Now it’s official: Howard to Lakers
NBA: Dwight Howard got his wish: He’s out of Orlando.
The All-Star center was traded Friday to the Los Angeles Lakers, the last act of his long, drawn-out departure from the Magic. It took four teams, 12 players, five draft picks and countless rounds of talks with different clubs to complete, but it finally was finished Friday after the NBA approved the deal.
Several players found new homes, including Andrew Bynum, sent by the Lakers to the Philadelphia 76ers. The 76ers sent Andre Iguodala – part of the U.S. Olympic team – to the Denver Nuggets.
Orlando received guard Arron Afflalo and forward Al Harrington from Denver, forward Moe Harkless and center Nikola Vucevic from Philadelphia, and forward Josh McRoberts and guard Christian Eyenga from the Lakers. The Lakers received Howard, guard Chris Duhon and forward Earl Clark from Orlando. The Magic also traded guard Jason Richardson to Philadelphia.
Orlando also gets five draft picks over five years.
Howard averaged 20.6 points and 14.5 rebounds in 54 regular-season games for Orlando last season. In eight seasons with the Magic, he averaged 18.4 points and 13.0 rebounds.
Choi’s late splurge gives her lead in LPGA event
Golf: Chella Choi shrugged off two bogeys to start the back nine, birdieing three holes coming down the stretch for a 4-under-par 67 and a one-shot lead after the second round of the LPGA’s Jamie Farr Toledo Classic in Sylvania, Ohio.
Choi, winless in her four years on the LPGA tour, started with a 66 and was at 9-under 133 at rainy Highland Meadows Golf Club. Wendy Ward of Edwall, Wash., shot a 69 and was at 140.
• Ko, Jutanugarn advance in Amateur: Lydia Ko of New Zealand and Ariya Jutanugarn of Thailand set up a semifinal showdown in the U.S. Women’s Amateur with quarterfinal victories at The Country Club in Cleveland.
Canada’s Nicole Zhang will face Jaye Marie Green of Boca Raton, Fla., in the other semifinal.
More optimism emerges as NHL, players’ union talk
NHL: One day after NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman promised the league would lock out its players if a new Collective Bargaining Agreement was not in place by Sept. 15, representatives from both the NHL and the players’ association exuded an air of optimism that the season could start on time. The league and the NHLPA met for nearly three hours at the NHL offices. The session was centered around hockey issues, specifically an appeals process for supplemental discipline and lengths of training camps.
Keough wins fourth stage at Tour of Utah with sprint
Cycling: Jake Keough broke free during a late sprint to win the fourth stage of the Tour of Utah, while fellow American Christian Vandevelde retained the overall lead.
Keough finished the 134.3-mile stage in 4 hours, 47 minutes, 6 seconds. Italy’s Marco Benfatto was second, and U.S. rider Tyler Farrar finished third. Vandevelde had a 3-second lead over Thomas Danielson.