Indiana Fever advance to WNBA Eastern finals
WNBA: Tamika Catchings scored 27 points and Shenise Johnson added 22 to help the Indiana Fever beat the Chicago Sky 100-89 in Chicago in the decisive game of the Eastern Conference semifinals on Monday.
Erlana Larkins added 18 points and Marissa Coleman had 17 for the third-seeded Fever, who won the series 2-1 and advance to face top-seeded New York or fourth-seeded Washington. Those teams conclude their semifinal today in New York.
Elena Delle Donne led second-seeded Chicago with 40 points, two short of the league’s playoff record set by Angel McCoughtry in 2010. The league’s MVP was 15 of 22 from the field. Allie Quigley scored 18 for the Sky.
Catchings became the first player in WNBA history to score 1,000 points in the playoffs. She now has 1,019.
Former Gonzaga star Courtney Vandersloot had five points and 14 assists for the Sky. Lewis and Clark High School graduate Briann January finished with 10 points and eight assists for the Fever.
Tortorella will coach U.S. men’s national team
Hockey: John Tortorella is prepared to make a comeback at coaching hockey – on a temporary basis, at least.
A person familiar with the decision said that Tortorella has been selected to coach the U.S. national team competing in the World Cup of Hockey tournament next year.
Boston-born Tortorella, 57, has been out of the NHL since May 2014, when he was fired after one season of coaching the Vancouver Canucks. He was the league’s coach of the year in 2004, when he won the Stanley Cup with the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Tortorella has a 446-375-115 career record, which makes him the winningest U.S.-born NHL coach.
• Ducks sign Gibson: Goalie John Gibson has agreed to a three-year, $6.9 million contract extension with the Anaheim Ducks.
Gibson, 22, is considered one of the top young goalies in hockey, and has won 16 NHL games over the past two seasons with the Ducks.
Dygert, White take center stage for United States
Cyclying: Chloe Dygert and Emma White kept the U.S. soaring at the road cycling world championships in Richmond, Virginia.
Dygert captured the gold medal and White won the silver in the junior women’s time trial. Anna-Leeza Hull of Australia took the bronze.
• Cavendish has surgery: British sprint specialist Mark Cavendish has undergone surgery on his left shoulder following a crash that ruled him out of the road cycling world championships.
Cavendish, who won the road race world title in 2011, injured his left shoulder when he crashed during stage six of the Tour of Britain.