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Rohit on Green's low catch: 'The third umpire should have seen more replays'
"I just felt disappointed. I mean, the third umpire should have seen a little more replays, a little more of, you know, how the catch has been held," Rohit said after India's 209-run loss early on Sunday. "I think it was three or four times he saw, and he was convinced with it. It's not about whether it was given out or not out, you need to have a proper and clear information about anything. It's just not about the catch, it can be about anything."
"That was, that is something that I was a little disappointed with - the decision was made quite quickly," Rohit said. "When a catch like that has been taken, you need to be more than 100% sure because it's a final and we were at that important stage of the game as well. So that was to me a little disappointing."
The replays on the broadcast seemed to lose a bit of action between frames, between Green catching the ball with his fingers underneath it, as he fell to the turf, and then throwing it up in celebration. The big question at the time was whether the ball touched the ground when his hand hit the turf.
"More camera angles should have been shown," Rohit went on. "There was only one or two camera angles that were shown. We've got more angles in IPL. We've got 10 different angles in IPL. I don't know why in a world event like this, there was no ultra motion that was seen or any kind of zoomed image was seen. That is what I was a little disappointed with."
"Passionate fans," Cummins said. "But I thought it was a fair catch. Green was an absolute screamer and obviously we're just players, we're out on the field so we leave it in the umpire's hands and personally, probably the best umpire in the world, he knows the rule books, he's seen every angle. I'd probably back his decision more so than emotional, passionate fans that are looking on a big screen from 100 meters away."
"Josh is in a really good position, so he will be available for selection next week," Cummins said. "I think he's had two spells out there today and feeling great, so he's got quite a bit of work behind him and his body is feeling good."
Heading into the final day against India, Boland, the pick of Australia's pace attack throughout the Test, did not really need to do any more to advance his claims to be a first-choice place in the attack, but he added to his already substantial body of outstanding work anyway.
"I feel like we're starting to become too used to Scotty Boland just doing that," Cummins said. "He just keeps finding another level doesn't he? He's unbelievable. He is just our best bowler all game. Held it together [and] didn't go for many runs. Always looked threatening. To get two wickets in a row was just reward for how well he bowled throughout the whole game."
While Australia have spoken regularly of likely needing to rotate their quicks throughout the Ashes - and therefore the concept of just one 'first choice' attack is probably outdated - it would seem extraordinary if Boland doesn't line up at Edgbaston barring any injury concerns. So the question becomes fitting him in.
The feeling before the final was that if Hazlewood had been fit, or if this had been a one-off game for Australia with no Ashes to follow, he would have played. With 222 wickets at 25.83 and 36 in England at 23.58 it's hard to say that would have been the wrong call. Earlier this year, when he returned from injury against South Africa in Sydney, he played ahead of Boland and took five wickets in the match.
Interestingly, he was demoted from the new ball in the second innings: on only 12 previous occasions in 148 Test innings had he not shared the opening duties. However, Cummins played down any significance over the move.
"I don't think I'd look too much into that," he said. "We did that last Ashes series as well. We chop and change the opening bowlers depending on gut feel. The ball moves a little bit differently to a Kookaburra. It might swing a bit more after a few overs rather than the first couple.
"I thought Starcy bowled well, particularly today. He did a role for us that we know Starcy can do after 80 Test matches. Again, his runs, we were talking about Mitchell Starc the bowler, but he always contributes with the bat as well. He has got a huge tour ahead of him. The English side sets up slightly different as well, there are a few more left handers. Really happy with where Starcy is."
So, either someone who averages under 15 in Test cricket, someone with more than 300 wickets or someone with more than 200 wickets will not be in the XI on Friday. As captains, coaches and selectors like to say, it's a good problem to have. But it still makes for one of most fascinating decisions Australia have faced in recent times.
Creighton transfer Arthur Kaluma, the highest-ranked men's basketball player still in the portal, committed to Kansas State on Sunday, sources told ESPN.
