Sports Digest: University of Maine football team adds running back John Gay via transfer – pressherald.com

COLLEGES

The University of Maine football team added running back John Gay, a transfer from Lafayette, where he appeared in 14 games in two seasons.

Gay has three years of eligibility remaining and will be eligible for the upcoming season.

Gay was named to the All-Patriot League second team as a kick return specialist after returning five kicks for 108 yards. He also had seven carries for 19 yards.

BASEBALL

EDGE WOOD BAT LEAGUE: Eli Cowperthwaite of Falmouth outdueled Westbrook’s Quincy Seavey for a 2-0 win Monday in an Edge Wood Bat Summer League game in Falmouth. Cowperthwaite, who had 11 strikeouts, took a no-hitter into the sixth before Bryce Hodgkins hit a double. He was relieved by Dom Tracy, who pitched the seventh for the save. The duo combined on a two-hitter.

Seavey struck out eight and allowed one hit, an RBI single by Eban Daniels that scored Cowperthwaite in the second. Falmouth scored its other run on an error also in the second.

OLYMPICS

MEN’S BASKETBALL: USA Basketball’s Olympic men’s roster is getting closer to filled, with now as many as eight spots on the 12-person team claimed.

Brooklyn’s James Harden has told the national team that he is committed to playing U.S. men’s national team next month at the Tokyo Games, said a person familiar with the decision. Miami’s Bam Adebayo has also informed USA Basketball of his intention to play for the team at the Tokyo Games.

Adebayo’s decision was first reported by ESPN, and he confirmed it Monday to The Associated Press. Harden’s decision was first reported by The Athletic, then confirmed to AP on condition of anonymity because neither the Nets star nor USA Basketball has publicly announced the move.

The eight commitments, for now, all either confirmed by people with knowledge or by the player publicly: Adebayo, Harden, Brooklyn’s Kevin Durant, Golden State’s Draymond Green, Washington’s Bradley Beal, Boston’s Jayson Tatum, Phoenix’s Devin Booker and Portland’s Damian Lillard.

One of the final spots, though, won’t be going to Golden State’s Stephen Curry. The person with knowledge of the situation said Curry has declined an invitation to be part of the team, citing offseason commitments.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL: Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi will try and become the first five-time Olympic gold medalists in basketball as they lead the U.S women’s team at the Tokyo Games.

The duo was selected for their fifth Olympics, joining Teresa Edwards as the only basketball players in U.S. history to play in five. Edwards won four gold medals and a bronze in her illustrious Olympic career.

The 40-year-old Bird and 39-year-old Taurasi will lead a veteran group in Japan, including 6-foot-6 Sylvia Fowles, who will be playing in her fourth Olympics. Tina Charles will be in her third while 6-8 Brittney Griner and Breanna Stewart are back for a second time.

There will also be six newcomers to the Olympic stage led by reigning WNBA MVP A’ja Wilson. The Las Vegas Aces star helped the U.S. win the World Championship in 2018 in Spain. Others making their Olympic debuts are Skylar Diggins-Smith, Chelsea Gray, Ariel Atkins, Jewell Loyd and Napheesa Collier.

SOCCER

EURO 2020: A chaotic 15-minute span for Christoph Baumgartner gave Austria the win they wanted and the advancement they craved.

The midfielder was involved in a clash of heads early in the first half, then scored the only goal in Austria’s 1-0 victory over Ukraine at the European Championship.

• Belgium, the world’s top-ranked team beat Finland 2-0 on Monday to finish in first place in Group B and join Italy and the Netherlands in qualifying with maximum points.

Belgium will play one of the four third-place finishers in the round of 16 in Sevilla on Sunday.

• Andreas Christensen and Joakim Maehle scored late goals to give Denmark a 4-1 victory over Russia on Monday and a spot in the round of 16.

• A coronavirus infection created disruption for two teams at the European Championship on Monday after a positive test for Scotland midfielder Billy Gilmour also led to two England players having to self-isolate.

Midfielder Mason Mount and left back Ben Chilwell were deemed by English health authorities to have had “interaction” with Gilmour during England’s 0-0 draw with Scotland at Wembley Stadium on Friday. The three players are teammates at Chelsea.

The announcement came ahead of the final Group D games, with England hosting the Czech Republic, and Scotland playing Croatia with qualification for the round of 16 still up for grabs.

• Memphis Depay scored one, he set up Georginio Wijnaldum for the next two, and the Netherlands made it three out of three.

The Dutch team completed the group stage at the European Championship with a 3-0 victory over North Macedonia, the second team at the tournament after Italy to win all three of its opening matches.

COPA AMERICA: There were 140 known COVID-19 cases at the Copa America in Brazil on Monday, up from 66 positive tests on Thursday.

CONMEBOL said in a statement that of the 15,235 tests, the number of people infected was 0.9% of the total.

MLS: Major League Soccer is launching a lower-tier professional league aimed at developing young players from its academy system.

The new league, which will rank below the second-division USL Championship, will begin play next year and will include teams affiliated with current MLS clubs as well as independent teams.

CYCLING

TOUR de FRANCE: Veteran sprinter Mark Cavendish will make a return to the Tour de France after a three-year absence from cycling’s biggest event.

Cavendish was not expected to be among the eight riders selected by Deceuninck-Quick-Step but was a last-minute inclusion following Sam Bennett’s withdrawal.

The three-week race starts on Saturday in Brittany from the port city of Brest.

The 36-year-old Cavendish has won 30 Tour de France stages, putting him second on the all-time list behind Belgian great Eddy Merckx. However, he last won a stage in 2016.

TENNIS

BAD HOMBURG OPEN: Top-seeded Petra Kvitova had to dig deep to reach the second round in Bad Homburg, Germany in beating Polish qualifier Katarzyna Piter 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 on Monday. Kvitova lost serve three times but hit 10 aces while prevailing against 135th-ranked Piter in just under two hours at the Wimbledon warmup.

Two-time Wimbledon champion Kvitova, who’s ranked 12th, will next play American Ann Li, who eased past Germany’s Anna Zaja 6-0, 6-4.

Another American, Jessica Pegula, also had little difficulty as she got past French player Amandine Hesse 6-2, 6-1. The third-seeded Pegula next faces Czech player Katerina Siniakova. Also, there were wins for Alizé Cornet, Laura Siegemund, Sara Sorribes Tormo and Anna Blinkova.

Simona Halep pulled out of the grass-court tournament shortly before it started in the town near Frankfurt.

« Previous

Favorite