Middlesex 325 for 8 (Gubbins 75, Scott 52*, Lace 51, Abbas 4-57) v Leicestershire

Mohammad Abbas claimed four wickets on a topsy-turvy first day of Leicestershire's County Championship fixture with Middlesex at Lord's. The Pakistan Test bowler looked a class above the rest in returning 4 for 57 to restrict the hosts to 325 for 8 on decent batting surface.

Half-centuries from Nick Gubbins, Tom Lace, on debut, and George Scott kept the home side in the hunt, but they will be frustrated no one was able to kick on and make a truly telling contribution.

Despite cloudless skies, Leicestershire exercised their right to field and claimed immediate reward when Abbas trapped Sam Robson lbw with the first ball of the match. It was the beginning of a testing opening burst which would have yielded further reward had Harry Dearden clung onto a low edge at third slip when Max Holden had made 13.

It was a costly miss as Holden and Gubbins settled down to build a century stand. Gubbins in particular found his fluency, hitting 10 boundaries as he passed 50.

It was Abbas again who broke the stand shortly after lunch with one which left Holden off the seam and was edged through to wicketkeeper Lewis Hill.

Gubbins, in a rich vein of form after three scores of 90-plus in the Royal London Cup continued untroubled, taking his boundary count to 15, but with a century in the offing the left-hander needlessly aimed a sweep at offspinner Colin Ackerman and gently lobbed a catch to short-fine leg.

That brought in Stevie Eskinazi, skipper in the absence of the injured Dawid Malan, and he moved briskly to 33 at more than a run a ball courtesy of six fours. However, he too fell victim to Ackerman when trying to cut one too close to him and edging through to Hill.

His departure ended a stand of 46 with Lace, who was making his first-class debut for Middlesex after being recalled from a loan spell with Derbyshire. He too played nicely, surviving just one scare when top-edging one from Abbas over the head of Hill.

His eighth four took him to 50 just before tea, but he departed almost immediately afterwards when edging a lifting ball from Ben Mike and giving Hill his third catch of the day. And the hosts were in trouble when two balls later Mike struck again, trapping John Simpson lbw with one which seemed to keep low.

Scott and James Harris, the latter fresh from his maiden century in Middlesex's Royal London Cup play-off defeat to Lancashire dug in adding 55, before Abbas got the new ball in his hand and snared the latter leg before for 24.

Ollie Rayner in his first match of the season suffered the same fate just two balls later, meaning Middlesex needed Scott, with a career-best 52 not out, to steer them past the sanctuary of 300.

Worcestershire 1 for 1 trail Durham 273 (Burnham 76, Bancroft 70, Morris 6-53) by 272 runs

As curators of the county circuit's most aesthetically appealing backdrop, Worcestershire have an onerous responsibility. Having upset enough traditionalists by allowing a monstrous (to some critics) four-storey hotel to be built in one corner of the New Road ground, the decision to erect a new electronic scoreboard next to it cannot have been taken lightly.

The one it replaces was so small as to be barely visible, particularly now that the banks of seats obscure half of it anyway. Make it too large, though, and there is danger of encroaching on The View. Happily, the chosen dimensions have avoided that, although the grey open metalwork surrounding it is not a masterstroke of urban minimalism: it just isn't finished yet.

The numbers on the scorecard showed both sides in the ascendancy at different times on a sunblessed day of the kind that shows off the cathedral at its best, set against a crisp blue backcloth, framed by vibrant spring green.

Durham rejected the chance to bowl first and won the right to bat, which did not seem too smart as openers Alex Lees and Cameron Steel were being dismissed with just 10 on the board. Lees drove ambitiously at a ball from Charlie Morris and a thick inside edge clattered into his stumps, then Steel followed one outside off stump and Riki Wessels took a sharp low catch at first slip. It was a wicket for Joe Leach, the captain, significant because he had not played competitive senior cricket for 11 months after suffering a stress fracture in the back.

Leach struck another blow in his next over as Gareth Harte was leg before and at 14 for 3 Durham were in a spot of early bother. Leach finished his opening spell with 2 for 12 from six overs.

Once the shine began to wear off the new ball, however, the story began to change. Cameron Bancroft, the Durham captain, applied himself judiciously, as too did Jack Burnham, the former England Under-19 batsman. They negotiated a steady and for the most part untroubled path to lunch at 77 for 3.

