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Bruins Sign Blidh

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BOSTON – Boston Bruins General Manager Don Sweeney announced the club signed forward Anton Blidh to a one-year, two-way contract with an NHL cap hit of $750,000.  Blidh, 26, has played five seasons for the Bruins. In 2020-21, the 6-foot, 185-pound forward skated in 10 games, scoring one goal. In 38 career NHL games, Blidh has recorded two goals and one assist.

Blidh has appeared in 278 games with the Providence Bruins since coming to North America in 2015, totaling 46 goals, 42 assists, a plus-31 rating and 247 penalty minutes.

The Molnlycke, Sweden native was originally selected by the Bruins in the sixth round (180th overall) of the 2013 NHL Entry Draft.

Celtics Trade Walker; Begin to Rebuild

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BOSTON – The Boston Celtics are reportedly trading guard Kemba Walker, the No. 16 overall pick in the 2021 draft and a 2025 second-round pick to the Oklahoma City Thunder for center-forward Al Horford, 7-2 center prospect Moses Brown and a second-round pick in 2023, according to ESPN.

The trade would be new Celtics head of basketball Operations Brad Stevens‘ first move as GM after he was recently promoted from his head coaching position.

Walker joined the Celtics in 2019, the same offseason Horford departed from Boston in a trade with the Philadelphia 76ers. Horford played three prior seasons with the Celtics after beginning his career in Atlanta. The oft-injured Walker averaged 19.9 points and 4.8 assists in two seasons with the Celtics. His contract calls for payment of $34 million, $36m and $37m over the next three years.

Horford can be expected to provide veteran leadership in an otherwise youthful Celtics locker room and ease the team leadership role from that of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. Horford’s NBA contract calls for $27.5 million, $27m and $26.5m in 2022-23, but only $14.5m of that amount is guaranteed in the final year.

In addition to re-shaping a chemistry-lacking roster, Stevens is also in search of the next Celtics head coach. In recent days, the NBA has experienced a drastic upheaval of head coaches with longtime head coach of the Dallas Mavericks and head of the NBA Coaches Association Rick Carlisle unexpectedly stepping down from the Mavericks Thursday. Carlisle played for the Celtics in the mid-1980s. In addition, Scott Brooks was unable to come to terms in Washington DC and Stan Van Gundy was relieved of his duties in New Orleans. Veteran coach Mike D’Antoni is available as are former Portland Trail Blazers coach Terry Stotts, former Indiana coach Nate Bjorkgren and former Orlando coach Steve Clifford.

NBA All-Rookie Teams

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NEW YORK – Charlotte Hornets guard LaMelo Ball and Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards were unanimously selected to the 2020-21 NBA All-Rookie First Team, the NBA announced today.  Ball, the 2020-21 Kia NBA Rookie of the Year, and Edwards received NBA All-Rookie First Team votes on all 99 ballots from a global panel of sportswriters and broadcasters.

Joining Ball and Edwards (198 total points each) on the 2020-21 NBA All-Rookie First Team are Sacramento Kings guard Tyrese Haliburton (197 points; 98 First Team votes), Detroit Pistons forward Saddiq Bey (162 points; 63 First Team votes) and Houston Rockets forward Jae’Sean Tate (154 points; 57 First Team votes).

Ball led first-year NBA players in assists (6.1 apg) and steals (1.59 spg) and ranked second in scoring (15.7 ppg) and rebounding (5.9 rpg).  He won the first three Kia NBA Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month awards.  Edwards, the first overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, averaged a rookie-high 19.3 points per game.  He was named the Kia NBA Western Conference Rookie of the Month in each of the final three months of the season.

Haliburton, who won the first two Kia NBA Western Conference Rookie of the Month awards, ranked third among rookies in scoring (13.0 ppg) and second in assists (5.3 apg).  Bey, the 19th overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, made a rookie-leading 175 three-pointers and was named the NBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week for Week 8.  Tate, who was not selected in the 2018 NBA Draft, averaged 11.3 points and 5.3 rebounds with the Rockets after playing last season for the Sydney Kings in Australia’s National Basketball League.

The 2020-21 NBA All-Rookie Second Team consists of New York Knicks guard Immanuel Quickley (148 points), Memphis Grizzlies guard Desmond Bane (88), Pistons center Isaiah Stewart (71), Cleveland Cavaliers guard-forward Isaac Okoro (53) and Chicago Bulls forward Patrick Williams (50).

