Newsmakers: Portland Trail Blazers’ Aldridge has thumb surgery

Repaired Trail Blazers forward LaMarcus Aldridge had surgery to repair a ligament in his left thumb. The team said in a statement that Aldridge is expected to be able to return to basketball activity in about eight weeks. Aldridge, a four-time All-Star, averaged 23.4 points and 10.2 rebounds during the regular season, playing with the injured thumb for part of that time.

Named The Philadelphia Flyers made a surprise pick for their head coach, hiring University of North Dakota’s Dave Hakstol. The 46-year-old spent 11 seasons at North Dakota, going 289-143-43 with a .654 winning percentage. In 2014-15, he led North Dakota to a 29-10-3 record and a berth in the NCAA Frozen Four. UND made the NCAA tournament in every one of his 11 seasons.

Hired Louisiana Tech has hired Miami assistant Eric Konkol as the Bulldogs’ new men’s basketball coach. Konkol takes over for Michael White, who was hired by Florida earlier this month. Konkol begins his first Division I head coaching job after spending the past four seasons on Jim Larranaga’s Hurricanes staff.

Signed The Dallas Cowboys have re-signed fullback Tyler Clutts and released fullback Jed Collins. Clutts played all 16 games last season, with one start. He also had his first career touchdown in the playoffs, a 1-yard catch in the divisional round loss to Green Bay. Dallas signed Clutts late in 2013 after he was released by Miami.

Planned Major League Soccer’s expansion Los Angeles Football Club plans to build a $250 million stadium on the site of the old Sports Arena next to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The 15-acre complex in Exposition Park would also include a conference center, restaurants, 130,000 square feet of plazas and streetscapes, and a soccer museum. At its center would be a 22,000-seat venue, home to the new MLS team when it makes its debut in 2018.