FOOTBALL
Nassib comes out as gay
Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Carl Nassib on Monday became the first active NFL player to come out as gay. Nassib, who is entering his sixth NFL season and second with the Raiders, announced the news on Instagram, saying he wasn't doing it for the attention but because he felt representation and visibility were important. "I just wanted to take a quick moment to say that I'm gay," Nassib said in his video message from his home in West Chester, Penn. "I've been meaning to do this for a while now, but I finally feel comfortable enough to get it off my chest." Nassib added that he was donating $100,000 to the Trevor Project, a nonprofit that seeks to prevent suicides among LGBTQ youth. Nassib is a sixth-year pro who was drafted by the Cleveland Browns in 2016 in the third round (65th overall) out of Penn State. He played two seasons for the Browns and two for Tampa Bay before joining the Raiders in 2020. He has 20 1/2 sacks in 73 career games.
Manning to work for Giants
Eli Manning has a new job with the New York Giants. The two-time Super Bowl MVP is rejoining the organization to work in business opportunities and fan initiatives. The Giants announced the hiring Monday, roughly 18 months after Manning retired following the 2019 season. Manning, who set most of the Giants passing records, will help with initiatives stretching across business development, marketing and community and corporate relations. He will also collaborate on original content development and fan engagement activations, including a new lifestyle series premiering this fall. Manning played a Giants-record 236 regular-season games -- plus 12 more in the playoffs -- without ever missing one because of an injury.
Chiefs DE arrested
Kansas City Chiefs defensive end Frank Clark was arrested in Los Angeles after police saw a submachine gun in his car, police said Monday. Clark, 28, was pulled over for a vehicle violation south of downtown at about 9:20 p.m. Sunday, LAPD public information officer Tony Im said. "Officers noticed a bag with an Uzi sticking out" in plain sight in the car, Im said. Clark was arrested on suspicion of having a concealed firearm in a vehicle, Im said. He was booked into Los Angeles County jail and released Monday afternoon on $35,000 bond, according to the county sheriff's jail inmate website.
Vikings rookie shot
Minnesota Vikings rookie defensive tackle Jaylen Twyman is recovering from four gunshot wounds that caused scary but superficial injuries after bullets hit a vehicle he was riding in, his agent Drew Rosenhaus said Monday night. Twyman, who was selected in the sixth round out of Pittsburgh in the NFL Draft two months ago, does not need surgery and is expected to make a full recovery from the exit wounds to his arm, shoulder, buttocks and leg, according to Rosenhaus. The Vikings also confirmed the shooting, after being in contact with Twyman and family members.
BASEBALL
Hall ceremony plans set
The Baseball Hall of Fame's induction ceremony is returning to its standard seating format, opening the door for another big crowd. Hall of Fame officials said Monday that tickets will not be required for the event's free lawn seating area. The ceremony is scheduled for Sept. 8 on the grounds of Clark Sports Center and will honor class of 2020 members Derek Jeter, Marvin Miller, Ted Simmons and Larry Walker. No one was selected this year. Inductions have been held outside the center since 1992 and the largest crowd was estimated at 70,000 for Cal Ripken Jr. and Tony Gwynn in 2007. The second-largest crowd on record -- an estimated 55,000 people -- attended the last induction ceremony, in July 2019. Crowds have surpassed 50,000 at five of the past six ceremonies, from 2014-2019. Last year's was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
SOCCER
Belgium wins third in row
Belgium secured a third straight victory at the European Championship by beating Finland 2-0 to finish in first place in Group B. Finland fell behind in the 74th minute when a header from Thomas Vermaelen hit the post, the ball rebounded onto the hand of Finland goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky and went over the line. Romelu Lukaku scored the other goal in the 81st for his third at Euro 2020. ... Andreas Christensen and Joakim Maehle scored late goals to give Denmark a 4-1 victory over Russia. Mikkel Damsgaard put Denmark ahead in the first half and Yussuf Poulsen pounced on a defensive error to make it 2-0. Artem Dzyuba made it 2-1 from the penalty spot. ... Memphis Depay scored a goal and was involved in two more from Georginio Wijnaldum in the Netherlands' 3-0 victory over North Macedonia. The Netherlands had already won the group before the match and North Macedonia was already eliminated after losing its first two matches at its first major tournament. ... Christoph Baumgartner put Austria into the knockout stage for the first time by scoring the only goal in his team's 1-0 victory over Ukraine. Baumgartner scored only minutes after getting medical treatment after clashing heads in the air with Illia Zabarnyi. He was then substituted in the 32nd minute.
LACROSSE
Gretzky, Nash among co-owners
The National Lacrosse League announced Monday that it's expanding to Las Vegas and hockey great Wayne Gretzky, Brooklyn Nets Coach Steve Nash and team owner Joe Tsai and PGA star Dustin Johnson are co-owners of the new franchise. Last season, the indoor box lacrosse league, which was founded in 1986, had 13 franchises, including three in Canada. This year it has added Panther City Lacrosse Club of Fort Worth. Las Vegas will begin play in 2022, with home games at MGM Resorts International's Michelob Ultra Arena inside the Mandalay Bay hotel casino, also home to the WNBA's Las Vegas Aces.
HOCKEY
Lightning blow out Islanders
Steven Stamkos had two goals and an assist and Andrei Vasilevskiy notched his fourth career playoff shutout, helping the host Tampa Bay Lightning rout the New York Islanders 8-0 in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup semifinal series on Monday night. The defending NHL champions improved to 13-0 in games following a postseason loss since launching their 2020 title run and will take a 3-2 series lead over the Islanders into Game 6 of their best-of-seven matchup Wednesday night in Uniondale, N.Y. Stamkos ignited a three-goal opening period -- the first against the Islanders all season -- by scoring just 45 seconds into the game. His power-play goal at 5:42 of the second began another three-goal period that made it 6-0. Alex Killorn finished with two goals, Brayden Point delivered his 13th of the playoffs, and postseason scoring leader Nikita Kucherov extended his career-best playoff points streak to eight games with three assists for Tampa Bay, which hasn't lost consecutive playoff games since being swept by Columbus in the first round in 2019. Point has scored a goal in eight consecutive games, the second-longest stretch within a single postseason in NHL history. Vasilevskiy stopped all 21 shots he faced for his third playoff shutout this year. The Vezina Trophy finalist also blanked Florida and Carolina in series-clinchers in the first two rounds.