The media voting panel selected five players for the NBA All-Rookie First Team and five players for the NBA All-Rookie Second Team at any position.  Players received two points for each First Team vote and one point for each Second Team vote.

The voting results for the 2020-21 NBA All-Rookie Team are below.  The balloting was tabulated by the independent accounting firm Ernst & Young LLP.

 

2020-21 NBA ALL-ROOKIE FIRST TEAM
 
Player (Team) First Team Votes

(2 Points)

 Second Team Votes

(1 Point)

 Total

Points
LaMelo Ball (Charlotte) 99 0 198
Anthony Edwards (Minnesota) 99 0 198
Tyrese Haliburton (Sacramento) 98 1 197
Saddiq Bey (Detroit) 63 36 162
Jae’Sean Tate (Houston) 57 40 154

 

2020-21 NBA ALL-ROOKIE SECOND TEAM
 
Player (Team) First Team Votes

(2 Points)

 Second Team Votes (1 Point) Total

Points
Immanuel Quickley (New York) 51 46 148
Desmond Bane (Memphis) 9 70 88
Isaiah Stewart (Detroit) 8 55 71
Isaac Okoro (Cleveland) 1 51 53
Patrick Williams (Chicago) 2 46 50

Below are the other players who received votes for the 2020-21 NBA All-Rookie Team.

OTHER PLAYERS RECEIVING VOTES
 
Player (Team) First Team Votes

(2 Points)

 Second Team Votes (1 Point) Total

Points
Facundo Campazzo (Denver) 3 36 42
Cole Anthony (Orlando) 1 38 40
James Wiseman (Golden State) 3 18 24
Payton Pritchard (Boston) 0 20 20
Jaden McDaniels (Minnesota) 1 13 15
Tyrese Maxey (Philadelphia) 0 9 9
Théo Maledon (Oklahoma City) 0 5 5
Xavier Tillman (Memphis) 0 4 4
KJ Martin (Houston) 0 3 3
Chuma Okeke (Orlando) 0 2 2
Devin Vassell (San Antonio) 0 1 1
Aleksej Pokuševski (Oklahoma City) 0 1 1

Red Sox Earn an Off-Day

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BOSTON – The Boston Red Sox eased into a single day break Thursday with a three-game winning streak but a (6-4) record over their last 10 games, but claimed a two-game mini-series sweep over the struggling Atlanta Braves and are (9-4) over their last 13 games.

The pair of 10-8 victories over the Braves indicated some of the symptoms facing the Sox starting rotation. In the opener against the Braves, SP Garrett Richards allowed  six runs, four earned. Richards holds a 4.36 ERA, overall, but in his last three starts (14 innings pitched), the right hander has allowed 26 hits and 11 earned runs.

Wednesday night’s starter, Eduardo Rodriguez, began the season 5-0 with a 3.82 ERA and .260 opponent batting average over his first six (33.0 IP, 33-for-127, 14 ER) games. He then went 0-4 with a 8.49 ERA and .331 opponent average over his six starts (29.2 IP, 41- for-124, 28 ER) leading into the Braves game. The Sox posted an early 5-0 lead for Rodriguez but the left hander gave up four runs off six hits and a walk, and allowed Atlanta to erase a five-run deficit to 5-4.

The trend was contagious for Martin Perez as he’s allowed 11 runs in 3.1 innings pitched in his last two starts and Nick Pivetta  who coughed-up six runs in his last start.

Starting pitching woes aside, the Sox are currently a season-high 15 games above .500 at (42-27) after concluding a testy 17 consecutive game-day stretch, all against 2020 MLB Playoff teams. They’ll pick it up again Friday night at Kansas City for a three-game series against the Royals.

Nick Pivetta, Martin Perez and Nathan Eovaldi will start for Boston over the weekend before the club earns another rare off-day this Monday.

 

 

Utah’s Rudy Gobert, Sixers’ Ben Simmons Lead NBA All-Defensive Team

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NEW YORK – Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert, the 2020-21 Kia NBA Defensive Player of the Year, and Philadelphia 76ers guard Ben Simmons lead the 2020-21 NBA All-Defensive First Team, the NBA announced. Both players received NBA All-Defensive First Team votes on all 100 ballots to finish with 200 points each.

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Joining Gobert and Simmons on the NBA All-Defensive First Team are Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green (176 points; 80 First Team votes) and Milwaukee Bucks guard Jrue Holiday (157 points; 65 First Team votes) and forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (135 points; 43 first Team votes).

