Brooklyn Nets general manager Sean Marks says he expects to have James Harden and Kyrie Irving join Kevin Durant in re-signing with the franchise ahead of their training camp.
The Nets, who were beaten 4-3 by eventual NBA champions the Milwaukee Bucks in the Conference semi-finals last season, will be hold their pre-season training camp next month.
Durant, who last Saturday won gold at Tokyo 2020, recently re-committed to Brooklyn on a four-year deal.
Marks confirmed the Nets are in talks to extend the contracts of Irving and Harden, as they look to lock down their 'Big Three'.
“I feel very confident that first day of training camp we’ll be looking at those three in particular being signed, sealed and delivered and being part of the Brooklyn Nets for a long time to come,” Marks said in Wednesday's video conference.
"We're having those conversations with them. I think there's no immediate hurry to get any of these guys done in terms of the first day of free agency. These are opportunities for us to sit down, break bread together, meet with Joe Tsai [Nets owner] and really get on the same page."
Marks said that Durant's extension was "straight-forward", labelling the forward's decision to extend as "franchise changing".
“Kevin was honestly extremely straightforward, and very upfront about ‘I want to be here, this is it, get it done, and I want to get it done immediately.’ I don't blame him," Marks said.
"It was obviously very important for us. I can't tell you how important it was, and this is franchise changing when you can lock a person like Kevin up and he wants to commit to being here for the foreseeable future."
Marks also offered updates on both Irving and Harden who missed periods of the playoffs with injuries.
Harden, 31, battled a hamstring injury in the regular season which recurred during the playoffs, while Irving suffered an ankle sprain in Game 4 of the Bucks series and did not return.
“I've James working out, I've seen some videos of him and he's really trending in the right direction," Marks said. "Looks great, has really devoted himself this summer to rehabbing one the hamstring and just getting himself into top basketball shape.
"I was with Kyrie yesterday... It was a bad ankle sprain, there's no question there, so that set him back, but he's recovering and he's progressing well and is back in the gym and I have no doubt by the time training camp rolls around and even prior to that the guys will be together and be live on the court together playing and working out.
"But from a health standpoint no reason to be concerned about either one.”
Following the federation’s official rebrand to World Netball, the international governing body has announced appointments of two of Jamaica’s best-loved netball stars – Marva Bernard OD, and Shamera Sterling - as official ambassadors.
The Tampa Bay Rays just keep winning. The team with the best record in the American League scored seven unanswered runs Tuesday for an 8-4 triumph over the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park.
Down 4-1 after five innings thanks to home runs from Rafael Devers and Hunter Renfroe, the Rays tied it up on an RBI single from Wander Franco and a two-run double by Ji-Man Choi.
Francisco Mejia then blew it open with a bases-loaded single in the ninth that brought home three with help from a Renfroe error.
The Red Sox have now dropped six in a row against the Rays, whose 69-44 record is second only to the San Francisco Giants in MLB.
Tampa Bay hold a five-game lead over Boston in the AL East.
Dodgers stop Phillies' streak
Max Scherzer started things off in Philadelphia and the Los Angeles' Dodgers' bullpen and bats finished it as the World Series champions sealed a 5-0 victory that broke the Phillies' eight-game winning streak. Scherzer had six strikeouts in 3.1 scoreless innings before a rain delay of one hour, 44 minutes knocked him from the game at Citizens Bank Park.
Not to worry, as six Dodgers relievers finished the job by shutting the Phillies out the rest of the way with home runs by Corey Seager and Max Muncy boosting the Los Angeles offence and Trea Turner contributing one of the more impressive slides in memory.
Former Red Adam Duvall hit a two-run homer to tie the game and Stephen Vogt's bases-loaded walk provided the winning margin as the Atlanta Braves edged Cincinnati 3-2 to pull within a game of the Phillies in the NL East.
The San Francisco Giants watched a five-run lead disappear in the sixth inning before fighting back twice to defeat the Arizona Diamondbacks 8-7 as an error by Christian Walker allowed the winning run to score in the ninth.
The Milwaukee Brewers made clear where the balance of power lies in the National League (NL) Central, sweeping a doubleheader from the Cubs at Wrigley Field 4-2 and 6-3 to expand their division lead to seven games over the Cincinnati Reds.
