Category: Sports Daypop

USC freshman point guard Isaiah Collier told ESPN on Wednesday that he is declaring for the 2024 NBA Draft after just one year at college. The 2024 NBA Draft will take place June 26 and 27.

The 19-year-old Collier was the No. 1 prospect in the country out of Wheeler High School in Marietta, Georgia, and co-MVP of the 2023 McDonald’s All American game; he averaged 16.3 points, 4.3 assists and 1.5 steals per game for the Trojans this year, shooting 49 percent overall and 33.8 percent from beyond the arc despite having to sit out January with a fractured hand. He was also selected to the All-Pac-12 freshman team.

USC had a disappointing season, finishing 15-18 overall (8-12 in conference) while missing the NCAA tournament.

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Linebacker Josh Allen and the Jacksonville Jaguars have agreed to a five-year, $150 million contract. Sources told ESPN that the agreement includes $88 million guaranteed; the two-time Pro Bowler had received the franchise tag from the Jaguars and was set to make $24 million in 2024 if he played on that tender.

The Jaguars placed the non-exclusive franchise tag on Allen in March, allowing him to negotiate with other teams. The Jaguars maintained the ability to match any offer Allen received on the open market under the terms of the transaction, and would also receive draft-pick compensation if another team signed Allen.

The No. 7 overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft totaled 251 combined tackles, 53 tackles for a loss, 45 sacks, nine forced fumbles, eight passes defensed, three fumble recoveries, two interceptions and a touchdown through his first 74 career appearances. Last season, Allen, 26, totaled 66 combined tackles and a career-high 17.5 sacks; he also logged two forced fumbles, an interception and a pass defensed in 17 starts in 2023-24.

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The Boston Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow said Tuesday that shortstop Trevor Story will undergo season-ending surgery on his left shoulder. Breslow said before Tuesday’s home opener against the Baltimore Orioles that the 31-year-old Story is expected to be sidelined for six months after the surgery to repair a fracture of his glenoid, which is scheduled for Friday, adding: “Difficult to speculate beyond that, But you can kind of do the math there.”

Story initially was diagnosed with a dislocated left shoulder in an 8-6 win over the Los Angeles Angels, after making a diving stop on a hit by the Angels’ Mike Trout on Friday night. He was later seen by shoulder specialist Dr. Evan O’Donnell in Boston on Monday. Red Sox manager Alex Cora said Tuesday before his team’s home opener against the Baltimore Orioles that the news wasn’t positive, and there was “concern with the bone structure.”

Breslow said Story’s loss is “very significant,” adding: “Not going to hide from what he’s meant to this team defensively and had full confidence offensively that he was going to contribute as well with what he was able to do in spring training. I think fortunately he’s emerged as a leader of this team and there’s still going to be a way for him to positively impact it. Unfortunately it just doesn’t seem like it’s going to be on the field right now.”

The Red Sox signed Story to a six-year, $140 million contract in March 2022 after his six seasons, including two All-Star campaigns, with the Colorado Rockies. Story played in just 94 games in 2022 after missing significant time with injuries to his right hand and left foot, and appeared in only 43 games last season after recovering from major offseason surgery to repair a torn UCL. In eight games this season, Story is hitting .226 with no homers and four RBIs A two-time All-Star while with the Rockies, he is a career .265 hitter with 177 home runs and 534 RBIs.

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Veteran NFL player Logan Ryan, who won two Super Bowls with the New England Patriots as a cornerback and safety, announced he will retire from the league after 11 seasons.

Ryan, 33, said in a video posted to X: “I am officially retiring from the NFL. What a great career. What a ride it was. Beautiful journey of highs and lows, like they always are ..Thank you to all my family, friends and teammates for the guidance and support! Thanks to the fans for watching! Won two Super Bowls and got out happy and healthy to be the best father for my children! Thanks again for 11 seasons! Cheers to what’s next.” Ryan thanked the teams he played for – the Patriots, Tennessee Titans, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, New York Giants and San Francisco 49ers, – and posted a video which showed the news conference from when he left Rutgers and declared for the 2013 NFL Draft, as well as highlights from his career.

