In brief: Basketball Hall of Fame welcomes class of 11
Basketball: Spencer Haywood and Dikembe Mutombo were great players who accomplished as much or more off the court.
On Friday night, they were celebrated for both.
The two former NBA stars were enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, part of a class of 11 players, coaches and referees.
Kentucky coach John Calipari was the last member of the class to speak at Symphony Hall in Springfield, Massachusetts.
The rest of the class includes referee Dick Bavetta, former Celtic Jo Jo White and women’s star Lisa Leslie. Tom Heinsohn was inducted as a coach after already being enshrined as a player, and was joined by former coaches George Raveling (Washington State) and Australia’s Lindsay Gaze, plus ABA star Louis Dampier and early African-American player John Isaacs.
• Storm win against missing Lynx: Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis scored 16 points and the Seattle Storm beat the visiting Minnesota Lynx 78-64.
The Lynx, who have secured the West’s top seed, were without regulars Seimone Augustus, Maya Moore and Lindsay Whalen.
• Former Iowa star Roy Marble dies: Former Iowa basketball star Roy Marble, the school’s all-time leading scorer (2,116 points from 1986-89), has died in Grand Blanc, Michigan.
Marble, who had battled cancer in recent years, was 48.
Green gets 4-year contract extension
NFL: Receiver A.J. Green agreed to a contract extension that runs through the 2019 season, the last big thing the Cincinnati Bengals needed to accomplish before their season opener.
Green, who was under contract through this season, is the fourth receiver to get a significant extension in the offseason. He got a deal comparable to the five-year, $71 million contract that Atlanta gave Julio Jones in late August.
• San Diego misses deadline: To no one’s surprise, the city of San Diego and the Chargers missed a deadline set by Mayor Kevin Faulconer to agree on a new stadium that would keep the team from moving to Los Angeles.
The city and team had to strike a stadium deal by Friday to allow enough time for a measure to be put to voters on a Jan. 12 ballot.
• Raiders sign Aldon Smith: The Oakland Raiders signed troubled pass rusher Aldon Smith to a contract, five weeks after he was released by San Francisco.
• Griffin gets medical OK: Washington quarterback Robert Griffin III received medical clearance to return from a concussion he sustained just over three weeks ago.
Elliott beats Busch, ends 39-race skid
Auto racing: Chase Elliott got away from pole-sitter Kyle Busch on a restart with 26 laps to go and won the NASCAR Xfinity race at Richmond (Virginia) International Raceway, ending a 39-race winless streak.
Busch, starting fourth to Elliott’s first on the restart, appeared to make contact with the defending series champion, but Elliott got away enough so that Busch could never put a bumper on him again.
• Logano wins pole: Joey Logano won the pole for the NASCAR Sprint Cup regular-season finale tonight at Richmond International Raceway.
Logano turned a lap at 126.470 mph to emerge from the final 12 drivers in the knockout qualifying format.
Lee takes sole lead at 9 under at Evian
LPGA: Mi Hyang Lee – chasing her first major – took the sole lead at the Evian Championship after a 4-under-par 67 in the second round in Evian-Les-Bains, France.
With a 9-under total of 133, the 22-year-old South Korean heads into the weekend of the final major of the season with a one-shot lead over American Morgan Pressel.
Pressel’s U.S. Solheim Cup teammate, Lexi Thompson, who shared the lead with Lee at 5 under after the opening round, is now trailing by five shots after shooting a 1-over 72.
Hurricanes acquire Versteeg in trade
Miscellany: The Carolina Hurricanes acquired veteran forward Kris Versteeg in a trade with the Chicago Blackhawks, and the Stanley Cup champions used their new cap space to finalize a one-year contract with key center Marcus Kruger.
The Hurricanes sent defensemen Dennis Robertson and Jake Massie and a fifth-round pick in the 2017 draft to the Blackhawks for Versteeg, forward Joakim Nordstrom and a third-round selection in the 2017 draft.
• Simpson appeal rejected: A lawyer for O.J. Simpson said they’ll decide their next step after the Nevada Supreme Court rejected the imprisoned former football star’s latest appeal of his 2008 kidnapping and armed robbery conviction.
• Pac-12 proposes allowing athletes to make money off names: The Pac-12 proposed changing NCAA rules to allow college athletes to use their names, images and likenesses for their non-athletic business ventures.
The Pac-12’s proposal will be taken up by the five autonomous conferences (Big Ten, Big 12, ACC and SEC) and could be voted on at the NCAA convention in January.
• Gougeard wins Vuelta stage 19: Alexis Gougeard of France broke away from the pack and stayed ahead to win the 19th stage of the Spanish Vuelta in Avila, Spain, while Tom Dumoulin extended his slender overall lead.
• Snyder becomes youngest champion: Nineteen-year-old Kyle Snyder, who competes for Ohio State, beat Russian Abdulsalam Gadisov at 213 pounds in Las Vegas to win a world wrestling title and become the youngest U.S. champion.