Sports briefs
Kenseth to replace fired Larson
Former NASCAR champion Matt Kenseth will again come out of retirement to compete for Chip Ganassi Racing as the replacement for fired driver Kyle Larson.
Larson lost his job two weeks ago for using a racial slur while competing in a virtual race. Although Ganassi developement driver Ross Chastain was assumed to be the leading contender to replace Larson in the No. 42 Chevrolet, the team instead announced Monday it will go with the two-time Daytona 500 winner.
“I think Matt gives us the best chance to win, run up front and compete for wins,” Ganassi said. “I’ve always gone with the mantra of trying to take the best driver available, and he’s the best driver available right now.”
Kenseth is in a class of drivers that includes Hall of Famers Dale Earnhardt, Jeff Gordon, Richard Petty and David Pearson as the only competitors to win a Cup Series championship, rookie of the year award and the Daytona 500.
Gumbel’s ‘Real Sports’ returns before sports
The HBO television show “Real Sports” is returning from a suspension forced by the coronavirus before the real sports themselves begin again.
Host Bryant Gumbel will preside from his Florida home in today’s episode of the sports news magazine, which is attempting to navigate technical issues and strike the right balance in dealing with a pandemic that has changed every viewer’s life.
The March episode was canceled, both because some necessary travel proved impossible.
The host will appear in a roundtable with sportscasters Mike Breen, Joe Buck and Jim Nantz. The show will have a story about quick pivots, such as a company that switched from manufacturing lacrosse helmets to protective gear for medical workers, and another piece on sports entities that moved too slowly to cancel events.
Browns pick up option on Garrett
The Cleveland Browns will exercise the fifth-year contract options on star defensive end Myles Garrett and tight end David Njoku, a person familiar with the decisions told the Associated Press on Monday.
Garrett was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2017 draft. He’s developed into the one of the NFL’s premiere pass rushers – he had 13.5 sacks in 2018 – and was on his way to another big season in 2019 before he was indefinitely suspended for striking Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph in the head with a swung helmet in a Nov. 14 game.
Garrett missed Cleveland’s final six games. He was reinstated by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell in February.
Lakers return $4.6M from stimulus program
The Los Angeles Lakers have repaid a loan of roughly $4.6 million from coronavirus business relief funds after learning the program had been depleted.
The Lakers applied for the loan under the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program, a part of the federal government’s $2.2 trillion stimulus package. The Lakers’ request was granted in the first round of distribution, but after the fund ran out of money in less than two weeks, the team returned its loan, as did several wealthier business including Shake Shack and AutoNation.
The Lakers qualified for the program because they have only about 300 employees. But the team is thought to be the NBA’s second-most valuable franchise, with Forbes estimating a value of roughly $4 billion.