TENNIS
Querrey advances
Eighth-seeded Sam Querrey advanced to the semifinals in the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championship on Friday, beating Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia 7-6 (6), 7-6 (4). The American saved two set points in the opening set and one in the second. Querrey will face Christian Garin of Chile, a 6-3, 6-2 winner over Swiss qualifier Henri Laaksonen. Norway's Casper Ruud also advanced, spoiling Spaniard Marcel Granollers' 33rd birthday with a 6-1, 6-0 victory.
FOOTBALL
Thielen, Vikings deal
The Minnesota Vikings and wide receiver Adam Thielen have agreed in principle to a four-year contract extension valued at $64 million. The Vikings announced the deal Friday. Thielen's agency, The Institute for Athletes, posted the terms on Instagram, including the potential through incentives to earn as much as $73 million over the life of the contract covering the 2021-24 seasons. Thielen has two years left on the deal he signed in 2017, which easily made him one of the best bargains in the NFL after averaging 102 catches and 1,325 yards over the past two seasons. He was picked for the Pro Bowl both years, enhancing one of the league's best underdog stories after he needed a rookie tryout camp to make the team in 2013 out of Minnesota State, an NCAA Division II school that offered him a $500 scholarship.
Lawyer lobbies for Kraft
An attorney for Patriots owner Robert Kraft said Friday that the public release of video evidence in the prostitution solicitation case against him would invade his privacy and jeopardize his right to a fair trial. William Burck told a Palm Beach County judge that releasing the video would only satisfy a "prurient interest," during a hearing held in part to determine whether media outlets could offer arguments in the case. Jupiter police obtained a search warrant to secretly record at the Orchids of Asia Day Spa in Jupiter, Fla. Police said those cameras captured Kraft twice paying to have sex with spa employees in January. Kraft was charged with two counts of solicitation as part of a multicounty investigation that also resulted in about 300 male customers being charged, 10 massage parlors being closed and their owners charged with felony prostitution.
BASKETBALL
Sadler back at Nebraska
New Nebraska men's basketball coach Fred Hoiberg has hired two new assistants, including former Huskers head coach Doc Sadler, a native of Greenwood. Hoiberg said Friday that he has hired Sadler, Matt Abdelmassih and Bobby Lutz as assistants. All three worked with Hoiberg at Iowa State. Sadler spent the past five seasons at Southern Miss; he was head coach at Nebraska from 2006 to 2012, leading the Huskers to three NIT appearances (2008, 2009 and 2011) and posting a 101-89 record.
College awards announced
Zion Williamson of Duke and Sabrina Ionescu of Oregon won the John R. Wooden Awards as the nation’s top men’s and women’s players of the year at the College Basketball Awards on Friday night in Los Angeles. Other winners included RJ Barrett of Duke, Jerry West shooting guard award; Rui Hachimura of Gonzaga, Julius Erving small forward award; Williamson, Karl Malone power forward award; Ethan Happ of Wisconsin, Kareem
Abdul-Jabbar center award; and Ja Morant of Murray State, Bob Cousy point guard award. Oklahoma Coach Lon Kruger received the Wooden Legends of Coaching award. The individual awards were decided by a combination of fan votes and input from the Basketball Hall of Fame’s selection committee.
MOTOR SPORTS
Custer wins Richmond
Cole Custer was openly hoping for rain to shorten the NASCAR Xfinity race at Richmond Raceway on Friday night. Then, he was desperately hoping for the rain to stay away. Custer passed Austin Cindric with 20 laps to go and earned his second victory of the season. Cindric had grabbed the lead on a restart with 25 laps to go, but Custer regained the lead five laps later and pulled away for his second victory of the season. The victory also earned Custer a $100,000 bonus as the top finisher among four drivers who qualified. The top four finishers in this race will be eligible for the bonus when the series races next at Talladega Superspeedway in two weeks. Justin Allgaier dominated the first half of the race and finished third, followed by Tyler Reddick and Ryan Sieg.
GYMNASTICS
Gymnast asks for restraint
A college gymnast has asked social media to stop sharing the video of her devastating leg injuries because "my pain is not your entertainment." Auburn senior Samantha Cerio wrote Wednesday on Twitter that seeing her "knees bent unnaturally in real life was horrible enough," but she said continuing to see the video and photos because people feel entitled to repost them "is not okay." Cerio's legs buckled during a floor exercise when she landed badly at the end of a tumbling run during an NCAA regional semifinal on April 5. She had surgery Monday for injuries that included multiple torn ligaments in both knees. The athlete posted on Instagram that the meet was her "final night as a gymnast."
BASKETBALL
Lakers dump Walton; Kings come calling
LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Lakers hired Luke Walton almost three years ago with visions of him helping to resurrect the franchise, bringing Golden State Warriors-style basketball south, and being the team’s coach for decades to come.
On Friday afternoon, the Lakers announced they and Walton had agreed to part ways.
Perhaps most telling was the statement that accompanied their announcement. It was not Lakers owner Jeanie Buss who announced the change — it was General Manager Rob Pelinka, who became the Lakers’ top front office executive by default once Magic Johnson announced his resignation on Tuesday.
According to people familiar with the process, Buss remains committed to Pelinka, and he will handle the Lakers’ coaching search.
Less than three hours after the move was announced, Vlade Divac, the Sacramento Kings vice president of basketball operations and a former Lakers player, had contacted Walton about
a meeting. The Kings fired their coach, Dave Joerger, on Thursday and Divac was delighted to find Walton available, according to a person familiar with his thinking.
Walton took over in the spring of 2016 after the Lakers won just 17 games in Kobe Bryant’s last year. The 2015-16 season was the worst season in franchise history. Walton had been an assistant coach for the Warriors. He served as their interim coach starting in October 2015 and guided the Warriors to a 39-4 record in Kerr’s absence.
As the Lakers’ head coach, Walton, 39, went 98-148, improving each season. During the 2016-17 season, a team led by D’Angelo Russell, Julius Randle, Jordan Clarkson and Larry Nance Jr. won 26 games. In his second season, a team led by Lonzo Ball and Kyle Kuzma won 35 games.
This season, amid constant speculation about his job and with LeBron James in the fold, the Lakers won 37 games but missed the playoffs for an unprecedented sixth consecutive year.
Sports on 04/13/2019