The NBA has opened an investigation into longtime referee Eric Lewis involving a Twitter account that responded to numerous posts on league officiating and defended Lewis and other NBA referees, league sources confirmed to ESPN.
The account in question, which has since been deleted, was listed under a username "Blair Cuttliff" with the handle @CuttliffBlair.
At potential issue is a league rule against referees commenting on officiating publicly without authorization. If it can be proved Lewis was making such statements, he could face discipline.
Lewis, who is in his 19th season as a referee, has officiated more than 1,100 games and 82 playoff games. He has been one of the NBA's highest-rated officials in recent years and has been assigned to six Finals games since 2019. He last worked Game 1 of the Western Conference finals between the Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Lakers on May 16.
Burner accounts have been an issue in the NBA in the past. In 2018, Philadelphia 76ers general manager Bryan Colangelo resigned when he and his wife were linked to burner accounts that criticized some of the team's players. In 2020, then-Golden State Warriors star Kevin Durant admitted that had used multiple burner accounts to interact with fans who criticized him or his team.
NBA reporter Marc Stein first reported the league had opened an investigation into Lewis.
The Pittsburgh Pirates placed right-hander Vince Velasquez on the 15-day injured list Sunday, a day after his return from a previous bout with elbow inflammation ended after two innings.
Velasquez started Saturday against the Seattle Mariners, his first appearance since May 4. He allowed four runs on seven hits in what would become a 5-0 defeat for the Pirates.
Pittsburgh recalled right-hander Cody Bolton from Triple-A Indianapolis. The 24-year-old Bolton made his major league debut with the Pirates last month, posting a 4.50 ERA with no decisions in three relief appearances across six innings. He is 1-1 with a 2.08 ERA in 13 appearances for Indianapolis.
Velasquez, 30, is 4-4 with a 3.86 ERA across eight starts in his first season with Pittsburgh after signing a one-year, $3.15 million deal in December. In his nine-year career, he is 38-51 with a 4.88 ERA in 191 career games (144 starts) with the Houston Astros, Philadelphia Phillies, San Diego Padres, Chicago White Sox and Pirates.
The Pirates, one of the hottest teams in baseball the first month of the season, are closing a subpar May. Eleven games over .500 headed into the month, Pittsburgh was just one game over .500 before Sunday's series finale in Seattle.
Information from Reuters was used in this report.
The Los Angeles Angels promoted prized pitching prospect Ben Joyce from Double-A Rocket City on Sunday and placed veteran left-hander Matt Moore on the 15-day injured list due to a right oblique strain.
The move involving Moore is retroactive to Thursday.
The right-handed Joyce was a third-round draft pick in 2022, and he is the second player from that entire class to reach the majors. The other is Angels shortstop Zach Neto, who was the 13th overall selection in the 2022 draft.
The 6-foot-5, 225-pound Joyce was the 89th selection after boasting a fastball clocked as high as 105 during his college career at Tennessee.
Joyce, 22, struck out 24 batters in just 15 2/3 innings at Rocket City in Madison, Alabama. He went 0-1 with a 4.60 ERA in 14 appearances. He is rated as the Angels' No. 9 prospect by MLB Pipeline.
Moore, 33, is 3-1 with a 1.44 ERA in 22 relief appearances. He has allowed just 13 hits and struck out 21 in 25 innings in his first season with the Angels.
Moore was injured while playing catch prior to Friday's game against the Miami Marlins.
Also, the Angels transferred right-hander Austin Warren (elbow) to the 60-day injured list, opening up a 40-man roster spot for Joyce.
MINNEAPOLIS -- The Minnesota Twins have lost eight of 10 series in May, with a lineup that's been limping along lately with a spate of injuries and too many strikeouts.
They could use a boost. Royce Lewis is on his way.
Lewis will join the Twins in Houston, where they'll start a three-game series Monday. The first overall pick in the 2017 draft will be reinstated from the 60-day injured list and return to action exactly one year from the date of the torn ACL in his right knee that limited his major league debut to 12 games.
