BASKETBALL
Walton sued by reporter
A female sports reporter has accused new Sacramento Kings Coach Luke Walton of sexual assault in a lawsuit. TMZ reported Monday night, citing legal documents, that Kelli Tennant is suing Walton. TMZ reports that Tennant claims she went to Walton’s hotel room to discuss a book she was writing when Walton pinned her to the bed, forcibly kissed her and groped her. The alleged incident happened before Walton became coach of the Los Angeles Lakers in 2016 and while Tennant worked for Sportsnet LA. No date was given for the alleged assault. The Los Angeles Times reported that Tennant’s lawyer declined to say whether she reported the alleged assault to police. Walton was let go by the Lakers earlier this month and hired by the Kings. The Lakers say they were never told of the allegations when Walton was their coach and have no additional comment because he now works for another team. The Kings say they are aware of the report and gathering additional information. The team had no other comment.
Jury selection starts
Jury selection has begun in the trial of an aspiring agent and a former amateur coach charged with bribing big-school coaches to boost their business relationship with amateur basketball players. The trial of business manager Christian Dawkins and ex-amateur league director Merl Code began Monday in Manhattan federal court. Testimony in a trial projected to last two weeks will surround bribes paid to an assistant coach at the University of South Carolina and later Oklahoma State University, an assistant coach at the University of Arizona and an assistant coach at the University of Southern California. Those now ex-coaches have pleaded guilty to charges and await sentencing.
Kansas center to return
Kansas center Udoka Azubuike will return for his senior season, giving coach Bill Self the 7-foot center he hoped to build his offense around last season. Azubuike averaged 13.4 points and 6.8 rebounds before undergoing season-ending wrist surgery last season. The Jayhawks went on to finish 26-10 and lose in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Azubuike, who led the nation in field-goal percentage as a sophomore, briefly considered heading to the NBA. But the recovery from his wrist injury meant he could not participate in the NBA’s combine or work out for NBA teams, making his return to Kansas a prudent decision.
Pierce added as U.S. coach
Atlanta Hawks Coach Lloyd Pierce has been added as an assistant coach for USA Basketball this summer, when the Americans will compete in the FIBA World Cup in China and try to qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Pierce is replacing Indiana Pacers coach Nate McMillan, who withdrew because of scheduling conflicts. Pierce, the Golden State Warriors’ Steve Kerr and Villanova’s Jay Wright will be the assistants under head coach Gregg Popovich of the San Antonio Spurs. The World Cup stretches through Sept. 15.
Georgia Tech center going pro
Georgia Tech center James Banks is entering the NBA Draft. The school said Monday the 6-foot-9 junior has submitted paperwork for the June 20 draft. He led the Atlantic Coast Conference with 2.5 blocks a game while averaging 10.5 points and 7.7 rebounds.
GOLF
Family charged in ticket scam
Four members of a Texas family are facing federal charges in what prosecutors say was a scheme that used stolen identities to get tickets to the Masters golf tournament, then resell those tickets at a healthy profit. Documents filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Augusta charged Stephen Michael Freeman of Katy, Texas, with conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud as well as aggravated identity theft. Freeman’s parents and a sister were also charged with conspiracy. Court records say that since 2013 the family has used names chosen from a bulk mailing list to enter the lottery Augusta National Golf Club uses to sell Masters tickets. The names were submitted with email addresses the family controlled. The family would then ask Augusta National to change the addresses associated with the bogus accounts, using “false driver licenses, false utility bills and false credit card statements in the identity of the fake user accounts” sent by mail, the court documents said. That would ensure any tickets won through the lottery would be mailed to addresses where Freeman and his relatives would receive them, prosecutors said. Court records did not list attorneys for Freeman or his charged relatives. The office of U.S. Attorney Bobby Christine said in a news release that the charges carry potential penalties of up to 20 years in prison, as well as substantial fines.
MOTOR SPORTS
Dale Jr.’s mother dies
Brenda Jackson, mother of Dale Earnhardt Jr. and a longtime employee at JR Motorsports alongside her daughter Kelley Earnhardt Miller, has died following a battle with cancer. She was 65. The team announced her death Monday. Jackson was the daughter of NASCAR fabricator Robert Gee, who built cars for various racers including the late Dale Earnhardt. She married Earnhardt in 1972, had two children, and Dale Jr. and Kelley remained with their mother when the couple separated and Earnhardt chased a career in NASCAR. After a fire left the trio homeless, Jackson moved to Virginia and Dale Jr. and Kelley relocated to live with their father. She married Norfolk firefighter Willie Jackson in 1985 and returned to North Carolina to work with Kelley and Dale Jr. She is survived by her husband, two children, a stepdaughter, six grandchildren and two brothers.
Tuberville to run for U.S. senator in Alabama
Tommy Tuberville, the former college football coach whose stops have included Auburn, Ole Miss, Texas Tech and Cincinnati, has announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination for the Senate seat held by Doug Jones, the Democrat who won the special election for the seat Jeff Sessions resigned to become attorney general.
“I learned leadership, communication skills, bringing people together and that’s what you do in a job like this,” Tuberville, a Camden native, told Fox & Friends. “You use all those skills and try to make everybody better. I want to build a winning strategy for Alabama and for this country.”
Sean Spicer, the former press secretary to President Donald Trump, is working on Tuber-ville’s campaign, he confirmed to CBS Sports’ Dennis Dodd. Tuberville will face Bradley Byrne, a congressman from Fairhope, Ala., in the March 3 primary with the general election on Nov. 3, 2020.
A recent poll showed Roy Moore, the controversial figure whom Jones defeated in the 2017 special election, is the front-runner for the Republican nomination but he indicated on Facebook that “the GOP establishment should be more about supporting President Trump and less about someone in Alabama who has not even announced his intentions. The truth is that my stand for the acknowledgment of God and our Constitution scares the Washington establishment to death, and perhaps it should,” wrote Moore, who was supported by Trump in the election. “Let’s face it — the Washington establishment didn’t choose Trump, the people did.”
The poll of 400 registered voters in Alabama who identify as Republicans was conducted April 9-11 and put Moore in the lead with 27 percent, followed by Rep. Mo Brooks, R-Huntsville (18 percent); Byrne (13 percent); and Rep. Gary Palmer, R-Hoover, (11 percent). Only Byrne has declared himself a candidate.
Tuberville, 64, has name recognition in the state and nationally, compiling a 159-99 record over 21 seasons as a head coach. He was national coach of the year in 2004 and twice was SEC Coach of the Year, with his greatest success coming at Auburn, where he went 85-40 in 10 seasons. In bowl games, he had a 7-6 record.