Kaluma chose the Wildcats over Kentucky and Alabama, both of which had been hoping to get the talented forward on campus next week. He began his visit to Kansas State on Friday.
He will help replace Keyontae Johnson in Manhattan, where coach Jerome Tang is rebuilding following an Elite Eight run in his first season with the Wildcats. All-Americans Johnson and Markquis Nowell both departed, and Tang will hope Kaluma and North Texas transfer Tylor Perry can step in and fill their shoes. Guard Cam Carter and center Nae'Qwan Tomlin, who each started all 36 games last season, are back, as is part-time starter David N'Guessan.
A 6-foot-8 forward from Arizona who has represented Uganda internationally in multiple tournaments, Kaluma was in the top 100 of ESPN's NBA draft rankings and attended the draft combine. He met with and worked out for seven NBA teams before withdrawing his name on deadline day.
Kaluma improved his numbers across the board last season at Creighton, averaging 11.8 points and 6.0 rebounds per game and shooting 31.1% from 3-point range after putting up 10.4 points and 5.4 rebounds as a freshman. He scored in double figures in all four of the Bluejays' NCAA tournament games, including a first-round win over NC State in which he had 10 points, nine rebounds and four assists.
He has been at his best in the postseason, registering 24 points and 12 rebounds against Kansas in the second round of the 2022 NCAA tournament in what perhaps was the best performance of his career.
Lions' relationship with ex-WR Johnson trends up
ALLEN PARK, Mich. -- Although no current Detroit Lions players were on site for any offseason workout programs, the practice facility was open for one of the greatest players in franchise history on Sunday.
Hall of Fame receiver Calvin Johnson returned to host a high school football camp, welcoming all positions, in partnership with the Lions.
Johnson's connection with the Lions has been trending up lately as the franchise tries to repair its relationship with him. He was spotted on the sidelines during an OTA session in late May in addition to returning for the last day of mandatory minicamp Thursday.
He said, "it feels good to be around the guys," but doesn't have a designated role with the team.
He credits Lions chief operating officer Mike Disner for helping mend the relationship, although he says there's still work to be done.
"I always say Mike Disner's been a huge part of bringing this thing back together with the team," Johnson said. "So I'm appreciative of them, appreciative of the whole organization allowing me to have it here and collabing with me in doing that because it's a heck of an experience for these kids."
Johnson's relationship soured in Detroit after being forced to pay back a little more than $1 million to the Lions upon his retirement after the 2015 season. However, he has been around the team facility more than usual this offseason, even joining Lions great Barry Sanders in welcoming Detroit rookies Jahmyr Gibbs and Jack Campbell once they arrived in Michigan with their families.
"I don't know, I just want to be here for the team, and for the players," Johnson said during Sunday's camp. "I've got a lot of experience, on and off the field, so I'd love to share it."
Fellow Hall of Famer Warren Sapp was among the many former pros to assist at Johnson's camp Sunday. Sapp called it "a beautiful thing whenever an organization brings back one of their signature players."
"Barry didn't end too well either up here, so it's just one of those things where we're grown now," Sapp told ESPN. "Let's let bygones be bygones and let's just move on because it's a better and bigger purpose out there.
"It's always good whenever you do right by your legends because we were sitting underneath the Doug Williams curse [in Tampa Bay] until [head coach] Jon [Gruden] brought him on the sidelines with us, trust me. I saw Doug the other day, too, and we talked about it, trust me. You sit underneath those curses with your former players that you didn't do right. Yes."
Johnson, 37, still holds many franchise records, including most receptions (731), receiving yards (11,619) and touchdowns (83) despite retiring from the NFL after just nine seasons (2007-2015).
Lions coach Dan Campbell still lauds Johnson as an "unbelievable teammate" despite his massive success. Campbell played alongside Johnson in Detroit in 2007 and '08 and says he welcomes his feedback and advice as the Lions look to build off their 9-8 finish last season.
