BASKETBALL
Butler out with knee injury
Dallas Mavericks forward Caron Butler underwent right knee surgery on Tuesday to repair a ruptured right patellar tendon and is expected to miss the rest of the NBA season, the team announced. Losing the 30-year-old playmaker will be a major blow for the Mavericks, who are 25-8 and second in the Western Conference to Southwest division rival and overall NBA leader San Antonio. Butler, who suffered the injury in a loss on Saturday in Milwaukee, has averaged 15 points to rank third in team scoring and also contributed 4.1 rebounds and 1.6 assists in almost 30 minutes a game for Dallas this season. In messages posted on his Twitter account from the hospital, Butler was optimistic about the Mavericks’ chances for success even without him. “Championship! Remember that fans that’s what its about and we have what it take in that lockeroom to get it done,” Butler posted on Twitter.
BASEBALL
Price wins Spahn award
Tampa Bay’s David Price was on Tuesday named the winner of the Warren Spahn Award as the top left-handed pitcher in the major leagues last season. The award is based on a pitcher’s wins, strikeouts and earned run average. Price had 19 victories, 188 strikeouts and a 2.72 ERA last year. “I am honored,” Price (19-6) told major league baseball’s official Web site (www.mlb.com). “To be included in a group with the past winners — CC Sabathia, Randy Johnson and others — is very exciting.” Hall of Famer Spahn, who died in 2003, holds the major league record for victories by a left-hander with 363.
BASEBALL
Scout charged with fraud
Authorities in the Dominican Republic have accused a scout of fraud and of falsifying documents to obtain professional contracts for talented players. Police said in a statement on Tuesday that the arrest of Victor Baez is part of a new push to investigate scouts they say are selling false hopes to young players. Baez has for many years run a well-known development program for local standouts that have gone on to play in the US.
RUGBY UNION
Dafydd Jones retires
Wales flanker Dafydd Jones has retired from rugby union after failing to recover from a shoulder injury, the Scarlets, the back-row’s club, announced on Tuesday. Jones was injured during Wales’ international against New Zealand in November 2009 and subsequently underwent two operations. However, the 31-year-old, capped 42 times by his country, has now decided to retire from rugby after consulting specialists following 13 seasons with the Llanelli-based Scarlets. “This has been a really tough time for me and my family,” Jones said in a statement issued by his club. “It’s a very hard decision to retire from rugby, which has been the sport and career I’ve known and loved since I was a teenager. All my efforts have gone into playing rugby for the Scarlets and for Wales, and I am very proud of and enjoyed everything I have done. It has taken a while to sink in that I’m not actually going to be playing any more, but the decision was really made for me as the medics said there was no way back from the damage caused by the injury.” Scarlets coach Nigel Davies added: “Dafydd has been a trusted, committed and respected senior member of this Scarlets squad and a loyal servant to our team for over a decade.”
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to
Arne Slot has denied that Darwin Nunez was dropped from Liverpool’s win against West Ham because of a training-ground row with a member of his coaching staff. The Liverpool head coach on Sunday last week said that Nunez was absent from the 2-1 victory at Anfield, having felt unwell during training the day before, although the striker sat behind the substitutes throughout the game. Speculation has been rife that the Uruguay international, whom Slot criticized for his work rate against Wolves and Aston Villa in February, was left out for disciplinary reasons. Asked on Friday to clarify the situation, Slot said: “He
CUNNINGHAM CONNECTS: In the Eastern Conference, the Pistons snapped their record 15-game playoff losing streak by beating the Knicks to level their series at 1-1 Kawhi Leonard on Monday scored 39 points on 15-of-19 shooting as the Los Angeles Clippers evened their first-round NBA Playoffs series against the Nuggets with a 105-102 win in Denver. “It feels like he didn’t miss a shot,” James Harden said. “His shot-making ability is elite.” Good thing, too, because his teammates were a combined 26 of 66 for a 39 percent clip. “I made shots tonight,” Leonard said. “I just keep playing, try to stay in the zone no matter if I’m making or missing shots.” The fifth-seeded Clippers needed every bit of his brilliance to snatch the homecourt advantage in the series
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