SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Sean Sweeney was formally named coach of the Orlando Magic on Monday after the sides struck an agreement in principle last week.

Sweeney, the associate head coach of the San Antonio Spurs, will remain with that team through the conclusion of the NBA Finals. The Magic will introduce Sweeney at some point after the finals between the Spurs and New York Knicks.

“We’re excited to welcome Sean to the Orlando Magic family,” Magic President of Basketball Operations Jeff Weltman said. “Sean brings a tremendous work ethic and a high degree of intensity that set the tone for everything he does. Sean’s attention to detail and his ability to communicate and teach the game clearly stands out. He’s grounded in competitiveness and accountability, while also embracing a modern, creative approach to coaching.”

The 41-year-old Sweeney will replace Jamahl Mosley, who was let go by the Magic after five seasons and three consecutive first-round playoff exits. Mosley has since been hired as coach of the New Orleans Pelicans.

Sweeney is a defensive guru, widely considered one of the brightest young coaches in the league on that side of the ball. In his lone season with the Spurs, he turned what was a porous defense a year ago into one of the league’s most airtight — his scheme centered around Victor Wembanyama, the unanimous winner of the Defensive Player of the Year award this season.

Sweeney will join the Magic after one season with the Spurs. He spent the previous four seasons as an assistant in Dallas, and had past stints on the staffs of Detroit, Milwaukee and Brooklyn — actually starting with the Nets as a video coordinator when the team was in New Jersey.

The Minnesota native played one season at Green Bay before transferring to the University of St. Thomas, where he was a three-year starter.

“Happy for Orlando, and happy for us as he’s in the Eastern Conference,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said last week.

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/nba

NEW YORK (AP) — Raymond Berry, the Hall of Fame wide receiver who teamed with Baltimore quarterback Johnny Unitas for one of the NFL’s greatest passing combinations and helped lead the Colts to victory over the New York Giants in the storied 1958 championship game, has died. He was 93.

Berry, who later coached the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XX, died May 25, the Pro Football Hall of Fame said Monday.

His family said in a statement that Berry died peacefully at home in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, surrounded by family, including his wife of 65 years, Sally.

“In NFL history, there are only a handful of players who we can say truly changed the sport. Raymond Berry is one of the few names on that list,” Indianapolis Colts owner Carlie Irsay-Gordon said. “As a player during a historic era of Colts football, Raymond redefined the standard for what a wide receiver could and should be. … Simply put, not only was Raymond Berry one the greatest players in the history of the Colts, but he was one of the most influential and foundational players of the modern NFL.”

A 20th-round draft pick out of SMU in 1954, the Texas native became a model for the virtues of hard work and determination. He had average speed, legs of different length, a bad back, imperfect eyesight and oversized feet that in high school gave him the nickname “Skis.” But he willed himself into a superstar through exhaustive preparation and study, whether using Silly Putty to strengthen his fingers or simulating entire games on the practice field.

He was among the most reliable receivers in league history, rarely dropping a pass and fumbling only twice, according to the Pro Football Reference website. By his own count, he developed 88 separate routes to get open, his discipline so unyielding that even his coach, Weeb Ewbank, tried to intervene.

“One of his drills was to throw nothing but bad balls to him,” Ewbank told the Los Angeles Times in 1986. “I used to have to run John (Unitas) off — ‘John, you’ve had enough throwing today’ — and he’d say, ‘Yeah, talk to that guy out there.’”

Over 13 seasons, Berry caught a then-record 631 passes (Jerry Rice is now the all-time leader, with 1,549) for 68 touchdowns, led the NFL in receptions three times and played in six Pro Bowls. A mainstay of one of the league’s top offenses, featuring Unitas, running back Lenny Moore and offensive lineman Jim Parker, Berry played on championship teams in 1958 and 1959 and a runner-up in 1964.

Berry was inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame in 1973, and was voted on to the league’s 50th anniversary and 75th anniversary teams. The Colts retired his uniform number, 82. SMU retired his number from college, 87.

Berry was at his peak during a signature day in NFL history: the 1958 finale against the Giants at Yankee Stadium, an overtime classic known by many as “The Greatest Game Ever Played.” It was nationally televised and often cited as the starting point for the league’s rise over the following decades.