The day became a significant one for Burnham, too, as he seeks to rebuild his career after a year of enforced absence, the consequence of three failed tests for recreational drug use. There are some who advocate life bans for any form of drug abuse but 12 months is a long time for a 21-year-old for whom it must have once seemed he had the world at his feet.

He took himself off to labour on a road gang for part of his time away, reacquainting himself with a world in which money is too sparse to throw away on the empty self-gratification that tempted him before. Durham, who need talented young players more than ever, will hope it is all in the past.

When Burnham passed fifty off 109 balls it was his first since July 2017. He and Bancroft added 149 in 46 overs.

But then the balance of the day shifted again as both fell in consecutive overs towards the end of the middle session. Josh Tongue, with the second ball of a new spell, removed Bancroft, trapped in front for 70 trying to work to leg, then Morris, who was to be the bowler of the day, had Burnham caught behind for 76. When Leach then bowled Liam Trevaskis, Durham had slipped from 163 for 3 to 177 for 6.

More rebuilding followed as Ben Raine and Ned Eckersley, reprising old Leicestershire partnerships, added 60 for the seventh wicket, but then, with the new ball taken, it became a Morris dance through the tail, the right-arm seamer dismissing both in consecutive overs and taking the last four wickets in the space of five overs as Durham were out for 273.

Morris spent much of last season away from the first team remodelling a once-suspect action. His 6 for 53 followed his 7 for 45 in Worcestershire's opening win over Leicestershire, so whatever remedial work he undertook seems to have worked.

Chris Rushworth's action could hardly be better honed. As if to demonstrate that fact, as Worcestershire began their reply, the Durham stalwart struck with his second ball to remove Daryl Mitchell.

The lawyers for the family of Nicholas Immesberger have alleged that The Woods Jupiter has destroyed video evidence of the employee drinking at the bar for three hours -- to the point of severe intoxication -- prior to his fatal crash in December.

The family is suing the restaurant, owner Tiger Woods and restaurant general manager Erica Herman, who is Woods' girlfriend, for the wrongful death of Immesberger, who had a blood alcohol reading of .256, more than three times the legal limit in Florida, when he lost control of his car, crashed it and suffered fatal injuries on Dec. 10, 2018. Immesberger was 24.

"One of the most significant issues we have here is the destruction of evidence," attorney Spencer Kuvin said Tuesday. "Obviously it shows that somebody knew something had gone wrong and they wanted to get rid of that evidence. We have evidence to show that that videotape, showing Nick at the bar that night after he got off at 3 p.m., drinking for three hours at the bar, was destroyed shortly after the crash had occurred.

"So we have through our investigation uncovered evidence to show that the bar knew what happened, they knew about the crash that night and shortly thereafter that video evidence was destroyed and deleted off the servers they had there at The Woods."

Immesberger was a bartender at The Woods, and the suit alleges that Woods, Herman and other employees were aware that Immesberger had a drinking problem but regularly overserved him during and after his work shifts.

"Tiger knew, or reasonably should have known, that Immesberger was habitually addicted to the use of any or all alcoholic beverages, and/or was a habitual drunkard,'' the lawsuit says.

The lawsuit alleges that Woods and Herman were "drinking with him" a few nights before the fatal crash. It is unclear whether Woods or Herman were at the restaurant on Dec. 10 after they had returned home from a trip to Australia on the night of Dec. 7.

"We're all very sad that Nick passed away," Woods said during media availability for the PGA Championship on Tuesday. "It was a terrible night, a terrible ending, and just -- we feel bad for him and his entire family. It's very sad.''

Kuvin also said Tuesday that Herman and other restaurant employees were aware that Immesberger had wrecked another vehicle just one month before the fatal crash after being "overserved again" at The Woods.

"Erica specifically asked him to come back to work at the bar, and she was aware of his addiction and problem," Kuvin said.

With the Portland Trail Blazers and Toronto Raptors each four wins away from a matchup in the NBA Finals, plans are being made to ensure Blazers starting center Enes Kanter can safely participate in all the games.

Oregon Senator Ron Wyden is sending a letter to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on behalf of Kanter encouraging safe passage for the Turkish center to Canada for all games.