In 154 career appearances, Ryan totaled 755 combined tackles, 98 passes defended, 20 tackles for a loss, 19 interceptions and 13 sacks. The veteran safety totaled 13 combined tackles and a tackle for a loss over five appearances last season with the 49ers, and logged 37 combined tackles, three passes defensed, an interception, forced fumble and fumble recovery in nine games in 2022 for the Buccaneers. In his career-best season in 2021 for the NY Giants, Ryan had 117 combined tackles, eight passes defensed, two forced fumbles, a fumble recovery and a sack in 15 starts.

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UConn won a second straight NCAA mens basketball championship on Monday night, defeating Purdue in a 75-60 win over the Boilermakers at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. The victory makes UConn the first team since Florida in 2006 and 2007 to win back-to-back men’s basketball national titles.

UConn coach Dan Hurley said: “You can’t even wrap your mind around it because you know how hard this tournament is …What could you say? We won — by a lot again. I think it’s up there in terms of the greatest two-year runs that a program maybe has ever had. I just think it’s the best two-year run I think in a very, very long time just because of everything we lost from last year’s team. To lose that much, and again, to do what we did again, it’s got to be as impressive a two-year run as a program’s had since prior to whoever did it before Duke. To me, it’s more impressive than what Florida and Duke did because they brought back their entire teams. We lost some major players.” (per ESPN).

UConn’s victory was led by All-American guard Tristen Newton (20 points), freshman star Stephon Castle (15 points), and sharpshooter Cam Spencer (11 points); they trailed after falling behind 23-21 with 8:07 remaining in the first half. Purdue star Zach Edey finished with 37 points and 10 rebounds in the final game of his college career, as he plans on declaring for the 2024 NBA Draft. Edey, a two-time National Player of the Year, recorded at least 20 points and 10 rebounds in seven consecutive NCAA Tournament games.

The Huskies’ last two seasons have shown their dominance: they won each of their 2024 NCAA tournament games by at least 14 points; while one season ago, UConn won its six tournament games by at least 13 points.

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The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the governing body for mostly small colleges, announced on Monday that athletes in the NAIA will only be allowed to compete in women’s sports if they were assigned the female gender at birth — all but banning transgender athletes from competing in women’s sports.

The NAIA’s Council of Presidents approved the policy in a 20-0 vote Monday morning after a December survey indicated widespread support for the move. The association’s previous policy only applied to postseason competition. The new directive applies to all NAIA competitions.

The NAIA oversees some 83,000 athletes at 249 mostly small colleges across the country that are not part of the NCAA’s three divisions of competition, with a membership that is 80% private schools. This decision does not apply to NCAA competitions; and is believed to be the first college sports organization to take such a step.

According to the transgender participation policy, all athletes may participate in NAIA-sponsored male sports but only athletes whose biological sex assigned at birth is female and who have not begun hormone therapy will be allowed to participate in women’s sports.

NAIA president Jim Carr told CBS Sports: “We know there are a lot of different opinions out there. For us, we believed our first responsibility was to create fairness and competition in the NAIA. … We also think it aligns with the reasons Title IX was created. You’re allowed to have separate but equal opportunities for women to compete.”

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The South Carolina Gamecocks defeated the Iowa Hawkeyes in an 87-75 win in the women’s NCAA tournament title game, winning their third national title in seven tournaments, and second in three seasons (per ESPN.) South Carolina also became the 10th team in Division I history to complete an undefeated season (38-0) — joining UConn (six times), Baylor (2011-12), Tennessee (1997-98) and Texas (1985-86). The Gamecocks have lost just one game over the past two seasons.

Freshman Tessa Johnson led the Gamecocks with 19 points off the bench, and Kamilla Cardoso finished with 15 points, 17 rebounds and three blocks.

The loss for the Iowa Hawkeyes marks their second straight in the national championship game following last year’s loss to LSU. Iowa’s loss also ended a record-breaking career for Caitlin Clark, the presumptive No. 1 pick in next week’s WNBA draft, who became the all-time leading scorer in both men’s and women’s Division 1 college basketball this season with 3,951. Clark finished with 30 points for Iowa in her final collegiate game.

