear confiscated
Federal authorities say they seized counterfeit NHL merchandise worth an estimated $180,000 in the days surrounding the Chicago Blackhawks’ Stanley Cup victory. The operation was handled by the Homeland Security Investigations unit of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. It focused on catching illegal vendors near the Blackhawks’ home ice at the United Center and Amalie Arena, home of the Tampa Bay Lightning. The thousands of seized items included fake jerseys, caps and other memorabilia. James Gibbons is acting special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Chicago. He said that “during every major sporting event … criminal groups capitalize on the enthusiasm of fans by selling them counterfeit team merchandise.” He added that “intellectual property theft is a very real crime with very real victims.”
Calgary Flames center Mikael Backlund has been signed to a multiyear contract. Terms of the deal announced Saturday were not disclosed. Backlund scored 10 goals and 27 points in 52 regular-season games last season after missing 30 games because of injury. In 11 playoff games, the 26-year-old native of Sweden had one goal and one assist — with his lone goal in overtime against the Anaheim Ducks in Game 3 of the first round. Backlund, who was drafted by the Flames 24th overall in the 2007 NHL draft, set career highs in 2013-14 with 18 goals and 39 points in 76 games. He has played 298 career games with Calgary after making his NHL debut in 2009.
TENNIS
Murray forced to wait
Top-seeded Andy Murray’s bid to reach the final at Queen’s Club ended in frustration Saturday when his semifinal against Serbia’s Viktor Troicki was suspended in the first set due to rain. Troicki fought off five break points at 3-3, and Murray earned a sixth when his opponent fell and injured his left shoulder on the grass court as he netted the ball. The 25th-ranked Troicki received treatment, but rain prevented further points being played. The match will resume today. Third-ranked Murray is attempting to reach his 50th ATP Tour level final and the fifth of the season, as he chases his third title of the year after victories in Munich and Madrid. Murray is also bidding for a record-equaling fourth Queen’s Club title, matching the number won by John McEnroe, Boris Becker, Andy Roddick and Lleyton Hewitt. Awaiting the winner in today’s final is unseeded South African Kevin Anderson, who beat Gilles Simon of France 6-3, 6-7 (6), 6-3. Anderson, who will appear in his second final of the year after winning his 12th career title in Marseille in February, struck his 34th ace to seal victory. That brought his total number of aces in the tournament to 96.
BOXING
Porter tops Broner
Shawn Porter beat Adrien Broner in a unanimous decision Saturday night in a key welterweight matchup in Las Vegas. The judges scored the fight 114-112, 115-111 and 118-108 for Porter (26-1-1, 16 KOs), who got off to a strong start and held on after Broner knocked him down in the final round. Broner (30-2, 22 KOs) had a point deducted late in the 11th round after multiple warnings for holding Porter down. In the co-main event, undefeated former Olympian Errol Spence (17-0, 14 KOs) kept his perfect record intact with an impressive third-round TKO over veteran Phil Lo Greco. After a measured first round, Spence landed numerous body shots that quickly slowed Lo Greco. A short right hand floored Lo Greco early in the third round and Spence followed with a number of calculated power shots, forcing the referee to stop the fight at 1:50.
TELEVISION
Sportscaster killed
Longtime Oklahoma sportscaster Bob Barry Jr. is dead after a vehicle crash in Oklahoma City. KFOR-TV, where he worked, announced his death in a video on its website Saturday evening. “It is with deep sadness that we mourn the loss of our friend and colleague Bob Barry Jr.,” the station said. “Bobby died earlier this afternoon in a car crash not far from his home.” Major Oklahoma sports figures from the University of Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and the Oklahoma City Thunder NBA team issued statements Saturday praising Barry’s work over decades covering sports in the state.