LGBTQ Breaking News Service

NHL-BLUES-VIRUS

Blues, Knights cleared for Game 2

DENVER (AP) — The NHL has cleared the St. Louis Blues and Vegas Golden Knights after virus testing errors. The league says multiple COVID-19 tests came back positive for each team from the same lab. Further testing turned up negative results.

All players who were isolated and retested were cleared to play.

That cleared the way for Game 2 between the Blues and the Colorado Avalanche. Vegas plays Game 3 at Minnesota on Thursday night. That series is tied 1-1.

In other NHL news:

— The New Jersey Devils have hired former U.S women’s national team captain Meghan Duggan as manager of player development. Duggan is the latest prominent women’s hockey player to get a job in an NHL team’s hockey operations department.

NHL-PLAYOFFS

Smith scores in 2nd OT, Bruins beat Caps 3-2 for series lead

UNDATED (AP) — Craig Smith scored 5:48 into the second overtime Wednesday night to give the Boston Bruins a 3-2 victory over the Washington Capitals and a 2-1 lead in the East Division first-round playoff series.

Smith outraced defenseman Justin Schultz to a puck behind the Capitals net and swept it around into the goal to end the third straight overtime game in the series. It was the 11th straight one-goal playoff game between them since 1998.

Alex Ovechkin scored his 800th combined regular-season and postseason goal, and Nic Dowd returned from a slap shot off the knee to add a goal for Washington. Ilya Samsonov returned from the COVID-19 list to make his playoff debut, stopping 40 shots for Washington, which lost the home-ice advantage after splitting the first two games at home.

Game 4 is Friday night in Boston.

NHL-REGULAR SEASON SCHEDULE

Tkachuk scores twice, Flames beat Canucks 6-2 in finale

CALGARY, Alberta (AP) — Matthew Tkachuk (kah-CHUHK’) scored twice and the Calgary Flames beat the Vancouver Canucks 6-2 in the NHL’s regular-season finale. At 26-27-3, they ended up four points behind Montreal for the final playoff spot. The Canucks finished last in the seven-team North, a point behind Ottawa.

NBA-PLAY-IN TOURNAMENT

Grizzlies end Spurs’ season in play-in game winning 100-96

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Dillon Brooks scored eight of his 24 points in the fourth quarter to help put Memphis ahead to stay and the Grizzlies eliminated the San Antonio Spurs 100-96 in the first Western Conference play-in game.

The Grizzlies will play the Golden State Warriors or the Los Angeles Lakers for the No. 8 seed Friday night and a first-round series starting Sunday against the top-seeded Utah Jazz.

Jonas Valanciunas had a season-high 23 rebounds and 23 points for Memphis. Ja Morant added 20 points and six assists. DeMar DeRozan and Rudy Gay each scored 20 points as the Spurs lost their fifth straight.

MLB-SCHEDULE

Kluber throws no-no

UNDATED (AP) — Corey Kluber threw the the major leagues’ sixth no-hitter this season and second in two nights, leading the New York Yankees over the Texas Rangers 2-0.

The 35-year-old right-hander, a two-time American League Cy Young Award winner, came within a third-inning walk to Charlie Culberson of throwing a perfect game.

Kluber pitched his gem a night after Detroit Tigers right-hander Spencer Turnbull threw one against the Seattle Mariners, marking the first no-hitters on consecutive days since 1969. Kluber struck out nine and and threw 71 of 101 pitches for strikes.

Elsewhere around the majors:

— Lucas Giolito (jee-oh-LEE’-toh) gave up two hits over eight innings with a season-high 11 strikeouts, and the Chicago White Sox beat the Minnesota Twins 2-1. Giolito threw 111 pitches in his longest start of the year. Nelson Cruz’s home run in the third accounted for the only Minnesota runner past second base. Cruz had the only other hit, a single in the first inning. Liam Hendricks pitched a perfect ninth for his ninth save. Chicago won for the 20th time in 28 games.

