Jordan Spieth categorically rejected speculation surrounding a possible switch to LIV Golf.
Reports from Golf Monthly claimed Spieth was negotiating with the controversial Saudi-backed breakaway series.
However, Spieth took to Twitter to clear up any uncertainty.
"Because of false reporting today, I feel the need to comment. Let me be clear, any reports that I am contemplating competing anywhere other than the PGA Tour are categorically untrue," Spieth's post read.
"I am NOT in discussions with LIV. I have been quoted on the record for months that I fully support the PGA Tour and have never considered any alternatives.
"My goal has not changed since I began playing golf—to win PGA TOUR events and major Championships, and to compete against the best players in the world. Those who truly know me, know what is most important to me."
The emphatic denial of the reports comes hours after Golf Monthly published a statement by Spieth's agent, Jay Danzi.
"Jordan is not in discussions with LIV and is fully supportive of and happy on the PGA Tour," the statement said.
The same report that mentioned Spieth also listed Cam Smith, Henrik Stenson, Tommy Fleetwood and Hideki Matsuyama as players who were considering talks with LIV Golf.
The Portland Trail Blazers are nearing a two-year max extension with Damian Lillard worth $120million.
According to a report from Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium, the extension – which will take his contract through the 2026-27 NBA season – will see the point guard paid $270m over the five years on his current contract.
Lillard is a six-time All-Star who has averaged 24.6 points per game since entering the league as the sixth pick in the 2012 draft.
Only four players – James Harden, Kevin Durant, LeBron James and Stephen Curry – have averaged more in that span.
However, he played only 29 games last season due to an abdominal injury and averaged 24 points per game, his fewest since his third season in the league in 2014-15 (21).
With Lillard on the sideline and former backcourt partner C.J. McCollum traded to the New Orleans Pelicans, the Blazers missed the playoffs for the first time since 2012-13 –Lillard's rookie year.
Despite the disappointing campaign, Lillard remains the face of the franchise and, by handing him a lucrative extension, the Blazers have made it clear he will continue to be the focal point as they look to get back among the contenders in the Western Conference.
Jamaica’s UK-based Formula Woman driver, Sara Misir, is set to compete on Saturday, July 9 as the GT Cup Championship heads to Oulton Park in Cheshire, England.
Twenty-seven cars across four groups will join the grid for rounds 13 and 14.
Misir will compete in car number 65, alongside English teammate Steph Sore in a McLaren 570s GT4. The pair crossed the finish line in 7th and 9th place, respectively, in rounds 11 and 12 at the Snetterton Circuit on June 11 and 12.
“The first race day was about getting accustomed to competing on the circuit as a team," Misir said. "We started slowly but gained momentum as the races progressed. For Oulton Park, it’s the toughest circuit for both car and driver but I’m confident we’ll rise to this new challenge.”
Misir last competed at the “Clash of the Titans” JRDC meet at the Dover Raceway in St. Ann on July 3, where she dominated with three wins from three races in the Modified Production Class III.
The Oulton Park leg marks the fourth weekend of the 2022 GT Cup season.
Sergio Perez will start Saturday's sprint race at the Austrian Grand Prix in 13th after being dropped down the grid for exceeding track limits.
The Red Bull driver, who trails team-mate Max Verstappen by 34 points in the drivers' championship, provisionally qualified fourth at the Red Bull Ring.
However, the Mexican had his Q3 times and the fastest lap in Q2 that got him into the top-10 shoot-out deleted for track-limit violations.
Several drivers had lap times deleted throughout qualifying in Spielberg as they battled high winds and struggled to keep wheels on the track, especially at the final corner before the start/finish straight.
Perez must now work his way through the field in the sprint to get into the top-eight point-scoring positions and improve his place on the grid for Sunday's feature race at his team's home grand prix.
Verstappen, by contrast, will start on pole ahead of the two Ferraris and Mercedes' George Russell.
Perez said after qualifying: "Yes, it was a tricky day. Already from FP1 things didn't feel great so a bit of understanding on our side and yes, hopefully tomorrow we are able to recover.
"I wasn't able to get into the rhythm – so some understanding [needed] but obviously now it's sprint tomorrow, and a long race ahead.