Playing against the NFL’s toughest defense, Berry caught 12 passes for 178 yards and one touchdown, including three consecutive receptions during the 86-yard drive that tied the game 17-17 in regulation, and two crucial grabs during the 80-yard drive that gave the Colts a 23-17 win. The league’s first championship to finish in overtime helped make Unitas a hero and Berry his ideal target.

“We worked and got to know each other and developed timing you just can’t get any other way,” Berry later told the radio program Sports & Torts. “He (Unitas) knew I was going to be there when I was supposed to be there and he knew I was going to catch it.”

After retiring in 1967, Berry was a wide receivers coach for the Dallas Cowboys, Cleveland Browns and New England Patriots, and head coach of the Pats from 1984-89. He finished 48-39 with New England, including an 11-5 season in 1985 and a trip to Super Bowl XX. The Patriots were crushed 46-10 by the Chicago Bears in that game.

“Raymond Berry holds a special place in Patriots history,” team owner Robert Kraft said. “He led our franchise to its first Super Bowl appearance following a remarkable playoff run, a milestone that was the greatest achievement in team history at the time.”

Kraft said Raymond left a lasting impact on the Patriots and the NFL.

Soon after the Super Bowl against the Bears, the Boston Globe revealed that several New England players had drug problems. Berry had been a source for the Globe story and his push for the team to agree to drug testing was forcefully opposed by the NFL players union.

Berry, a deeply religious man who didn’t drink or smoke, had personal reasons for supporting drug treatment. His former Colts teammate, All-Pro defensive tackle Gene “Big Daddy” Lipscomb, had struggled with addiction.

“They didn’t help him, they just cut him,” Berry told The Patriot Ledger in 1986. “Three years later, he was dead.”

Berry married fellow Texan Sally Crook in 1960. They had three children.

He was born in Corpus Christi in 1933 and would credit some of his success to his high school coach, his father, Mark Raymond Berry, who taught his son the basics of football even if he didn’t play him much. He attended Schreiner College in Kerrville for a year before transferring to SMU, where during one crucial game he fumbled twice, mistakes he vowed not to commit in the pros.

With the Colts, he caught only 13 passes in his rookie season, but the following year the team signed a free agent quarterback cut by the Pittsburgh Steelers — Unitas. The two soon began practicing together.

“I didn’t know my butt from first base about how to run pass routes,” Berry told Sports & Torts. “If you saw both of us in training camp in 1956, you may have gone away sobbing. We were two pitiful football players, good grief.”

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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

Raymond Berry, a Hall of Fame wide receiver for the Baltimore Colts who later coached the New England Patriots to their first Super Bowl appearance, has died at 93.

Berry passed away on May 25 in Murfreesboro, Tenn., while surrounded by loved ones, his family said in a statement released Monday by the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Berry made six Pro Bowls and three All-Pro first teams during a 13-year career with the Colts from 1955-67, winning NFL championships in 1958 and 1959 alongside quarterback and fellow Hall of Famer Johnny Unitas.

Inducted into Canton’s Class of 1973 in his first year of eligibility, Berry led the NFL in receiving yards three times and touchdown catches twice. He retired with 631 receptions for 9,275 yards and 68 touchdowns in 154 regular-season games (139 starts). The Colts retired his No. 82 and the Baltimore Ravens inducted him into their Ring of Honor.

“People said Raymond Berry was not blessed with the size or speed of other receivers in the National Football League, but no one worked harder to refine his skills and master his craft. The chemistry he developed with quarterback Johnny Unitas through hours of route-running thousands of repetitions in practice created a dynamic tandem that thought with one mind on game days,” Hall of Fame president and CEO Jim Porter said. “Together they helped the Colts win consecutive titles in the late 1950s, including the classic 1958 NFL Championship Game that served as a springboard for professional football becoming this country’s most popular sport.

“On top of that, there was no finer gentleman — a person who remained humble and grounded when others sought to thrust stardom upon him.”

Berry starred in “The Greatest Game Ever Played,” the 1958 NFL title game in which his Colts defeated the New York Giants 23-17 at Yankee Stadium. He caught 12 passes for 178 yards and a touchdown.

Moving into coaching, Berry was an assistant in the NFL with the Dallas Cowboys (1968-69), Detroit Lions (1973-75), Cleveland Browns (1976-77) and Patriots (1978-81) and in college at Arkansas (1970-72).

