AP Sports Summary for June 18th, 2024:
Celtics win 18th NBA championship with 106-88 Game 5 victory over Dallas Mavericks
BOSTON (AP) — Jayson Tatum had 31 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds as the Celtics topped the Dallas Mavericks 106-88 to claim the franchise's 18th championship, breaking a tie with the Los Angeles Lakers for the most in league history. Boston earned its latest title on the 16th anniversary of hoisting its last Larry O'Brien Trophy in 2008. It marks the 13th championship won this century by one of the city's Big 4 professional sports franchises. Jaylen Brown added 21 points. Jrue Holiday finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Luka Doncic finished with 28 points and 12 rebounds for Dallas, which failed to extend the series after avoiding a sweep with a 38-point win in Game 4.
Doncic and Irving can't deliver for Dallas in NBA Finals clincher as Celtics win 18th championship
BOSTON (AP) — Dallas needed Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving to be at their best in Game 5 against the Boston Celtics. Instead, the Mavericks' best players got off to a terrible start, and by the time their shots started falling the Celtics were coasting to a 106-88 victory Monday night and their unprecedented 18th NBA title. Doncic scored 28 points and finished 12 of 25 from the floor, but missed his first six 3-point attempts. He had 12 rebounds but also turned the ball over seven times. He was 2 for 5 from the free throw line, a problem that has bothered him throughout the series. Irving was 3 for 9 from 3-point range and 5 of 16 overall.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell defends 'Sunday Ticket' package as a premium product
LOS ANGELES (AP) — NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell reiterated during testimony in federal court Monday that the league's "Sunday Ticket" package, the subject of a class-action lawsuit, is a premium product while also defending the league's broadcast model. Goodell was called as a witness by the NFL as the trial for the lawsuit filed by "Sunday Ticket" subscribers entered its third week. The class-action covers 2.4 million residential subscribers and 48,000 businesses who paid for the package from 2011 through 2022. The lawsuit claims the league broke antitrust laws by selling its package of out-of-market Sunday afternoon games at an inflated price. The subscribers also say the league restricted competition by offering "Sunday Ticket" only on a satellite provider.
WNBA to interview Las Vegas tourism leader Tuesday regarding sponsorship offer to Aces players
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority CEO and President Steve Hill said he will interview Tuesday with the lead investigator who is examining whether WNBA rules were broken when sponsorship deals were offered last month to Las Vegas Aces players. Hill announced to the players May 18 they would each receive a $100,000 sponsorship each of the next two years from the LVCVA. The WNBA hired law firm Kobre & Kim to investigate whether the league's salary-cap rules were circumvented. Founding partner Steven Kobre heads the investigation.
Panthers ready for their 2nd chance at clinching Cup, while Oilers seeking to force Game 6
SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — Paul Maurice made the short trip from his home to the Florida Panthers' practice facility on Monday morning in a pretty good mood and rightly so. The sunshine was bright, the temperature was warm and his team was one win away from claiming the Stanley Cup. That's the glass-half-full outlook. The glass-half-empty perspective would be how his Panthers were coming off a seven-goal loss. As such, when asked if he was comfortable with a 3-1 series lead over the Edmonton Oilers in this title series, Maurice quickly explained that that simply doesn't exist at this time of year.
Mookie Betts put on IL by Dodgers with broken left hand after getting hit by fastball
DENVER (AP) — Los Angeles Dodgers star Mookie Betts has gone on the injured list for the first time this season with a broken left hand. The 2018 AL MVP is expected to miss roughly six to eight weeks, manager Dave Roberts told reporters. The 31-year-old shortstop was drilled on the hand by a 97.9 mph fastball from reliever Dan Altavilla in the seventh inning of Sunday's 3-0 win over the Kansas City Royals. Betts, a seven-time All-Star, was hitting .304 with 10 home runs and 40 RBIs in 72 games. The Dodgers recalled outfielder Miguel Vargas for his second stint this season. He hit .250 with three doubles, one homer and four RBIs in eight games.
Les Miles sues LSU, NCAA and College Football Hall of Fame over 37 vacated victories
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Former LSU coach Les Miles is suing the university over its decision to vacate 37 of his teams' victories between 2012 and 2015. The lawsuit filed Monday in federal court in Baton Rouge alleges that LSU never gave Miles a chance to be heard before altering his career record in a way that disqualified him from consideration for the College Football Hall of Fame. The decision in June 2023 to vacate the victories stemmed from an NCAA ruling that former Tigers offensive lineman Vadal Alexander had received financial benefits that violated NCAA rules at the time he played. LSU said it could not comment on pending litigation. Miles won a national championship at LSU in 2007.
Kylian Mbappé's nose injury places doubt on his continued involvement in Euro 2024
DUSSELDORF, Germany (AP) — Kylian Mbappé suffered a facial injury in France's 1-0 win against Austria at the European Championship. France coach Didier Deschamps said after that he did not know if the World Cup winning striker would be ruled out of the tournament as a result of his aerial collision with Austria's Kevin Danso at Dusseldorf Arena. Mbappé was in obvious pain, lying curled on the field with his nose bloodied and swollen. Austria goalkeeper Patrick Pentz signaled for urgent medical assistance.
Analysis: Penske rebounds from IndyCar cheating scandal with a hot streak that stretches to NASCAR
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Roger Penske has been under fire perhaps never seen before in his 87 years. He has rebounded with a truly remarkable display of strength and determination. His IndyCar team in April was found to have an illegal advantage over the rest of the field in a cheating scandal while rival team owners were openly complaining about Penske's leadership as owner of the IndyCar Series. His NASCAR team was struggling. Since then, Team Penske has seven victories across three series, showing the depth and quality of his organization.
Supporters of bringing the Chiefs to Kansas have narrowed their plan and are promising tax cuts
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas lawmakers hoping to lure the Kansas City Chiefs from Missouri are narrowing their proposal for encouraging the Super Bowl champions to build a new stadium and linking the proposal to a plan for broad tax cuts. Those moves are designed to win over skeptical colleagues. The Legislature expected to consider the stadium proposal during a special session set to convene Tuesday. The measure would allow the state to issue bonds to help the Chiefs and Major League Baseball's Kansas City Royals finance new stadiums in Kansas. Supporters backed away from allowing the bonds to cover all stadium construction costs, and they're promising that tax cuts are a larger priority.
AP-Scorecard
TODAY'S SPORTS SCHEDULE
___
INTERLEAGUE
Final Atlanta 2 Detroit 1
Final N.Y. Mets 14 Texas 2
Final L.A. Angels 5 Milwaukee 3
___
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Final Boston 7 Toronto 3
___
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Final Pittsburgh 4 Cincinnati 1
Final Philadelphia 9 San Diego 2
Final St. Louis 7 Miami 6
Final San Francisco 7 Chicago Cubs 6
Final L.A. Dodgers 9 Colorado 5
___
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION PLAYOFFS
Final Boston 106 Dallas 88
___
WOMEN'S NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Final Minnesota 90 Dallas 78
___