"To have him out here, you know, there's a level of respect that will always be there for me, but even our players, they know who he is," Campbell said during OTAs on May 25. "Anybody who has played around this game you know; they understand the type of player he was. From a production standpoint.
"I wish they knew what kind of teammate he really was; you know, I wish they had a chance to actually play with him. But it's good to have him here. It is. It's good. It's good for us."
Djokovic sets record with 23rd Grand Slam title
PARIS -- Novak Djokovic made it clear for years that this was his goal. What drove him. What inspired him. The biggest titles from his sport's biggest stages were Djokovic's main aim, and now he finally stands alone -- ahead of Rafael Nadal, ahead of Roger Federer, ahead of every man who ever has swung a racket.
If Djokovic could wait this long to hold this record, he certainly could wait for the half-hour or so it took to straighten out his strokes in the French Open final. And so, after a bit of a shaky start in thick, humid air and under foreboding charcoal clouds Sunday, he imposed himself. His opponent at Court Philippe Chatrier, Casper Ruud, never really stood a serious chance after that.
Djokovic earned his record 23rd Grand Slam men's singles championship, breaking a tie with Nadal and moving three in front of the retired Federer, with a 7-6 (1), 6-3, 7-5 victory over Ruud that really was not in doubt for most of its 3 hours, 13 minutes.
Nadal congratulated Djokovic on Twitter, tweeting that it was an "amazing achievement."
Djokovic, 36, from Serbia, puts this one alongside the French Open titles he earned in 2016 and 2021, making him the only man with at least three from each major event. He has won 10 trophies at the Australian Open, seven at Wimbledon and three at the US Open.
"A Grand Slam is a Grand Slam -- four biggest tournaments that we have in the history of our sport, tennis. Every single player dreams of being on this stage and winning the trophy at least once in their career. I am beyond fortunate in my life to win, 23 times, Grand Slams," Djokovic said, wearing a red jacket with that special number stitched on the chest. "It's an incredible, incredible feeling."
Also worth noting: Djokovic is again halfway to a calendar-year Grand Slam -- winning all four majors in one season -- something no man has achieved since Rod Laver in 1969. Djokovic came close to pulling off that feat in 2021, when he won the Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon and made it all the way to the title match at the US Open before losing to Daniil Medvedev.
Djokovic will resume that pursuit at Wimbledon, which begins on the grass of the All England Club on July 3.
He has now held the trophy at 11 of the past 20 Slams, a remarkable run made even more so when considering that he did not participate in two majors during that span because he did not get vaccinated against COVID-19. Djokovic was deported from Australia in January 2021 before the Australian Open, and he was not allowed to fly to the United States ahead of last year's US Open under a rule that has since been lifted.
"Another day, another record for you," Ruud said, addressing Djokovic during the postmatch ceremony. "Another day you write tennis history. Just tough to explain how incredible it is and what an inspiration you are."
Getting to 23 not only sets the mark for men, but it also lets Djokovic equal Serena Williams, who wrapped up her career last year, for the most by anyone in the Open era, which began in 1968. Margaret Court won some of her record 24 Slam trophies in the amateur era.
At 20 days past his 36th birthday, Djokovic is the oldest singles champion at Roland Garros, considered the most grueling of the majors because of the lengthy, grinding points required by the red clay, which is slower than the grass or hard courts underfoot elsewhere.
Nadal's 22nd major arrived in Paris two days after he turned 36. He has been sidelined since January by a hip injury and had arthroscopic surgery on June 2.
As if all of that weren't enough, Djokovic's triumph Sunday also means he will return to No. 1 in the ATP rankings Monday, replacing Carlos Alcaraz of Spain. Djokovic already has spent more weeks at the top spot than any player -- man or woman -- since the inception of computerized tennis rankings a half-century ago.
