May 15, 2020

Friday Sports Headlines

Posted May 15, 2020 9:45 AM

ATLANTA (AP) — Pepper Rodgers has died at the age of 88. His alma mater, Georgia Tech, announced Rodgers' death. He was a colorful personality who helped the Yellow Jackets to a 12-0 season as a player in 1952. He is even better known for his coaching career, with included stints with Kansas, UCLA and Georgia Tech, as well as the United States Football League and the Canadian Football League. As a quarterback and kicker, Rodgers was part of Georgia Tech team that went 32-2-3, claimed two Southeastern Conference championships and won three major bowl games during his three years on the varsity.

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — Oklahoma receiver Jadon Haselwood injured his lower leg in a freak accident at home in Georgia and is expected to miss at least part of the upcoming season. Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley made the announcement during a Zoom call Thursday. Haselwood had 19 catches for 272 yards and a touchdown last season as a freshman. He had six receptions for 59 yards against Texas Tech and a season-high 78 yards and a touchdown against South Dakota.

HOUSTON (AP) — Former major league manager and infielder Art Howe is in intensive care in a Houston hospital with the coronavirus. The 73-year-old Howe confirmed to Houston TV station KPRC 2 Thursday night that he has been dealing with the illness since first feeling symptoms of COVID-19 on May 3. Howe is best known as the manager of the “Moneyball” Oakland Athletics playoff teams in the late 1990s and early 2000s. He also managed the Astros and Mets.

UNDATED (AP) — Brad Keselowski has won the pole for Sunday’s race at Darlington Raceway without burning an ounce of fuel. The Team Penske driver watched NASCAR's chief scorer Kyle McKinney finally pluck the No. 1 ball out of a random draw, giving the 2012 series champion the top starting position when the Cup season resumes. Keselowski will be joined on the front row by Alex Bowman of Hendrick Motorsports. Matt DiBenedetto, Kyle Busch and Aric Almirola close out the top five starting spots.

MIAMI (AP) — Authorities say police in South Florida are trying to find New York Giants cornerback DeAndre Baker and Seattle Seahawks cornerback Quinton Dunbar after multiple witnesses accused them of an armed robbery at a party. Miramar police issued arrest warrants for both men Thursday on four counts each of armed robbery with a firearm. Baker faces an additional four counts of aggravated assault with a firearm. The warrant says Baker and Dunbar were attending a cookout at a Miramar home Wednesday night when a fight broke out, and Baker pulled out a handgun.

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — The Orlando Magic are the latest NBA team to reopen their practice facility since the coronavirus shutdown. Nikola Vucevic was among the first Magic players to arrive for voluntary workouts under the watch of assistant coach Lionel Chalmers, who was in a mask and gloves for the session. The NBA requires anyone who is present for the workouts, except for the player while he is working out, to be wearing personal protective equipment.

UNDATED (AP) — FIBA says the final four men’s basketball spots in the 12-nation field for the Tokyo Olympics will be decided next summer. FIBA has pushed back the dates for the four remaining qualifying tournaments to June 29 through July 4, 2021, meaning they would end 19 days before the rescheduled start of the delayed Tokyo Olympics. But it remains unclear if those final spots will be earned while an NBA season is happening or if NBA players will be able to take part.