Newsmakers

Revealed The Denver Nuggets officially announced the hiring of Pete D’Alessandro Friday as the senior vice president of business and team operations. D’Alessandro returns to the Nuggets front office after spending the last two seasons as GM of the Sacramento Kings.

Joined NCAA men’s and women’s basketball no longer has any independent institutions now that the New Jersey Institute of Technology agreed to join the Atlantic Sun Conference. NJIT will be part of the conference in all sports beginning in the fall.

Concluded A trial that could decide who ultimately takes control of the New Orleans Saints and Pelicans has ended and a ruling is pending. The issue is whether 87-year-old Tom Benson was mentally sound when he ousted close relatives from ownership positions with his teams.

Probed Authorities are investigating a complaint by Michigan State softball player Alyssa McBride that she was hit intentionally by two balls pitched by an assistant coach. McBride said she was struck in the left arm and on a wrist. The pitch that struck her arm left a bruise.

Alleged Former New England Patriots linebacker Brandon Spikes has been cited for rear-ending another vehicle on a Massachusetts highway then leaving the scene. Spikes’ Mercedes-Benz Maybach was found abandoned in the median of Interstate 495 in Foxborough at about 3 a.m. Sunday with heavy front-end damage.

Struggled Russian golfer Andrey Pavlov needed 17 strokes on a single hole in excellent weather conditions at the Lyoness Open in Atzenbrugg, Austria, tying for the second-worse score on the European Tour. On the par-4 first, Pavlov found the water on six attempts.

Announced A hospital in Vienna says a teenage synchronized swimmer Vanessa Sahinovic, who was hit by a shuttle bus at the European Games in Azerbaijan, is being kept in an induced coma after lengthy surgery. Sahinovic “suffered many fractures and more surgery will be necessary,” but her injuries are not life-threatening.

• Tokyo Olympic organizers have released a list of 26 international federations that have applied for their sports to be included in the 2020 Games. Baseball and softball have applied and are considered favorites because of their popularity in Japan. Other federations that hope to have their sports added to the program include karate, squash and sumo. Finalists will make a presentation in Tokyo in August.