AP Sports

Charges against world’s top golfer Scottie Scheffler dropped after arrest outside PGA Championship

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Criminal charges against Scottie Scheffler have been dismissed, ending a legal saga that began with images of the world’s top golfer being arrested and handcuffed in Louisville during the PGA Championship. Jefferson County Attorney Mike O’Connell, a local prosecutor, asked a judge Wednesday afternoon to drop the four charges against Scheffler. Scheffler was not required to be in the courtroom Wednesday. Scheffler was charged with a felony for assaulting a police officer with his vehicle, along with three misdemeanors. Scheffler has said he simply misunderstood the commands coming from traffic officers.

Bronny James is staying in the NBA draft, agent Rich Paul announces

Bronny James is keeping his name in the NBA draft, with the hopes of joining his father in the league next season. Rich Paul, the CEO of Klutch Sports Group, confirmed the decision to The Associated Press. It was first reported by ESPN. LeBron James, Bronny’s father and the NBA’s all-time scoring leader, posted his reaction on his social media accounts, including one Instagram story that had the simple caption: “BRONNY STAYING IN DRAFT!” The decision was not unexpected, given that Bronny James had given no sign in recent weeks that he would exercise his option of returning to college and postponing his NBA plans. James played one year of college basketball at Southern California.

Carlos Alcaraz overcomes a shaky forehand and a qualifier to reach the French Open’s third round

PARIS (AP) — Carlos Alcaraz won the last five games to beat 176th-ranked qualifier Jesper de Jong 6-3, 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 in the second round of the French Open. Heavy rain early in the day caused the postponement of 23 singles matches, so Alcaraz was lucky to get the chance to play under the retractable roof at Court Philippe Chatrier. Alcaraz has been dealing with a bothersome right arm that limited his preparation and made him afraid to hit his big forehand with full force. He has been wearing a white sleeve on that forearm and ended up with 26 unforced errors on the forehand side, more than half of his 47 total miscues. Other winners included Stefanos Tsitsipas, Ons Jabeur and Sofia Kenin.

Major leaguers praise inclusion of Negro Leagues statistics into major league records

CHICAGO (AP) — Baseball players and fans alike are learning more about the Negro Leagues after the statistics for more than 2,300 players — historic figures like Josh Gibson, Oscar Charleston, Satchel Paige and Mule Suttles — were incorporated into the major league record book following a three-year research project. A 17-person committee chaired by John Thorn, Major League Baseball’s official historian, met six times as part of the meticulous process of examining statistics from seven Negro Leagues from 1920-1948. Cincinnati Reds pitcher Hunter Greene calls the move “long overdue.” Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen says he is doing some “deep diving” into some Negro Leagues players that he hadn’t heard of before.

Forget 300 career wins. Even 200 wins for an MLB pitcher might be a thing of the past

PHOENIX (AP) — José Berríos turned 30 years old on Monday, giving up an obscure crown in the process. The two-time All-Star has exactly 88 career wins, which made him the active leader for under-30 pitchers in Major League Baseball. His ascension into the over-30 category has brought into focus just how few young, accomplished pitchers there are in the big leagues these days, at least when it comes to traditional stats. Forget about the 300-win pitcher that was the gold standard for Hall of Fame career excellence over the past century — even 200 career wins might be out of the question soon.

Olympic boxing medalists in Paris promised cash prizes by rogue governing body

GENEVA (AP) — The boxing governing body declared rogue by the International Olympic Committee says it will pay $50,000 in prize money to each gold medalist at the Paris Games. The cash promise is doubly confrontational for the IOC. It has severed ties with the International Boxing Association and does not approve of governing bodies paying prize money to Olympic medalists. The IBA says it has a $3.1 million prize money fund for each male and female boxer who wins a medal or reaches the quarterfinals in 13 total weight classes, plus their coaches and national teams.

John Wood goes from caddie to TV to Ryder Cup team manager

John Wood has been a caddie for more than 20 years and an on-course reporter for NBC for three years. Now he has another job. Wood has been appointed team manager for the U.S. Ryder Cup team. He’ll still work for NBC except during the Ryder Cup. His new role is to work with the captain, the assistants and players to handle strategic and operational issues for the 2025 matches at Bethpage Black. The PGA of America still hasn’t appointed a captain. The top choice is Tiger Woods but he is trying to make sure he has time for the job.

Big changes for the NCAA likely to upend scholarship limits and roster sizes across college sports

Scholarships are not going away in college athletics. But how many there are and which sports they will apply to in coming years are among the many questions stemming from a mammoth antitrust settlement and athlete revenue-sharing plan proposed by the NCAA and its five largest conferences. Nearly $2.8 billion in damages over 10 years must come from somewhere. Schools are scrambling to find out how much more money will be necessary to compensate athletes in sports like baseball and softball, many who previously only got a fragment of what their classmates who play football or basketball received.

Stewart-Haas Racing to close NASCAR teams at end of 2024 season, says time to ‘pass the torch’

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Stewart-Haas Racing will close its NASCAR teams at the end of the 2024 season. The announcement comes after nearly a year of rumors that the four-car Cup Series team was looking to sell its charters and either scale back or exit the series completely. Gene Haas founded the team in 2002 and landed Stewart as a co-owner ahead of the 2009 season. Stewart in his debut season gave the team its first Cup Series victory and its first Cup title in 2011. Kevin Harvick added a second championship in 2014. The move also affects a two-car Xfinity Series team.

Rangers can’t capitalize on another dominant Shesterkin performance, drop Game 4 of East Finals

SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — The Florida Panthers peppered Igor Shesterkin with shot after shot, and the New York Rangers goalie had an answer for almost all of them. It wasn’t enough, and despite 37 saves and another stellar performance in the net from Shesterkin, the Rangers fell 3-2 to the Panthers in overtime of Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Final on Tuesday night. With the teams knotted at two wins apiece, the series will head back to New York for Game 5, with the Rangers needing to find some answers to complement the play of their goaltender