Oakland starter Sean Manaea left after 1.2 innings but the Athletics rallied for a 4-3 win against the Cleveland Indians as Jed Lowrie sent the game to extra innings with an RBI groundout in the eighth, then won it in the 10th with a run-scoring double.
Starters come up short
Relief pitchers took centre stage across baseball on Tuesday. According to Stats Perform, it was the first time in MLB history that every team was in action and no starter pitched more than six innings.
Out of the Park in Pittsburgh
The Pittsburgh Pirates managed only one hit in a 4-1 loss to the St Louis Cardinals, but that hit was Hoy Park's first MLB home run. The Seoul native has been a sensation since coming over from the Yankees last month and is now nine for 28 (.321) with five extra-base hits for the PIrates.
Tuesday's results
Milwaukee Brewers 4-2 Chicago Cubs
Milwaukee Brewers 6-3 Chicago Cubs
St Louis Cardinals 4-1 Pittsburgh Pirates
Los Angeles Dodgers 5-0 Philadelphia Phillies
Oakland Athletics 4-3 Cleveland Indians
Tampa Bay Rays 8-4 Boston Red Sox
Detroit Tigers 9-4 Baltimore Orioles
Atlanta Braves 3-2 Cincinnati Reds
Houston Astros 5-0 Colorado Rockies
Minnesota Twins 4-3 Chicago White Sox
Kansas City Royals 8-4 New York Yankees
San Francisco Giants 8-7 Arizona Diamondbacks
Texas Rangers 5-4 Seattle Mariners
San Diego Padres 6-5 Miami Marlins
Los Angeles Angels 6-3 Toronto Blue Jays
Toronto Blue Jays 4-0 Los Angeles Angels
Washington Nationals 3-1 New York Mets (suspended)
Dodgers at Phillies
The Los Angeles Dodgers (68-45) send another Cy Young Award winner to the mound as David Price starts against Kyle Gibson and the Philadelphia Phillies (59-54).
Crowd favourite Bianca Andreescu was made to work as she opened her defence of the National Bank Open title she won two years ago but the Canadian eventually prevailed in Montreal.
Andreescu defeated Harriet Dart 6-1 3-6 6-3 in just over two hours in her first match since falling to Alize Cornet in the opening around at Wimbledon.
That was the latest in a disappointing string of results for Andreescu, who also departed Roland Garros after one match, but the world number eight got back on track Tuesday.
"Playing at home is so, so awesome," Andreescu said in her on-court interview. "You guys [the fans] show me so much love, especially tonight. I've never had this kind of support before, so I'm so, so grateful."
While Andreescu was able to navigate a challenging opener, three other seeded players were not as fortunate.
Katerina Siniakova downed fifth seed Garbine Muguruza 6-2 0-6 6-3, while Camila Giorgi ousted ninth seed Elise Mertens 6-3 7-5 and Liudmila Samsonova defeated 12th seed Elena Rybakina 6-4 5-7 6-4.
Having a better time of it were seventh-seeded Petra Kvitova, the 2012 tournament champion, and number 10 seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, who won by identical 6-4 6-4 scorelines against Frenchwomen Fiona Ferro and Carolina Garcia, respectively.
Eighth-seeded Victoria Azarenka waited out a rain delay to cruise past 2013 finalist Sorana Cirstea 6-2 6-2 in the final match of the day.
In other action, 15th seed Coco Gauff handled Anastasija Sevastova 6-1 6-4 while her countrywoman Danielle Collins continued rolling after her title in San Jose last week, rallying past Jil Teichmann 4-6 6-1 6-3 for her 11th consecutive match win.
Two more Americans, Sloane Stephens and Jessica Pegula, prevailed in three sets as well.
Johanna Konta returned to the court after missing Wimbledon and the Tokyo Olympics due to coronavirus-related issues and advanced when Zhang Shuai was forced to retire up 6-4 2-5 with a leg injury.
Daniil Medvedev and Stefanos Tsitsipas survived three-set scares at the National Bank Open on Tuesday, but five-time tournament champion Rafael Nadal departed Toronto without even taking the court.
Top seed Medvedev, who won just three games against Nadal in the final in 2019, the last time the tournament was played, prevailed 4-6 6-3 6-4 in his opener against Alexander Bublik.