It was Djokovic who eliminated Alcaraz in the semifinals on Thursday, wearing him down over two thrilling sets until the 20-year-old's body cramped up badly. Alcaraz continued to play, but the scores of the last two sets of the four-set match told the story: 6-1, 6-1.
This was the third Slam final in the past five events for Ruud, 24, from Norway, but he is now 0-3. He lost to Nadal at the French Open a year ago and to Alcaraz at the US Open in September.
Perhaps due to an awareness of all that was at stake, Djokovic, in his 34th major final, was the one who got off to a shaky start.
Ruud emerged to a partial ovation and polite applause. More folks rose to their feet as a roar met Djokovic's entrance, followed by thunderous chants of his two-syllable nickname, "No-le! No-le! No-le!" That chorus resumed right before play began -- and repeatedly over the course of the afternoon, sometimes to celebrate his best moments, sometimes to encourage him.
As Djokovic reeled off 12 of the last 13 points to end things, dropping onto his back with limbs spread wide at the finish, the shouts of his name were thunderous.
The preferred method of saluting Ruud? Drawn-out, monotone pronouncements of his last name -- "Ruuuuuuuuuud" -- that sounded as if it were booing, which, of course, it was not.
At first, Ruud seemed to do whatever he could to test Djokovic's forehand, the weaker side. It paid off early, when Djokovic kept missing that stroke -- into the net, wide, long -- then made a different sort of mistake, shanking an overhead from near the net way beyond the opposite baseline to get broken and trail 2-0.
For whatever reason, that shot always has been Djokovic's "bête noire," and he missed another overhead later in the set.
Soon, Ruud led 4-1, thanks in part to Djokovic's troubles. By then, Djokovic accumulated 13 unforced errors, while Ruud made just four.
And then everything changed.
After finishing the first set with 18 unforced errors, Djokovic recalibrated himself, with merely 14 over the last two sets combined.
Then it was Ruud's turn to flub an overhead, rocking back and depositing his into the net to end a 29-stroke point. Djokovic's first service break made it 4-3, and he shook his right fist.
They went to a tiebreaker, truly Djokovic's dominion. When the import rises, along with the tension, he simply excels. Has forever, it seems.
During the first-to-seven segment, Djokovic contributed four winners and zero unforced errors.
That made his career mark in tiebreakers 308-162, a winning percentage of .655. In 2023, he's 15-4, including 6-0 in Paris -- there were 55 points played across that half-dozen, and Djokovic's sum total of unforced errors was zero.
That set alone lasted 1 hour, 21 minutes, chock full of extended exchanges, the sort of points about which entire stories could be written. There were those that lasted 20, 25, 29 strokes. One was won by Ruud with the help of a back-to-the-net, between-the-legs shot. On another, Djokovic tumbled behind the baseline, smudging his red shirt, blue shorts and skin with the rust-colored clay.
Djokovic's scrambling and stretching and bending and twisting on defense shows up on the scoreboard, for sure. But all of the long points also sap a foe's energy and will.
Helps as well, maybe, that Djokovic knows all the little ins and outs. He complained to chair umpire Damien Dumusois about how much time was being allotted for changeovers -- a little extra rest never hurt anyone, right? Djokovic took the 25-second serve clock down until it expired and occasionally beyond that, so much so that one voice from the seats exclaimed, "Serve it!" And Dumusois warned him for the time-taking in the third set.
When he broke Ruud to lead 3-0 in the second set, his powers now on full display, Djokovic jabbed his right index finger against his right temple over and over and over. He wheeled to face his nearby box in the stands, where the guests included his coach, Goran Ivanisevic, his wife and two children, his agent and even seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady.
The recently retired Brady is widely viewed as the NFL's greatest of all time -- or GOAT, for short -- and there has been a debate in the tennis world for quite some time over which among Djokovic, Nadal or Federer deserves that sobriquet.