Manager Rocco Baldelli announced the move after a 3-0 loss to Toronto on Sunday. Outfielders Kyle Garlick and Matt Wallner will be sent down to Triple-A St. Paul, where Lewis has been playing on a rehab assignment. Outfielder Max Kepler will also be reinstated from the 10-day injured list, after missing 14 games with a strained left hamstring.
"This is a culmination of a lot of hard work from Royce. I'm excited to see Royce back out on the field. He can jolt you with the enthusiasm and all of the exciting things that he can do, but he's a good young player and he's had a long road to get back to this point," Baldelli said.
Lewis batted .333 with four homers and 10 RBIs with a 1.098 OPS in eight games on his rehab assignment with the Saints. Manager Toby Gardenhire delivered the news, Baldelli said.
"All the reports have him in a good place, and he's done a good job following through on everything he's needed to do," Baldelli said. "Now, he's ready."
Lewis batted .300 with four doubles, two home runs -- including a grand slam - and five RBIs in 12 games for the Twins last season. He was drafted as a shortstop, but since the arrival of Carlos Correa last year he has made the transition to third base and will likely be a fixture there for the foreseeable future.
Second baseman Jorge Polanco (strained left hamstring) and outfielder Trevor Larnach (pneumonia) are two other regulars who remain out. Polanco went through a pregame workout and is eligible to return anytime, but Baldelli said he'll continue to be evaluated daily before a decision is made. Kyle Farmer and Edouard Julien can play second base in the meantime.
Wallner was sent back to Triple-A in a roster-management game despite reaching base eight straight times.
Chicago White Sox reliever Liam Hendriks will be reinstated to the active roster Monday, the team announced, after he missed the first two months of the season while being treated for non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
The White Sox posted a video montage to their Twitter page Sunday that featured messages from White Sox players and coaches welcoming back Hendriks.
"See you soon Southside," Hendriks posted on Instagram, along with Monday's date, 5-29.
Hendriks, 34, was diagnosed with stage 4 non-Hodgkin lymphoma in early December and completed his final round of chemotherapy in early April. He began a rehab assignment earlier this month, appearing in six games for Triple-A Charlotte.
Hendriks threw several batting practice sessions over the past 10 days against teammates before declaring himself ready Sunday.
"As of now I have a clean bill of health," Hendriks said this month as he began his rehab assignment. "I'm currently in remission."
Hendriks announced his diagnosis Jan. 9. His return comes just shy of six months since the diagnosis.
"As soon as I found out the regular treatment timelines, I thought, 'OK, how can I beat it?'" he said in May. "It was those days on the couch, not being able to move much [after chemo], those were the days you needed to dig deep and find that positive mental attitude."
The White Sox bullpen has struggled in Hendriks' absence, though it has been better in May after lefty Garrett Crochet returned from Tommy John surgery and righty Joe Kelly went on a scoreless streak that lasted 10 appearances. But overall Chicago has struggled through the first two months, heading into Memorial Day with a 22-33 record.
Hendriks is in the final season of a three-year, $54 million contract, with a $15 million club option for 2024.
The White Sox host the Los Angeles Angels on Monday night.
Maria Sakkari became the first top-10 seed to exit the French Open as she fell in straight sets to Karolina Muchova in a battling encounter.
Czech Muchova defeated the Greek eighth seed 7-6 (7-5) 7-5 in a first-round match lasting more than two hours.
It is the second successive year that Sakkari - a previous semi-finalist at Roland Garros - has been knocked out of the clay-court Grand Slam by Muchova.
"It's a little bit of deja vu," world number 43 Muchova said.
"It was a very tough match, she is a very good player. I'm glad we didn't play a [second] tie-break, I managed the nerves."
Muchova has beaten five top-10 players in 16 Grand Slam tournaments, including then world number one Ashleigh Barty at the 2021 Australian Open.
However she struggled with abdominal and ankle injuries in 2022, which limited her playing time.
"I don't want to say I'm not focused on other tournaments, but the motivation is bigger at all the four slams," Muchova, the world number 43, told reporters.
"I'm trying to get back my ranking as well because I think I could be at least seeded at the Grand Slams."