The man Nadal beat to win the title the previous year, Tsitsipas, failed to convert on five match points in an epic second-set tiebreak but recovered to down Ugo Humbert 6-3 6-7 (13-15) 6-1.
Nadal pulled out ahead of a scheduled match against Lloyd Harris, who beat him last week in Washington as the 20-time grand slam winner struggled with a foot injury.
Countryman Feliciano Lopez replaces Nadal in the draw and will face Harris on Wednesday.
Elsewhere Tuesday, sixth seed Casper Ruud needed more than two hours to put away Marin Cilic 6-3 3-6 6-3, while 14th seed Grigor Dimitrov suffered a quick 6-3 6-4 exit against big-serving American Reilly Opelka.
A pair of unseeded veterans advanced, with 2016 finalist Kei Nishikori a 6-4 6-7 (5-7) 6-2 winner over Miomir Kecmanovic and John Isner defeating Alejandro Davidovich Fokini 6-4 6-1 in just over an hour.
Two days after appearing in his first ATP Tour final at the Citi Open, Mackenzie McDonald fell 6-3 6-4 to Benoit Paire in his Toronto opener.
In other first-round matches, Karen Khachanov beat Cameron Norrie 6-4 5-7 6-4, Frances Tiafoe downed Yoshihito Nishioka 6-4 6-3, Dusan Lajovic handled Emil Ruusuvuori 3-6 6-3 6-3 and Nikoloz Basilashvili defeated Jenson Brooksby 2-6 6-0 6-4.
After 13 NBA seasons, Russell Westbrook finally made it home Tuesday.
The nine-time All-Star fulfilled a childhood dream in joining the Los Angeles Lakers after a trade from the Washington Wizards.
The 32-year-old was born in nearby Long Beach and grew up a fan of the team, but admitted he was not sure he would get the chance.
“Being from LA, you always wish that you could play for your home team,” Westbrook said at his introductory news conference.
“That’s definitely something that always circled around in my mind. Maybe one day? But I always would come back and be like, ‘Ah, that probably won’t happen.’ I just had to wait and see.
"But now that we’re here, I’m going to take full advantage of it.”
Considering who he will be playing alongside, there's every reason to believe he will.
Westbrook joins LeBron James and Anthony Davis on a remade Lakers team that will also feature Carmelo Anthony – an impressive array of star power even for a franchise long associated with glamour.
After averaging a triple-double for the fourth time in five seasons, Westbrook knows he will not have to focus as much on scoring as he has in the past.
Likewise, his arrival will take some of the ball-handling and distribution load from James, ideally freeing him up on the offensive end.
"I'm coming to a championship-caliber team and my job is to make sure that I'm able to make his game easy for [James]," Westbrook said. "I'll find ways to do that throughout the game."
That philosophy does not stop with helping the already exalted James elevate his game, either.
Westbrook is already excited to get in the gym with a group of incoming veterans including Dwight Howard, Trevor Ariza and Kent Bazemore.
“The roster is great,” Westbrook said. “A bunch of guys that I’ve already known previously, which is even better.
"As I come into the season, I’m always looking at the roster and figuring out how I can make other guys better, simple as that.
"I want to be able to leave an impact on people when they either play with me or come across me, and I’ll find ways to do that with our roster. I’m really looking forward to getting together with all the guys and figuring it out.”
Rafael Nadal has withdrawn from the National Bank Open ahead of his opening match due to a left foot injury.
The Spaniard made a return to action on the ATP Tour last week at the Citi Open, his first outing since suffering defeat to Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals of the French Open in June.
His comeback was aimed at getting prepared for the US Open but, having lost in the last 16 in Washington to Lloyd Harris, he will not now be participating in Toronto.
"I really wanted to play here a lot, but now is the moment to make a decision, and this is unfortunately the decision that I have taken," Nadal told the media.
"I have had this issue for a couple of months, as people know.
"Of course, it is not a happy situation after all the success that I had here in Canada, not being able to play this year after missing a year. It's a tough one, but that's how it is today."
Nadal skipped Wimbledon citing the need to recover after the clay season, while the left-hander also opted out of representing his country at the Tokyo Olympics.
The five-time champion in Toronto was scheduled for a repeat meeting with Harris in the second round. Instead, his place in the draw goes to compatriot Feliciano Lopez.