"So we have got to keep our heads down and push hard for tomorrow's sprint to try to make some progress and get a good position for Sunday's race."
World number one Scottie Scheffler, Collin Morikawa and Justin Thomas all missed the cut at the Scottish Open as Matt Fitzpatrick and Xander Schauffele moved into contention behind leader Cameron Tringale.
Masters champion Scheffler followed up a three-over 73 with a 72 for the second round, putting him 12 strokes behind Tringale, who came back down to earth with a 72 following his stunning nine-under 61 in the opening round, failing to recover after a run of five bogeys in six holes.
Morikawa, who will defend his Open title at St Andrews next week, will also miss the weekend following a four-over 74 that took him to five over. He made the turn four over and a further bogey at the second, and a double at the fourth cancelled out three birdies on his back nine.
US PGA champion Thomas endured a nightmare day at The Renaissance Club, carding eight bogeys and a double for his 77, which dropped him to 10 over par.
World number eight Viktor Hovland, Will Zalatoris and Hideki Matsuyama also missed the cut, as did Ian Poulter, playing on the co-sanctioned DP World Tour and PGA Tour event despite his defection to LIV Golf. Poulter finished 10 over.
But U.S. Open champion Fitzpatrick and Schauffele remain firmly in the hunt.
They are each four shots off the pace, though Fitzpatrick's 66 would have been even better if not for successive bogeys on his final two holes.
Schauffele went one better with a 65, his round starting at the 10th with an eagle and ending with a well-executed chip in for birdie at the par-three ninth.
Jordan Smith is also three under after his second round, the Englishman winning himself and his caddie a car with a hole-in-one on the 17th, only to follow it with a closing bogey and card a 69.
Tringale's American compatriots Gary Woodland and Doug Ghim are his closest challengers on four under.
Ghim is in position to secure a place at St Andrews as the highest-placed player not already sure of a place in the field. Kurt Kitayama (three under) and Rafa Cabrera Bello (two under) would also qualify as it stands.
Lewis Hamilton is "incredibly disappointed" in himself after both he and Mercedes team-mate George Russell crashed out of qualifying ahead of the Austrian Grand Prix.
The precursor for Saturday's sprint race in Spielberg proved a dramatic one, with Red Bull's Max Verstappen taking pole ahead of Ferrari pair Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz.
Hamilton has yet to win a race this season after 10 rounds but looked good value to compete for pole until losing control into Turn 7, causing him to skid into the barriers.
That crash in Q3 ruined his chance of starting high up the grid on Saturday, with the seven-time world champion instead down in 10th.
Russell did not fare much better as he caused another red flag after spinning into the barriers at the final corner on a day to forget for Mercedes.
Team boss Toto Wolff told the duo they "should not beat themselves up", adding: "I'd rather have a fast car and a qualifying like this than not having the pace to be in the top four."
But Hamilton, who had been fastest at the start of Q2, was upset that he could not see out the job at Red Bull Ring.
"It was a big hit but I'm okay," he told Sky Sports. "I'm incredibly disappointed in myself ultimately and so sorry to the team who worked so hard to put this car together.
"I lost the back end into Turn 7 and that was that. I'm encouraged. I'm encouraged of course to see our performance. We weren't expecting for it to be as close as that today.
"That is a huge positive from the team but I am really quite far back [for the sprint] so I don't know what is possible from there. Hopefully I can make up for some lost time."
Following Hamilton and Russell's crashes, there was time for one final lap for the remaining eight drivers.
Leclerc and Sainz looked set to claim a Ferrari one-two, only for Verstappen – who has now taken the last three pole positions on this track – to post a time of 1:04.984
That was 29 thousandths of a second quicker than Leclerc and leaves Verstappen well positioned to surpass Alain Prost for the most victories at the Austrian GP (three apiece).
"It was a very long wait of course between the two runs," the Dutchman said. "That is never great as once you are in the rhythm you want to keep going.
"Also the track temperature dropping, the wind changing a little bit, but in the end it was a very tight qualifying and it is a really challenging track to get everything right.
"There aren't many corners but the ones you have are quite tricky and easy to make a mistake. I'm quite happy with pole but also tomorrow and Sunday you can get the points.