Muchova will face Argentina's Nadia Podoroska in the second round in Paris.
Third seed Jessica Pegula progressed to the second round with a scrappy 6-4 6-2 win over American compatriot Danielle Collins.
Pegula has yet to go beyond the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam singles event but came out on top against Collins in a match that had nine breaks of serve.
She will face Camila Giorgi next after the Italian beat home favourite Alize Cornet 6-3 6-4.
Pegula and Collins were the last match on Court Suzanne Lenglen, with Pegula saying it was "not easy" to wait for other matches to finish before taking to the court.
"For some reason I felt like I needed some extra time so I took a nap - I was able to feel pretty good before I came out here," she said.
"It's never easy, especially waiting all day after Karen [Khachanov] went five sets in the first match and then there were tough matches to follow.
"Thanks to [Andrey] Rublev for not going to five because that would have been really tough."
Sunday's opening day of action also brought defeat for 21st seed Magda Linette as the Pole was defeated 6-3 1-6 6-3 by Canada's 2021 US Open finalist Leylah Fernandez.
Poland could celebrate victory elsewhere, however, as Magdalena Frech stunned China's Zhang Shuai 6-1 6-1, while Belgium's 28th seed Elise Mertens beat Viktoria Hruncakova 6-1 6-4.
Chinese 19th seed Qinwen Zheng progressed with a 6-3 6-1 win over Tamara Zidansek.
Cameron Norrie and Jack Draper will aim to maintain British interest in the French Open singles draw as they begin their campaigns on day two in Paris.
British number one Norrie opens against French wildcard Benoit Paire, while main draw debutant Draper faces Argentine Tomas Martin Etcheverry.
Two-time champion Novak Djokovic and men's world number one Carlos Alcaraz are also in action on Monday.
Djokovic plays Aleksandar Kovacevic while Alcaraz meets Flavio Cobolli.
In the women's draw, French fifth seed Carolina Garcia will look to impress her home crowd as she faces China's Xiyu Wang on Court Philippe Chatrier.
Latvia's 2017 champion Jelena Ostapenko comes up against Czech Tereza Martincova, with two-time semi-finalist Petra Kvitova taking on Elisabetta Cocciaretto of Italy.
In the first night session of the 2023 tournament, Italian eighth seed Jannik Sinner will play Alexandre Muller (not before 19:15 BST).
Tournament organisers were criticised last year after just one of 10 night-session matches involved female players. However, tournament director Amelie Mauresmo said she could not promise an equal share of men's and women's matches in the slot in 2023.
Defeat for Dan Evans on Sunday left Norrie and Draper as the only Britons remaining in the Roland Garros singles event, with no British women coming through qualifying.
Norrie, who reached his first major semi-final at Wimbledon last year, has reached the third round in his previous two French Open appearances and won the Rio Open on clay in February.
His match against Paire is the first of the day on Court Suzanne Lenglen and will get under way from 10:00 BST.
Draper, 21, is looking to build on a breakthrough 2022 season and improve on his first round exit at the Australian Open earlier this year when he meets world number 49 Etcheverry, who is ranked six places above him.
Meanwhile, Spanish 20-year-old Alcaraz begins a Grand Slam tournament as the top seed for the first time in his career.
The youngest number one seed in Paris since Bjorn Borg (19) in 1976, Alcaraz was forced to miss the year's first major because of injury but he has quickly returned to form, collecting back-to-titles titles on clay in Barcelona and Madrid.
Speaking following his first round win on Sunday, Greek fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas paid tribute to the US Open champion's approach to the sport.
"I had a practice session with Carlitos the other day and I did throw in a thank you, just randomly, and I don't know if he understood that or not," Tsitsipas said.
"I owe a lot to him because he's such a breath of fresh air. He's so competitive and always with a smile on his face. There is so much charisma to him and so much positive energy that he distributes.
"I think that's contributed a lot to his growth as a tennis player and his consistency too. He seems to be having fun. I kind of admire him for who he is."