Los Angeles Lakers signing Carmelo Anthony has brushed off concerns about the age of the franchise's roster where he will play alongside four-time MVP LeBron James.
Anthony, who turned 37 in May, joined the Lakers from the Portland Trail Blazers last week.
The 10-time NBA All Star, who was the third pick in the 2003 NBA Draft, will team up with 36-year-old James who was the top pick in that year's draft.
The Lakers side also consists of veterans Trevor Ariza, Dwight Howard and Marc Gasol, while 32-year-old point guard Russell Westbrook has also joined this offseason, leading to concerns about an aging roster.
"We don't care," Anthony interjected when the aging topic came up during his presentation press conference on Monday. "We don't care. We make our own narrative."
Anthony added: "I like when people talk about the age. It gives a better story. I think it gives a better story. I think people forget, at the end of the day, it's about basketball.
"You got to know how to play basketball. You got to have that experience. I think that's what we bring at this point and time. Our talent, our skill, but also our experience.
"There's different resources than when we came into the game. We understand what taking care of yourself means from the holistic perspective."
The power forward, who will likely play a bench role for the Lakers this season, averaged 13.4 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game in the 2020-21 NBA season for the Blazers.
Anthony will enter his 19th NBA season pursuing his maiden title, having had stints with five other franchises, getting closest in 2009 when the Denver Nuggets made the Conference finals.
"I'm coming in with a championship on my mind," Anthony said.
"I think we all know that this is the one thing that I'm missing, right? This is the one thing that it keeps me up at night, it motivates me, because I don't have it. I want that experience."
Anthony also revealed the role James played in luring him to the Lakers, having been linked with a move to Los Angeles numerous times in the past.
"Bron just came to me one time and said, 'yo, the time is now. I want you. We got to make this happen,'" Anthony said.
"I just felt like for right now, this is the best time. Most people would say we should've gotten together years ago early in our careers, but we were in two different lanes, we were on two different paths. Everything comes full circle."
The Lakers also unveiled Kent Bazemore on Monday after being added to the roster from the Golden State Warriors.
Kyle Kuzma, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Montrezl Harrell were all previously traded out to the Washington Wizards as part of the Westbrook deal.
Eloy Jimenez homered twice again while Lucas Giolito starred on the mound as the Chicago White Sox won 11-1 over the Minnesota Twins in MLB on Monday.
The White Sox claimed their fourth consecutive win, following up their series sweep over the Chicago Cubs, with a one-sided display.
Tim Anderson hit a leadoff home run to start the dominance, before Jimenez claimed center stage.
Jimenez hit a straight projected 454-foot two-run homer to open up a 3-0 first innings lead.
At the top of the second inning, Jimenez went high down the line into the corner for a three-run homer, stretching the White Sox lead to 7-0.
Jimenez had homered twice in Sunday's win over the Cubs and now has five home runs in his 10 appearances this season.
Giolito had eight strikeouts across eight innings, with only two hits and without any walks.
Yankees edges Royals in extras
The New York Yankees scored three runs in the 11th inning to win 8-6 over the Kansas City Royals as they made it eight wins from their past 10.
DJ Mahieu's go-ahead RBI double, which drove home Joey Gallo, followed by a two score on Brett Gardner's single which hopped into short-stop Nicky Lopez's jaw, opened up an 8-5 lead in the 11th before Wandy Peralta closed it out.
Meanwhile, the Chicago Cubs-Milwaukee Brewers game was postponed and rescheduled as part of a Tuesday double-header due to inclement weather.
Castillo loses his touch
Luis Castillo was pulled in the fourth inning as the Cleveland Indians opened up an 8-0 lead in their 9-3 win over the Cincinnati Reds. May 29 was the last time Castillo had given up four or more runs in a game, while he had an ERA of 1.91 since June 1.
Hosmer reaches 100th hit
In Fernando Tatis Jr's absence, Eric Hosmer homered in the second inning and added an RBI double in the eighth as the San Diego Padres won 8-3 at the Miami Marlins. Hosmer brought up his 100th hit of the season, while he also has 52 RBI. Joe Musgrove was outstanding with eight strikeouts too.
