Ukraine back on track after comeback win over Slovakia at Euro 2024

DUESSELDORF, Germany (AP) — Roman Yaremchuk has scored for Ukraine to clinch a 2-1 win over Slovakia in Duesseldorf and restore its hopes of reaching the European Championship knockout stages. Slovakia took the lead in the 17th minute with a header from Ivan Schranz. Oleksandr Zinchenko crossed low for Mykola Shaparenko to score Ukraine’s first goal of the tournament in the 54th. Yaremchuk then met a long ball from Shaparenko to beat goalkeeper Martin Dubravka in the 80th. To advance, Ukraine likely needs at least a draw against Belgium on Wednesday. Slovakia, after its surprising win over Belgium, faces Romania next.

Cue the duck boats: Boston set for parade to salute Celtics' record 18th NBA championship

BOSTON (AP) — The Celtics entered the season vowing to turn recent their heartbreaks into happiness. Eight months later, they will toast the franchise’s 18th championship in what has become standard Boston celebratory fair, joined by a huge crowd for a duck boat parade through the city to mark the 13th championship won this century by one of the city’s Big 4 professional sports franchises. It is the latest component of what has been a rolling salute to the team since it cemented itself as the kings of the NBA when it finished off the Dallas Mavericks in five games in the final.

Florida Panthers get 3rd chance to win the Stanley Cup in Game 6 at Edmonton before sellout crowd

EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — The Stanley Cup will be in the building once again Friday night with the Florida Panthers getting their third chance to win the first championship in franchise history in Game 6 against the Edmonton Oilers. The Panthers led the series 3-0 before losing back-to-back games as Connor McDavid made some history. The Oilers captain became the first player to have consecutive four-point games in the final. To close out the series and finally be atop the NHL, Florida will have to deal with McDavid cruising to playoff MVP honors and a raucous sellout crowd of over 18,000 fans hoping to see their team force a Game 7 back in South Florida.

Athletics to move to 1st week of 2028 Olympics, swimming to 2nd week, plus some venues changed

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The 2028 Los Angeles Olympics announced changes to its venue plan that it says will create an estimated $156 million in combined savings and revenue increases. Swimming will be held at 38,000-seat SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, basketball will be played at Intuit Dome in Inglewood and gymnastics will be at Crypto.com Arena. To accommodate the opening and closing ceremonies at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and SoFi Stadium, the traditional schedules for athletics and swimming will be adjusted. Athletics will move to the first week of the games, while swimming will be held the second week. The Los Angeles Olympics will be held from July 14-30, 2028.

Canada says it's 'deeply disturbed' after Bombito gets targeted on social media with racist messages

ATLANTA (AP) — Canadian soccer player Moise Bombito had racist messages directed at him on social media after making a tackle on Lionel Messi during a 2-0 Copa America loss to Argentina on Thursday. The Canadian National Team issued a statement on social media late Thursday night about the messages without mentioning Bombito by name. “Canada Soccer is aware of and deeply disturbed by racist comments made online and directed at one of our men’s national team players following tonight’s game,” the statement said. “We are in communication with CONCACAF and CONMEBOL about this matter.”

Reds, Brewers, Nationals are on pace to post highest stolen-base totals of any MLB team since 1990s

MILWAUKEE (AP) — The Cincinnati Reds are stealing bases at a rate unseen over the last three decades. And the Milwaukee Brewers and Washington Nationals are right on their heels. No team this century has stolen more than 200 bases in a season. The Reds, Brewers and Nationals are all on pace to blow past that mark as they capitalize on rule changes put in place last year to spark more base stealing. Cincinnati has 107 steals through its first 74 games and is on pace for 234. That would represent the highest total for any team since the 1992 Brewers had 256.

Thunder GM says Josh Giddey didn't want to come off the bench and requested trade

CHICAGO (AP) — The Bulls and Thunder finalized a deal sending Josh Giddey to Chicago and Alex Caruso to Oklahoma City. Thunder general manager Sam Presti says the team granted the 21-year-old Giddey's trade request after he resisted the team's plans to use him off the bench. Giddey gets a fresh start after a challenging season in which his numbers dropped and he lost his starting job in the playoffs. The 6-foot-8 point guard from Australia was frequently booed on the road after an anonymous social media user accused him of having an improper relationship with an underage girl. Police in Newport Beach, California, investigated and found no evidence of wrongdoing.

UConn's Castle, Kentucky duo, Tennessee's Knecht headline the list of top guards in the NBA draft

UConn combo guard Stephon Castle, Tennessee's Dalton Knecht and a backcourt duo from Kentucky are the headliners on the list of top guards in the upcoming NBA draft. Castle was a touted freshman who helped the Huskies win a second straight NCAA title with his size and defensive potential. Knecht scored in bunches as a veteran transfer. The Wildcats have a final crop of one-and-done players from former coach John Calipari's tenure in Reed Sheppard and Rob Dillingham. Serbian teenage point guard Nikola Topic is another top prospect at the position.

Texas-based Friedkin Group enters exclusive talks for majority stake of Premier League Everton

Everton says the Texas-based Friedkin Group is in exclusive discussions to buy a majority stake in the Premier League club. The Friedkin Group includes Italian soccer team Roma in its portfolio of companies that cover the worlds of automotive, entertainment, hospitality, sports and adventure. Everton says it received “significant interest from several highly respected parties” to invest in the club. The Friedkin Group’s move for Everton comes after the proposed takeover by American investment firm 777 Partners collapsed earlier this month. The Friedkin Group’s other companies include Gulf States Toyota, which Forbes said sold $9.1 billion worth of Toyotas in 2022.

Steeplechaser Mason Ferlic shoots for the stars on the track and in his field as aerospace engineer

EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — Steeplechase runner Mason Ferlic is taking aim at the stars both on the track and in his field. He will try to earn a spot for the Paris Games with a top-three performance at Olympic Trials in Eugene, Oregon. Down the road, the 30-year-old with a master's degree in aerospace engineering has his sights set on possibly becoming an astronaut. Ferlic’s immediate focus is strictly on those 28 unforgiving jumps and seven leaps over a water pit that stand in his way in the steeplechase. Because falling happens. Each time, though, he’s picked himself up and gotten better.

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