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Sources tell ESPN that the New England Patriots and safety Kyle Dugger have agreed to a four-year, $58M contract extension. The Pats had placed a $13.8 million transition tag on Dugger last month, restricting his free agency. Dugger’s new deal features $32.5 million in guarantees and can be worth as much as $66 million with incentives.

Dugger was a second-round pick in the 2020 NFL draft and became a full-time starter midway through his rookie campaign, finishing with 64 tackles. In 2022, Dugger had become the first Patriots defender since 1970 to score three touchdowns in a season; and in 2023, he totaled a career-high 109 tackles while tying for the team lead with two interceptions. He played 98% of the defensive snaps, more than any defender, which was another reflection of his value to the team.

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The Oakland Athletics announced Thursday that they will move to West Sacramento, Calif., for the next three years before their permanent relocation to Las Vegas in 2028.  The A’s will play their 2025- 2027 campaigns at Sutter Health Park, sharing a home with the Sacramento River Cats, the San Francisco Giants’ Triple-A team. The move to West Sacramento means that this season will be the last the A’s play in Oakland, where the franchise began in 1968.

Sutter Health Park has 10,624 permanent seats with lawn seating that boosts capacity to roughly 14,000, and is located about 85 miles northeast of the Oakland Coliseum. Per ESPN, the agreement with Sacramento is a three-year lease for 2025 to 2027 with a team option for 2028 in case the planned ballpark on the Las Vegas Strip is not completed in time.  Athletics owner John Fisher said in a news release: “We explored several locations for a temporary home, including the Oakland Coliseum. Even with the long-standing relationship and good intentions on all sides in the negotiations with Oakland, the conditions to achieve an agreement seemed out of reach. We understand the disappointment this news brings to our fans, as this season marks our final one in Oakland. Throughout this season, we will honor and celebrate our time in Oakland, and will share additional details soon.”

The move to play at Sutter Health Park came after negotiations between the Athletics with local officials and the NBA’s Sacramento Kings owner Vivek Ranadivé, who also owns the River Cats. Fisher said: “We extend our appreciation to the Kings and the City of West Sacramento, and look forward to making Sutter Health Park our home until our new ballpark opens in Las Vegas.” Ranadivé added in his own statement: “I’m thrilled to welcome the A’s to Sutter Health Park, where players and fans alike can enjoy a world-class baseball experience and create unforgettable memories. Today marks the next chapter of professional sports in Sacramento. The passion of our fans is second to none, and this is an incredible opportunity to showcase one of the most dynamic and vibrant markets in the country.”

Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao shared in a press release: “Oakland offered a deal that was fair to the A’s and was fiscally responsible for our city. We wish the A’s the best and will continue our conversations with them on facilitating the sale of their share of the Coliseum site. The City of Oakland will now focus on advancing redevelopment efforts at the Coliseum.”

MLB team owners unanimously approved the Oakland Athletics plans to relocate to Las Vegas in November, and the franchise purchased 49 acres at Dean Martin Drive and Tropicana Avenue, near the Las Vegas Strip (the now-former home of the Tropicana Las Vegas) where the Athletics plan to construct a $1.5 billion stadium. The Tropicana closed for good on Tuesday.

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The New York Knicks announced Thursday that forward Julius Randle will undergo season-ending right shoulder surgery (per ESPN.) Doctors had warned Randle that there was too much instability in his shoulder to allow him to play again this season without risking permanent damage; after surgery, they will re-evaluate him in five months.

The three-time NBA All-Star has been out of the Knicks’ lineup since Jan. 27 after dislocating his shoulder, spending the past two-plus months rehabbing in an attempt to avoid surgery and return for the playoffs. According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Randle is expected to be ready for the start of the 2024-25 season, as surgery now will allow for the appropriate recovery time to return.

Randle had played in all of the Knicks’ 46 games before getting injured against the Miami Heat.The 29-year-old averaged 24 points, 9.2 rebounds and 5 assists per game before being forced out of play stemming from the injury. He had 19 consecutive games with 20 points or more at one point this season, the longest streak of his career.

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