"It's incredible to see the crowd here and see so much orange. It puts a smile on my face and hopefully we can make it a great weekend."
Verstappen leads team-mate Sergio Perez by 34 points heading into the weekend's action, while Leclerc is 43 points behind after failing to build on a bright start to the season.
After pushing Verstappen all the way in qualifying for the 24-lap sprint, which establishes the grid for the main grand prix, Leclerc is hoping to do likewise over the next two days.
"I just want to have a clean race," he said. "It's been five races where I've had a bit of a disaster on my side.
"I just hope that everything will go clean in the weekend and we can finally score the points that we deserve."
PROVISIONAL CLASSIFICATION
1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) 1:04.984
2. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) +0.029
3. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) +0.082
4. Sergio Perez (Red Bull) +0.420
5. George Russell (Mercedes) +0.447
6. Esteban Ocon (Alpine) +0.742
7. Kevin Magnussen (Haas) +0.895
8. Mick Schumacher (Haas) +1.027
9. Fernando Alonso (Alpine) +1.119
10. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) +8.167
Haiti made a winning start to its bid to claim the title left vacant by six-time winners Barbados when they came from behind to defeat Jamaica 3-1 (23-25, 25-16, 25-16, 25-21) in their 2021 Caribbean Zonal Volleyball Association Junior Men (Under-21) Championship round-robin opener at the Southern Regional Indoor Sports Arena.
Haiti’s coach Junior Siecle was a satisfied man afterwards.
"I'm very pleased with the win but going forward we still have to make some corrections as I'm not satisfied with our blocking," he said.
Meanwhile, team captain Dieulengy Relis said the team didn’t start as well as they would have preferred but they are happy to come away with the win.
“We started off a bit slow but then we found our momentum and played much better as the match went along," he said.
"We are very happy to start with the win, and now we must continue to improve to win our other matches as well.”
Jamaica’s coach Steve Davis said fatigued played a major role in his team’s performance.
"We are not ones to make excuses but we reached in late and also had a long stay in immigration,” he said.
"Apart from that, we also had little preparation time at home due to exams and we know that our players can improve their level of play and will improve in the next match.”
Andrae Robb captain of Jamaica also said he felt his team was badly affected by their travel schedule and a lack of confidence.
"We know where we fell short in this match and we need to improve for our next encounter," he said.
Haiti will take on Suriname on Saturday, July 9 at noon in the five-nation round-robin winner-take-all competition while Jamaica will have a short turn-around as it plays host Trinidad and Tobago on Friday.
Novak Djokovic told fans to "expect fireworks" when he faces Nick Kyrgios in his record-breaking 32nd grand slam final at Wimbledon on Sunday.
Djokovic surpassed Roger Federer (31) for the most major finals among male players with his four-set victory over Cam Norrie in Friday's semi-final.
It means he will now face Kyrgios, who progressed without playing after Rafael Nadal withdrew from their last-four meeting due to an abdominal injury.
The six-time Wimbledon champion has never beaten Kyrgios, losing each of their previous meetings in Acapulco and Indian Wells in 2017 in straight sets.
Their third encounter could be one high on emotion. Djokovic appeared to blow kisses towards a heckler in the Centre Court crowd after defeating Norrie while Kyrgios, known for his on-court outbursts, was recently involved in an extremely tempestuous third-round clash with fourth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas.
"One thing's for sure, there's going to be a lot of fireworks emotionally from both [of us]," Djokovic said on court afterwards.
"It's going to be his first grand slam final obviously he's very, very excited, he doesn't have much to lose and he's always playing like that.
"He's playing so freely, one of the biggest serves in the game, just big game overall, a lot of power in his shots.
"We haven't played for some time. I've never won a set off him so hopefully it can be different this time.
"It's another final for me here in Wimbledon with the tournament that I love so much so hopefully the experience can work in my favour."
Novak Djokovic is a win away from a seventh Wimbledon title after coming back from a set down to end Cameron Norrie's dream home run at the All England Club.
Norrie was looking to become the first British man to reach the final at the All England Club since Andy Murray's triumph in 2016.