Named head coach of the Patriots midway through the 1984 season, Berry compiled a 48-39 record through 1989. In 1985, he guided New England from a wild-card berth to an AFC championship and a date in Super Bowl XX with the mighty Chicago Bears, who prevailed 46-10. The Patriots won the AFC East the following season but lost in the divisional round of the playoffs.

“Raymond Berry holds a special place in Patriots history,” said Patriots chairman and CEO Robert Kraft. “He led our franchise to its first Super Bowl appearance following a remarkable playoff run, a milestone that was the greatest achievement in team history at the time. I was fortunate to get to know Raymond over the years, and one of my fondest memories was spending time with him and his son, Mark, during a trip to Israel in 2015 with several fellow Pro Football Hall of Famers. He was every bit the gentleman people knew him to be; humble, faithful, kind and deeply respected by all who knew him.

“The entire Patriots family joins me in mourning Raymond’s passing and celebrating a life that left a lasting impact on our franchise and the National Football League. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Berry family and all who mourn his loss.”

Berry later coached quarterbacks with the Lions (1991) and Denver Broncos (1992).

–Field Level Media

June 1 (Reuters) – Tennis great Serena Williams will make her long-anticipated competitive comeback to tennis at the age of 44 on grass at Queen’s Club in London this month as a wildcard entry into the doubles draw, the club said in a statement on Monday.

The 23-time Grand Slam champion last played on the WTA Tour in September 2022, when she retired from professional tennis after a third-round loss at the U.S. Open.

“Queen’s Club feels like the perfect place to begin this next chapter. Grass has given me some of the most meaningful moments of my career, and I’m excited to be back competing on one of the sport’s most iconic stages,” Williams was quoted as saying.

Valerie Camillo, chair of the WTA, said the tour is thrilled to welcome Williams back.

“Serena is one of the greatest athletes of all-time, with a legacy that extends far beyond the court… I cannot wait to see her face a new generation of top players,” Camillo said in a statement.

“We are thrilled to welcome her back to the WTA Tour at this hugely exciting moment for women’s tennis.”

Williams had re-entered the sport’s anti-doping pool last year, spurring rumours of her return. The rumours persisted after she playfully dodged questions about coming back in an interview on NBC.

Novak Djokovic said in March that Williams could target Wimbledon for her comeback, while her former coach Rick Macci said she was “going all out” in training for a return to the sport she dominated for two decades along with her sister Venus, a seven-time Grand Slam winner.

Venus, 15 months older than Serena, is still playing and competed at the Australian Open in January as a wildcard.

(Reporting by Chiranjit Ojha in Bengaluru; Editing by Kevin Liffey and Christian Radnedge)

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The Stanley Cup Final between the Vegas Golden Knights and Carolina Hurricanes looks even in a lot of ways, with very little margin for error.

Vegas has won 12 of 16 games in the playoffs, including a sweep of Colorado in the West final, while Carolina has taken 12 of 13. They’ve allowed the third-fewest and fewest goals against, respectively, while each scoring more than three goals a game.

So, what will make the difference in a series between NHL powerhouses? Look no further than special teams.

The Hurricanes’ penalty kill is clicking along at a 92.5% success rate, allowing four goals and scoring once shorthanded.

“Carolina’s been an elite penalty-killing team for years now and that’s part of their identity and that comes from their puck pressure and their sticks, their discipline — all that kind of stuff,” goaltender-turned-NHL Network analyst Cory Schneider said. “Vegas will have its work cut out for itself.”

Vegas has been elite itself. The Golden Knights allowed six power-play goals through three rounds and scored four times short-handed.

Brayden McNabb, who has been around since the team’s inaugural season in 2017-18, has been a key cog of that, logging more than 45 total minutes of ice time on the kill. Three other huge pieces are players general manager Kelly McCrimmon brought in midseason.

Goaltender Carter Hart, whose presence alone has been scrutinized, has stopped 64 of 70 shots while an opponent is on the power play. Defenseman Rasmus Andersson, acquired before the Olympic break, and center Nic Dowd, an addition on the eve of the trade deadline, have along with McNabb been among the first guys over the boards on the penalty kill.

It has been old reliable for the Hurricanes, with defensive defenseman Jaccob Slavin skating over 56 minutes short-handed. Coach Rod Brind’Amour’s team plays with a particular structure all the time, and this is where it is most effective as long as the three or four guys on the ice in front of goalie Frederik Andersen are on the same page.

