A trial set to begin Monday for former Baltimore Ravens running back Alex Collins (Arkansas Razorbacks) on drug and weapons felony charges was postponed and rescheduled for next month. Collins, 24, appeared in court Monday with his attorney. He has a plea hearing scheduled July 3 and a court trial July 22, according to court records. Collins is charged with intent to distribute marijuana and possession of a firearm during a drug-trafficking crime, as well as two misdemeanors. Charging documents say Collins' Corvette crashed into a tree while he was driving a passenger home from a party in March. Police say they smelled marijuana, searched the car and found drugs and a gun. On a related search warrant, police say they found two more guns and ammunition in Collins' home. The Baltimore Sun has reported that Collins told police his friend was responsible for the drugs, but charges were dropped against the passenger. Collins was released from the Ravens in March.
Pinkel: Cancer has returned
Former Missouri football coach Gary Pinkel said he is being treated for cancer again. Pinkel told KMIZ-TV in Columbia, Mo., on Saturday that he had treatment last month after his cancer came out of remission for the first time in four years. Pinkel retired after the 2015 season after announcing that he had non-Hodgkin lymphoma. He coached the Tigers from 2001-16, compiling a 118-73 record. He says his type of cancer will never be healed and that he intends to keep fighting it. Pinkel, who is 67, has been a fundraising liaison with the Missouri athletics foundation. He also started the "GP MADE Foundation" to raise money for cancer research and programs to help underprivileged and special needs children.
BASKETBALL
Kings' executive sentenced
A former top Sacramento Kings executive was sentenced Monday to seven years in prison for siphoning $13.4 million from the team. Jeffrey David, 44, the team's former chief revenue officer, pleaded guilty in December to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. David diverted the sponsorship payments of five companies to a bank account he controlled from October 2012 through July 2016, using the money to buy and remodel Southern California beachfront properties, pay for a private jet membership and pay off credit card bills. The Kings have received over $13.2 million in restitution to date, according to the Department of Justice. David is scheduled to begin his sentence on Aug. 20.
NBA fines Knicks $50,000
The NBA fined the New York Knicks $50,000 on Monday for violating media rules by not allowing the New York Daily News to cover one of the team's news conferences. The Knicks held a news conference Friday to introduce their new draft picks, sending out an advisory announcing the details to some media that cover the team but not to the Daily News. The Knicks have feuded with the tabloid for years over what the team feels is negative coverage, and Friday was not the first time the Daily News had been excluded from an event. The Professional Basketball Writers Association and the Associated Press Sports Editors both issued statements after Friday's news conference condemning the team. The NBA added that the Knicks have agreed to comply with league rules regarding equal access for the media in the future. "The Knicks acknowledge that we did not comply with the NBA's media policy, and made an error in interpreting Friday's announcement as an invite-only event," the team said in a statement. "As we do throughout the year, we have and will continue to provide access to credentialed media as per the league's policy."
Hawks trade Bazemore
The Atlanta Hawks have moved on from their longest-tenure player by sending veteran guard Kent Bazemore to the Trail Blazers for Evan Turner on Monday. Bazemore is about to enter the final year of his contract that will pay him $19.3 million. Turner is also about to enter the final years of his contract that will pay him 18.6 million. Both players signed four-year deals as free agents in 2016. Bazemore, 29, played the past five seasons with the Hawks as he found a home in Atlanta after stops with the Warriors and Lakers. He made it to the NBA after going undrafted out of Old Dominion in 2010. He averaged 12.9 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.5 assists in 2017-18, his best season with Hawks. He averaged 11.6 points, 3.3 rebounds and 3.9 assists last season after he fell out of the starting lineup midway through the season after a three-year stint as the shooting guard. "We are appreciative of Kent's contributions to the Hawks organization and to the greater Atlanta community over the last five years," General Manager Travis Schlenk said in a statement. "We wish him and his family all the best in Portland."
TENNIS
Teen out of Wimbledon
Bianca Andreescu won't play at Wimbledon because she needs more time to recover from a shoulder injury. In a Twitter post Monday, Tennis Canada said, "Unfortunately due to ongoing shoulder rehab and recovery, Bianca Andreescu has withdrawn from Wimbledon." Andreescu, 19, is Canada's highest-ranked player at No. 25. Andreescu was seeded 22nd when she withdrew from the French Open ahead of her second-round match against Sofia Kenin because of the right shoulder problem. She won the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells in March, becoming the first wild-card winner and second-youngest to claim the title in tournament history. Andreescu started the year by reaching the final of the ASB Classic in Auckland, New Zealand following upset victories over Caroline Wozniacki, Venus Williams and Hsieh Su-wei.
COLLEGE ATHLETICS
Big East wants UConn again
The presidents of the schools in the Big East have voted to extend an invitation to Connecticut to rejoin the conference for basketball and other sports. A person with firsthand knowledge confirmed that the schools' presidents voted by conference call Monday morning. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to release the information. UConn has a Board of Trustees meeting scheduled for Wednesday when it is expected to accept the invitation, and an announcement is expected from the Big East as early as Thursday morning. UConn women's basketball Coach Geno Auriemma cautioned fans Monday that the move from the American Athletic Conference doesn't mean a return to the glory days of the old Big East. The Hall of Fame coach, speaking to reporters at a charity golf event, noted the conference is not the same one that once included schools such as Notre Dame and Louisville.
OLYMPICS
Italy selected to host 2026 Winter Games
LAUSANNE, Switzerland -- Italy will host the 2026 Olympics in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo, taking the Winter Games to the Alpine country for the second time in 20 years.
International Olympic Committee members voted for the long-favored Milan-Cortina bid over Stockholm-Are from Sweden that also included a bobsled track in Latvia.
Milan-Cortina's jubilant delegation broke into chants of "Italia! Italia!" when the result was announced.
Italy last hosted in Turin in 2006, and the Alpine ski resort Cortina previously hosted the Winter Games in 1956.
Sweden's spirited late campaign effort was in vain, including the mayor of Stockholm appealing to voters from the stage by singing a lyric from the Abba song 'Dancing Queen'.
A sign of simmering Swedish frustration came minutes later when IOC board member Gunilla Lindberg pushed the limit of Olympic diplomacy ending her team's 30-minute presentation.
Lindberg challenged her colleagues to reward a new kind of creative, cost-effective bid the IOC has said it wanted -- "Or is it just talk?"
Instead, IOC members picked Italy despite a debt-hit economy which faces increasing European Union scrutiny.
"We submit with full confidence to your judgment," Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte told voters.
Both candidates would likely have failed to get this far in previous Olympic bidding contests.
The IOC has relaxed previously strict rules that demanded financial guarantees and government support earlier in the process.
It was an attempt to revive Winter Games bidding with just two candidates on the ballot paper for the second consecutive time, since Russia spent $51 billion on venues and infrastructure for the 2014 Sochi Olympics.
Now, the IOC seeks to avoid costly new venues -- and potential white elephants -- while encouraging regions and multi-nation bids to share the load. Hence, Sweden teamed with Latvia, across the Baltic Sea, rather than build its ice sliding sports venue.
Sports on 06/25/2019