"I ask your government to facilitate Mr. Kanter's safe passage to and from Canada should the Portland Trail Blazers play the Toronto Raptors in Toronto, Canada, in the upcoming NBA Finals," the letter states. "I also urge your government to state publicly that it will not comply with any Interpol red notice meant to interfere with Mr. Kanter's livelihood and to intimidate him and his family back in Turkey."

Kanter has found strong support from Wyden since joining the Blazers in February after being bought out by the New York Knicks.

"I have full confidence to myself and my team to win the Western Conference finals," Kanter told ESPN via text message. "Going to Toronto will be a bit hectic for me for the reasons you know, and I know Senator Wyden is working hard to make sure that I can make it and I really appreciate it.

"On the other side, I know the Prime Minister of Canada, Mr. Justin Trudeau is a good leader and I have confidence in him to help with my situation," Kanter said. "I know this because he's already helping many more Turkish citizens, in the Hizmet movement, who are oppressed by the Dictator Erdogan regime right now."

Kanter has been an outspoken critic of Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Kanter is aligned with Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, who the Erdogan government accuses of helping orchestrate a failed coup attempt in 2016.

Because of safety concerns and issues with his immigration status, Kanter, who has a green card, did not travel with the Blazers to play the Raptors in early March. Kanter had his Turkish passport revoked in 2017 and has had a warrant out for his arrest in Turkey since January. Turkey also reportedly seeks an Interpol red notice for Kanter, which could result in him being detained and deported back to his home country.

"On another note, even if Senator Wyden and PM Trudeau does their best, Dictator Erdogan will try using/abusing all his powers to manipulate red notice system through Interpol," Kanter said in the text message. "As you know, I am a law abiding citizen both in Turkey and here in the U.S. -- I never broke a single law in my life, didn't even have a parking ticket, but Turkish government cancels my passport ... WHY? it's simply because I'm an outspoken critic of Dictator Erdogan. So, Erdogan might push all his chances through Interpol, which I believe he tries abusing it.

"Interpol should not let itself to get abused by any Dictator regime, including Erdogan's," Kanter said. "No matter whatever they do, I won't back down from my fight in the path of democracy, uplifting human rights and freedom of speech."

In January, when Kanter was with the New York Knicks, he did not travel to London for a game against the Washington Wizards, citing safety concerns.

"As President Erdogan continues taking Turkey down a dark, authoritarian road, Mr. Kanter is hardly the only person to face persecution," Wyden's letter to Trudeau says. "But without his Turkish passport -- and not yet able to qualify for an American passport -- Mr. Kanter does find himself in a particularly tenuous legal position resulting from being a public person using his bully pulpit to speak out against a dangerous bully.

"I have instructed my staff to work with our administration to ensure that Mr. Kanter could travel safely to Canada and return unimpeded in the event of a Portland-Toronto NBA series," it says. "I urge your government to ensure the same with respect to Mr. Kanter's ability to enter Canada, play in Canada, and then return safely and expeditiously to the United States. I also urge you to state publicly that your government will ignore any red notice against Mr. Kanter."

Kanter is in the process of becoming a United States citizen, but he won't have that finalized until 2021.

With the Blazers in the Western Conference finals, Turkish broadcaster S Sport will not televise the series against the Golden State Warriors.

"I can say clearly that we will not be broadcasting the Warriors-Blazers series," S Sport commentator Omer Sarac told Reuters. "Furthermore, if Portland makes it to the Finals, [that] will not be broadcast either ... This situation is not about us, but it is what it is."

According to NBA deputy commissioner and chief operating officer Mark Tatum, "fans in Turkey can watch all playoff games featuring Enes Kanter and the Portland Trail Blazers on NBA League Pass and NBA TV International."

Terry Rozier said Tuesday on ESPN First Take that he wouldn't be interested in returning to the Boston Celtics if the team decides to bring back the same cast next season.

"No, I might have to go. I might have to go. I put up with a lot this year so I said what I said after this season. I think we all know I'm not trying to step into that again," he said.

Rozier, a point guard, will be a restricted free agent this summer.

Rozier on Tuesday discussed what went wrong with the Celtics this season and having to take a lesser role with the return of Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward, who both suffered season-ending injuries last season.