If the barometer is Grand Slam championships, no one can argue against Djokovic's status at the moment.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Sources: Celts hiring Bucks' Lee as top assistant
The Boston Celtics are finalizing a deal to hire Charles Lee as their lead assistant coach, sources told ESPN on Sunday.
The Celtics had long targeted the highly regarded Lee to join Joe Mazzulla's reshaped coaching staff, waiting out head-coaching searches by Detroit and Toronto to secure him. Lee was a finalist for both jobs, sources said, and was pursued for several top assistant coaching jobs in the offseason before landing with the Celtics.
Lee has been an assistant for former coach Mike Budenholzer for the past nine seasons -- including the past four with the Bucks -- and ascended to Milwaukee's top assistant job with the departure of Darvin Ham to the Los Angeles Lakers last year.
Lee will join former Philadelphia 76ers assistant Sam Cassell on the Celtics' coaching staff.
The Celtics reached Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals under Mazzulla before losing to the Miami Heat. Mazzulla had taken over as head coach from Ime Udoka shortly before the start of training camp and only now is getting the chance to surround himself with a veteran and accomplished assistant coaching staff.
DENVER -- Colorado Rockies outfielder Charlie Blackmon has a fractured right hand and is expected to be sidelined for four to six weeks.
Blackmon was placed on the 10-day injured list Sunday, and Colorado recalled infielder Coco Montes, who was to make his major league debut at second base against the San Diego Padres.
Blackmon, who turns 37 on July 1, fractured the fifth metacarpal when he was hit by a pitch from Kansas City's Daniel Lynch leading off a game on June 3. Blackmon remained in the game and started the next four games before pinch hitting in Saturday's loss to San Diego.
"We've been monitoring the whole time and it hasn't felt great," Black said. "A couple different X-rays showed no fracture, and then based on how he's felt the last couple of days, Keith X-rayed him again last night and it showed the fracture," Black said, referring to head athletic trainer Keith Duggar.
Black was not surprised Blackmon continued to play with his injury.
"Charlie's a gamer. Nobody loves to play more than Charlie," Black said. "There are probably a few guys that are tied but nobody likes to play more."
Blackmon is the longest-tenured player on the Rockies roster. He made his major league debut in San Diego on June 7, 2011, and was a fixture in Colorado's lineup by 2013.
He won the National League batting title, mostly hitting leadoff, in 2017 when he hit a career-high .331 with 37 home runs, 213 hits, 137 runs, 104 RBIs and 14 triples.
He is hitting .265 with five home runs this season. His double Wednesday against San Francisco was the 300th of his career, second in franchise history to Todd Helton's 592.
Colorado also optioned infielder Alan Trejo to Triple-A Albuquerque, recalled catcher Brian Serven from the Isotopes and transferred right-hander Antonio Senzatela (elbow) to the 60-day injured list.
MILWAUKEE -- Milwaukee Brewers manager Craig Counsell missed Sunday's game against the Oakland Athletics to attend his son's high school graduation.
Brewers bench coach Pat Murphy managed in Counsell's place. Murphy had a 42-54 record as the San Diego Padres' interim manager for the final 96 games of the 2015 season after Bud Black was fired.
The game counted toward Counsell's managerial record.
Jack Counsell, who will play baseball at the University of Michigan next year, was graduating from Whitefish Bay (Wisconsin) High School. His older brother, Brady, is playing Big Ten baseball for Minnesota.
Milwaukee was trying to avoid getting swept by the Athletics, who have the worst record in the major leagues but had won four straight games. The Athletics hadn't won as many as five straight within the same season since September 2021.
The Los Angeles Dodgers selected the contract of left-hander Adam Kolarek from Triple-A Oklahoma City and optioned right-hander Andre Jackson.
In an additional move, the Dodgers moved outfielder Trayce Thompson to the 60-day injured list to make room on the 40-man roster for Kolarek.
