BASEBALL
Niko Kavadas and Nathan Hickey each drove in five runs as the Portland Sea Dogs opened a six-game series with the Hartford Yard Goats with a 14-1 Eastern League win Tuesday night at Hartford, Connecticut.
Kavadas his a two-run homer in the first and a three-run shot in the third. Hickey had a two-run double in the fifth inning and a three-run homer in the eighth. Both went 2 for 4.
Alex Binelas also hit a home run for Portland.
Sea Dogs starter CJ Liu (4-3) pitched 5 2/3 innings, allowing four hits and three walks. He struck out 8.
BASKETBALL
WNBA: The WNBA suspended Las Vegas coach Becky Hammon, one of the league’s marquee figures, for two games Tuesday after former Aces player Dearica Hamby said she had been bullied and manipulated for being pregnant.
Hammon, who in her first season last year led the Aces to the WNBA championship, was suspended without pay after a monthslong investigation into Hamby’s allegations. The WNBA said Hammon violated league and team “respect in the workplace” policies.
The league also rescinded the Aces’ first-round pick in the 2025 draft for a different issue — a violation of league rules regarding impermissible player benefits involving Hamby, who was traded to the Los Angeles Sparks on Jan. 21.
That means Las Vegas may not have a first-round pick for two consecutive seasons. The Aces traded their 2024 pick.
The WNBA has not disclosed the details of Hamby’s allegation. Hammon, the Aces nor team owner Mark Davis have responded to requests for comment. The Sparks didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment from Hamby.
SOCCER
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: Inter Milan has reached its first league final in more than a decade with a 1-0 victory against city rival AC Milan.
Inter had a 2-0 lead from the first leg of the semifinal and Lautaro Martinez’s 74th-minute goal ended any hopes for Milan to stage a comeback.
Inter will face either Real Madrid or Manchester City in Istanbul on June 10. The second leg of the other semifinal is on Wednesday, with the scoreline locked at 1-1.
USL SUPER LEAGUE: A new league will be kicking off in August 2024 with 10 to 12 teams that will play at the same level as the National Women’s Soccer League, the top tier of women’s soccer in the United States.
The USL Super League announced it will apply with U.S. Soccer for sanctioning at the top level. The Super League had originally been seeking second-division status.
The league announced eight planned franchises and ownership groups. The host cities include: Charlotte, North Carolina; Dallas/Fort Worth; Lexington, Kentucky; Phoenix; Spokane, Washington; Tampa Bay, Florida; Tucson, Arizona, and Washington, D.C. The additional franchises will be announced at a later date.
MLS: Chicago Fire midfielder Xherdan Shaqiri remained Major League Soccer’s highest-paid player this year, and the league’s average salary rose 3.1% to $473,292.
Toronto surpassed Atlanta as the team with the highest payroll at $25.7 million followed by the LA Galaxy at $23.5 million, according to figures released by the MLS Players Association.
Montreal was the lowest of the 29 teams at $10.5 million, just behind expansion franchise St. Louis at $10.9 million. The New York Red Bulls and Orlando were at about $11.2 million.
Shaqiri, who joined the Fire ahead of the 2022 season, has a $7.35 million base salary this year and $8,153,000 in total compensation, which includes a prorated share of a signing bonus and other guaranteed money not attributable to a specific year.
Toronto forward Lorenzo Insigne is second at $7.5 million.
HOCKEY
WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: Switzerland posted another shutout in beating Kazakhstan 5-0 for its third victory at tournament at Roga, Latvia.
Fabrice Herzog and Damien Riat had a goal and an assist each in the Group B game.
The Swiss team has yet to concede a goal and tops Group B with nine points, with Canada trailing by one in second.
Thomas Berg-Paulsen scored the only goal to lift Norway to a 1-0 win over Slovenia for his team’s first victory in Group B. Slovenia, a newcomer at the tournament, remains without a point.
Nikolaj Ehlers scored his third goal of the tournament and added an assist to help Denmark beat Austria 6-2 for its third win in the Finnish city of Tampere. Denmark is tied for second in Group A with Sweden on eight points, one behind the United States in first.
Istvan Bartalis scored the winner in overtime for another newcomer Hungary to earn its first two points with a 3-2 victory over France.
TENNIS
ITALIAN OPEN: Novak Djokovic was in command from the start and never really let up in a 6-3, 6-4 win over 13th-seeded Cameron Norrie to reach the quarterfinals in Rome for the 17th straight year.
Also, local hope Jannik Sinner was eliminated by Francisco Cerundolo 6-7 (3), 6-2, 6-2. Cerundolo will play Casper Ruud, who beat Laslo Djere 6-1, 6-3.
In women’s action, two-time defending Rome champion Iga Swiatek beat Donna Vekic 6-3, 6-4 and will next face Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina. Also, Paula Badosa got past Karolina Muchova 6-4, 6-7 (4), 6-2 and will play 2017 French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko.
GOLF
LPGA: Marlene Hagge-Vossler, a Hall of Fame player and the last surviving founder of the LPGA Tour, died Tuesday morning, her family said. She was 89.
Hagge-Vossler won 26 times on the LPGA Tour, including the 1952 LPGA Championship, and she was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2002.
She was 15-year-old Marlene Bauer when she joined 12 other women — including her older sister, Alice Bauer — in signing incorporation papers in 1950 for the fledgling LPGA Tour.
Upon her death, the LPGA is among the premier women’s sports associations in the world, with players this year competing for $100 million in prize money.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