He appeared to have Djokovic unsettled when he won the first set in startlingly comfortable fashion.
However, Djokovic, as he has done so often, recovered superbly to storm to a 2-6 6-3 6-2 6-4 victory and set up a final with Nick Kyrgios, who benefited from Rafael Nadal's withdrawal through injury.
The pair traded breaks in the first two games, but Norrie struck a key blow in the fifth game when Djokovic hit long off a low backhand from the Briton. Djokovic fired into the net two games later to hand Norrie a third break of a set he wrapped up with an ace despite two double faults.
Djokovic responded by placing Norrie under sustained pressure on serve and it told in the eighth game of the second when the ninth seed pushed a forehand long, and he did the same off the backhand side as the Serbian levelled the match.
Norrie ballooned a forehand long in the opening game of the third to give the break to Djokovic, who raced away in style thereafter.
An excellent return off a Norrie second serve gave Djokovic a break in the first game of the fourth and he would not be prevented from reaching the finish line despite the home hope's spirited effort.
Data Slam: Djokovic's resilience shines through again
Djokovic has now won 12 of his last 14 grand slam matches after losing the first set. The only exceptions in that run came in the 2021 US Open final defeat to Daniil Medvedev and in the French Open quarter-final loss to Nadal this year.
With neither of those opponents in his way, Djokovic will be expected to claim a 21st grand slam title with triumph over Kyrgios.
WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS
Djokovic – 38/28
Norrie – 33/36
ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS
Djokovic – 13/1
Norrie – 7/3
BREAK POINTS WON
Djokovic – 5/14
Norrie - 3/4
Tadej Pogacar hailed a "special day" at the Tour de France after digging deep to edge out Jonas Vingegaard in an enthralling finish, as he extended his overall lead with back-to-back stage victories.
Defending champion Pogacar took the yellow jersey with a terrific ride over a mammoth stage six on Thursday, but was pushed hard by both Vingegaard and Lennard Kamna en route to La Planche des Belles Filles the following day.
Kamna was the first to make his move in pursuit of a breakaway win, going clear before being hauled in by Vingegaard on a gruelling 24-per-cent climb.
But with the Dane looking set to claim his first-ever stage win at the Tour, the imperious Pogacar snatched the lead with just 25 metres remaining in a captivating finish, extending his general classification lead in the process.
Having returned to the site of his major breakthrough in 2020, where Pogacar took the yellow jersey en route to his first Tour de France title, the Slovenian said he had been particularly focused for the race's first mountain stage.
"It was really, really difficult, especially in the last part where Jonas attacked, he was so strong," Pogacar said. "But my boys were working all day, so I had to push to the finish line.
"It was a really special day. We opened a foundation today for cancer research, so I wore special shoes just for today, and I'm really happy proud to take this win on Planche des Belles Filles.
"It was in my mind already for a really, really long time, maybe since the route was announced, and it was difficult to win today.
"I think right now Vingegaard is one of the strongest climbers in the world, probably the best climber in the world, and a really compact rider with a really strong team around him."
While Vingegaard was second over the line, Kamna dropped to fourth behind Primoz Roglic, with 2018 champion Geraint Thomas following in fifth to move into the top three of the general classification rankings.
Pogacar doubles up to strengthen grasp on lead
Pogacar's seemingly unshakeable grasp on the Tour de France's yellow jersey was strengthened as he posted back-to-back stage wins.
The Slovenian has now won two more stages at the Tour than any other rider since the start of 2020 (Wout van Aert is second with six), as he replicated his consecutive triumphs over stages 17 and 18 en route to last year's title.
STAGE RESULTS
1. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) 3:58:40
2. Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) same time
3. Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) +0:12
4. Lennard Kamna (Bora-Hansgrohe) +0:14
5. Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers) +0:14
CLASSIFICATION STANDINGS
General Classification
1. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) 24:43:14
2. Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) +0:35
3. Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers) +1:10
Points Classification
1. Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) 203
2. Fabio Jakobsen (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl) 140
3. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) 108
King of the Mountains
1. Magnus Cort Nielsen (EF Education-EasyPost) 11
2. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) 10
3. Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) 8
From the time he was granted an exception to play in the Ontario Hockey League at 15 years old, Shane Wright appeared destined to be the number one overall pick in the NHL draft someday.
