Monday's Sports In Brief – The San Luis Obispo Tribune
OLYMPICS
GENEVA (AP) — A report by the World Anti-Doping Agency included more details from investigators about how Russian athletes — with help from government officials — doped and got away with it at the Sochi Olympics.
The report agreed with earlier stories that said the Russian government, secret service and state-funded anti-doping operation let cheating athletes compete and win medals. Canadian law professor Richard McClaren’s report supported allegations made by Grigory Rodchenkov, the former director of the WADA-accredited lab in Moscow. Rodchenkov fled Russia and detailed the scam for The New York Times in May.
Because of the report, WADA recommended banning all Russian athletes from the Rio de Janeiro Olympics.
BASEBALL
HOUSTON (AP) — A federal judge sentenced the former scouting director of the St. Louis Cardinals to nearly four years in prison for hacking the Houston Astros’ player personnel database and email system in an unusual case of high-tech cheating involving two Major League Baseball clubs.
Christopher Correa had pleaded guilty in January to five counts of unauthorized access of a protected computer from 2013 to at least 2014, the same year he was promoted to director of baseball development in St. Louis. He was fired last summer and now faces 46 months behind bars and a court order to pay $279,038 in restitution. He had faced up to five years in prison on each count. Correa will remain free on bond until he reports to federal prison within about six weeks.
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesota Twins owner Jim Pohlad’s reverence for Terry Ryan has been evident for almost two decades, steadfastly supporting his general manager with a commitment uncommon in today’s game.
As the struggles on the field piled up over the last five years, even that enduring respect wasn’t enough to keep Ryan with the Twins.
Ryan was fired with the team holding the worst record in the American League and on pace to lose 100 games. The Twins entered the day 33-58, 21 games out of first place in the AL Central. Only Atlanta had a worse record in the majors.
NFL
MIAMI (AP) — Four-time Pro Bowl running back Arian Foster took a big step in his comeback from a torn Achilles tendon: He found a team.
Foster signed a $1.5 million, one-year contract with the Miami Dolphins, and said he’s fully healthy.
Foster, who spent the past seven years with the Houston Texans, was hurt in Game 7 last year at Miami. He paid a free agent visit to the Dolphins in March and accepted an offer after working out for them Monday. Miami was looking to add depth at running back following the loss of Lamar Miller to the Texans in free agency.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — The Carolina Panthers partners have presented team owner Jerry Richardson and his family with a sculpture outside of the north gate of the team’s downtown stadium.
The sculpture, designed by California artist Todd Andrews in honor of Richardson’s 80th birthday, depicts Richardson presenting the gift of NFL football to the people of the Carolinas flanked by two roaring panthers.
NBA
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Denzel Valentine put a thrilling finish on the NBA Summer League.
Valentine hit the tying 3-pointer with the final second of regulation, then made a jumper at the buzzer in overtime to give the Chicago Bulls an 84-82 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night.
That ended the NBA portion of summer basketball after leagues in Orlando, Salt Lake City and Las Vegas over the last two weeks. Rookies got their first looks, some veterans got their last shots, and it ended with a play that had Twitter buzzing like a game that took place in June instead of July.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
DALLAS (AP) — Mack Rhoades doesn’t pretend to fully understand the mistakes Baylor has made. The school’s new athletic director is just intent on doing his part to make sure they don’t happen again.
Rhoades was formally introduced by Baylor, a program reeling from allegations that it didn’t properly handle sexual assault claims against some football players.
His introduction came on the first day of Big 12 football media days, and a day before interim president David Garland and two Baylor regents make a presentation to the league’s board of directors and answer questions. That board, made up of league presidents and chancellors, could possibly levy sanctions against Baylor.
GOLF
TROON, Scotland (AP) — Camilo Villegas of Colombia pulled out of the Olympics because he is trying to keep his job on the PGA Tour.
Villegas had indicated for the last two weeks that he wanted to be in Rio for golf’s return to the Olympics for the first time since 1904. While he considered the Zika virus — Villegas and his wife are trying to start a family — his main concern was work.
Having pulled out the Barbasol Championship last week with a thumb injury, he is No. 146 in the FedEx Cup standings. Only the top 125 advance to the playoffs and keep full cards for the following season, and Villegas has only four tournaments left. He is playing the RBC Canadian Open this week.
NHL
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — P.K. Subban certainly knows how to make an entrance, especially with a team more than happy to help manage his arrival in Music City.
The Nashville Predators took their new All-Star defenseman on a whirlwind trip around town that featured Subban jumping on stage at a renowned honky-tonk to belt out Johnny Cash’s “Folsom Prison Blues.” Then the Predators introduced Subban to reporters and a few fans in their first chance to show off the man they picked up last month in Nashville’s big trade with Montreal.
Subban said the past few weeks since last month’s trade have been filled with mixed emotions after the Predators and Canadiens stunned the NHL on June 29 with Montreal swapping Subban for Nashville’s captain and fellow All-Star defenseman Shea Weber.
NEW YORK (AP) — After getting run out of the playoffs in the first round by the eventual Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins, the New York Rangers made another move to improve their speed.
They also got a little younger in the process.
The Rangers traded center Derick Brassard to the Ottawa Senators for forward Mika Zibanejad in a deal involving players coming off career seasons.
The deal includes draft picks with the Rangers receiving the Senators’ second-round draft pick in 2018. Ottawa will get the Rangers’ seventh-round pick that year.
