Sports

By DAVE COLLINS Associated Press The mother of a Puerto Rican Olympian has died after being struck by a stray bullet fired from the street at another person while she was in her Connecticut home over the weekend. That’s according to police and her daughter, Yarimar Mercado Martinez, a rifle shooter on the Puerto Rico

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Lerner family that has owned the Washington Nationals since 2006 is exploring the possibility of selling the Major League Baseball franchise. Manager Dave Martinez says Mark Lerner called him to deliver the news. Lerner in recent years had said the family would never sell the team. The Lerners hiring a firm

By MICHAEL MAROT AP Sports Writer INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — When Indiana Pacers president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard made three midseason trades, it was clear he intended to rebuild. Now, he can begin in earnest. And not much is off limits. After watching the Pacers post their lowest single-season victory total since 1984-85, Pritchard and

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) — Former Syracuse star Sue Ludwig will be an assistant on the Orange women’s basketball team, which is headed by former teammate Felisha Legette-Jack. Legette-Jack was named the coach about two weeks ago. Ludwig and Legette-Jack helped lead the Orange to their first Big East championship and first NCAA Tournament appearance in

MADRID (AP) — Rayo Vallecano’s winless streak in the Spanish league has reached 12 matches after a 1-1 draw at home against Valencia. Valencia opened the scoring through Carlos Soler in the 57th minute and the hosts equalized thanks to Sergi Guardiola in the 83rd at Vallecas Stadium. Rayo hasn’t won in the league since

FAIRFIELD, Conn. (AP) — Carly Thibault-DuDonis has been hired as women’s basketball coach at Fairfield. The 30-year-old Thibault-DuDonis replaces Joe Frager, who retired after leading the Stags to a 25-7 record and the school’s first NCAA Tournament appearance in his 15th season. She spent the past four seasons as an assistant under Lindsay Whalen at

By ANNE M. PETERSON AP Sports Writer PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — The Portland Trail Blazers’ turbulent season was less about the present and more about rebuilding for the future. The Blazers finished 27-55, their worst season since 2005-06 when they won just 21 games. Now Portland heads into the offseason with at least one lottery

BOLOGNA, Italy (AP) — Marko Arnautović could have had a hat trick but for the crossbar as Bologna beat relegation-threatened Sampdoria 2-0 in Serie A. Arnautović scored both goals in the second half. Both he and Nicola Sansone also hits the crossbar. Sampdoria remains seven points above the relegation zone after its fifth loss in

By The Associated Press The International Olympic Committee says Tunisian sailor Eya Guezguez has died in a training incident. She was 17. Guezguez was training with her twin sister Sarra alongside their national team on Sunday when their boat capsized due to strong winds. Eya died while Sarra survived. Together, they competed at the Tokyo

By CLIFF BRUNT AP Sports Writer OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The rebuilding Oklahoma City Thunder finished with a 24-58 record. It was the fourth-worst mark in the league. There were bad moments like the record-setting 73-point loss to Memphis. But the Thunder rallied from deficits of at least 15 points to win eight times this

MICHAEL WAGAMAN Associated Press SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — The Sacramento Kings have fired interim coach Alvin Gentry a day after the franchise missed the playoffs for a 16th straight season. Sacramento won 116-109 at NBA-leading Phoenix on Sunday to finish at 30-52. The 67-year-old Gentry was promoted from associate head coach to interim coach when

By KRISTIE RIEKEN AP Sports Writer HOUSTON (AP) — The Houston Rockets went 20-62 to finish with the NBA’s worst record for the second straight season. But they’re encouraged by the improvement of a rookie class headlined by Jalen Green. They will have another lottery pick in this year’s draft.  

By BRIAN MAHONEY AP Basketball Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving have played in the NBA Finals and Olympics, so they’ve been in just about every kind of big game there is. The play-in tournament is something new for them and the Brooklyn Nets certainly didn’t expect to experience it this

By FRED GOODALL AP Sports Writer The Orlando Magic finished another losing NBA season singing a familiar refrain. Despite dropping 60 games, posting the worst record in the Eastern Conference and missing the playoffs for the third time in five years, the club insists it’s latest overhaul is headed in the right direction. The Magic

By GARY B. GRAVES AP Sports Writer LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Louisville coach Kenny Payne has named former Duke staffer Nolan Smith as assistant coach. It is Payne’s first staff hire since becoming Cardinals head coach nearly three weeks ago. Smith’s hiring comes nearly a week since he informed the team of his departure after