— Fernando Tatis (tah-TEES’) Jr. homered and went 4 for 4 in his first game back after testing positive for COVID-19, and the San Diego Padres beat the Colorado Rockies 3-0 for a three-game sweep. Tatis, who had been out since May 11, finished a triple shy of hitting for the cycle in helping the Padres win their sixth straight game and for the ninth time in 10 games. Tatis came up in the eighth and got his third extra-base hit of the game, an RBI double.

— Randy Arozarena hit two home runs, stole another with his glove and knocked in four runs, Ji-Man Choi drove in the go-ahead run in the eighth inning, and the Tampa Bay Rays rallied from a five-run deficit to beat the Baltimore Orioles 9-7. Mike Brosseau also homered for Tampa Bay, which has won a season-high six consecutive games. At 25-19, the Rays are six games above .500 for the first time this year. Baltimore fell to a majors-worst 6-17 at home.

— Ronald Acuña Jr. homered on the first pitch in the bottom of the ninth inning and the Atlanta Braves beat the New York Mets 5-4 after blowing an early two-run lead. Acuña drilled the first pitch from Jacob Barnes to center field for his NL-leading 13th homer. The Mets were denied a sweep of the three-game series. Tomás Nido gave New York a 4-3 lead with a pinch-hit, two-run single in the seventh. The Braves pulled even in the eighth. Jonathan Villar’s leadoff homer in the fourth gave the Mets a 1-0 lead.

— Brain Anderson homered on his 28th birthday to back Trevor Rogers, who pitched five-hit ball for 7 2/3 innings and led the Miami Marlins over the Philadelphia Phillies 3-1. Adam Duvall and Jazz Chisholm Jr. also drove in runs for the Marlins, who won for just the second time in five games. Rogers (gave up five hits, including Andrew McCutchen’s sixth-inning homer. The 23-year-old rookie left-hander struck out eight and walked two. Yimi Garcia finished with two-hit relief for his eighth save. Zach Eflin allowed two runs and six hits in six inning

— Kevin Gausman gave up one hit over six strong innings, Buster Posey drove in three runs and the San Francisco Giants beat the Cincinnati Reds 4-0. Gausman didn’t allow a hit until until Tucker Barnhart led off the fifth with a double, and Cincinnati managed just two more hits the rest of the way against San Francisco relievers. The Giants got a great outing from a starter in beating the Reds for the third straight night. Mike Tauchman had an RBI single in the fifth for NL West-leading San Francisco.

— Alex Verdugo and J.D. Martinez hit back-to-back homers during a five-run first inning, Garrett Richards won his fourth straight decision and the Boston Red Sox beat the Toronto Blue Jays 7-3. Kiké Hernández and Christian Vázquez also went deep for the Red Sox, who are 13-6 on the road. Boston has outhomered its opponents 57-32. Toronto, which lost for only the second time in eight games, got a two-run homer from Marcus Semien. A victory would have moved the Blue Jays past Boston into first place in the AL East. Verdugo hit a two-run drive and Martinez then ended a 12-game homerless drought with an opposite-field shot as the first five batters reached safely against Ross Stripling.

MLB-NEWS

Walker added to Mets’ lengthy IL list, Maybin joins OF mix

ATLANTA (AP) — The New York Mets place right hander Taijuan Walker on the 10-day injured list retroactive to Tuesday after he lasted only three innings in this week’s start against the Braves due to tightness in his left side.

The Mets selected the contract of outfielder Cameron Maybin from Triple-A Syracuse and started him in left field against the Atlanta Braves.

Left-hander Stephen Tarpley and right-hander Sam McWilliams also were placed on the injured list.

Elsewhere in the majors:

— Baltimore Orioles first baseman Chris Davis will miss the rest of the season after surgery to repair the labrum in his left hip. The 35-year-old has not played since Baltimore’s spring training opener in February. General manager Mike Elias said Davis should be able to make a full return for spring training in 2022, the final season of Davis’ $161 million, seven-year contract.

