Digest: Dwyane Wade leaving Heat for Bulls
Men’s basketball: Dwyane Wade is leaving the Miami Heat after 13 seasons and going home to Chicago after agreeing to terms on a contract with the Bulls on Wednesday night, a person with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity because nothing can be finalized before Thursday, when the NBA’s offseason moratorium on player movement is lifted.
Wade met with the Heat on Wednesday in New York, as well as representatives from the Denver Nuggets and Milwaukee Bucks before finalizing his decision. It mirrors, in some respects, the decision Wade’s close friend LeBron James made when he left Miami two summers ago to go back to his northeast Ohio roots in Cleveland.
In James’ case, it was a return to the place where he spent his first seven pro seasons. In Wade’s case, it’s a totally new chapter and comes after three championships and 12 All-Star appearances in Miami.
He was the face of the franchise, Miami’s leader in most major statistical categories. And now, the era ends.
Bulls send Dunleavy to Cavs: A person with knowledge of the situation tells The Associated Press that the Chicago Bulls are sending Mike Dunleavy to the Cleveland Cavaliers to help make room for the incoming Dwyane Wade.
Shortly after Wade informed the Bulls that he was leaving Miami to return to play in his hometown, Chicago told Dunleavy he was headed to Cleveland. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the trade has not been officially announced.
Canada, Serbia, Greece into semis: Canada, Serbia and Greece all clinched semifinal berths in the Olympic Qualifying Tournaments that determine the final spots in the men’s basketball field.
Cory Joseph of the Toronto Raptors scored 13 points as the Canadians beat Senegal 58-55 to improve to 2-0 in Group A of the Manila, Philippines, tournament. Canada will face the loser of Thursday’s France-New Zealand game in the semifinals. Serbia also improved to 2-0 in the tournament it is hosting in Belgrade by beating Angola 83-60. Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets finished with 17 points and six rebounds. Greece beat Mexico 86-70 in a game that determined first place in Group A in Turin, Italy. Mexico will play host Italy in one semifinal, while the Greeks will face Croatia.
The winners of the three tournaments get the final berths in Rio.
Froome-Quintana battle still looming
Cycling: The expected battle between Chris Froome and Nairo Quintana at the Tour de France has been put on hold for at least a couple of days.
The leading contenders had a relatively quiet day in the race’s first medium mountain stage in Le Lioran, France, content to let Greg van Avermaet complete a successful solo attack and take the overall leader’s yellow jersey. The Belgian rider is not in contention to finish top of the general classification, or GC, when the race ends in Paris.
Charles nets 18, lifts Liberty over Storm
WNBA: Tina Charles scored 18 points to help the host New York Liberty beat the Seattle Storm 78-74, overcoming a strong effort by Breanna Stewart. Tanisha Wright added a season-high 18 points for the Liberty (13-6), who have won three of their past four games.
New York led for the entire game, building their advantage to 18 in the first half before Seattle rallied behind Stewart, who finished with 24 points and 16 rebounds.
The Storm (6-12) trailed by seven midway through the fourth before Stewart scored five straight to get them within 75-73 with 8.8 seconds left.
Sue Bird was fouled 4 seconds later and hit the first of two free throws. Her second bounced off the rim and New York grabbed the rebound.
Wright hit two free throws with 1.9 seconds remaining and Seattle turned the ball over on its last possession to seal the game.
Currie leads Stars: Monique Currie scored nine of her season-high 20 points in the fourth quarter and San Antonio beat the visiting Washington Mystics 77-70 without the Stars’ leading scorer Kayla McBride.
Dearica Hamby matched a season high with 18 points and Moriah Jefferson added 16 points for San Antonio (5-13), which is ranked No. 12 in the AP power poll.
McBride sidelined: Stars leading scorer Kayla McBride will miss the rest of the season with a right foot fracture. She was injured and helped off the court in the third quarter of Saturday’s loss at the Minnesota Lynx. She underwent a CT scan and further evaluation which revealed the fracture.
Briles requests to be dropped from lawsuit
College Athletics: Fired Baylor coach Art Briles filed a motion asking a federal judge to remove him from a Title IX lawsuit that accuses him and other school officials of ignoring a woman’s claims she was raped by former player Tevin Elliot, who was later convicted and sent to prison.
Former Baylor student Jasmin Hernandez sued in March, naming Briles, former athletic director Ian McCaw and the Baylor Board of Regents as co-defendants. She alleges they violated federal Title IX rules against gender discrimination in programs that receive federal aid. The Associated Press generally doesn’t identify sexual assault victims, but Hernandez has spoken publicly to draw attention to the case.
Tennessee settlement includes new Title IX policies: Tennessee’s $2.48 million settlement of a Title IX lawsuit regarding its handling of assault complaints against athletes includes steps on how the school must improve the way it addresses incidents involving sexual misconduct.
A copy of the settlement filed Wednesday in federal court and obtained through a public records request said the school will change its rules regarding student disciplinary hearings and will appoint an independent commission made up of individuals with expertise on establishing or maintaining federal law compliance programs.
The primary change in the hearing process would be that “students will not be appointed to serve on student disciplinary hearing boards in cases involving allegations of sexual misconduct” unless both sides agree.
The independent commission would recommend changes in the school’s policies and programs related to preventing, investigating and resolving incidents of sexual misconduct.
The settlement also calls for Tennessee to use “its best efforts to enforce mandatory sexual assault training” for school employees reasonably likely to be among the first to learn about potential incidents.
Under the agreement, Tennessee also is no longer providing a written list of potential lawyers to athletes. Tennessee already had discontinued that policy before the settlement. The school may refer athletes to a local bar association instead.
Campbell qualifies for Rio: Amber Campbell qualified for the Olympics in hammer throw after a throw of 242 feet, 10 inches that set the record for the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials in Eugene, Oregon. Joining her will be Gwen Berry and Deanna Price. Berry recently served a three-month doping ban for using a barred asthma medication.
Rudy Winkler won the men’s competition but neither he nor anyone else in the field reached an Olympic qualifying standard.
Jones out of UFC 200 for doping violations
UFC: Jon Jones, UFC interim light heavyweight champion, has been notified of a potential doping violation, ruling him out of his bout with Daniel Cormier in the main event of UFC 200. UFC President Dana White announced the dramatic change three days before the mixed martial arts promotion’s landmark show.
Jones tested positive for a banned substance in an out-of-competition sample taken June 16 by USADA, which administers the UFC’s anti-drug policy.
Jones is considered the top pound-for-pound fighter in MMA, but he has failed drug tests around two of his past three scheduled fights. He tested positive for apparent cocaine use before his first fight with Cormier at UFC 182 in January 2015.
Jones served a suspension for much of 2015 after his involvement in a hit-and-run accident.