Gobert, the Kia NBA Defensive Player of the Year for the third time in the last four seasons, has been named to the NBA All-Defensive First Team for the fifth season in a row. This marks the second straight First Team selection for Simmons, the runner-up for Kia NBA Defensive Player of the Year this season. Simmons helped the 76ers finish with the NBA’s second-best defensive rating in the regular season, one spot ahead of the Gobert-led Jazz.

Green has been selected to the NBA All-Defensive First Team for the fourth time to go with two Second Team honors. Holiday is a First Team honoree for the second time. Antetokounmpo, the 2019-20 Kia NBA Defensive Player of the Year and a two-time Kia NBA Most Valuable Player, has earned his third consecutive NBA All-Defensive First Team selection.

The 2020-21 NBA All-Defensive Second Team consists of Miami Heat forward Bam Adebayo (111 points) and guard Jimmy Butler (111), 76ers center Joel Embiid (87) and guard Matisse Thybulle (63), and LA Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard (43).

Leonard has been named to the NBA All-Defensive Team (First Team and Second Team) for the seventh time. This is the fifth NBA All-Defensive Team selection for Butler, the third for Embiid and the second for Adebayo. Thybulle is making his All-Defensive Team debut in his second NBA season.

The NBA All-Defensive Team was selected by a global panel of 100 sportswriters and broadcasters. Players were awarded two points for each vote to the NBA All-Defensive First Team and one point for each vote to the Second Team. Voters selected two guards, two forwards and one center for each team, choosing players at the position they play regularly. Players who received votes at multiple positions were slotted at the position at which they received the most votes.

The voting results for the 2020-21 NBA All-Defensive Team:

(Balloting was tabulated by the independent accounting firm Ernst & Young LLP. Complete ballots for each voter will be posted at PR.NBA.com after the announcement of all end-of-season awards).

2020-21 NBA ALL-DEFENSIVE FIRST TEAM
 
Position Player (Team) 1st Team Votes

(2 Points)

 2nd Team Votes

(1 Point)

 Total

Points

 Career All-Defensive Team Selections
Center Rudy Gobert (Utah) 100 0 200 5 (five 1st)
Guard Ben Simmons (Philadelphia) 100 0 200 2 (two 1st)
Forward Draymond Green (Golden State) 80 16 176 6 (four 1st, two 2nd)
Guard Jrue Holiday (Milwaukee) 65 27 157 3 (two 1st, one 2nd)
Forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee) 43 49 135 4 (three 1st, one 2nd)

 

2020-21 NBA ALL-DEFENSIVE SECOND TEAM
 
Position Player (Team) 1st Team Votes (2 Points) 2nd Team Votes (1 Point) Total

Points

 Career All-Defensive Team Selections
Forward Bam Adebayo (Miami) 37 37 111 2 (two 2nd)
Guard Jimmy Butler (Miami) 37 37 111 5 (five 2nd)
Center Joel Embiid (Philadelphia) 8 71 87 3 (three 2nd)
Guard Matisse Thybulle (Philadelphia) 3 57 63 1 (one 2nd)
Forward Kawhi Leonard (LA Clippers) 8 27 43 7 (three 1st, four 2nd)

 

 

 

NFL Releases Preseason Sked

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CANTON – A new normal for the NFL and its preseason will return this summer, beginning with the Hall of Fame Game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Dallas Cowboys in Canton, Ohio, on Aug. 5. The annual Pro Football Hall of Fame Game kicks-off a schedule of three preseason games for each team, down from four in previous seasons. The extra game has been tacked on to the regular season, with each team playing 17 games instead of 16.

In another Week 1 preseason game of interest, fans will get their first glance at the revamped Jaguars, led by new coach Urban Meyer and No. 1 overall draft pick Trevor Lawrence at quarterback, when the Cleveland Browns visit Jacksonville on Aug. 14.

The preseason wraps up Aug. 29.

The Cowboys will be featured in the regular-season opener, as well, when they visit the Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sept. 9.

The 2021 preseason week-by-week schedule, with all times Eastern:

WEEK 1
Thursday, Aug. 5
Pittsburgh and Dallas (Canton, Ohio), 8 p.m.

Thursday, Aug. 12
Washington at New England, 7:30 p.m.
Pittsburgh at Philadelphia, 7:30 p.m.