He was asked Tuesday to expand on his comments to Yahoo Sports after the Celtics were eliminated from the playoffs by the Milwaukee Bucks that he "sacrificed the most out of anybody" on the team this season.

"I sacrificed obviously my talent the most," he said. "I think me being out there and giving my full style of play, how Terry Rozier play. I feel like I couldn't be that person this year."

Rozier averaged 16.5 points, 5.3 assists and 4.8 rebounds per game in the playoffs last season, helping the Celtics reach the Eastern Conference finals. But with the return of Irving and Hayward, he became an afterthought.

"Obviously in the shadow of some guys ... the ball was in either Kyrie's or Gordon Hayward's hands most of the time. I feel like Terry Rozier was just in the corner or on the bench," he said.

He said he had a positive mindset before the season started, but once Irving announced to the fans that he would re-sign with Boston this summer as a free agent if they wanted him back, "things shifted left for me and I just seen the way people treated me with their attitudes and I was just thrown all the way in the backseat. I just had to adjust to that."

Irving will be an unrestricted free agent this summer.

He acknowledged that coach Brad Stevens had a tough job this season with this Celtics squad.

"I feel like along with the coaches treating Gordon and Kyrie, I wouldn't say different than everybody else, but I just feel like they treated them like they was on that level where there were no adjustments that could be made because they are who they are," he said. "We never figured it out. We never figured it out after that."

OAKLAND, Calif. -- Portland Trail Blazers guard Rodney Hood was back on the court in Tuesday's Game 1 of the Western Conference finals, just two days after suffering a bone bruise in his left knee.

Hood was injured in the third quarter of Portland's Game 7 victory on Sunday in Denver, going down awkwardly after Nuggets guard Torrey Craig set a back screen on him.

"I'm solid," Hood said after warming up. "There's still some soreness. It's just something that I'm going to have to manage and deal with it."

Hood did not return to Sunday's contest, and the Trail Blazers originally referred to the injury as a hyperextended left knee. An MRI revealed a bone bruise, and Hood was listed as questionable for Game 1 against the Golden State Warriors.

Hood, who was acquired in a midseason trade with the Cleveland Cavaliers, played a critical role in Portland's Western Conference semifinals series victory. He averaged 14.7 points per game on 57.6 percent shooting off the bench, highlighted by a 25-point performance in the Blazers' Game 6 win in Portland.

MILWAUKEE -- Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks are hoping to avoid a carbon copy of their semifinal series against the Boston Celtics.

The Bucks won the series, taking the last four games, and they haven't forgotten the 22-point whomping the Celtics delivered in Game 1.

Antetokounmpo said giving up Game 1 to the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday in the Eastern Conference finals could be a death knell.

"Against Boston, you can go down 1-0 and still be fine," Antetokounmpo said at practice Tuesday. "But against Toronto, it's hard to be in that spot when you lose the first game in your home."

Antetokounmpo said he regards Kawhi Leonard as one of the best players in the league. Leonard hit a game-winning, deep-corner jumper in Game 7 against the 76ers to send the Raptors to the Eastern Conference finals.

Antetokounmpo admitted that he didn't think the shot, which rattled around the rim four times, would go in.

"I'm not gonna lie," Antetokounmpo said. "I thought it was gonna go to overtime.

"I was talking to my family. I was watching the game, and I told them that Toronto has some soft rims, so when you shoot the ball, it tends to bounce around the rim, and it goes in sometimes, so you always have a chance if you shoot the ball with an arc. And I was saying that, and in the fourth quarter, he hit the shot."

CHICAGO -- Ahead of this year's NBA draft lottery, the New Orleans Pelicans held a contest for a season-ticket holder to submit a lucky charm to wish the team success.

The winner, Connie Halphen, gave Pelicans executive vice president of basketball operations David Griffin a 56-year-old wooden angel.

It turned out to be exactly what the Pelicans needed.

New Orleans leapt up from the seventh spot to the top of this year's draft Tuesday night, earning the right to take Zion Williamson in next month's NBA Draft. The Pelicans had just a 6 percent chance to win the lottery.

"Connie had a good luck charm and it happened to be an angel," Griffin said. "It was fitting."

New Orleans winning the lottery capped a wild night that saw three teams -- the Pelicans, Memphis Grizzlies and Los Angeles Lakers -- leap far up the order, throwing chaos into one of the most anticipated drafts in recent memory.

