TALKING POINTS
Mike Trout leaving rehab assignment, returning to Southern California to be re-evaluated
SEATTLE — Los Angeles Angels center fielder Mike Trout will not play Wednesday night for Triple-A Salt Lake and is leaving his minor league rehab assignment after one game to be re-evaluated in Southern California.
Trout began a rehab stint Tuesday with Salt Lake but exited after just two innings because of soreness in his surgically repaired left knee.
Before the Angels’ game Wednesday in Seattle, manager Ron Washington said Trout reported he was feeling better, and Washington hoped the three-time MVP would be able to serve as the designated hitter for Salt Lake that night.
But later on Wednesday, the Angels announced that Trout would not be in the lineup and was returning to Southern California.
Trout went on the injured list April 30 with a torn meniscus after hitting .220 with 10 homers and 14 RBIs in 29 games. It’s the latest in a long line of injuries for the Angels superstar over the past several seasons.
Last season, Trout played in just 82 games because of a broken hamate bone. He spent five weeks on the IL in 2022 with a back injury and missed most of the 2021 season with a strained calf muscle.
Coco Gauff to be female flag bearer for US team at Olympic opening ceremony, joining LeBron James
PARIS — Tennis star Coco Gauff will join LeBron James as a flag bearer for the U.S. Olympic team at Friday’s opening ceremony.
Gauff, the reigning U.S. Open champion, is set to make her Olympic debut at the Paris Games and will be the first tennis athlete to carry the U.S. flag. She and James were chosen by Team USA athletes.
“I mean, for me, the Olympics is a top priority. I would say equal to the Grand Slams. I wouldn’t put it above or below, just because I’ve never played before. This is my first time,” Gauff said earlier this year. “Obviously, I always want to do well, try to get a medal.”
Gauff and James, the 39-year-old leading scorer in NBA history, both compete in sports that are outside the traditional Olympic world and get attention year-round, not just every four years.
The 20-year-old Gauff made the American team for the Tokyo Games
three years ago as a teenager but had to sit out those Olympics because she tested positive for COVID-19 right before she was supposed to fly to Japan.
Now Gauff, who is based in Florida, is a Grand Slam title winner in singles and doubles. She won her first major championship in New York in September, defeating Aryna Sabalenka in the singles final of the U.S. Open, then added her first Grand Slam doubles trophy at the French Open this June alongside Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic.
Jannik Sinner withdraws from tennis at the Paris Olympics, making Djokovic and Alcaraz top seeds
PARIS — Top-ranked tennis player Jannik Sinner pulled out of the Paris Olympics on Wednesday because of tonsillitis, meaning Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz will be the top-seeded men, setting up a potential gold medal rematch of the Wimbledon final.
Sinner, a 22-year-old from Italy, posted on social media that a doctor advised him that he should sit out the Summer Games. Sinner won the Australian Open in January for his first Grand Slam title and moved up to No. 1 in the ATP rankings last month after reaching the French Open semifinals.
The draw for Olympic tennis is Thursday. Matches begin Saturday.
“Missing the Olympics is a big disappointment, given that it was one of my main goals this season,” Sinner wrote in Italian. “I couldn’t wait to have the honor of representing my country in this extremely important event.”
Sinner will be replaced on Italy’s team by 207th-ranked Andrea Vavassori in singles and by Luciano Darderi in doubles alongside Lorenzo Musetti.
Denmark’s Holger Rune, who is ranked 16th, also announced his withdrawal on social media Wednesday, saying he has pain in his wrist.
The Summer Games tennis competition will be held at Roland Garros, the site of the annual French Open Grand Slam tournament.
Red Sox manager Cora agrees to 3-year contract extension
DENVER — The Boston Red Sox and manager Alex Cora have agreed on
a three-year contract extension that runs through the 2027 season.
The team announced the move Wednesday following a 20-7 loss at Colorado.
The 48-year-old Cora is in his second stint as Boston’s manager, and his contract had been set to expire after this season. He was hired before the 2018 season and led the Red Sox to a World Series title that year, his second with the franchise. He was a player on the 2007 championship team that swept the Rockies in the Fall Classic.
Cora was suspended by Major League Baseball for the 2020 season and fired by the Red Sox for his role in a 2017 sign-stealing scandal as bench coach of the Houston Astros. Boston rehired him in 2021 and he guided the club to a 92-70 record and a trip to the AL Championship Series.
Boston endured consecutive 78-84 seasons in 2022 and ’23 but is 54-47 this year.
Vikings cornerback Mekhi Blackmon tears ACL in opening practice of training camp, AP source says
EAGAN, Minn. — Minnesota Vikings cornerback Mekhi Blackmon tore his ACL during a drill in the first practice of training camp on Wednesday, a person with knowledge of the injury said.
The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the team had not yet announced the diagnosis. It’s a big blow to a position group that was already an area of concern.
Blackmon, a second-year player out of Southern California who showed flashes of promise last season after being drafted in the third round, hurt his knee during a 7-on-7 passing drill. He was tended to by the medical staff for several minutes on the sideline and eventually walked slowly off the field and into the training room for further examination.
Blackmon played in 15 games as a rookie and was a fixture in the team’s nickel package. He had one interception, one fumble recovery and eight passes defensed.
The Vikings are still grieving the death of rookie cornerback Khyree Jackson, who was killed in a car crash along with two friends earlier this month in Maryland. Several coaches are scheduled to attend the funeral on Friday for the fourth-round draft pick out of Oregon.
Byron Murphy Jr. is back at one starting spot and eighth-year veteran Shaq Griffin signed as a free agent. But with Blackmon
Home of the 76ers, Flyers needs a new naming rights deal after Wells Fargo pulls out
PHILADELPHIA — The home of the Philadelphia Flyers and the 76ers -- well, the Sixers, for now -- will soon need a new name.
Banking giant Wells Fargo says it will not renew its naming rights deal with the arena in the South Philadelphia sports complex that has served as home to the city’s NHL and NBA teams, most major entertainment touring acts, two political conventions, WrestleMania, lacrosse, college basketball and countless other events.
Wells Fargo said Wednesday it will not renew its deal with building owner and operator Comcast Spectacor — the parent company of the Flyers — when it expires in August 2025.
The arena, originally named CoreStates Center, opened in 1996 and has been the home to Philly sports stars like Allen Iverson, Eric Lindros and Joel Embiid, as well as NCAA Tournament games. The building has carried a number of names, including the First Union Center in 1998 and Wachovia Center in 2003. Wells Fargo bought out Wachovia and posted its name on the roughly 21,000-seat building in 2010.
IOC approves French Alps’ bid backed by President Macron to host the 2030 Winter Olympics
PARIS — The French Alps were named as the 2030 Winter Games host by the International Olympic Committee on Wednesday, though with conditions attached and signoff required from whoever is the next prime minister of France.
French President Emmanuel Macron helped present the bid to IOC members and gave assurances that the new prime minister and government he intends to install after the Summer Games in Paris will underwrite all the organizational guarantees that must still be signed.
IOC members accepted his guarantees and gave their approval in an 84-4 vote, with seven abstaining.
“We would like to thank you for your confidence and trust,” Macron said in a brief acceptance speech. “We will be there and we will respect our commitments.”