Monday's results
Cleveland Indians 9-3 Cincinnati Reds
Chicago White Sox 11-1 Minnesota Twins
New York Yankees 8-6 Kansas City Royals
San Diego Padres 8-3 Miami Marlins
Chicago Cubs - Milwaukee Brewers (postponed)
Rays at Red Sox
The top two in the American League East meet when the in-form Tampa Bay Rays (68-44) travel to the Boston Red Sox (65-49), who have won two of their past 10 games.
Los Angeles Lakers signing Carmelo Anthony has brushed off concerns about the age of the franchise's roster where he will play alongside four-time MVP LeBron James.
Anthony, who turned 37 in May, joined the Lakers from the Portland Trail Blazers last week.
The 10-time NBA All Star, who was the third pick in the 2003 NBA Draft, will team up with 36-year-old James who was the top pick in that year's draft.
The Lakers side also consists of veterans Trevor Ariza, Dwight Howard and Marc Gasol, while 32-year-old point guard Russell Westbrook has also joined this offseason, leading to concerns about an aging roster.
"We don't care," Anthony interjected when the aging topic came up during his presentation press conference on Monday. "We don't care. We make our own narrative."
Anthony added: "I like when people talk about the age. It gives a better story. I think it gives a better story. I think people forget, at the end of the day, it's about basketball.
"You got to know how to play basketball. You got to have that experience. I think that's what we bring at this point and time. Our talent, our skill, but also our experience.
"There's different resources than when we came into the game. We understand what taking care of yourself means from the holistic perspective."
The power forward, who will likely play a bench role for the Lakers this season, averaged 13.4 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game in the 2020-21 NBA season for the Blazers.
Anthony will enter his 19th NBA season pursuing his maiden title, having had stints with five other franchises, getting closest in 2009 when the Denver Nuggets made the Conference finals.
"I'm coming in with a championship on my mind," Anthony said.
"I think we all know that this is the one thing that I'm missing, right? This is the one thing that it keeps me up at night, it motivates me, because I don't have it. I want that experience."
Anthony also revealed the role James played in luring him to the Lakers, having been linked with a move to Los Angeles numerous times in the past.
"Bron just came to me one time and said, 'yo, the time is now. I want you. We got to make this happen,'" Anthony said.
"I just felt like for right now, this is the best time. Most people would say we should've gotten together years ago early in our careers, but we were in two different lanes, we were on two different paths. Everything comes full circle."
The Lakers also unveiled Kent Bazemore on Monday after being added to the roster from the Golden State Warriors.
Kyle Kuzma, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Montrezl Harrell were all previously traded out to the Washington Wizards as part of the Westbrook deal.
South African Lloyd Harris booked a second-round date with Rafael Nadal at the National Bank Open after a straight-sets win over Canadian qualifier Brayden Schnur on Monday.
World number 49 Harris eased past Ontario-born Schnur 6-3 6-2 in one hour and 17 minutes in Toronto.
Harris sent down nine aces, winning 78 per cent of points on his first serve, converting four from four break points on return.
Nadal is a five-time champion in Toronto, winning the previous two editions in 2018 and 2019.
Marin Cilic, who won his first title for three years in Stuttgart, beat Albert Ramos-Vinolas 6-2 4-6 6-3 in two hours and 13 minutes.
The 32-year-old will face sixth seed Casper Ruud in the next round.
Fabio Fognini also needed three sets to progress, battling from behind to defeat Jan-Lennard Struff 6-7 (2-7) 6-2 6-4 to set up a meeting with Andrey Rublev.
Ugo Humbert impressed in his straight-sets defeat of Lorenzo Sonego and will next face third seed Stefanos Tsitsipas, while qualifier James Duckworth beat Taylor Fritz to secure a showdown with Citi Open winner Jannik Sinner.
Alexander Bublik defeated Briton Dan Evans in straight sets to earn a second round meeting with top seed Daniil Medvedev, while Australian John Millman will face 11th seed Gael Monfils after beating Ricardas Berankis.
Reilly Opelka came from a set down to win over Australian Nick Kyrgios, while Tommy Paul also fought back to beat Canadian Vasek Pospisil.
Karolina Muchova was a casualty in the first round of the National Bank Open as she was stunned by Oceane Dodin in Montreal on Monday.
The 14th seed was undone by the French qualifier despite Dodin sending down 10 double faults.
The 6-3 1-6 6-2 success was Dodin's first over a top-25 player this season.
