BASKETBALL
Iguodala doubtful tonight
Golden State Warriors forward Andre Iguodala is listed as doubtful for Game 4 of the Western Conference finals tonight against Houston. Iguodala has a sore left knee and there's a chance his status could be upgraded later Monday, the team said. The 2015 NBA Finals MVP has been starting regularly this postseason, including the first three games of the West finals with the defending champion Warriors leading the Houston Rockets 2-1 in the best-of-seven series. Without Iguodala, the Warriors would lose one of their top defenders and playmakers. Since 2014-15, Golden State is 14-4 in postseason games started by Iguodala.
Silva withdraws from draft
South Carolina's leading scorer and rebounder Chris Silva is withdrawing from the NBA Draft and returning to the Gamecocks for his senior year. The 6-foot-9 forward from Gabon, South Carolina, was named to the All-Southeastern Conference first team after averaging 14.3 points and eight rebounds last season. He declared for the draft last month and met with several NBA teams. Silva was not part of the league's draft combine last week. Gamecocks Coach Frank Martin said the experience gives Silva a blueprint for how he can improve. Silva was also named co-SEC defensive player of the year and had 26 games with double figure points and rebounds.
FOOTBALL
NFL clears Patricia
The NFL said sexual assault allegations against Detroit Lions Coach Matt Patricia from 1996 are not subject to its personal conduct policy. The league said Monday that it has completed its review of the team's interviewing process. Patricia has said he was falsely accused of allegations that resurfaced earlier this month in a Detroit News report . The accuser did not testify and the case was dismissed. The Lions have said a pre-employment background check did not reveal the incident and they are standing by Patricia. The NFL said the Lions were appropriate and thorough during the interview process. It said Patricia did not mislead anyone with the Lions and adds he was under no league or other requirement to raise the issue.
Holtz, website settle
Attorneys for Lou Holtz say the former Notre Dame and Arkansas coach and the news website The Daily Beast have settled a defamation lawsuit filed by the ex-ESPN analyst and college football Hall of Famer. Orlando, Fla., law firm Morgan & Morgan announced in a news release Monday that the two sides came to an amicable resolution. The firm said terms of the settlement were confidential, but The Daily Beast apologized for and corrected the headline that ran July 19, 2016, with a story on Holtz's remarks at a luncheon the Republican National Coalition for Life held during the Republican National Convention. The headline read: "Lou Holtz at RNC says Immigrants are Deadbeats Invading the U.S." In its apology, The Daily Beast admitted that Holtz did not say immigrants are deadbeats.
COLLEGE ATHLETICS
Kansas fires athletic director
The University of Kansas fired athletic director Sheahon Zenger on Monday, with Chancellor Douglas Girod noting "progress has been elusive" in some areas other than the storied Jayhawks men's basketball program. The chancellor said Zenger had been a "loyal Jayhawk" and that athletics programs had improved. The men's basketball team reached the Final Four earlier this year. Zenger had been at Kansas since 2011. Deputy director Sean Lester will serve as interim athletic director while the university searches for a replacement. The statement did not mention the football team, historically the worst in the Big 12 Conference. But the Jayhawks won only a single game last year, and none in the conference, after the department unveiled a $350 million plan to influential donors to upgrade its football stadium and other facilities. The firing comes a year after Zenger received a four-year extension on his contract, through June 2021, and an increase in base pay to $700,000 a year. The university will pay Zenger more than $1.4 million under that contract, Girod said.
GOLF
Former champion Mann dies
Carol Mann, a two-time major champion who won 38 LPGA Tour titles, has died. She was 77. The LPGA Tour issued a statement Monday that Mann had died Sunday at her home in The Woodlands, Texas. LPGA Tour officials said a family member notified them of Mann's death. Her major titles were the 1964 Women's Western Open Invitational and the 1965 U.S. Women's Open. She won 10 tournaments in 1968. Mann also served as LPGA president from 1973-76. She was an analyst for men's and women's golf on ABC, ESPN and NBC. Mann was inducted into the LPGA Tour Hall of Fame and the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1977.
BASEBALL
Kendrick moved to 60-day DL
Howie Kendrick was transferred to the 60-day disabled list by the Washington Nationals, who recalled left-hander Tim Collins from Class AAA Syracuse. The 34-year-old Kendrick tore his left Achilles' tendon during the first game of Saturday's doubleheader against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
TENNIS
French organizers won’t give Williams a seeding
PARIS — Serena Williams’ return to Grand Slam tennis from maternity leave just got even tougher.
French Open organizers announced Monday that they will not give Williams a seeding.
“This year again, tournament officials will establish the list and ranking of the women’s seeds based on the WTA ranking,” the French Tennis Federation said in a statement to The Associated Press. “Consequently, [the seeds] will reflect this week’s world ranking.”
Williams, a three-time French Open champion, is expected to play in her first major since giving birth to her daughter in September.
While Williams can enter Roland Garros under the WTA’s protected or “special” ranking rule, it’s up to Grand Slam organizers to give her a seed.
While she was No. 1 when she left the tour to give birth, Williams is currently ranked No. 453.
Without a seeding, the 23-time Grand Slam champion risks facing highly ranked players in the early rounds.
The WTA is considering a rule change to add protected seeding for highly ranked players returning from maternity leave but the earliest that could take effect is next year.
“I would like to see that [rule] change,” Maria Sharapova said at the Italian Open last week.
“It’s such an incredible effort for a woman to come back from physically, emotionally. … There’s just another whole dimension to the travel, to the experiences, to the emotions to the physicality of every single day.
“Tennis is such a selfish sport but I think when there’s a child in your life you lose a little bit of that, because there’s something that’s so much more important,” added Sharapova, who has lost three Grand Slam finals to Williams. “So, yeah, I definitely think that would be a nice change.”
The French Open draw will be made Thursday, with the tournament starting Sunday.
Sports on 05/22/2018