Friday, Aug. 13
Tennessee at Atlanta, 7 p.m.
Buffalo at Detroit, 7 p.m.
Dallas at Arizona, 10 p.m.

Saturday, Aug. 14
Miami at Chicago, 1 p.m.
Denver at Minnesota, 4 p.m.
New Orleans at Baltimore, 7 p.m.
Cleveland at Jacksonville, 7 p.m.

New York Jets at NY Giants, 7:30 pm

Cincinnati at Tampa Bay, 7:30 p.m.
Houston at Green Bay, 8 p.m.
Kansas City at San Francisco, 8:30 p.m.
Seattle at Las Vegas, 9 p.m.

Los Angeles Chargers at LA Rams, 10 pm

Sunday, Aug. 15
Carolina at Indianapolis, 1 p.m.

WEEK 2
Thursday, Aug. 19
New England at Philadelphia, 7:30 p.m.

Friday, Aug. 20
Kansas City at Arizona, 8 p.m.
Cincinnati at Washington, 8 p.m.

Saturday, Aug. 21
Buffalo at Chicago, 1 p.m.
New York Jets at Green Bay, 4:25 p.m.
Baltimore at Carolina, 7 p.m.
Atlanta at Miami, 7 p.m.
Detroit at Pittsburgh, 7:30 p.m.
Tennessee at Tampa Bay, 7:30 p.m.
Houston at Dallas, 8 p.m.
Indianapolis at Minnesota, 8 p.m.
Las Vegas at Los Angeles Rams, 10 p.m.
Denver at Seattle, 10 p.m.

Sunday, Aug. 22
New York Giants at Cleveland, 1 p.m.
San Francisco at Los Angeles Chargers, 7:30 p.m.

Monday, Aug. 23
Jacksonville at New Orleans, 8 p.m.

WEEK 3
Friday, Aug. 27
Indianapolis at Detroit, 7 p.m.
Pittsburgh at Carolina, 7:30 p.m.
Philadelphia at New York Jets, 7:30 p.m.
Minnesota at Kansas City, 8 p.m.

Saturday, Aug. 28
Green Bay at Buffalo, 1 p.m.
Baltimore at Washington, 6 p.m.
Chicago at Tennessee, 7 p.m.
Tampa Bay at Houston, 8 p.m.
Arizona at New Orleans, 8 p.m.
Los Angeles Rams at Denver, 9:05 p.m.
Los Angeles Chargers at Seattle, 10 p.m.

Sunday, Aug. 29
Jacksonville at Dallas, 1 p.m.
Miami at Cincinnati, 4 p.m.
Las Vegas at San Francisco, 4 p.m.
New England at New York Giants, 6 p.m.
Cleveland at Atlanta, 8 p.m.

USA Basketball Expands Deal with MGM

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LAS VEGAS – (Source: Official News Release) – USA Basketball and MGM Resorts International, a leader in the sports and entertainment industry, announced an expanded, multi-year partnership, tipping-off this July in Las Vegas. As part of the partnership, MGM Resorts will be the Official Training Camp home of the USA Basketball Men’s and Women’s National Teams, as well as an Official integrated resorts partner of USA Basketball and an Official USA Basketball exhibition tour partner.

As the new training camp home of the USA Basketball Men’s and Women’s National Teams, MGM Resorts, in partnership with USA Basketball, will host four additional countries in Las Vegas, creating a must-see international basketball competition prior to the teams’ departure for Tokyo.

Fans will have the opportunity to watch seven USA Basketball Men’s and Women’s National Team exhibition games July 10-18, as both teams take on top international opponents in preparation for this summer’s historic competition. The lineup includes a rare opportunity to see both the USA Men’s and Women’s National Teams play live on the same day, July 16 and 18, as well as opportunities to see three additional matchups between the other foreign national teams. Each of the five days of exhibition games will be doubleheaders. Tickets go on sale Wednesday, June 16 at 10 a.m. PDT, and ticket information is available online at https://axs.com/USABasketball.

“USA Basketball is proud to expand its partnership with MGM Resorts. We’re excited to bring our national teams to their properties as we prepare for the challenging competition that lies ahead this summer,” said Jim Tooley, USA Basketball CEO. “Training camps are such an important foundation for our preparation and having such a strong commitment from MGM positions us for great success.”

