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Marcus Stoinis feared his World Cup was over when he suffered the side strain which kept him out of Australia's team for two matches. Stoinis returned to the side and took two wickets in the 48-run win against Bangladesh at Trent Bridge and also contributed an unbeaten 17 with the bat.
Australia flew Mitchell Marsh, who was already heading to England for an Australia A tour, over early as cover while Stoinis' fitness was assessed and he admitted he feared the worst when he felt the pain in his side while bowling in Australia's group match against India.
"Your mind goes there," said Stoinis. "But I think once everything sort of settled you knew it was going to be alright. My initial thought when I did it in the second over was 'oh no, I'm out of the World Cup'.
"The last couple of weeks have been so exciting and a bit of a roller coaster. I was a bit down in the dumps after I hurt myself. And again now I'm back in the team and able to do my thing."
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His absence forced changes to Australia's batting and bowling line-ups against Pakistan and Sri Lanka which threatened to upset the balance of the side, although they were successful in the two matches he sat out. But Stoinis said, while the initial prognosis was unclear, he had to recover sufficiently by the game against Bangladesh to stay in the squad.
Ricky Ponting feeds the bowling machine for Marcus Stoinis and offers lots of encouragement and advice. #AUSvBAN #CWC19 @ESPNcricinfo pic.twitter.com/ySuOsQmqqd
— Melinda Farrell (@melindafarrell) June 19, 2019
"We didn't put a time on it. The support staff did a really good job with that and not over reacting. At least going into this game, this was the deadline. I spent a bit of time with [David Beakley], the physio, and the doc. We were just doing some exercises on the side. A lot of icing at night. There's not much you can do outside of ice and get on the [resistance band] to get the muscle moving, really."
Stoinis added he was generally able to bowl at full pace against Bangladesh and was confident he could get through his allocated overs.
"It's different bowling in the nets and once the adrenaline gets going in the game. It's different bowling four overs compared to eight or 10. We weren't real sure but I was always confident."
Before he was back bowling at training, Stoinis continued to work on his batting in the nets and had a lengthy one-on-one session with Ricky Ponting feeding a bowling machine the day before his return to the side.
"If I could have one person in the world if I could have picked them when I was young to be coaching me in my batting, it would have been Ricky Ponting," he said. "He is an absolute legend, he's got a lot of knowledge about the game, so we have just been speaking about where he thinks I can go to the next level with my batting and that sort of thing. It's more just an open discussion, raising points, problem solving as we go. Coming up with different ideas."
Australia now head to London to prepare for their match against England at Lord's on Tuesday and Stoinis is keen to test his bowling mettle against England's formidable middle order.
"Yeah, it's going to be a good challenge. Hopefully I can nail some yorkers and bowl some good slower balls because we'll have to come up with some plans."
Stoinis pointed to Australia's recent ODI record stretching back to their tours of India and Pakistan as reasons for confidence against England and insisted Australia's record against them in recent years - they have won just four out of sixteen since the last World Cup and have been defeated in their past six encounters - counted for little in this tournament.
"Everyone has been working towards this for a long time," said Stoinis. "We've got two of the best players in the world who have come back into our side. We're doing things at the right time."
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Source: Suns deal Warren, No. 32 pick to Pacers
Published in
Basketball
Thursday, 20 June 2019 15:42

The Phoenix Suns are trading T.J. Warren and the No. 32 pick in Thursday's NBA draft to the Indiana Pacers, a league source told ESPN.
The Pacers will send cash to the Suns, according to a league source. Phoenix wanted to unload the three years and $35 million remaining on Warren's deal to create salary-cap space.
Warren averaged 18.0 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 43 games this past season, when he improved his shooting dramatically. He shot 28% from 3-point range in his first four years in the league but improved to 43% last season, the eighth-best percentage in the NBA among players with at least 100 attempts.
