Morning Briefing April 30, 2010
Basketball
Sacramento point guard Tyreke Evans beat out Golden State’s Stephen Curry and Milwaukee’s Brandon Jennings to win the NBA Rookie of the Year award on Thursday.
Evans was the fourth pick in last year’s NBA draft after spending one season at Memphis. He led all rookies in scoring at 20.1 points per game, was second in assists at 5.8 per game and fifth in rebounds at 5.3.
Evans was the only rookie to appear on all 123 ballots from a media panel, getting 67 first-place votes and 491 total points. Curry was second with 43 first-place votes and 391 points, with Jennings getting 12 first-place votes and 204 points.
Seton Hall forward Herb Pope is undergoing tests at a hospital in South Orange, N.J., after collapsing during a workout at the school.
The university confirmed that Pope collapsed late Wednesday afternoon while working out for the upcoming NBA draft, which he has entered.
The university did not release information about Pope’s condition.
The road to the Final Four will have a new look next season after the NCAA’s board of directors approved expansion from 65 to 68 teams and endorsed a proposal to add three more opening-round games to the schedule. It’s only the second time in a quarter-century that the NCAA has increased the number of teams competing for the men’s national championship.
LeBron James is not expected to miss any of Cleveland’s playoff games because of his strained right elbow and bone bruise.
The Cavaliers said James was re-examined Wednesday night by team doctors, who took more X-rays and an MRI. The tests revealed the strain and a bruised bone near the elbow.
Tiger Woods delivered a few memorable shots of his own at the PGA’s Quail Hollow Championship in Charlotte, N.C., that produced birdies and eagles and plenty of excitement.
It’s just not what he had in mind.
He hit a tee shot into the water on the par-3 17th that produced little reaction except to hold out his hand for another ball. He hit his next tee shot into the water and had to scramble for bogey. And he wound up with a 2-over 74 that left him nine shots behind Bo Van Pelt (65).
Ai Miyazato, the Japanese star who won the first two events of the LPGA Tour season, shot a 10-under 63 to take the first-round lead in the Tres Marias Championship at Morelia, Mexico.
Azahara Munoz opened with a 65, and top-ranked Lorena Ochoa, who will retire after the tournament, matched Michelle Wie with a 66.
Auto Racing
Dale Earnhardt Jr. will drive a replica of his father’s No. 3 Wrangler Chevrolet in the Nationwide Series race at Daytona in July.
The car unveiling was done at JR Motorsports in Mooresville, N.C., on what would have been the seven-time NASCAR champion’s 59th birthday. He was killed in a 2001 accident at Daytona, and his number has not been used in the Sprint Cup Series since.
Football
Quarterback Kevin Kolb and the Philadelphia Eagles agreed to a one-year contract extension through the 2011 season. He will receive a reported $12.26 million guaranteed over the next two years.
Miscellaneous
The Oregon attorney general’s office said a lawyer was deficient for failing to put the contract for departing Oregon athletic director Mike Bellotti in writing, but there was no criminal wrongdoing.
The state Department of Justice also said its review found that settling the contract for $2.3 million was not unreasonable.
Bellotti announced in March that he was stepping down as athletic director to become an ESPN analyst, leading to questions about his compensation package.
— The Associated Press