— New York Yankees shortstop Gleyber Torres is back in the lineup after being reinstated from the COVID-19 injured list. The fully vaccinated Torres missed six games after testing positive last week. Second baseman Rougned Odor (ROOG’-ned oh-DOHR’) was placed on the paternity leave list

— An unidentified Washington Nationals player who is vaccinated and asymptomatic has tested positive for COVID-19 and might have been in close contact with an unvaccinated player. Manager Dave Martinez said neither player would have been in the starting lineup against the Chicago Cubs and neither was available off the bench. The unvaccinated player might need to quarantine.

NFL-COLTS-SIGNINGS

Colts sign 2 more draft picks as voluntary work continues

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The Indianapolis Colts have signed two more draft picks — tight end Kylen Granson and quarterback Sam Ehlinger. Financial terms were not immediately available though both deals will be for four seasons.

The Colts have now signed all seven selections from this year’s draft as the first week of voluntary workouts nears its conclusion.

In other NFL moves:

— The Patriots have signed running back and fourth-round draft pick Rhamondre Stevenson. Stevenson, out of Oklahoma, is the fifth member of the Patriots’ 2021 draft class to sign. The 23-year-old Stevenson played in 19 games over two seasons for the Sooners, rushing for 1,180 yards and 13 touchdowns.

NCAA-ATHLETE COMPENSATION

NCAA’s D1 Council hopes athlete pay rules hashed out in June

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The NCAA Division I Council plans to act on legislative proposals next month that would allow athletes to be paid to be sponsors, social media influencers and product endorsers. That word from the governing body for college sports.

The council will take up the issue at its meeting June 22-23 with the goal of having legislation in place by July 1. That would provide greater consistency in the name, image and likeness opportunities available to student-athletes nationally as state laws become effective on or around that date.

OBIT-LEE EVANS

Record-setting sprinter, ’68 Olympic activist Lee Evans dies

LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — Lee Evans, the record-setting sprinter who wore a black beret in a sign of protest at the 1968 Olympics, died Wednesday. He was 74.

Evans became the first man to crack 44 seconds in the 400 meters, winning the gold medal at the Mexico City Games in 43.86. His victory came shortly after his teammates, Tommie Smith and John Carlos, were sent home from the Olympics for raising their fists on the medals stand.

In later interviews, Evans said an official warned him not do anything similar. He took a different approach, wearing a black beret to show support for the Black Panther Party and other civil rights organizations.

Gregg Popovich and the San Antonio Spurs saw their impressive 22-season playoff streak get snapped last year, but they had a shot at getting back into the postseason once again this year. The 10th-seeded Spurs had their chance to restart that streak against the No. 9 Memphis Grizzlies in Wednesday’s first Western Conference play-in game but it was the Grizzlies who held on after taking a sizable first-half lead for the 100-96 victory.

In the end, it was Jonas Valanciunas, Ja Morant and Dillon Brooks who helped lead the way for Memphis as the trio combined for 67 points, 37 rebounds and 10 assists to help the Grizzlies land a Friday night showdown against the loser of tonight’s game between the Golden State Warriors and the Los Angeles Lakers. 

With this trio helping lead the way on the offensive end, the future is bright in Memphis and this could be an opportunity for this group to get some playoff experience under their belt, regardless of who they end up taking on Friday night.

Here are three key takeaways from the game:

1. Valanciunas dominates in the paint

Ever since the Toronto Raptors sent Jonas Valanciunas to the Memphis Grizzlies in the Marc Gasol trade a few years ago, the Lithuanian center has become something of a forgotten man around the NBA. That’s a product of playing in a small market for a team that’s at the back-end of the playoff race, however, not because his play has slipped. 

In fact, Valanciunas arguably played the best basketball of his career this season. On Wednesday night, he finally had a national TV audience to show what he can do. He was absolutely dominant in the paint, en route to 23 points, 23 rebounds and three blocks. And while single-game plus-minus isn’t always the best indicator of what happened in a game, it was not a fluke that he finished plus-26 in a four-point win.

The Spurs simply had no answer for him on either end of the court. He created some baskets for himself in the post, crashed the basket to earn some crucial second-chance points and was a stifling defensive presence at the rim at times. Valanciunas might not have gotten much attention this season, but he’ll get plenty of it over the next few days, and for good reason. This was a big time performance. 