The first shock was when the Lakers were revealed to have jumped up from the 11th spot -- a moment that grew gasps from the crowd inside the Chicago Hilton ballroom. A similar reaction occurred when the Washington Wizards were revealed to have the ninth pick -- meaning the Grizzlies and Pelicans had jumped up.

"I wasn't good enough at math to realize when the Washington Wizards came up ninth," Griffin said with a smile. "It's an incredible blessing for our organization."

#PELICANS TICKET OFFICE IS WILDIN!!' ??? #BirdStrikes pic.twitter.com/meihqCrWdd

— New Orleans Pelicans (@PelicansNBA) May 15, 2019

The next piece of drama came when the fifth selection was waiting to be unveiled. After a moment, NBA deputy commissioner Mark Tatum revealed that the Cleveland Cavaliers would have the fifth pick -- meaning the New York Knicks, who had the worst record last season, had jumped up into the top four.

"I just sat back and hoped it was going to be No. 1," said Patrick Ewing, the team's last No. 1 pick, 34 years ago, and who was representing the Knicks on the dais here.

It wasn't to be, though, as the Lakers would get the fourth pick and the Knicks the third. The winner wound then come down to either the Grizzlies or Pelicans -- two teams that had tied, along with the Dallas Mavericks, for the seventh-best odds.

The Pelicans got the benefit of the pingpong balls bouncing their way last month to receive the seventh lottery spot. They then got them again Tuesday in winning the chance to select Williamson.

"I don't want to focus on individual players," Griffin said with a smile, shortly after being mobbed by New Orleans coach Alvin Gentry, "but I think it's really good at the top."

Williamson told ESPN's Maria Taylor that he has never been to New Orleans, but he said he will bring his "will to win" to whichever team ends up drafting him.

"I don't know why, I'm just still nervous," Williamson said. "Maybe because ... all eyes were on me. And I think it's a lot to take in, 'cause I don't know where I'm gonna be."

This year marked the first time since 2005 that the NBA's lottery system underwent any changes. Under the prior system, having the worst record in the NBA meant having a 25 percent chance of winning the top pick, with each subsequent pick down to the final spot in the lottery -- the 14th selection -- having a lesser chance of winning. The league would draw for each of the top three spots in the lottery.

Starting this year, however, the teams with the three worst records had the exact same chance -- 14 percent -- of winning the lottery, followed by a much more gradual change in the percentages of jumping up. In addition, the NBA boosted the number of lottery spots available for the drawing from three to four.

The changes came in response to the league seeing an issue with teams tanking for top selections in the draft -- and after the team with the worst record had won the lottery in each of the past four seasons.

The New York Yankees acquired first baseman/designated hitter Kendrys Morales and cash considerations from the Oakland Athletics on Tuesday in exchange for a player to be named later or cash considerations.

Morales had hit at least 20 home runs in each of the previous four seasons, and he has 212 homers in his 13-year career.

The A's had designated Morales for assignment on Monday. The 35-year-old was hitting just .204 with one home run and seven RBIs in 108 at-bats. He had made 23 starts at first base this season.

In announcing the DFA, A's manager Bob Melvin said, "Unfortunately, we had to let him go. I'll tell you what, this guy, maybe he didn't put up big numbers, but this is a terrific teammate."

The A's acquired Morales from the Toronto Blue Jays before the season.

With first baseman Matt Olson returning last week after missing 34 games with a hand injury and Morales struggling at the plate, Morales' spot on the roster had been in question.

To make room on the 40-man roster, the Yankees transferred right-handed pitcher Jonathan Loaisiga to the 60-day injured list.

New York Yankees third baseman Miguel Andujar will make a decision on whether to undergo shoulder surgery that would likely end his season in the next 24 hours, according to manager Aaron Boone.

Andujar, 24, missed more than a month because of a labrum tear in his right shoulder. He returned from the injured list last week but managed only three hits in 34 at-bats, prompting the Yankees to send him for more tests on his shoulder.

Andujar returned to the 10-day injured list on Monday, one day before an MRI showed no change in his shoulder from the MRI in April that revealed the tear, Boone said Tuesday.

Boone said Andujar will talk the situation over with his family and the team and make a determination on what's next, either a return to rehab or surgery.