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Briefs

4 min read

Pony baseball

Connor Roberts and Michael Shallcross each had three hits as Ace Sporting Goods defeated Canonsburg Grey, 9-8, in the Founders League Championship game.

Shallcross had two singles, a double and drove in a pair of runs for Ace. Ben Kozak also had two RBI, going 2-for-3. Noah Martin hit two triples.

Penguins hire development coaches

The Pittsburgh Penguins have named Tom Kostopoulos player development coach and Andy Chiodo goaltending development coach, it was announced today by executive vice president and general manager Jim Rutherford.

Kostopoulos and Chiodo will work closely with Penguins’ director of player development Scott Young and player development coach Jarrod Skalde within the Penguins’ hockey operations department.

Kostopoulos, 39, and Chiodo, 35, rank among the most popular players in the history of the Penguins’ top minor-league affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, and each made his NHL debut with Pittsburgh in the early 2000s.

Mickelson apologizes

Phil Mickelson has apologized four days after intentionally violating golf rules by hitting a moving ball on the green at the U.S. Open, saying his frustration got the best of him.

The apology came Wednesday in a statement released by his representatives.

“I know this should’ve come sooner, but it’s taken me a few days to calm down,” Mickelson said. “My anger and frustration got the best of me last weekend. I’m embarrassed and disappointed by my actions. It was clearly not my finest moment and I’m sorry.”

Mickelson was struggling in the third round when he reached the 13th green.

His bogey putt from above the hole ran by the cup and was headed down a slope when he trotted over and swatted it back toward the hole with the ball still in motion. He was assessed a two-stroke penalty, scored a 10 on the hole and wound up shooting 81.

Later, after acknowledging he was using Rule 14-5 to his advantage, Mickelson called USGA officials for clarification on the rule after hearing suggestions he should be disqualified from the U.S. Open. USGA officials said disqualification was not in order for his violation.

Asked if people would find his actions on No. 13 disrespectful, Mickelson said Saturday: “It’s meant to take advantage of the rules as best as you can. In that situation, I was just going back and forth. I would gladly take the two shots over continuing that display.”

Howard

traded to Nets

The Charlotte Hornets have agreed to trade eight-time All-Star center Dwight Howard to the Brooklyn Nets for center Timofey Mozgov and two second-round draft picks.

The Hornets will get the Nets’ second-round pick Thursday night (45th overall) and a second-round pick in 2021.

The 32-year-old Howard played only one season for Charlotte, averaging 16.6 points and 12.5 rebounds per game. He is due to make $23.8 million this season, the final year of his contract.

Brooklyn will be Howard’s fourth team in as many seasons.

This is a reunion of sorts for Mozgov. Recently hired Hornets general manager Mitch Kupchak signed Mozgov to a four-year, $64 million deal in 2016 when both were with the Los Angeles Lakers.

While the move allows the Hornets to unload Howard’s contract and save about $7 million under this year’s salary cap, it is a bit of a gamble because Mozgov has two years remaining on his current deal at $16 million per year.

The 7-foot-1 Mozgov has not played a full 82-game season since 2013 and has averaged in double figures only once during his eight-year NBA career. By contrast, Howard has averaged 17.4 points, 12.7 rebounds and two blocks per game since joining the league in 2004.

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