2. Brooks gets it done on both ends

Over the weekend, in the Grizzlies’ matchup with the Golden State Warriors to close the regular season, Dillon Brooks was tasked with guarding Steph Curry. And while Curry finished with 46 points, there was no question the game changed and life got easier for him when Brooks fouled out in the middle of the fourth quarter. 

In this matchup with the Spurs, Brooks was once again given the toughest perimeter matchup: DeMar DeRozan. This time, he didn’t foul out, and he completely shut down the Spurs’ high-scoring guard. DeRozan finished with 20 points, but shot 5-of-21 from the field and couldn’t get anything going with Brooks guarding him. 

Here’s a short compilation of some of the work Brooks was doing defensively. He was doing a terrific job crowding DeRozan’s space and getting a good contest without fouling. 

Brooks wasn’t just a defensive specialist in this game, though. He ended up leading the team in scoring with 24 points, and came up clutch in the fourth quarter. Brooks played the entire fourth and scored eight key points in the middle of the quarter to end a tough offensive stretch for the Grizzlies. 

The Spurs came out strong in the fourth quarter, and after a rare DeRozan bucket took their first lead since the opening basket of the game. Brooks then scored on four straight possessions to get the Grizzlies back in front, which is where they’d remain the rest of the way. 

3. End of the road for the Spurs

Last season, the Spurs missed the playoffs for the first time in 22 years. Now, after the loss to the Grizzlies, they’ve once again been eliminated. Which means for the first time in franchise history, which dates back to 1967 when they debuted as the Texas Chaparrals in the ABA, the Spurs have missed the playoffs in consecutive seasons. 

That was a truly remarkable feat, and will likely never be matched, but all things must come to an end. The Spurs’ time as a perennial playoff team certainly has. Now, the questions begin about what comes next for a franchise that has almost never found themselves in a rebuilding phase. 

LaMarcus Aldridge left in the middle of the season and has since retired, and fellow veterans DeMar DeRozan and Rudy Gay are free agents this summer. The Spurs have some interesting and talented young players, but will Gregg Popovich want to go full youth movement or sign some veterans and make another run at the playoffs? And speaking of Popovich, what does his future hold? He’s now 72 years old, and though he hasn’t indicated that he wants to retire, it’s fair to wonder how much longer he’ll want to coach. In any case, this will be an interesting offseason in San Antonio. 

On May 19, 2011, ESPN 1050 radio host Jared Max was wrapping up his morning show in New York when he suddenly announced that he was gay. While there had been other prominent sports figures to do so at this point, we still weren’t at a point where LGBTQ+ people could expect to be celebrated in the world of sports (perhaps we’re still not?). Doing so was a major risk, especially in the aggro world of sports radio.

You can listen to the seven-plus minute announcement here:

At the time, Max told his audience that “I’m taking this courageous jump into the unknown having no idea how I will be perceived.” Ten years later, Max says his only regret was not saying it publicly sooner.

“I remember doing it thinking, ‘You know what? I’m allowed to tell this story,’” Max recently told Alex Reimer on The Sports Kiki podcast.

“Before I came out, I think I was failing,” Max said. “All of a sudden, becoming a talk show host wasn’t working. But once I was honest with the audience about who I am, I realized, ‘Okay, now I can talk and I can react at work.’”

At the time, Max was an up-and-coming radio personality who had just jumped from WCBS-AM to ESPN Radio. While he certainly could have continued on that path without making his sexuality public, the decision to come out eventually became too strong to deny. The tipping point was, of all things, reading an interview that Charles Barkley had recently done about gay teammates.

“(Barkley) was a big, important voice,” Max said. “People don’t always realize, but sometimes you can make an innocuous comment that can harm somebody, but you can also make a comment — that even Charles Barkley didn’t know — can change somebody’s life.”

Here’s what Barkley said at the time:

“First of all, every player has played with gay guys,” Barkley told 106.7 The Fan, adding that any player who says he hasn’t is “a stone-freakin’ idiot.”

“It bothers me when I hear these reporters and jocks get on TV and say: ‘Oh, no guy can come out in a team sport. These guys would go crazy.’ First of all, quit telling me what I think. I’d rather have a gay guy who can play than a straight guy who can’t play,” Barkley said.