Even in the moments leading up to the 2022 draft, Wright was the presumptive top candidate to be taken by the Montreal Canadiens to open the proceedings on Thursday.
Instead, Wright had to wait until the fourth pick to hear his name called when the Seattle Kraken selected him, and the 18-year-old center is already motivated by his drop.
"I've always been self-motivated," Wright told reporters at the draft. "I am always going to push myself internally, but [getting picked fourth overall] is definitely going to give me a little more fire for sure."
The Canadiens opted to take winger Juraj Slafkovsky first overall, and the New Jersey Devils and Arizona Coyotes also passed on Wright, but his comments quickly turned toward the team that did select him.
"You obviously want to go first," Wright said. "It's definitely something every guy wants to go to do going into the draft. But you know, I couldn't happier being Seattle ... really excited about the future ahead in Seattle."
Wright tallied 32 goals and 62 assists in 63 games for the Kingston Frontenacs last season and added 14 more points in 11 playoff games.
He joins a Seattle franchise still in its infancy after going 27-49-6 in its inaugural season. The Kraken used the second overall selection in last year's draft on center Matty Beniers, who recorded three goals and six assists in 10 NHL games last season.
Nick Kyrgios revealed he was disappointed to be gifted a place in the Wimbledon final, having been determined to earn his shot at the title by beating Rafael Nadal.
But following news of that semi-final walkover, the Australian was so excited he struggled to sleep.
Kyrgios, speaking to the media on Friday, said he learned of Nadal's withdrawal with an abdominal muscle tear only shortly before the Spaniard announced his decision at a news conference.
While Kyrgios – who enjoys a feisty rivalry with the 22-time grand slam champion – sent Nadal a message on Instagram, he was yet to speak to him.
The 27-year-old had been desperate to beat Nadal, but his respect for his opponent was also evident in his words.
"Honestly, my first feeling was a bit of disappointment," Kyrgios said.
"My energy was so focused on playing him and tactically how I'm going to go out there and play, the emotions of walking out there and all that type of stuff.
"It's not the way I wanted to get to the final. As a competitor, I really did want that match – it was obviously something, as soon as I beat Garin, that I knew Rafa was a high possibility.
"It's just someone that I've had so many good battles with before. We've both taken a win against each other at this tournament, and I really did want to see how the third chapter was going to go.
"You never want to see someone like that, [someone] so important to the sport go down with an injury like that.
"He's just played so much tennis, he's had a gruelling season, so I just hope he recovers. I'm sure I'll play him again on a big stage."
He added: "But obviously it's exciting to say I'll have a chance to play for a grand slam singles title; after everything, it's pretty cool."
Indeed, so exciting Kyrgios endured "a shocking sleep" on Thursday night.
"I got probably an hour of sleep," he said. "Just with everything, the excitement, I had so much anxiety, I was already feeling so nervous – and I don't feel nervous usually."
Kyrgios was concerned the absence of a semi-final match would knock him out of what has been "a pretty good routine" in his run to a first major final.
"People will say, 'he gets another day off', but it's definitely a shock to the system, having been playing so many matches," he explained.
"You play a match at a grand slam and you know, deep down, that you have one day to wind down, let yourself relax and then go again.
"To have two and a half, three days off... today I'm going to emulate not a match scenario but I'm going to try to have a bit more of an extended practice to try to feel like I'm in that same routine.
"That can throw anyone off. At a grand slam, you want to have those matches, you want to have those competitive juices, you want to have those going, the adrenaline.
"That's just something I'm going to have to go into the final without, that semi-final experience.
"That's okay, I'm going to take the positives, rest my body a bit; it's not bad going in there feeling fresh."
Superstar gymnast Simone Biles received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Joe Biden on Thursday, becoming the youngest living person to be honoured.
Biles is the most decorated US gymnast in history, with 32 Olympic and world championship medals, and has also been an advocate for mental health and sexual assault survivors.
President Biden recognised her achievements both inside and outside the gym, as he awarded the 25-year-old yet another medal.