The trade will not be finalized until July 6, when the Pacers will have cap room to absorb Warren. Indiana will still have close to $31 million in room after the trade, with point guard Ricky Rubio a significant free-agent target for the team, sources said.
Phoenix will have $21 million in space, which would increase to $29.5 million if the Suns decline to re-sign Kelly Oubre Jr., who is a restricted free agent.
ESPN's Bobby Marks contributed to this report.
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Source: Wolves get sixth pick for No. 11, Saric
Published in
Basketball
Thursday, 20 June 2019 16:37

The Minnesota Timberwolves have acquired the sixth pick in Thursday's NBA draft from the Phoenix Suns in exchange for the 11th pick and forward Dario Saric, a league source told ESPN.
Minnesota president Gersson Rosas had been trying to move up to No. 4 or 5 before finally getting No. 6, sources said.
Texas Tech shooting guard Jarrett Culver was selected with the No. 6 pick on Thursday and will go to the Wolves once the deal is made official July 6. North Carolina forward Cameron Johnson, who was the No. 11 pick, will go to the Suns.
Phoenix wasn't done dealing Thursday night, acquiring the No. 24 pick and center Aron Baynes from the Boston Celtics and using the pick to select Virginia shooting guard Ty Jerome.
The Suns had the best chance at the top pick in the draft heading into the lottery before falling to sixth.
Saric averaged 10.5 points and 5.5 rebounds per game last season, his third in the league and first with Minnesota after being drafted by Philadelphia.
Saric was acquired by Minnesota in the deal that sent Jimmy Butler to Philadelphia. He is under contract next season at $3.5 million, and the Suns will have the right to extend him a $4.8 million qualifying offer for the 2020-21 season. If Phoenix does not, he would become an unrestricted free agent.
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The Atlanta Hawks have acquired the No. 4 pick, Virginia forward De'Andre Hunter, in Thursday's NBA draft from the New Orleans Pelicans for the No. 8 (Texas center Jaxson Hayes), 17 (Virginia Tech guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker) and 35 picks, league sources told ESPN.
The Pelicans are also sending Solomon Hill, the No. 57 pick and a future second-round pick to Atlanta as part of the exchange. Atlanta is also sending a heavily protected Cleveland first-round pick in 2020 to the Pelicans, sources said.
Hunter, who was named the ACC Defensive Player of the Year last season, would shore up an Atlanta team that struggled on defense last season, posting the fourth-worst defensive efficiency in the league. No player under contract with the Hawks for next season ranked in the top 150 in ESPN's defensive plus-minus this past season.
The move marks the second year in a row that Atlanta general manager Travis Schlenk has made a big move in the lottery. Last year, it was to trade down two spots to select Trae Young while also acquiring the No. 10 pick in this year's draft.
The Pelicans acquired the No. 4 pick from the Lakers last week in the deal that will send Anthony Davis to Los Angeles. The trades can not become official until July 6 at the earliest.
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Pelicans pick Zion to open draft, Morant goes 2nd
Published in
Basketball
Thursday, 20 June 2019 17:41

NEW YORK -- Welcome to the NBA, Zion Williamson.
The superstar forward out of Duke was selected No. 1 overall by the Pelicans in Thursday night's NBA draft at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, confirming what had been inevitable once New Orleans won the draft lottery last month.
Williamson, a generational talent because of his combination of size, strength, speed and skill, was the dominant force in college basketball last season. As a freshman, he averaged 22.6 points, 8.9 rebounds, 2.1 steals and 1.8 blocks, all while shooting 68% from the field as he wowed with one spectacular highlight play after another en route to being named the Wooden Award winner as the nation's top player.
"I don't think it's feelings I can really describe," Williamson said. "You know, as a little kid you say you want to go to the NBA. People basically say, you've got to have a Plan B because the chances of doing it is just little to none. For me to be selected No. 1, I mean, I can't dream it no better than that."