Barkley said he never worried about awkward situations involving gay teammates, because “[It] doesn’t work like that.”

“A guy is never going to put himself in that situation in a professional locker room,” Barkley told the station. “It never crossed my mind, and I never felt any different about the guy.”

That, coupled with other prominent sports figures such as NBA Hall of Fame executive Rick Welts saying similar things, gave Max the impetus he needed to come out.

What was it like to come out of the closet on a live sports talk show 10 years ago? It wouldn’t have happened then without the act of courage by Basketball Hall of Famer @RickWelts ? Thank you @JonSchwartz1 for hosting this special Sports Mentoring Project. WATCH THIS SHORT CLIP https://t.co/edoD1z5hgr

— Jared Max (@Jared_Max) May 17, 2021

Max has been a sports reporter for FOX News Headlines 24/7 since 2015 and makes appearances on Fox News and Fox Business to discuss the stories he reports on.

Love the love @CydZeigler you share every day. And, forever grateful for your support — helping me. Hopefully, it’s helped others. ? https://t.co/cN9ijt2qiu

— Jared Max (@Jared_Max) May 19, 2021

As for whether or not he has any regrets about the announcement beyond wishing he’d done it sooner, he has none.

The Canadian Press

Gurriel drives in 4 runs as Astros thump Athletics 8-1

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Zack Greinke wanted to throw harder, and he surprised himself when the radar gun read 93 mph on a fastball in the first inning — and it sure felt great. “I was surprised, for sure,” he said. José Altuve homered on the first pitch of the game, Yuli Gurriel drove in four runs to back Greinke, and the Houston Astros won for the seventh time in eight games by beating the Oakland Athletics 8-1 on Wednesday night. Greinke (4-1) struck out eight and didn’t walk a batter, allowing one run on four hits over eight impressive innings to win back-to-back starts for the first time this season. “It ended up being a lot harder. I don’t really know completely what it is,” Greinke said of his fastball. “It was nice, and I was throwing strikes with it, too, so that was good.” Gurriel hit a pair of two-run doubles among his four hits, Carlos Correa contributed two RBI singles and Michael Brantley also singled home a late run for Houston. “Yuli was awesome. He’s been awesome all year long,” manager Dusty Baker said. “He’s been clutching up. He’s been driving in runs.” The Astros pulled back within a half-game of the defending AL West champion A’s in the division race — with everybody realizing it’s still early but fully expecting these two clubs to chase each other down to the end. Houston hasn’t led the West since April 8. Greinke joked with his team that the high winds helped his cause. Baker was thrilled Greinke produced one of his best starts this year, with “pinpoint control” to save the bullpen. “You know Greinke, he has that same look on his face all the time. He came in and had a couple smiles on his face, that’s about it,” Baker said. Sean Murphy had an RBI double in the second for Oakland, coming off its major league-leading fifth walk-off win in a 6-5 victory a night earlier. But Murphy exited early after getting hit by a series of foul balls behind the plate. “He had two to the mask. The last one actually was shoulder and lacerated his ear a little bit,” manager Bob Melvin said. “With three blows like that, it was just precautionary. No concussion or headache at all. There’s a chance he could play tomorrow. We’ll see, but just didn’t want to take any chances after the third one.” Altuve, still getting booed at every chance in Oakland since the Astros’ 2017-18 sign-stealing scam was exposed, extended his hitting streak to 13 games. It’s his first hitting streak of 12 or more games since a career-best 19-game string during the 2017 World Series championship season. A’s righty Frankie Montas (5-3) had his three-start winning streak snapped. He allowed two runs and seven hits over five innings, struck out six and walked two. ROOKIE’S SHOT Astros right-handed pitching prospect Tyler Ivey has been called up to make his major league debut Friday against Texas. “It’s indescribable,” said the 25-year-old Ivey, who grew up in the Dallas suburb of Rowlett as a Rangers fan. “To be making my debut there, I really can’t describe it.” He’s expecting as many as 50 friends and family members in the stands. “It’ll be pretty overwhelming. It’ll be quite the experience, for sure,” said Ivey, who also had a short stint as an Astros fan more than 15 years ago. TRAINER’S ROOM Astros: Baker remains hopeful of welcoming back third base coach Gary Pettis sometime in June after his absence while undergoing treatment for cancer in Southern California. “He’s making great strides. He’s hoping sometime next month,” Baker said of the 63-year-old Pettis, fighting multiple myeloma. “We miss him. We just pray that he gets healed.” Athletics: RHP Mike Fiers, on the injured list with a sprained elbow, isn’t ready to play catch yet. “He hasn’t thrown yet. He’s still doing strengthening stuff,” Melvin said. “We’re still a ways away with him.” … LHP A.J. Puk (strained left biceps) is set to pitch an inning with Triple-A Las Vegas on Thursday, while LHP Jesús Luzardo (hairline fracture in his pinkie) will throw with the A’s. He is likely to need some innings with Las Vegas before returning, too. UP NEXT LHP Cole Irvin (3-4, 3.02 ERA) takes the mound for the A’s in the series finale looking for his first victory against the Astros after going 0-2 with a 7.45 ERA in two previous matchups, both this year. Houston starts RHP Luis García (1-3, 3.34) as he tries to win consecutive outings for the first time in his career. ___ More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports Janie Mccauley, The Associated Press