Serbia's Djokovic, 36, is bidding to win a record 23rd men's Grand Slam title, with record 14-time men's champion Rafael Nadal missing with injury.
"It's no secret that one of the main reasons I play today and compete in professional tennis is to try to break more records and make more history," Djokovic said.
"That's extremely motivating and inspiring for me. History being on the line is something that is very flattering and is very motivating, no doubt about it."
World No.1s Fan Zhendong and Sun Yingsha have emerged champions of the Men’s and Women’s Singles categories of the ITTF World Table Tennis Championships Finals Durban 2023 respectively.
In the Men’s Singles final, Fan Zhendong successfully defended his title after facing off against his fellow countryman World No.2 Wang Chuqin. Fan, who currently holds the top spot in the world rankings, displayed nerves of steel after Wang saved six match points, and eventually won the game 8-11, 11-9, 11-7, 12-10, 11-13, 11-3 to maintain his status as the reigning World No.1.
After the win, Fan Zhendong remarked, “I did feel the pressure leading up to the match but managed to hold my nerve for the win. This is my first time in Durban, and I am happy that there are many fans supporting me in person and from the TV, as I would not have been able to do so well without their support.”
In the Women’s Singles final, Sun Yingsha took on World No.4 Chen Meng. After a closely contested battle, Sun Yingsha emerged victorious with a hard-fought victory (5-11, 11-8, 11-7, 11-7, 7-11, 11-6) over her compatriot. This would be the 22-year-old’s maiden World Championships title after falling short at the 2021 instalment in Houston.
Expressing her joy and gratitude, Sun Yingsha shared, “It was not easy for me to win the game. I lost to Wang Manyu in the final last time, but perhaps I was luckier this time. Today, Chen Meng and I are both winners, and I have learned a lot from her as she is a very respectable opponent. This win has given me a lot of affirmation – as I have met with a lot of difficulties along the way, but I have managed to overcome them.”
On her plans in the aftermath of her win, she said, “I hope to go back and have a good rest for now, and then work to get better and better in the following competitions.”
As the curtains close on a special and historic World Championships, the table tennis community celebrates the exceptional performances of not only the athletes but also the host city of Durban in providing a platform to promote the sport globally and inspire the future generation.
Medals to their credit at major tournaments but never the very pinnacle, the host nation’s Igor Misztal and Spain’s Eduardo Cuesta caused arguably the biggest upsets of the year at the ITTF Polish Para Open 2023.
On the second day of action in Wladyslawowo, Saturday 27th May, both beat reigning Paralympic Games gold medallists.
Competing in men’s singles class 10, a group organised all-play-all event, in his concluding contest, Igor Misztal overcame colleague Patryk Chojnowski (11-9, 4-11, 13-11, 13-11) to maintain his unbeaten record against an adversary who, in addition to his success at Tokyo 2020, is the reigning World champion.
“The Polish Para Open is very important, I am fighting for a place in the Paralympic Games. I won this tournament and gained points on the World ranking. I’m closer to being in Paris.” Igor Misztal
Eyebrow raising from Igor Misztal, the same from Eduardo Cuesta. He secured the men’s singles class 11 title, at the final hurdle beating Hungary’s Peter Palos (11-9, 11-5, 11-3); notably in addition to three years ago in the Japanese capital city, he was the winner in 2012 in London.
Outstanding performances, the successes rather overshadowed the splendid efforts of Italy’s Federico Falco and Sweden’s Jonas Hansson.
Both commenced play in the no.3 seeded position; in a group organised men’s singles class 1 event, Federico Falco ended the hopes of the Korea Republic. He beat Pak Sungjoo, the top seed (6-11, 11-9, 13-11, 13-11), before concluding his schedule of matches unbeaten with victory over Kim Hakjin, the no.2 seed (6-11, 11-7, 12-10, 8-11, 11-9).
Somewhat differently, in men’s singles class 7, safely through the group stage, Jonas Hansson recorded a semi-final win in opposition to Poland’s Maksym Chudzicki, the top seed (7-11, 11-6, 11-5, 11-8), prior to clinching the title at the expense of Hong Kong’s Tong Chi Ming (11-7, 11-5, 11-4).