"When we see her compete, we see unmatched power and determination, grace and daring," Biden said.
"A trailblazer and a role model, when she stands on the podium, we see what she is: absolute courage to turn personal pain into a greater purpose, to stand up and speak for those who cannot speak for themselves.
"Today, she adds to her medal count of 32 – I don't know if you're going to find room."
In the same ceremony, Megan Rapinoe was the first footballer to be a recipient of this highest civilian award in the United States.
Rapinoe has won two Women's World Cups and an Olympic gold medal and has also been a prominent figure due to her activism.
The OL Reign captain has battled throughout her career for gender pay equality, racial justice and LGBTQ+ rights.
"Beyond the World Cup titles and the Olympic medals, Megan is a champion for [an] essential American truth that everyone – everyone – is entitled to be treated with dignity and respect," Biden said.
While Rapinoe was at the White House, her United States team-mates clinched qualification for the 2023 World Cup with a 5-0 win over Jamaica.
The Chicago Blackhawks’ rebuild officially began hours before the start of Thursday’s NHL draft and continued right into the opening moments of the first round.
Chicago’s teardown began in the afternoon with Alex DeBrincat being traded to the Ottawa Senators for the seventh and 39th pick in this year’s draft, and a third-round selection in 2024.
The Blackhawks didn’t stop there, however, as Kirby Dach was then traded to the Montreal Canadiens for the 13th and 66th overall picks.
In a statement, the Blackhawks' first-time general manager Kyle Davidson said in a statement that he feels it is the right way to go about building a contender.
"It was an incredibly difficult decision to trade a player of Alex’s caliber," he said. "We feel as if this move sets the Blackhawks up for future success by giving us additional flexibility and future talent.
"Securing this early of a first-round pick for tonight and an additional second-round selection tomorrow allows us to fortify our prospect base with high-end players who we expect to be difference-makers in the coming years."
DeBrincat was an All-Star for the first time this past season, as he led the team with an equal career-high 41 goals to go with a career-best 37 assists. In five seasons with the Blackhawks, the 24-year-old winger racked up 160 goals and 147 assists in 368 games, but Chicago was in danger of losing the young playmaker, as he’s due to fetch a big payday once his current contract expires after the 2022-23 season.
Dach just finished up his third season with the Blackhawks, registering career highs of nine goals and 17 assists. The 21-year-old centre has 19 goals and 40 assists in 152 career games, but has not yet reached the production Chicago envisioned after selecting him with the third overall pick of the 2019 draft.
The Blackhawks, who haven’t made the playoffs in four of the past five seasons and have won just one playoff series since capturing the 2015 Stanley Cup, also made a deal with the Toronto Maple Leafs for the 25th pick by helping the Leafs free up cap space by taking on goaltender Petr Mrazek’s salary.
After beginning the night without a first-round selection as a result of last year’s trade with the Columbus Blue Jackets for defenseman Seth Jones, Chicago ended up with three picks in the first 25.
The Blackhawks took Canadian junior defenseman Kevin Korchinski at pick seven, U.S. development team centre Frank Nazar at 13, and Minnesota high school defensemen Sam Rinzel with the 25th selection.
Orlando Magic fans were treated to a delightful Summer League debut from number one overall pick Paolo Banchero in a 91-77 win against the Houston Rockets and third pick Jabari Smith Jr.
Smith was the heavy favourite to be taken by the Magic with the first pick from the day they won the NBA Draft Lottery, before a draft-day shocker saw them pivot to Banchero, allowing Smith to fall to the Rockets at three.
Banchero was terrific, and was the dominant force in the contest, operating as a six-foot-10 lead ball-handler.
He finished with 17 points on five-of-12 shooting, hitting two-of-three from long range and all five of his free throws, while also adding a team-high six assists and posting a game-high plus/minus of plus 20 in 26 minutes.
Fellow draftee Caleb Houstan, who was selected by the Magic with the 32nd pick, was the Magic's top-scorer with 20 on seven-of-12 from the field, shooting an impressive five-of-nine from three-point range, while also grabbing six rebounds.
For the Rockets, Smith's stats were less impressive, finishing with 10 points on four-of-10 shooting, although he was not put in a position to succeed.