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — The young Memphis Grizzlies finally have a play-in victory to their credit, yet they’re nowhere near satisfied.

Dillon Brooks scored eight of his 24 points in the fourth quarter to put Memphis ahead to stay and the Grizzlies eliminated the San Antonio Spurs 100-96 on Wednesday night in the first Western Conference play-in game.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) The young Memphis Grizzlies finally have a play-in victory to their credit, yet they’re nowhere near satisfied.

Dillon Brooks scored eight of his 24 points in the fourth quarter to put Memphis ahead to stay and the Grizzlies eliminated the San Antonio Spurs 100-96 on Wednesday night in the first Western Conference play-in game.

”It feels good, but I mean we’re not in the playoffs yet,” Grizzlies guard Ja Morant said. ”Just have to turn the page.”

The Grizzlies will play at Golden State on Friday night for the No. 8 seed and a first-round series starting Sunday against top-seeded Utah. The Los Angeles Lakers beat the Warriors 103-100 on Wednesday night to take the No. 7 seed and a first-round spot against Phoenix.

Memphis is trying to snap a skid of three straight seasons without a postseason berth with last season ending with a loss to Portland in the NBA’s first play-in game.

”We still have one more in front of us,” Grizzlies center Jonas Valnciunas said. ”Really important. The same importance as tonight. It’s going to be do or die. That’s how we build our confidence. That’s how we build our experience.”

Valanciunas had a season-high 23 rebounds and 23 points for Memphis. Morant added 20 points and six assists. Jaren Jackson Jr. had 10 points.

DeMar DeRozan and Rudy Gay each scored 20 points as the Spurs lost their fifth straight. Dejounte Murray had his fifth triple-double with 10 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists. Keldon Johnson added 11 and Jacob Poeltl 10.

Coach Gregg Popovich said he told his Spurs he didn’t know if he’s ever been more proud of a team that just doesn’t quit.

”No matter what the mistakes, no matter what the circumstances are, they really fight,” Popovich said. ”That’s a good base. So, I’m really proud of the way they conducted themselves and played to win.”

The Spurs last led 83-81 on Johnson’s 3 with 6:55 left. Brooks started his scoring spurt with the Grizzlies trailing 80-79, and his driving 5-footer with 5:57 to go put Memphis ahead to stay at 85-83.

”We put ourselves in a hole early, but we fought all the way back, and had the game,” DeRozan said. ”Let a couple of possessions slip away from us, and that kind of hurt us.”

Memphis pulled out all the stops possible in a pandemic in the biggest home game since the Grizzlies’ last playoff appearance in 2017 against these very Spurs.

Inside the FedExForum, capacity was doubled to 40% with a sellout of 7,019 fans, and a yellow towel proclaiming ”NXT UP MEMPHIS” was on each seat. Rapper Al Kapone performed outside during halftime and was shown on the video board with fans joining in waving towels when he sang ”Whoop That Trick.”