Former U.S. Open finalists and 16th seed Madison Keys was also a first-round casualty, going down 6-3 6-3 to Canadian Rebecca Marino.
Toronto-born Marino, currently ranked 220th in the world, won in one hour and six minutes, converting four of her eight break points, while she saved four from five too.
However, there were no such problems for Ons Jabeur, the 13th seed strolling to a 6-1 6-3 victory over Clara Burel.
Eleventh seed Maria Sakkari also had a routine day, her opponent Marie Bouzkova unable to continue with Sakkari ahead 6-4 3-1.
An Olympic gold medallist in the doubles at Tokyo 2020, Katerina Siniakova had more to celebrate in the singles with a 6-1 6-3 win over long-time rival Jelena Ostapenko.
Elsewhere in the draw, Paula Badosa, Sorana Cirstea, Amanda Anisimova, Nadia Podoroska and Fiona Ferro all progressed.
Novak Djokovic will not play at the Western and Southern Open after a "taxing" run that has brought him to the brink of a calendar Grand Slam.
The world number one's bid for a Golden Slam faltered at the Olympic Games as he lost to Alexander Zverev in the semi-finals in Tokyo.
Djokovic appeared to tire badly and finished fourth in both the men's singles event and the mixed doubles, opting out of the bronze medal match in the latter.
But victories at the Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon mean 2021 is still on course to be the best year of Djokovic's career.
And the Serbian is taking a little time to prepare himself for the final push at Flushing Meadows, meaning no appearance in Cincinnati next week.
"Dear fans," he wrote on Twitter. "I wanted to share with you that I am taking a bit longer to recover and recuperate after quite a taxing journey from Australia to Tokyo.
"Sadly, that means I won’t be ready to compete in Cincinnati this year, so I'll turn my focus and attention to the US Open and spend some more time with family.
"See you in New York soon!"
Luka Doncic has become the first player to be handed a supermax rookie extension worth $207million, tying him to the Dallas Mavericks for a further five years.
Doncic qualifies for the landmark deal having already twice been named to the All-NBA First Team.
Bill Duffy, Doncic's agent, told ESPN of the agreement on Monday, while the player released a statement through the same publication.
"Today is a dream come true," he said. "The game of basketball has given me so much and has taken me to so many amazing places.
"I am humbled and excited to remain in Dallas as part of the Mavericks and appreciate the support of my fans."
Doncic, who is set to hold a news conference in Slovenia on Tuesday, added he would be expanding The Luka Doncic Foundation.
The 22-year-old is in Slovenia having led his country to the semi-finals of the men's basketball tournament at the Tokyo Olympics.
The European champions were Games debutants but came within a clutch Nicolas Batum block of reaching the gold medal game.
Doncic led the competition in a number of categories across the board, including points (143), assists (57) and minutes played (196).
His triple-double against France in the last four was the third in Games history, but the point forward suffered the first defeat of his international career and then lost again to Australia in the bronze medal game.
Focus will now return to the NBA, where Doncic will hope his individual excellence can inspire improved results for the Mavs.
Dallas have not won a playoff series since they were champions 10 years ago, despite Doncic's outstanding displays taking the Los Angeles Clippers to six and then seven games in the past two seasons.
Doncic has scored 33.5 points per game across those two postseason series – no player in NBA history has played at least 13 playoff games and averaged more.
Former world number one Andy Murray has been handed a place in the main draw of the US Open after Stanislas Wawrinka pulled out.
Murray, the 2012 champion at Flushing Meadows, reached the second round of the event last year, which was won by Dominic Thiem.
The 34-year-old, who competed in the men's doubles at the Tokyo Olympics, has only played eight Tour-level matches in 2021. He was handed a wildcard for Wimbledon, where he lost in the third round to Denis Shapovalov.
Novak Djokovic is due to lead a strong men's field for the tournament in August, which will be played in front of capacity crowds.
The world number one is seeking to become the first man to win all four major championships in the same year since Rod Laver in 1969.
Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, who are tied with Djokovic on 20 grand slam singles titles, are also set to play.
Wawrinka, himself a champion in New York in 2016, is still recovering from his second foot surgery of the year.
World Netball has declared its intention to make the case for the Olympic Games to include netball by the Brisbane games in 2032.