Vegas’ power play has scored 11 times in 46 opportunities, good for 24%. Captain Mark Stone and winger Pavel Dorofeyev have four apiece, while centers Jack Eichel and Tomas Hertl each have six power-play assists.

“I find the Vegas power play to be more threatening,” Schneider said. “Can Carolina quiet Vegas’ power play and force them 5 on 5 in order to beat them?”

The better question is can Carolina’s power play keep up? It is 7 of 56 in the playoffs, a 12.5% rate that has gotten the job done against Ottawa, Philadelphia and Montreal.

Vegas, as Brind’Amour said, is “a different animal.”

“Carolina’s got a good power play, don’t get me wrong, but I think that could be a bit of a wash and Carolina’s going to have to try to generate more 5-on-5 offense than rely on their power play like Vegas should,” Schneider said.

Given these teams’ ability to put the puck in the net at even strength, there will be an emphasis on discipline. Stay out of the box and play 5 on 5, where the Golden Knights have scored 34 goals and the Hurricanes 30.

Vegas has averaged a little under four minor penalties a game to Carolina’s five. That makes every power play even more valuable, with much of the games becoming a test of two teams with demanding coaches who don’t let a lot of the details slip.

“They play the right way,” Slavin said. “They play a very similar style to us. It’s going to be who can do it better and who can stay on it longer? But it’s going to be an awesome series.”

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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

The AL West may have missed its chance to leave the Seattle Mariners behind.

Seattle has been under .500 for most of the season, but now the Mariners (31-29) lead the division after six straight victories. They’ve made this run without slugger Cal Raleigh, who was hitting .161 when he went on the injured list over two weeks ago.

It doesn’t take much to shake up the standings in the AL West. The Mariners’ streak included a three-game sweep this past week over the Athletics. The A’s were in first place, but have lost seven of their last nine. Houston has won eight of its last 12 to pull back into contention, just 4 1/2 games out of first place. The whole division is separated by 8 games, the top three teams by 2 1/2.

Despite Raleigh’s absence, the Mariners are fourth in the American League in home runs, but pitching is what has driven this recent run. Seattle has held opponents to two runs or fewer in five of its last six games.

The same five starters have made 57 of Seattle’s 60 starts. Bryan Woo (3.44), Logan Gilbert (3.69), George Kirby (3.77) and Emerson Hancock (2.78) all have ERAs among the top 25 in the AL. Luis Castillo (5.53) lags behind the other four starters, but lately Seattle has been using him in sort of a tag team with Bryce Miller, with one starting and the other coming out of the bullpen.

In a 9-2 win over the Athletics, Castillo pitched four scoreless innings and then Miller threw the last five. On Sunday against Arizona, Miller started and went five innings, then Castillo worked the last five and Seattle won 3-2 in 10.

The New York Yankees scored 13 runs in the third inning Sunday in their 13-8 victory over the Athletics. The Yankees actually went hitless in the other eight innings.

Anthony Volpe became the third player in the last 50 years to have two hits, two runs and two steals in an inning. Who were the other two?

Bonus question: Volpe nearly got to bat three times in the inning, but he was on deck when the third out came. Who was the last player with three plate appearances in an inning.

Jacob Misiorowski struck out 12 in seven two-hit innings — throwing 57 pitches of at least 100 mph — as the Milwaukee Brewers beat St. Louis 5-1 last Monday. Milwaukee went on to sweep three straight from the Cardinals, and the Brewers now lead the NL Central by 4 1/2 games over St. Louis.

The Orioles trailed by four with one out and nobody on in the bottom of the ninth Saturday. Toronto never got another out, with Jeff Hoffman allowing the next six hitters to reach base before Connor Seabold issued a bases-loaded walk to Adley Rutschman that tied the game. Pete Alonso followed with a single to give Baltimore a 6-5 win.

Toronto’s win probability was 99.3%, according to Baseball Savant, before Hoffman hit a batter and allowed a triple, a single, a double and two walks.

The Orioles went 7-3 on their homestand against Detroit, Tampa Bay and Toronto. That included a walk-off win over each of those teams and a three-game sweep of the AL East-leading Rays.

Detroit’s Alan Trammell had two hits, two runs and two steals in the bottom of the first on Sept. 20, 1983, against Baltimore. Seattle’s Mike Cameron pulled it off in the top of the seventh on May 16, 2002, against Toronto.