While Banchero is an on-ball operator, meaning he can initiate his own offense off the dribble, Smith was used as an off-ball threat, relying on the Rockets guards to find him in favourable positions, which they did not.
Smith's tremendous size at six-foot-10, combined with his picture-perfect jump shot form and his defensive upside to guard at least three positions mean there is no reason for panic in Houston after a slow start to his first Summer League.
Second-year guard Josh Christopher top-scored for the Rockets with 22 points on seven-of-18 shooting, 17th overall pick from this year's draft Tari Eason showed what he can do with 14 points and 13 rebounds, and Houston's third first-rounder (29th overall) TyTy Washington flashed glimpses of a skillset that could lead him to becoming the floor general his team is lacking, coming off the bench for seven points, four rebounds and three assists.
The New York Yankees' bullpen were terrific down the stretch to deliver a 6-5 win in the first game of their series against heated rivals the Boston Red Sox.
Played at Boston's Fenway Park, the Yankees threatened to blow the Red Sox away in the third inning when Josh Donaldson crushed a 429-foot grand slam to sntach a 4-0 lead. Aaron Hicks then followed it up with his own solo home run from the very next pitch.
But the Red Sox showed fight in the bottom of the third inning, with Rafael Devers connecting on his fifth career home run against Yankees ace Gerrit Cole, and his 18th blast of the season, with a two-run, 434-foot shot to center-field.
The Yankees were able to add one more insurance run in the fifth inning through a Jose Trevino double, but the Red Sox answered straight back in the bottom of the frame once again.
After a double to Franchy Cordero and a walk to Kevin Plawecki, Devers came through again, this time with a 425-foot homer to straight center-field to score three runs, making it six career homers off Cole and 19 for the season.
The rest of the game featured spectacular pitching out of both bullpens, with the Yankees trio of Wandy Peralta, Michael King and Clay Holmes combining to allow no hits and one walk from the final three frames, while Red Sox arms Matt Strahm, John Schreiber, Ryan Brasier and Austin Davis combined to allow one hit and no walks in the last four innings.
Cole was credited with the win, despite it not being his best performance, finishing with six complete innings for five earned runs, with all five runs coming off the bat of Devers.
The Yankees also got the job done without the help of AL MVP favourite Aaron Judge, who missed with a lower-back complaint, as well as Anthony Rizzo, who is fifth in the league in home runs (22), eight behind Judge's league-lead (30).
Ohtani and Trout struggle as Rutchsman goes deep
Superstar Los Angeles Angels duo Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout finished a combined zero-for-seven from the plate as their side went down 4-1 on the road against the Baltimore Orioles.
The loss is the Angels' fifth from their past six games as another potential AL MVP season from Ohtani appears likely to end without a playoff berth unless things turn around drastically, now fourth in their division and 17 games behind the Houston Astros.
Baltimore was buoyed by top prospect Adley Rutchsman hitting his first career home run at Camden Yards – which the Orioles fans will be hoping was the first of many.
Rookie Strider shines in Braves loss
Atlanta Braves rookie starting pitcher Spencer Strider continues to make his case for NL Rookie of the Year after striking out a career-high 12 batters in his side's 3-2 extra-inning loss to the St Louis Cardinals.
Incredibly, the first nine outs Strider recorded were all strikeouts, and he would make it through six complete innings, allowing no runs from two hits and two walks in 100 pitches. It was the first time in Braves history that a pitcher has recorded each of his first nine outs via strikeout.
The scores were tied at 1-1 after nine innings, and after each side brought home a run in the 10th, the Cardinals were able to score another in the 11th off a Dylan Carlson infield-single, with Packy Naughton collecting the save.
Carlson finished three-for-three at the plate after being brought in as a pinch-hitter in the seventh inning.
The Montreal Canadiens selected Juraj Slafkovsky with the first overall pick of the 2022 NHL draft on Thursday.
The 18-year-old left wing became the first Slovakian to ever be picked first overall in the draft.
Slafkovsky excelled for Slovakia at the 2022 Winter Olympics, leading the tournament with seven goals in seven games to earn MVP honours while helping the country capture the bronze medal.