The sport’s governing body acknowledges that the best opportunity to showcase Netball on the Olympic stage will come when the host nation is a strong Netball nation and one that supports and proposes netball’s inclusion to the IOC as one of its additional sports.
“All our Member Nations are excited at the potential of being part of the Olympic Family in 2032. We are committed to ensuring that our case for inclusion adds significant value to this very special Olympic movement,” said World Netball President, Liz Nicholl CBE.
The governing body outlined its objectives in a statement released earlier today.
“World Netball congratulates the City of Brisbane on the announcement confirming that it will host the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games and declares its intention to work with Netball Australia to make a compelling case for Netball’s inclusion in the Brisbane 2032 Olympic Games,” WN said in a statement.
“As the first step towards Olympic inclusion, a sport has to be governed by an IOC ‘recognised’ federation – World Netball achieved this recognition in 1995 and has enjoyed a good relationship with the IOC since then.
“As Netball Australia currently holds the number 1 world ranking and Sydney has already been confirmed as the host venue for the Netball World Cup 2027, 2032 provides the perfect opportunity. World Netball is aware that Organizing Committee and IOC decisions on this matter will be made many years from now and so we will use the time available to work with our colleagues at Netball Australia to present a compelling case for inclusion.”
Netball was originally developed by women for women and girls at a time when their opportunities to participate in and achieve through sport were very limited. The sport initially spread across the Commonwealth through the education sector but soon developed and grew.
It now has more than 20 million participants across 76 Member nations and 5 continents and TV, digital audiences and social media followers are rapidly growing. Netball is a core sport in the Commonwealth Games programme and the 5 top-performing nations at the world level are spread across five continents.
Netball’s World Cup attracts record crowds. When the event was held in Liverpool 2019, over 100,000 tickets were sold to over 30,000 unique spectators from across 40 nations; over 6 million people attended, watched and/or followed the event which achieved a Net Promoter Score of 81 per cent.
“Over 30,000 adults were inspired by the event to start playing netball or play netball more, and 60 per cent of spectators were inspired to increase their participation in sport or active recreation as a result of attending the event,” it said.
According to World Netball, it recently launched strategy focuses on further growing global participation, reach, revenue, impact and capacity and also commits to the sport being ‘open to all', with a focus on three core strategies to grow, to play and to inspire, all underpinned by great governance.
“Over recent years the number of participants and Member nations has increased and more men and boys are participating in Netball. There is significant growth potential, and World Netball is committed to supporting increased engagement from men and boys while building on its female-focused foundations that have shaped the culture and values of the sport,” the statement said.
“World Netball will continue to drive game development and the worldwide delivery of thrilling major events - which will include the further development and promotion of Netball's modified format of the sport, Fast5 – has 5 players a side and features dynamic rules changes, shorter quarters, power plays and super shots.
World Netball is also in the process of establishing a new Foundation to harness the power of Netball to change lives by creating a vehicle to promote, support and fundraise and partner with NGOs to deliver life-changing projects through netball.”
Fans got their first glimpse of top NBA Draft pick Cade Cunningham in Detroit Pistons colors on Sunday as he scored 12 points in the Summer League.
The 19-year-old drained two early three-pointers in his 12-point haul along with six rebounds and two assists in 26 minutes for the Pistons, who went down 76-72 to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Expectations are high for Cunningham with Detroit who finished bottom of the Eastern Conference with a 20-52 record last season and have not won a playoff game since 2008.
"It was fun getting to put the jersey on for the first time," Cunningham said after the game.
"Obviously, we wanted a win out of this, but we spent the last week beating on each other. It’s our first time being able to get to go and be with each other and really try to get this chemistry down.
"We got a lot from this game we can learn from. That’s the main thing you want out of your first game. Now we’re going to try to keep building off of that."
He added: "I wanted to step into the game confident, ready to shoot, ready to play. To see the first two go down, it’s a good feeling. Now it’s building off of that."
Cunningham played the first half alongside 20-year-old French guard Killian Hayes, who was selected seventh overall in the 2020 Draft, with the pair likely to be the side's main ballhandlers.
"I think more than anything, we’re on the same page mentally in where we want this team to be," Cunningham said.
"Now it’s about having a better feel for each other. We haven’t played a lot together."
He added: "We have so much time to build and grow from this. We are not going to hang our heads off of this one game."
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