Kolarek, 34, returns to the Dodgers for the first time since pitching for the club from 2019 to '20. He was 0-3 with a 2.18 ERA at Oklahoma City this season after signing with the club in December. In 170 career major league relief appearances, he is 11-4 with a 3.77 ERA for the Tampa Bay Rays (2017-19), Dodgers and Oakland Athletics (2021-22).
Jackson was just recalled Saturday and pitched three scoreless innings against the Philadelphia Phillies to earn his second three-inning save of the season. He was returned to Triple-A as the Dodgers look for more innings coverage during a planned bullpen game Sunday against the Phillies.
Jackson, 27, has a 6.62 ERA over seven relief appearances this season and is 0-1 with a 4.15 ERA in 14 career relief appearances for the Dodgers over the past three seasons.
Thompson, 32, has been on the IL since June 3 with an oblique injury. He was batting .155 with five home runs and 14 RBIs over 36 games.
According to the Orange County Register, Los Angeles right-hander Alex Reyes underwent a second shoulder surgery and will not pitch this season. An All-Star closer with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2021, Reyes did not pitch last season while having shoulder surgery. Reyes, 28, signed a $1.1 million deal with the Dodgers as he recovered before further shoulder damage was found.
CHICAGO -- White Sox closer Liam Hendriks has been sidelined by elbow inflammation after he missed the start of the season while he recovered from non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
Hendriks was placed on the 15-day injured list before Sunday's series finale against the Miami Marlins. Left-hander Tanner Banks was recalled from Triple-A Charlotte.
"It's unfortunate, especially how he got through what he got through," manager Pedro Grifol said. "It impacts us as a club emotionally. It impacts our roster, but again, we got to continue to move forward and hopefully he can recover from this. That's all we can do at this point."
General manager Rick Hahn said Hendriks' elbow discomfort is presenting in the same way as an issue the pitcher had last season, when he was placed on the IL on June 14 because of a strained right forearm flexor and then reinstated on July 4.
"At this point we do not know if that's going to be a similar path for this year," Hahn said. "He's undergoing additional examinations at this point. He's not at the ballpark, seeing our doctors. I suspect we won't have a specific update until probably Tuesday, in all candor."
The IL stint for Hendriks comes with the White Sox still trying to dig out of a brutal 7-21 start to this season. They had won six of eight heading into the rubber game of the weekend set against the Marlins.
When Hendriks missed the start of the season, the White Sox also were without Garrett Crochet while the left-hander finished his recovery from Tommy John surgery. Crochet returned last month, and Kendall Graveman has a string of 16 consecutive scoreless appearances.
Grifol also had been easing Hendriks back into the closer role.
"Obviously, losing Liam can hurt any bullpen," Grifol said. "But we are better prepared than if it just happened just out of the blue. I trust our guys that we have back there. They've been pitching great baseball. They've been pitching in different roles."
Hendriks made his major league return from cancer when he pitched an inning against the Los Angeles Angels on May 29. The 34-year-old right-hander is 2-0 with a save and a 5.40 ERA in five appearances this year.
Hendriks has 116 saves and a 3.82 ERA over 13 seasons with Minnesota, Toronto, Kansas City, Oakland and Chicago. He signed a $54 million, three-year deal with the White Sox in January 2021.
He led the American League with a career-high 38 saves in his first year with Chicago. He was third in the majors with 37 saves and made his third All-Star team in 2022, but he noticed some lumps on his neck last summer.
He was diagnosed with stage 4 non-Hodgkin lymphoma and underwent immunotherapy and chemotherapy. He announced in April that he was in remission.
"I'm disappointed for him, just because of how much, like you said, he has fought through and what he's personally been through to get himself back to this level," Hahn said. "So, I feel for him the person first. Secondly, yeah, it's disappointing to lose a potential weapon for the back end of our bullpen for some sort of period of time. That said, we feel a lot of confidence in the other options we have down there."