NFL reporter Dianna Russini has resigned from The Athletic less than a week after published photos of her and New England Patriots coach Mike Vrabel at an Arizona resort prompted an internal investigation at The New York Times-owned sports outlet. The New York Post last week published the photos of Vrabel and Russini at the Sedona hotel and said they were taken before the NFL owners meetings that began in Phoenix on March 29. Russini joined The Athletic in 2023 after nearly a decade at ESPN, where she held various roles, including SportsCenter anchor, NFL analyst and insider. She hosted a podcast for The Athletic and made appearances on their video platform.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Former Michigan football coach Sherrone Moore has been placed on probation for 18 months for a confrontation with his executive assistant soon after he was fired for having an inappropriate relationship with her. Moore was sentenced Tuesday. He pleaded no contest in March to trespassing and malicious use of a telecom device. The maximum possible penalty was six months in jail, though Moore had no previous criminal record. Moore was fired on Dec. 10 and was accused that same day of confronting the woman with whom he had been having an affair and blaming her for his firing.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Miami coach Erik Spoelstra says LaMelo Ball should have been ejected for tripping Bam Adebayo, leading to a lower back injury that knocked the Heat’s star center out of Tuesday night’s 127-126 play-in tournament loss to the Charlotte Hornets. Ball fell to the floor after missing a shot on a drive to the basket early in the second quarter, and he appeared to reach out with his left arm and grab Adebayo’s left leg, causing the big man to fall. Spoelstra says “there's no place in the game” for actions like that. Ball apologized but said he was disoriented after getting hit in the head.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — LaMelo Ball made a layup with 4.7 seconds left in overtime, Miles Bridges blocked Davion Mitchell’s attempt at a winning layup at the buzzer, and the Charlotte Hornets beat Miami 127-126 in a wild start to the NBA’s play-in games, eliminating the Heat from the playoffs. Ball finished with 30 points and 10 assists and Bridges had 28 points and nine rebounds as the Hornets won their first postseason home game in a decade. Coby White had 19 points, including a turnaround 3 with 10.8 second left in regulation to send the game to OT. The Heat Heat lost Bam Adebayo to a lower back injury when Ball tripped him in the second quarter.
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Red Sox outfielder Jarren Duran directed an obscene gesture toward a fan at Target Field as he returned to the dugout after a fifth-inning groundout in Boston’s 6-0 loss to the Minnesota Twins. Duran has spoken about his past struggles with mental health, and he says the fan told him to kill himself. Duran says he “shouldn't react like that” but he called the fan's comment “triggering.” Duran discussed bouts with severe depression and a suicide attempt in a Netflix series that debuted last year.
MIAMI (AP) — Javier Mascherano is out as Inter Miami’s coach, a stunning move that comes only four months after leading Lionel Messi’s club to the MLS Cup title. Mascherano, a former teammate of Messi at Barcelona and with Argentina's national team before reuniting with him as coach, is leaving the team. The team says it is for personal reasons. In Mascherano’s place as coach, at least in the short term, will be Guillermo Hoyos. He is credited, at least on some level, with discovering Messi at Barcelona’s academy and predicting that he could become an all-time great.
EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (AP) — Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves will not return from injury in time to begin the Lakers’ first-round playoff series against the Houston Rockets. That leaves Los Angeles without its top two scorers. Coach JJ Redick says they're both out indefinitely, and there won't be an update on their condition this week. Doncic strained a hamstring and Reaves strained an oblique on April 2 in Oklahoma City, and neither returned during the regular season. The Lakers host the Rockets in Game 1 on Saturday night. Doncic and Reaves combined to average 56.8 points, 13.8 assists and 12.4 rebounds per game when healthy this season.
LIVERPOOL, England (AP) — Paris Saint-Germain advanced to the Champions League semifinals with a 2-0 win over Liverpool at Anfield on Tuesday. Ousmane Dembele’s two second-half goals sealed a 4-0 aggregate victory and kept PSG on course to defend European club soccer’s biggest prize. Dembele’s first goal killed off Liverpool’s fight as the Premier League club went in search of another famous Champions League comeback. The Ballon d’Or winner swept a low left-footed shot from the edge of the area past goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili to quieten the home crowd and ease PSG tension. His second came at the end of a sweeping move in stoppage time.
Sergio Garcia has apologized for his tantrum during the final round of the Masters. Garcia hit a bad tee shot on the second hole and twice slammed his driver into the turf. He also slammed the club against a bench and broke off the head. The Masters had an official issue a code-of-conduct warning to him a few holes later. It's the first time the conduct policy has been used at the Masters. Garcia says he respects and values everything about the Masters and Augusta National and regrets the way he acted. He says that has no place in golf.
AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — Rory McIlroy is at a stage in his career where he wants to win majors more than he needs them. It's a good place to be and it showed when he won the Masters for the second straight year. The next step could be the toughest of all. Never mind that Fred Couples quipped that McIlroy may never lose at the Masters. Jack Nicklaus, Nick Faldo and Tiger Woods all came up well short in their bid for three in a row. What made this Masters feel different is that McIlroy's win felt inevitable, just like when Woods won back-to-back in 2001-02.
Finals
INTERLEAGUE
Final Arizona 4 Baltimore 3
Final St. Louis 6 Cleveland 5
Final Toronto 9 Milwaukee 7
Final Houston 7 Colorado 6
Final San Diego 4 Seattle 1
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Final Detroit 2 Kansas City 1
Final L.A. Angels 7 N.Y. Yankees 1
Final Minnesota 6 Boston 0
Final Tampa Bay 8 Chicago White Sox 5
Final Athletics 2 Texas 1
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Final Cincinnati 2 San Francisco 1
Final Chicago Cubs 10 Philadelphia 4
Final Washington 5 Pittsburgh 4
Final Atlanta 6 Miami 5
Final L.A. Dodgers 2 N.Y. Mets 1
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Final Washington 2 Columbus 1
Final Carolina 2 N-Y Islanders 1
Final Boston 4 New Jersey 0
Final Philadelphia 4 Montreal 2
Final Minnesota 3 Anaheim 2
Final Colorado 3 Calgary 1
Final Utah 5 Winnipeg 3
Final St. Louis 7 Pittsburgh 5
Final OT Vancouver 4 Los Angeles 3
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Final OT Charlotte 127 Miami 126
Final Portland 114 Phoenix 110