In five playoff series between these teams, the Spurs swept three of the four San Antonio won. Memphis’ only series victory came in 2011 as the then-No. 8 seed, the start of seven straight playoff seasons for the Grizzlies.

Those players are long gone.

On this night, the Grizzlies’ next generation took over with a roster that was the second-youngest at the start of this season rebuilt around Jackson, the No. 4 overall draft pick in 2018, and Morant, the second overall draft pick in 2019 and reigning NBA Rookie of the Year.

The Grizzlies led 38-19 after the first quarter. The Spurs answered with a 22-3 run that pulled them within 41-39. But Morant ended Memphis’ cold spurt with a dunk, and the Grizzlies led 56-49 at halftime.

The teams each scored 16 points in the third as this game turned into a battle. Memphis took a 72-65 lead into the fourth quarter.

TIP-INS

Spurs: San Antonio finished 7-32 when trailing after three quarter. … Murray had his fifth triple-double, most for the Spurs since David Robinson in 1993-94. … Poeltl tied his career-high with five blocks.

Grizzlies: Memphis improved to 35-11 when leading after three. … Valanciunas had his 50th double-double this season during the second quarter. He also had his sixth career game with 20 or more points and 20 or more rebounds and fourth this season, most in the NBA. Only Zach Randolph has more in franchise history with 11. … Kyle Anderson matched his career-high with four blocks. … Grayson Allen returned after missing seven games with a left abdominal strain.

BROOKS’ NIGHT

DeRozan led the Spurs in scoring this season and in all but one of their final six games. But he was just 1 of 11 shooting in the first half and finished 5 of 21 from the floor. Morant said Brooks made another case for his inclusion on the NBA’s All-Defense team with how he played against the talented DeRozan.

The Grizzlies improved to 38-14 over the last two seasons when Brooks scores 20 or more.

QUOTABLE

”I just don’t like losing. I wanted to get to the playoffs,” Spurs guard Lonnie Walker IV said.

UP NEXT

The Spurs go into the offseason with Popovich having more time to prepare for the Tokyo Olympics as head coach of the U.S. team.

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Follow Teresa M. Walker at https://twitter.com/TeresaMWalker

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More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP-Sports

The Los Angeles Dodgers have announced the return of professional sports’ largest LGBTQ Pride Night, as the team will host the LGBTQ community, and the Texas Rangers, on Friday, June 11. The game will be one of the few in-person celebrations for LA Pride this year.

You can purchase tickets for the game at the Dodgers website.

The Dodgers have a long history of supporting the LGBTQ community. They hosted the first “Gay Night” we know of in pro sports, in 2000, when the team rallied to support a gay couple who had been mistreated by security at a previous game. In 2019, the team sold approximately 12,000 LGBTQ+ Night packages — the most ever for an LGBTQ night — in what was the team’s most-attended game in seven years.

The Dodgers also do a great job of engaging the LGBTQ community outside of Pride month, building relationships with us here at Outsports, as well as Varsity Gay League, the Greater Los Angeles Softball Association, Hi Tops Sportsbar and other groups. With out gay senior vice-president Erik Braverman and longtime ally Lon Rosen having seats at the table, the Dodgers make their commitment to the community year-round.

This year the Dodgers are incorporating an 11-color Pride flag into the team’s logo for the first time (see below).

“The Dodgers take so much pride in celebrating Los Angeles’ LGBTQ+ community and are excited to host our eighth annual LGBTQ+ Night at Dodger Stadium, which continues to grow into one of the biggest Pride nights in all of professional sports,” Braverman said. “After a trying year apart, we’re looking forward to working with our great partners to welcome the LGBTQ+ community back to Dodger Stadium for a fun and safe in-person event.”

The tickets for the Pride celebration are situated in what the Dodgers describe as a fully vaccinated-only section. Be sure to check out the requirements before purchasing your tickets.

Be sure to grab your tickets for the game here before they sell out.

For more LA Dodgers news, check out True Blue LA.