Bonus answer: Boston’s Johnny Damon had three plate appearances in the bottom of the first on June 27, 2003, against Florida. He had a single, a double and a triple as the Red Sox scored 14 runs in the first.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB

By Shrivathsa Sridhar

PARIS, June 1 (Reuters) – Anna Kalinskaya reached her maiden French Open quarter-final with a 6-4 2-6 7-6(10-7) win over 28th seed Anastasia Potapova on Monday, marking only the second time the Russian has entered that stage of a Grand Slam.

• Kalinskaya, who also made the Australian Open quarter-finals in 2024, will attempt to better that result at Roland Garros when she plays either Frenchwoman Diane Parry or Pole Maja Chwalinska.

• The women’s field at the French Open is wide open with world number one Aryna Sabalenka the top contender following early exits for defending champion Coco Gauff and four-times Paris winner Iga Swiatek.

• Potapova, who knocked out defending champion Gauff in the third round, started strongly and racked up a 4-1 lead in double quick time, before she lost her grip on a wildly swinging first set.

• Having taken the opener, Kalinskaya endured moments of frustration in the second as Potapova built a 3-1 lead, and the 22nd seed was unable to prevent the match from going to a decider on Court Suzanne Lenglen.

• Nervy games by Potapova handed Kalinskaya a 4-1 lead in the third set, but the Russian-born Austrian fought back and served for the match at 5-4, only to be broken again.

• After further momentum shifts, the tense third set went into a match tiebreak, and Kalinskaya held her nerve to prevail after two hours and 49 minutes.

(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Paris, editing by Ed Osmond)

PARIS, June 1 (Reuters) – Tenth-seed Flavio Cobolli dropped his first set of the tournament but beat unseeded American Zachary Svajda en route to a 6-2 6-3 6-7(3) 7-6(5) on Monday to book his spot in the French Open last eight. 

• The 24-year-old Italian has reached the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam for the second time after last year’s run to the last eight at Wimbledon. He was the only player left in the draw in Paris not to have dropped a set going into the fourth round.

• Cobolli, far more experienced on clay than his opponent ranked 85th in the world, made sure of a solid start and an early break to take control of the first set. A second break landed him the set.

• Svajda, making his French Open main draw debut, had only won one match on clay this season going into the tournament, and it showed with the Italian moving far better and the American struggling with a weak second serve.

• The 23-year-old Svajda varied his game in the third set, becoming more aggressive and rushing to the net. He did not manage to break Cobolli but snatched the tiebreak to cut his lead.

• Cobolli looked to have all but finished the job when he broke twice to race to a 4-0 lead, but Svajda reined him in, whipping big forehand winners to force another tiebreak, with the Italian having wasted one match point when he was 5-4 up.

• The world number 14 recovered just in time to win the tiebreak and will next face fourth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime or Alejandro Tabilo of Chile

(Reporting by Karolos Grohmann, editing by Ed Osmond)

June 1 (Reuters) – The International Cricket Council has suspended Canada over breaches of the national board’s membership obligations, weeks after the global governing body’s anti-corruption unit launched an investigation into Cricket Canada.

The Canadian national team will still be able to participate in ICC events, and funding to operate the teams will be provided through a controlled mechanism, the global governing body said on Monday.

A documentary aired in April by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation had made allegations of corruption in the governance of Cricket Canada involving several players and officials, including match manipulation and threats of violence.

Media reports said the anti-corruption investigation was launched soon after.

“The ICC board resolved to suspend Cricket Canada from ICC membership with immediate effect due to serious breaches of its membership obligations,” the global body said in a statement a day after a meeting in Ahmedabad, India.

Cricket Canada will have to follow a set of conditions, aimed at fixing its governance and administrative issues, to restore membership, the statement added.

“The progress against these conditions will be monitored by the ICC normalisation committee, supported by ICC management, with reinstatement of membership subject to the board being satisfied that the conditions have been fully met,” the ICC said.

The ICC also suspended the United States national body, USA Cricket, over membership rule breaches last year. The U.S. national teams continue to participate in ICC events and are set to compete at the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028.

(Reporting by Chiranjit Ojha in BengaluruEditing by Christian Radnedge)

AM SPORTSCAST, MON 6-1-2026