Williamson immediately steps in as the centerpiece for a new-look Pelicans team that agreed to trade star big man Anthony Davis to the Los Angeles Lakers last week. Williamson said he was excited about the challenge of turning things around in the Big Easy, and of partnering with Lonzo Ball and Brandon Ingram, two of the players who will come in the Davis trade.
"What excites me the most is the fact that they're young and they're close to my age so they can help me a lot more, like how to deal with this transition," Williamson said. "I think we can build something over there."
Like Williamson, the second and third picks also went according to plan. Murray State point guard Ja Morant went second to the Memphis Grizzlies, and Williamson's teammate at Duke, swingman RJ Barrett, went third to the New York Knicks.
Morant, an explosive athlete with a solid 3-point shooting stroke, led the Racers to the second round of the NCAA tournament, averaging 24.5 points and 10.0 assists while going from a mid-first-round pick before the season began to the clear No. 2 prospect entering draft night, according to ESPN's Jonathan Givony and Mike Schmitz.
Morant steps in to a Grizzlies team that on Tuesday agreed to trade point guard stalwart Mike Conley to the Utah Jazz for forwards Jae Crowder and Kyle Korver, the No. 23 pick Thursday night and a protected future first-round pick.
"It's been crazy," Morant said. "Obviously a wild moment for me, coming from my story, what I've been through to get to this point. I'm just very excited to be able to accomplish my dream."
Barrett, meanwhile, had been hoping to join the Knicks all along. Barrett's mother, who is from Brooklyn, met his father, Rowan, while she was a track star and he was a basketball star at St. John's in Queens.
"It would mean a lot," Barrett, who was born in Canada, said Wednesday of getting the chance to play for the Knicks. "My late grandfather, rest in peace, he was the biggest Knicks fan. He'd always tell me I'd play for the Knicks. It would mean a lot to me."
When he got his wish, the crowd at Barclays Center exploded in cheers, and Barrett -- resplendent in a pink suit and black shirt -- walked onto the stage as the crowd chanted his name. Barrett cried into his father's shoulder after his selection.
"That was crazy. That was one of the reasons why I was crying, because [my grandfather and I] used to watch the Knicks growing up and he would always tell me I was going to be a Knick," Barrett said. "I'm sad he can't be here to see it. But I'm just very happy, man."
The presumptive No. 1 pick entering the college basketball season, Barrett's star was surpassed by the comet that is Williamson. Still, the 6-foot-7 forward was seen as a part of the three-player tier considered a cut above the rest of the draft prospects after averaging 22.6 points, 7.6 rebounds and 4.3 assists at Duke last season.
Now he'll get a chance to prove he's up to the challenge he wanted to take on: reviving the Knicks, who had the league's worst record in 2018-19.
The real excitement at the draft began with the No. 4 pick, which still technically belonged to the Los Angeles Lakers but has been traded twice in the past week. First, it was sent to the Pelicans on Saturday as part of the Lakers' package for Davis. Then, a couple of hours before the draft began, it changed hands again, going to the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for the Nos. 8 (Texas center Jaxson Hayes), 17 (Virginia Tech guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker) and 35 picks in this year's draft, plus a protected first-rounder from Cleveland next year.
Atlanta made that move to take Virginia forward De'Andre Hunter -- and that's precisely what the Hawks did (via the Lakers) adding the rangy forward to an intriguing young core that includes Trae Young, Kevin Huerter and John Collins.
Hunter, who was named the ACC Defensive Player of the Year last season, will shore up an Atlanta team that struggled on defense last season, posting the fourth-worst defensive efficiency in the league. No player under contract with the Hawks for next season ranked in the top 150 in ESPN's defensive plus-minus this past season.
The move marks the second year in a row that Atlanta general manager Travis Schlenk has made a big move in the lottery. Last year, it was to trade down two spots to select Young, while also acquiring the No. 10 pick in this year's draft -- which turned out to be forward Cam Reddish from Duke.
