NBA
Kevin Durant and the Brooklyn Nets plan to stay together after all, even after the All-Star forward asked to be traded earlier this summer.
The Nets said that the team’s leadership met a day earlier with Durant and business partner Rich Kleiman in Los Angeles and “agreed to move forward with our partnership,” general manager Sean Marks said in a statement.
Marks added that the goal remains to bring a championship to Brooklyn.
That is certainly more likely by keeping Durant, who remains one of the best scorers in the NBA. He is set to begin a four-year extension he signed last summer, and the possibility of him being traded had been the biggest story in the NBA this summer.
NEW YORK (AP) — Candace Parker had 14 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists to lead the Chicago Sky over the New York Liberty 90-72 in the deciding Game 3 to advance to the semifinals of the WNBA playoffs.
Allie Quigley and Kahleah Copper each scored 15 points while Courtney Vandersloot had 14 points and 10 assists for the Sky. Sabrina Ionescu scored five straight points to get New York within 68-65, bringing the sold-out lower bowl of Barclays Center to its feet. But Chicago went on a 16-0 run, helped by consecutive 3-pointers from Quigley.
Betnijah Laney scored 15 points and Natasha Howard and Ionescu each had 14 for the Liberty. New York, playing its first home playoff game since 2017, had Brooklyn Nets coach Steve Nash and tennis great Billie Jean King in attendance.
The defending champion Sky await the winner of the Connecticut-Dallas series, with its deciding Game 3 on Wednesday night.
BASEBALL
ALLENTOWN, Pa. (AP) — With two big swings, Bryce Harper looked primed to join the Phillies in a pennant race.
Harper homered to right-center field in his first at-bat, then went opposite field for a three-run shot in the eighth inning for Philadelphia’s Triple-A team to begin his rehabilitation assignment from a broken left thumb.
Harper was the designated hitter and hit second in the lineup for the Lehigh Valley IronPigs for the start of a six-game series against Gwinnett. He drilled the fifth pitch he saw from Atlanta Braves prospect Jared Shuster high over the wall at Coca-Cola Park in front of what was announced as a sellout crowd of 10,100 fans.
He walked against Shuster in his second at-bat to the boos of the crowd that wanted Harper to take another hefty hack. Harper was then caught stealing. He grounded out in his third plate appearance, and walked again and scored in the seventh to lead Lehigh Valley past Gwinnett 10-5.
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Los Angeles Angels owner Arte Moreno said he is exploring the possibility of selling the franchise, a move that surprised superstar slugger Mike Trout and was welcomed by Hall of Famer Rod Carew.
Moreno purchased the team for $184 million in 2003, a year after it won its first World Series championship. The club was then known as the Anaheim Angels, a name that Moreno changed in a move that drew ire in the Orange County city.
The Angels haven’t made the postseason since 2014 and they haven’t had a winning season since 2015, even with the likes of Trout and Shohei Ohtani.
Moreno, a 76-year-old Mexican-American born in Arizona, is the only non-white controlling owner in Major League Baseball. The Angels are the second MLB team currently for sale, joining the Washington Nationals.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Dodgers All-Star pitcher Walker Buehler underwent Tommy John surgery for the second time in his career, leaving Los Angeles to head into the postseason and next year without a key member of the rotation.
The team disclosed earlier this month that the 28-year-old right-hander would be having season-ending elbow surgery. At that time, the team did not say Buehler would have the Tommy John surgery. The typical recovery time for the ligament-replacement procedure is 12 to 18 months.
Buehler was shut down in June because of a flexor strain and also had a bone spur removed. The prognosis called for Buehler to recover in 10 to 12 weeks, and the Dodgers were hopeful he would be back for the postseason.
Last week manager Dave Roberts said Buehler had soreness while playing catch, forcing him to be shut down.
In addition to having the ulnar collateral ligament replaced on Tuesday, Buehler had his flexor tendon repaired.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama coach Nick Saban is getting a new eight-year contract worth at least $93.6 million, eclipsing the recent megadeal of Southeastern Conference rival Kirby Smart.
The University of Alabama trustees compensation committee approved a one-year extension through Feb. 28, 2030 for the 70-year old Saban, who has led the Crimson Tide to six national titles. Saban’s deal averages out to $11.7 million per year, topping Smart’s $11.25 million pay at defending national champion Georgia.
The announcement comes a month after Smart agreed to a 10-year deal worth more than $110 million. The Bulldogs beat Alabama in the national championship game in January.
The two join Ohio State’s Ryan Day, LSU’s Brian Kelly, Michigan State’s Mel Tucker and Texas A&M’s Jimbo Fisher as college football coaches who will make at least $9 million in 2022.
Saban’s deal includes a salary and talent fee of $9.9 million this year with $400,000 annual raises. Saban can receive an $800,000 completion bonus at the end of February in each of the next four years, plus other bonuses.
GOLF
ATLANTA (AP) — Fresh off his first PGA Tour victory, Will Zalatoris is out of the Tour Championship and the Presidents Cup because of two herniated disks.
Zalatoris was the No. 3 seed going into the FedEx Cup finale and the chase for the $18 million prize, meaning he would have started three shots out of the lead.
The field was reduced to 29 players with his withdrawal and everyone keeps their seeding and how far behind they start Thursday at East Lake behind Scottie Scheffler.
The injury is serious enough that Zalatoris already has ruled himself out of the Presidents Cup on Sept. 22-25 at Quail Hollow in North Carolina. Zalatoris finished seventh in the standings, one outside the automatic qualifiers, but was a shoo-in to be a captain’s pick.
Zalatoris, a runner-up in the PGA Championship and the U.S. Open this year, won the FedEx St. Jude Championship two weeks ago in a three-hole playoff for his first title, cementing his status in the growing list of young stars in golf.
BOXING
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Australian boxer George Kambosos will do most of his preparation for a world title rematch against Devin Haney in the Philippines, where he once worked out as Manny Pacquiao’s sparring partner.
Kambosos and Haney are scheduled to get back into the ring in Melbourne on Oct. 16 at Rod Laver Arena. The 23-year-old American won their June fight in a unanimous decision and took Kambosos’ three belts to become undisputed world champion.
Kambosos spent most of the three years between 2017 and 2019 in the Philippines working out with Pacquiao, who won 12 world titles in eight weight classes.
Haney goes into the October fight with a 28-0 record with 15 knockouts. Kambosos (20-1, with 10 KOs) enforced the rematch clause from the original contract.
___
More AP sports: https://apnews.com/hub/sports and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
