Sports briefs
Waynesburg tops Burrell
For the second time in as many seasons, Waynesburg opened the wrestling season with a win over Burrell.
Freshmen Matt Church (106) and Rocco Welsh (126) had two of the Raiders three pins in a 40-22 victory over the Bucs in a non-section dual meet.
Ryan Howard (Hvy) had the other pin forthe Raiders. Wyatt Henson (138) of Waynesburg handed Ian Oswalt an 11-4 loss.
In the NBA
The New York Knicks fired coach David Fizdale on Friday after two straight blowout losses dropped them to 4-18, a person with knowledge of the decision said.
Fizdale ran practice earlier in the day but was then fired, the person told the Associated Press on condition of anonymity because no announcement had been made.
The Knicks have lost eight straight games, with the last two by scores of 132-88 to Milwaukee Monday night and 129-92 to Denver Thursday night. They have the worst record in the Eastern Conference after finishing with the worst record in the NBA last season in Fizdale’s first season.
The Knicks went 17-65 last season to match the worst record in franchise history and they are on pace to even worse this season. New York missed out on the top stars that were available in free agency and the players they did get haven’t meshed nearly well enough.
Former world No. 1 Wozniacki retiring
Former No. 1 and 2018 Australian Open champion Caroline Wozniacki will retire from professional tennis after competing in Melbourne next year.
The 29-year-old from Denmark wrote in an Instagram post on Friday that she wants to start a family with her husband, former NBA player David Lee, and work to raise awareness about rheumatoid arthritis.
Wozniacki said her decision to stop playing “has nothing to do with my health.” She announced in October 2018 that she has rheumatoid arthritis, an autoimmune condition that can cause pain and swelling in the wrist and other joints.
She is currently ranked No. 37 after going 20-15 without a singles title in 2019.
Padres acquire Pham
The San Diego Padres have acquired outfielder Tommy Pham and infielder-pitcher Jake Cronenworth from the Tampa Bay Rays for outfielder Hunter Renfroe, minor league infielder Xavier Edwards and a player to be named.
Pham gives the rebuilding Padres some pop after they finished near the bottom in the majors in most offensive categories last season, when they were last in the NL West at 70-92.
Pham hit .273 with a .369 on-base percentage, 21 home runs and 68 RBI last year. He set the Rays’ franchise record with a 48-game on-base streak.
Renfroe hit 33 homers last year but struggled in the second half. He hit 26 homers in each of the previous two seasons.
In college basketball
Franz Wagner led a balanced scoring effort for No. 4 Michigan with 18 points, and the Wolverines opened Big Ten play with a 103-91 victory over Iowa Friday night, overcoming 44 points by Luka Garza.
The Wolverines (1-0, 8-1) rebounded from their 58-43 loss to top-ranked Louisville on Tuesday night. In fact, Michigan exceeded its point total from Tuesday before halftime against Iowa. Garza scored 27 points in the first half, including 15 of Iowa’s first 17, but it was the defensive end that prevented the Hawkeyes (0-1, 6-3) from winning this one.
- Tre Jones scored 15 points and No. 10 Duke rallied after a slow start to beat Virginia Tech, 77-63.
Vernon Carey Jr. and Wendell Moore Jr. added 12 points each for the Blue Devils (1-0 ACC, 9-1), who used runs of 12-2 just after halftime and 12-3 a short time later to take command after trailing for almost the entire first half.