Not seeded, likewise at the semi-final stage, Tong Chi Ming had ended Polish title hopes; he beat Michal Deigsler (9-11, 11-6, 11-8, 12-14, 11-9).
Upsets, otherwise in the men’s singles events, the favourites ruled.
In the wheelchair categories it was gold for Poland’s Rafal Czuper (class 2), Serbia’s Mladen Ciric (class 3), Turkey’s Abdullah Ozturk (class 4) and Norway’s Tommy Urhaug (class 5).
Similarly, in the standing competitions, top spots as anticipated were reserved by Great Britain’s Paul Karabardak (class 6), Poland’s Piotr Grudzien (class 8) and Spain’s Ander Cepas (class 9).
Surprise outcomes in the men’s singles, to a lesser degree in the counterpart women’s singles events; the unexpected results of note being those achieved by Turkey. Contrary to expectations, Merve Demir captured the class 9-10 title, Ebru Acer secured class 11 gold.
Very much an outsider, not amongst the seeded names, Merve Demir beat Hungary’s Alexa Szvitacs, the top seed and reigning World champion not once but twice! In the group stage she won in straight games (11-8, 11-9, 15-13), in the final in one game more (11-6, 13-11, 5-11, 11-8).
Impressive from Merve Demir; it was the same from Ebru Acer, the no.2 seed, she accounted for Poland’s Dorota Nowacka, the top seed (11-7, 11-4, 11-4) at the final hurdle.
Gold medallists against the odds, in the remaining women’s events it was gold as advised. Italy’s Carlotta Ragazzini (class 1-2), justified her status, as did Serbia’s Borislava Peric-Rankovic (class 4-5), Sweden’s Cajsa Stadler (class 6), Turkey’s Kubra Korkut (class 7) and Germany’s Nina Beck (class 8).
Success for Borislava Peric-Rankovic, later she enjoyed more success adding the women’s doubles class 10 title in harness with colleague Nada Matic.
Two titles for Borislava Peric-Rankovic, for the men it was the same for Rafal Czuper and Eduard Cuesta; Rafal Czuper partnered compatriot, Thomas Jakimczuk to men’s doubles class 4 gold, Eduard Cuesta combined with Sweden’s Karl Hansson to secure the men’s doubles class 22 top prize.
Also, Hong Kong’s Wong Yue Ching, claimed two titles; partnering Chiu Kan Shan she the won women’s doubles class 14 top prize; alongside Tong Chi Ming, mixed doubles class 14.
Most worthy performances but the worthiest was Piotr Grudzien; he emerged the only player with a full house.
Following his men’s singles class 8 success, he combined with Karolina Pek to claim the mixed doubles class 20 title, before in alliance with Patryk Chojnowski, prevailing in men’s doubles class 18.
Silverware for the hosts, there was more; Maksym Chudzicki and Michal Deigsler secured the men’s doubles class 14 top prize; Ewa Cychowska partnered Hungary’s Peter Palos to mixed doubles class 22 gold.
Meanwhile, for visitors, there was notable women’s doubles success for Turkey. Merve Demir and Neslihan Kavas won class 20, Ebru Acer and Sumerya Turk, class 22; not to be overlooked, Ali Ozturk and Irem Oluk struck gold in mixed doubles class 10.
Alas for teammates Abdullah Ozturk and Nesim Turan it was just one step short; in men’s doubles class 8 they had to settle for silver, beaten in the final by Slovakia’s Peter Mihalik and Boris Travincek (11-9, 11-3, 4-11, 11-4).
Matters concluded in Wladyslawowo, attention now turns to the Jordanian capital city of Amman, the three-day ITTF Al-Watani Para Championships 2023, commence on Thursday 1st May.
After the Barbarians were part of another thrilling contest at Twickenham beating a World XV 48-42, do you think you can recognise our famous Baa-Baas 15?
Some true rugby legends have worn the black and white jersey of the sport's most prestigious invitational team but can you name our selection?
You've got four minutes on the clock to identify them all, good luck!
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