"I didn't know they were going to trade up to the fourth pick," Hunter said. "I know they were trying to do something to get earlier in the draft. I mean, it was just a decision between me and my agents. Atlanta was the one place I did work out for."
With Hunter off the board, that left the Cleveland Cavaliers with the chance to take Vanderbilt point guard Darius Garland with the fifth pick. Despite being in the middle of lots of trade discussions leading up to the selection, the Cavaliers wound up hanging onto it and taking Garland, an intriguing prospect who played only five games for the Commodores last season before suffering a season-ending knee injury. Those five games are the second fewest by a college player drafted in the top 10 since the one-and-done era began in 2006.
That put the Minnesota Timberwolves on the clock, after they had traded forward Dario Saric and the No. 11 pick (North Carolina guard Cam Johnson) to Phoenix to move up five slots to No. 6. With the pick, Minnesota (via Phoenix) took Texas Tech forward Jarrett Culver, who entered the draft fresh off leading the Red Raiders to within a few bounces of winning this year's national championship.
Culver's selection cleared the way for the Chicago Bulls, picking seventh, to fill a need at point guard by taking North Carolina point guard Coby White, who could immediately step into the team's starting spot as a rookie next season.
From there, New Orleans took Hayes (via Atlanta) -- giving the Pelicans another athletic young big to pair with Williamson -- before the Washington Wizards selected Japanese forward Rui Hachimura from Gonzaga ninth and the Hawks, with their second pick in the top 10, took Reddish, the third player of the night from Duke.
The only other time since 1966, the common draft era, that one school has had three players selected in the top 10 was in 2007, when Al Horford (third), Corey Brewer (seventh) and Joakim Noah (ninth) all were selected out of Florida.
Johnson's surprise selection at No. 11 gave the ACC a record with six lottery picks from a single conference. Johnson, 23, is older than his future teammate Devin Booker, who is set to enter his fifth NBA season and is still just 22.
Rounding out the lottery, the Charlotte Hornets and Miami Heat took back-to-back Kentucky Wildcats at No. 12 and No. 13 -- forward PJ Washington and guard Tyler Herro -- and the Boston Celtics grabbed Indiana swingman Romeo Langford at No. 14.
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NEW YORK -- If you thought Aaron Judge, upon his return to the New York Yankees' lineup Friday from an injured-list stint, was going to ease himself back into playing, think again.
The Yankees right fielder reminded reporters at Yankee Stadium on Thursday afternoon that he knew how to play at only one speed, and he intends to perform that exact same way once he comes back from his two-month layoff due to a left oblique strain.
"When I get back on the field, I got to play," Judge said. "I'm not going to try to baby it or go at 80 percent. We're in the major leagues. I've got to be at 100 percent. So I'm going to go out there and play at 100 percent."
Judge, who went on the Yankees' IL after he suffered the oblique strain during a swing April 20 against Kansas City, has not yet been added to New York's 25-man active roster. Manager Aaron Boone said that addition will not come until the Yankees make a corresponding roster drop following Thursday's series opener against the Houston Astros.
There has been much speculation as to which player the Yankees will remove in order to add back Judge, but Boone still isn't tipping his hand as to who that may be. Veteran outfielder Cameron Maybin seems the most likely subtraction, but the 32-year-old has performed well in Judge's absence since coming to the Bronx via a late-April trade.
Maybin entered Thursday with a .307 average, a career-best .383 on-base percentage, and having hit four home runs in his previous five games. Judge continued to laud the Bronx Bombers' work since he's been away.
"Guys keep stepping up and doing their job," Judge said, before sarcastically adding: "I'm trying to crack this lineup, I don't know where I'll fit in."
The Yankees went into the Astros series having homered in a league-leading 22 consecutive games. That's three games shy of the 25-game franchise record the 1941 Yankees set.
Judge said he felt like he had been ready to get back into games about a month ago, when he first started swinging again. The swinging began with tee work, toss work, work off high-velocity pitching machines, and culminated with live at-bats in rehab games at Triple-A this past week.