Lance Evans, Senior Vice President of MGM Resorts, Sports, said, “MGM Resorts and Las Vegas have an extensive history with USA Basketball. This expanded partnership will allow us to showcase our resorts as we host multiple USA Basketball games at Michelob ULTRA Arena at Mandalay Bay, as well as a variety of USA Basketball-related activities. We look forward to offering hoops fans another reason to visit the Sports Capital of the World.”

Red Sox Defeat Marlins, 5-3

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BOSTON – Red Sox second baseman Christian Arroyo knocked-in two runs with a single in Boston’s half of the fourth inning, and the Sox defeated the Marlins 5-3 for their fifth straight victory.

Boston outfielder Alex Verdugo added two hits including an RBI double for the Red Sox, who were coming off their first three-game sweep at Yankee Stadium since June 2011.

Starling Marte hit a solo homer and had two base hits for Miami, which left 14 baserunners on base. It was the Marlins’ ninth loss in the last 10 games.

The Marlins completed a nine-game, 11-day road trip with just one win, with the first two losses coming in Fenway Park.

The Red Sox are a season-high 14 games over .500 at 37-23. The matchup was a makeup of the May 30 game that was rained out, with the conditions vastly different. The game-time temperature at Fenway Park was a stifling 90 degrees. When the Marlins were previously in town, it was chilly and rainy for the three days.

New York’s Thibs is NBA Coach of Year

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NEW YORK – New York Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau was presented with the Red Auerbach Trophy as the 2020-21 NBA Coach of the Year, the NBA announced. It was the second NBA Coach of the Year Award for Thibodeau, who earned the honor in the 2010-11 season with the Chicago Bulls in his first season as an NBA head coach.

Now honored in his first season as the Knicks’ head coach, Thibodeau has become the first person to be named NBA Coach of the Year in his first season as head coach with two different franchises. (Cotton Fitzsimmons won the award in his first season as the Kansas City Kings’ head coach, 1978-79, and again in the first season of his second tenure as the Phoenix Suns’ head coach, 1988-89.)

Thibodeau received 43 first-place votes and earned 351 total points to edge Phoenix head coach Monty Williams, who finished in second place with 340 points (45 first-place votes). The 11-point difference between the first- and second-place finishers marks the smallest margin since the current NBA Coach of the Year voting format was introduced in the 2002-03 season. Williams had two more first place votes and 10 more victories than Thibodeau.

Utah Jazz head coach Quin Snyder finished in third place with 161 points (10 first-place votes). Coaches were awarded five points for each first-place vote, three points for each second-place vote and one point for each third-place vote from a global panel of 100 sportswriters and broadcasters.

With Thibodeau as head coach, New York finished tied for the fourth-best record in the Eastern Conference (41-31) and made the NBA Playoffs for the first time since the 2012-13 season. The Knicks won 16 of their final 20 games to complete a turnaround from last season’s overall record of 21-45.

Red Sox Win in 10; Sweep Yankees

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BRONX – Boston all-star shortstop Xander Bogaerts laced a two-run single with two outs in the 10th inning and the Boston Red Sox completed a three-game sweep of the struggling New York Yankees by holding on for a 6-5 victory at Yankee Stadium.

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Red Sox slugger Bobby Dalbec opened the 10th with a walk on a pitch that resulted in New York hitting coach Marcus Thames screaming from the dugout and the ejection of bench coach Carlos Mendoza.

The Red Sox had runners at second and third following a sacrifice bunt by Christian Arroyo, and Bogaerts provided for Boston’s lead when he hit a 2-1 slider off Luis Cessa (1-1) to the gap in left-center field to give Boston a 6-4 lead.

Bogaerts had given the Red Sox a 4-3 lead with a sacrifice fly in the eighth, and his double gave Boston its first three-game sweep in New York since June 7-9, 2011.

The Red Sox blew a 4-3 lead when closer Matt Barnes (2-1) allowed a game-tying double to Gleyber Torres in the ninth. He stranded runners at first and third by striking out pinch hitter Rougned Odor on a full-count pitch that replays showed was outside and resulted in the ejection of New York third base coach Phil Nevin by plate umpire Gabe Morales.

Boston’s Phillips Valdez hit Clint Frazier with his first pitch of the 10th, got a double play on Miguel Andujar and allowed an infield single to Tyler Wade to make it 6-5. Wade took second on a throwing error by Marwin Gonzalez and, following an animated mound visit from manager Alex Cora, Valdez retired DJ LeMahieu on a groundout for his first career save.