Speaking to ESPN after being presented with his Canadiens jersey, Slafkosvky was lost for words.
"It’s unbelievable, I still can’t believe that this actually happened," he said.
"When I heard from Slovakia, I was like 'what is happening'. It's just a special moment in my life."
When asked how he thought his family and friends would have reacted to the news, being 2am local time in Slovakia, Slafkosvky said "I think people are going crazy, they have to be... I think they are all awake."
With the second pick, the New Jersey Devils selected another Slovakian in defenseman Simon Nemec.
"This is a special night for Slovak hockey," Slafkovsky said.
Adam Svensson shot a blistering 10-under 62 in the first round of the Barbasol Championship to lead the field by two strokes.
Canada's Svensson is taking advantage of the fact that most of the sport's biggest names are spending this week at the Scottish Open, posting seven birdies, two eagles and bogey in his round. On the four par-fives, he collected two birdies and two eagles.
Speaking to The Golf Channel after his round, he said he felt in good touch coming into the event.
"I was on the range today and I was feeling really good," he said. "I've been putting well, putting a lot of work in that.
"It just kind of all came together today. I made two nice eagles. The one on eight was exceptional – made a 30-footer – but was just trying to stay in there because it was just so hot.
"I was losing energy, I was trying to hydrate and stuff like that. I was just really relaxed and just tried to get through the day essentially."
Being a co-sanctioned event from both the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour, there was a strong international contingent near the top of the leaderboard.
Tied for second place at eight under are Portugal's Ricardo Gouveia and France's Robin Roussel, with the latter managing to go bogey-free.
There is an eight-man logjam tied for fourth at seven under, including Germany's Matti Schmid, Colombia's Camilo Villegas and England's David Skinns.
Another pair of Englishmen – Tom Lewis and Andrew Wilson – were a further shot back at six under, along with Australia's Cameron Percy, South Africa's Justin Walters and Germany's Yannick Paul.
Japan's Satoshi Kodaira, Chile's Hugo Leon and Sweden's Niklas Lemke are at five under, while Spain's Alejandro Canizares and South Korea's Noh Seung-yul shot four-under 68s – one stroke better than Thursday's average score.
After a top-10 finish at last week's John Deere Classic, Canada's Michael Gligic will be content with his opening 69, while John Huh shot a 70 as he looks for his third top-15 finish from his past five starts.
Zhou Guanyu acknowledged he is lucky to be alive following his horrific crash at Silverstone last weekend.
The British Grand Prix was red-flagged on the opening lap following Alfa Romeo driver Zhou's terrifying shunt at turn one.
After George Russell's Mercedes careered into Zhou following contact with Pierre Gasly of AlphaTauri, the Chinese driver's car flipped over and subsequently shot across the gravel, over the barrier and into the catch fence protecting spectators.
There was a worrying wait at Silverstone before it was confirmed the 23-year-old was not seriously hurt.
And Zhou, who is the first Chinese driver to compete in Formula One, reflected on the incident ahead of the Austrian Grand Prix this weekend, for which he received an all-clear to compete on Thursday.
"I had a massive hit and flipped over, going at a very constant speed but quite fast into the gravel and I realise that I'm not getting stopped," he remembered.
"So, I tried to release myself from the steering wheel and into a very locked position, making sure I'm solid inside myself waiting for the final impact. That's what causes injury and is the big issue.
"Once I stopped, I didn't know where I was because I was upside down. Then there was some leaking, but I didn't know from where. I wasn't sure if it was my body or if it was the car!
"So, I just tried to switch the engine off. I knew if the fire started it would be difficult to get out. I don't know how I survived. But looking back, obviously the halo saved me there.
"It did not hurt, but it was very cold on my left-hand side, so I didn't know if it was blood or if I had no feeling on my left-hand side."
Zhou also paid tribute to Russell.
He did not know at the time, but the Mercedes driver stopped his car before running over to check on his counterpart, sacrificing his part in the rest of the race as a result.
"One man made conversation with me, making sure I was OK," Zhou continued.
"Looking at the pictures, seeing George jump out of the car, calling the marshals, it was very respectful and sportsmanlike. Very nice to see people like him trying to make sure everyone is safe."
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