In six games with the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, Judge had one home run.
"To see him walk through the doors earlier and walk into the coaches' room, really good obviously to see him, knowing that he feels really good, and knowing what he brings to the [locker] room," Boone said. "So it's good to have him back, and can't wait to get him back [Friday]."
While Boone expects Judge to go all out and play at his normally high level, he's also going to be careful early on about not playing the outfielder too many days in a row.
"I expect him to be Aaron Judge," Boone said. "I'll take it slow with him as far as playing a few days, day off, and probably build him up that way. The one thing he hasn't done is played a ton of games.
"I'll want to build him up smartly. So probably won't play him four or five or six days in a row. We'll kind of build to that. But feel like he's physically in a really good spot, and he has been now for a while, and feels ready to go, and I know he'll impact us in a big way."
Through 20 games, Judge batted .288 with five home runs and 11 RBIs before he was injured. He has a rather simple plan to avoid reinjuring himself.
"I'm not worried about it happening again," Judge said. "Got to make sure I'm warm [pregame]. That's the biggest thing, getting warmed up right. Stretch out, get the core working, and then once that's ready to go, just go be an athlete and be ready to play."
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Dodgers' Hill (forearm) hopes to return this year
Published in
Baseball
Thursday, 20 June 2019 16:54

LOS ANGELES -- An MRI on Thursday revealed that veteran starting pitcher Rich Hill is nursing a flexor tendon strain near his left elbow, an injury that will prevent him from throwing for nearly a month and will keep him on the injured list at least into August.
The diagnosis is often a precursor to Tommy John surgery, which at this point would sideline a starting pitcher until the 2021 season. But Hill says he believes he dodged more serious ligament damage and sounded confident in his chances of returning to the Los Angeles Dodgers' rotation in 2019.
"Yeah, I think I'll be able to pitch again this season," Hill said. "Definitely. When that is, I don't have that answer."
Hill exited his Wednesday start against the San Francisco Giants after experiencing tightness in his forearm while warming up for the second inning. A postgame ultrasound gave the 39-year-old left-hander hope that he had avoided a complete tear of his ulnar collateral ligament and an MRI on Thursday morning showed the type of ailment that the Dodgers believe can heal on its own. The technician, Hill said, did not yet know the grade of the strain.
Hill underwent a platelet rich plasma injection to promote quicker healing and estimated that he would have to wait three to four weeks to restart his throwing program, which means the middle of August is probably the earliest he could return to starting major league games.
The Dodgers will initially use a combination of Julio Urias and Ross Stripling when Hill's turn comes up in the rotation, then perhaps settle on one replacement after the All-Star break. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts reaffirmed Hill's stance that he would return this season, but called it "disheartening" to lose him for a prolonged period.
"Rich is a very driven guy," Roberts said. "But obviously nature's gotta take its course and the healing process has to happen. I expect him to dominate the rehab process, but right now, there's really nothing he can do outside of just let the body heal."
Hill, baseball's oldest active pitcher, underwent Tommy John surgery in 2011 and experienced a late-career renaissance shortly thereafter. Over the past four years, he has compiled 39 wins with a 3.02 ERA in 431⅔ innings. His 2.55 ERA this season ranks eighth among those with at least 10 starts.
Given his age, another Tommy John surgery might end his career.
Hill, in the last year of his current contract, is only thinking about returning before October.
"I'm disappointed, obviously -- not only for myself, but to help this team out," Hill said. "I want to get back as soon as I'm physically able, but not push it where it's obviously going to be nonproductive."
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Roger Federer says he was "lucky" after surviving a scare against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga to reach the Halle Open quarter-finals.
Top seed Federer, 37, beat French world number 77 Tsonga 7-6 (7-5) 4-6 7-5.
The eight-time Wimbledon champion is bidding for a 10th Halle title.
World number five Alexander Zverev withdrew from the doubles due to a knee injury but beat American Steve Johnson 6-3 7-5 to reach the last eight of the singles.
