FOOTBALL
Holtz’s home destroyed
Former Arkansas Razorbacks coach Lou Holtz and his wife Beth made it safely out of their $1.6 million Orlando, Fla., home which officials said was destroyed by a fire likely caused by a lightning strike. The fire broke out early Sunday morning in the 11,000-square-foot home in the gated Lake Nona Gold and Country Club community, which is known for its multimillion-dollar homes. Holtz told the Orlando Sentinel he was awakened by smoke alarms about 2:30 a.m. and tried to go upstairs to grab his wallet and cellphone, but there was too much smoke. The couple called 911 and ran outside. More than 60 Orlando firefighters responded. Holtz, who also coached at Notre Dame and South Carolina and retired in 2004, said he’s thankful to have survived. He said he lost about half of his sports memorabilia collection in the blaze.
Two former Vanderbilt football players who were convicted in January of raping an unconscious fellow student and jailed have been released on bond. Melinda Mc-Dowell, spokesman at the Nashville, Tenn., jail, said Brandon Vandenburg and Cory Batey were released Wednesday. Criminal Court Judge Monte Watkins cleared the way for the players’ release a day after declaring a mistrial because of juror misconduct and setting aside their rape convictions. He ordered them to wear GPS monitoring devices when released. The declaration of a mistrial was a stunning turn of events in a highly publicized case that raised troubling new questions about rape on college campuses and the role of bystanders who fail to act. Vandenburg and Batey had been convicted of multiple counts of rape. They were accused with two other players of assaulting an unconscious female student in a dorm room in June 2013. Prosecutors have vowed to retry the pair. The two other players have yet to stand trial.
HOCKEY
NHL looks at expansion
The NHL is officially exploring expansion. Commissioner Gary Bettman said Wednesday that the league is opening an expansion review process to consider whether to add new franchises to its 30-team league. Bettman cited Las Vegas, Seattle and Quebec City as the markets that have expressed the most serious interest. The Board of Governors decided that the NHL will take formal applications for a new franchise starting July 6 and closing Aug. 10. The league hasn’t made decisions on a timeline, any terms of expansion or the number of clubs to be added. The NHL doesn’t anticipate adding any teams before the 2017-2018 season, Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said. Bettman indicated that an expansion fee would be at least $500 million to be distributed among the existing clubs.
BASKETBALL
Sale of Hawks approved
The NBA board of governors has unanimously approved the sale of the Atlanta Hawks to an ownership group led by billionaire Tony Ressler. Along with the operating rights to Philips Arena, the Hawks were sold for $850 million. The NBA announced Wednesday’s sale closing. Former NBA star Grant Hill is part of Ressler’s group, which includes New York investor Rick Schnall, Spanx founder Sara Blakely and her husband Jesse Itzler, co-founder of Marquis Jet. The Hawks parted ways Monday with general manager Danny Ferry after buying out the last two years of his contract. Ferry’s departure resulted in a promotion for Coach Mike Budenholzer to take a dual role as president of basketball operations. A news conference is scheduled this morning in Atlanta to introduce Ressler and his partners.
The Orlando Magic have agreed to send reserve point guard Luke Ridnour to the Memphis Grizzlies in exchange for the rights to forward Janis Timma. Both teams announced the deal Wednesday. The trade was first reported by Yahoo! Sports. Ridnour, 34, appeared in 47 games last season for the Magic, averaging four points and two assists. He has played a total of 12 seasons in the NBA for five different teams. Timma, a 6-7 Latvian, was drafted by Memphis 30th overall in 2013. He has yet to play a regular-season NBA game and currently plays in Europe.
MOTOR SPORTS
F1 stake for sale
A wealthy Qatari investment fund teamed with the owner of the Miami Dolphins NFL team is among several potential buyers of a stake in Formula One, a person with knowledge of the talks says. The person was not authorized to discuss the negotiations publicly but spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. The person said discussions are “well engaged.” The Financial Times newspaper first reported the interest in F1 from Miami Dolphins owner RSE Ventures and Qatar Sports Investments, which has the Paris Saint-Germain football team in its portfolio. The FT said they want to buy 35.5 percent of the holding company that owns F1 in a $7 billion to $8 billion deal. The AP’s source said, however, that the RSE-QSI partnership is only one of several interested parties.
HOCKEY
Canadiens’ Price hauls off hardware
Carey Price came away from the NHL Awards show with a hat trick.
The Montreal Canadiens’ record-setting goalie claimed the Hart Trophy, the Vezina Trophy and the Ted Lindsay Award at the NHL’s annual postseason bash Wednesday night in Las Vegas.
Price also shared the already-announced Jennings Trophy with Chicago goalie Corey Crawford, but his hefty haul of hardware capped one of the greatest regular seasons for a goalie in NHL history.
Price led the league with 44 victories, a 1.96 goals-against average and a .933 save percentage, becoming the first goalie to take all three top spots since Chicago’s Ed Belfour in 1991. The butterfly-style star led Montreal to the Atlantic Division title and the league’s second-best record before falling in the second round of the playoffs to Tampa Bay.
He became the first goalie to win the Hart Trophy since Colorado’s Jose Theodore in 2002.
Price dominated the festivities as the NHL’s top players and executives gathered at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
Boston’s Patrice Bergeron won the Selke Trophy as the top defensive forward for the third time in four years, while Ottawa’s Erik Karlsson won the Norris Trophy as the top defenseman for the second time in four years.
Bob Hartley of the Calgary Flames won the Jack Adams Award as the top coach, while Tampa Bay’s Steve Yzerman was chosen general manager of the year. Both won their awards for the first time.
Florida’s Aaron Ekblad won the Calder Trophy, becoming the youngest defenseman to win the award since Bobby Orr in 1967. Calgary forward Jiri Hudler won the Lady Byng Trophy as the NHL’s most sportsmanlike player after committing just 14 minutes in penalties during his 76-point season.
Dallas’ Jamie Benn roared from behind to win the Art Ross Trophy as the NHL’s scoring champion, while Ovechkin got a league-best 53 goals to win his fifth Richard Trophy. The Jennings Trophy was split between Price and Crawford after the Canadiens and Blackhawks each allowed a league-low 189 goals.