Federer will play Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut in the next round at the grass-court tournament, while German 22-year-old Zverev will face Belgian David Goffin.
World number three Federer was a set and a break up against Tsonga, 34, before the Frenchman came back to take the match to a third set.
"I knew when I gave away that lead that it would be tight. Then it was about holding my nerve," said the Swiss.
"The third set was more of a battle. I tried to stay calm. It had a bit of everything: happiness, sadness, frustration. It was a bit emotional at the end, which was nice."
Zverev enjoyed a slightly more straightforward win, but admitted he is still having problems with his knee.
"Obviously my knee is still swollen but the pain is much less than it was a few days ago," he said.
"I hope when the swelling goes out it will be much better."
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WASHINGTON, D.C. — Roger Penske has been named the recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Donald Trump.
The announcement was made by President Trump on Thursday during a meeting in the Oval Office with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Penske is considered one of the greatest team owners in motorsports history. After starting his career as a driver, Penske transitioned to the ownership side of motorsports and success quickly followed.
In Indy car competition, Penske has won the Indianapolis 500 a record 18 times. Included in those victories is Simon Pagenaud’s triumph in the Indianapolis 500 in May. He’s also a four-time NTT IndyCar Series champion as a car owner.
He’s also been amazingly successful in NASCAR as a team owner, capturing the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series championship twice as an owner with Brad Keselowski (2012) and Joey Logano (2018). He’s also a two-time Daytona 500 winning team owner.
Penske also owns teams that compete in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and Virgin Australia Supercars Championship. His Team Penske organization has also competed in Can-Am, Trans-Am and Formula One throughout the years.
Statement from Roger Penske on receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom. pic.twitter.com/DnXig3KjrD
— Team Penske (@Team_Penske) June 20, 2019
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Wie, in tears after 84: 'Not entirely sure how much more I have left in me'
Published in
Golf
Thursday, 20 June 2019 09:54

CHASKA, Minn. – Michelle Wie’s return to golf Thursday was an emotionally wracked mix of joy, pain and tears.
The day ended with her so choked up that she had to walk away from reporters on the front steps of the Hazeltine clubhouse, after shooting a 12-over-par 84 with an ice bag wrapped around her ailing right hand between most shots.
There was joy being back on the first tee after two months away trying to more fully heal from last fall’s surgery to repair an avulsion fracture, bone chips and nerve entrapment in her right hand and wrist. She tried to come back in the spring, ending that bid after four mostly pain-filled starts.
There were tears Thursday when she acknowledged she isn’t sure how much longer her career can continue.
“It was kind of a little foolish to think that I would shoot really well, just hitting golf balls last week,” Wie said. “It’s a tough golf course, but I’m really, really happy that I played. Just feeling a lot of joy, just being out there, and, you know, competing again. It’s going to take time, and I’ve just got to be patient, and, thankfully, I have all afternoon to get warm again and take care of my wrist.”
The tears came when her thoughts ran to her future.
“It’s hard,” she said. “It’s just one of those situations where I’m not, you know, I’m not entirely sure how much more I have left in me, so even on the bad days, I’m just, like, trying to take time to enjoy it. But it’s tough.”
Wie couldn’t continue after that, her words fading as she wiped her eyes.
The day began waywardly, with Wie’s first tee shot at the 10th hole hooking left into the rough and tree line. She gouged a shot on to the green, but she three putted for bogey. After hitting her next tee shot, she dug into an ice chest filled with player drinks and began icing her right hand as she walked to her ball. She used a rubber ice bag on her wrist through the round, while playing from Hazeltine’s deep rough too often. She also could be seen applying some sort of cream to her hand. She hit just six fairways and 10 greens. She made a quadruple-bogey 7 at the eighth, her 17th hole. There were two double bogeys, six bogeys and two birdies in the round.
Wie didn’t indicate that she planned to withdraw when meeting briefly with reporters.
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