Sports briefs
Astros: Cheating is part of sports
Attempts at cheating are a part of sports, Major League Baseball said in urging a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit by fantasy contestants.
Five men sued MLB, MLB Advanced Media, the Houston Astros and the Boston Red Sox in federal court in Manhattan, claiming fraud, violation of consumer-protection laws, negligence, unjust enrichment and deceptive trade practices by teams that violated MLB’s rules against the use of electronics to steal catchers’ signs. The five said they participated in DraftKings fantasy baseball contests.
“Rules violations – large and small, intentional and unintentional, technical and game-changing – are a never-ending source of sports television, talk radio, web and elevator commentary by sports pundits and fans alike,” MLB said Friday in papers submitted to U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff. “And fans’ general awareness of the potential for infractions is underscored in this case by the fact that clubs were publicly disciplined for electronic sign-stealing violations during the 2017 regular season.”
MLB commissioner Rob Manfred ruled last month the Astros violated sign-stealing rules during home games en route to their World Series title in 2017 and again in 2018. He suspended manager AJ Hinch and general manager Jeff Luhnow for one season each, and both were fired by the team. Manfred fined the Astros $5 million, the maximum under MLB rules and stripped the team of its next two first- and second-round draft picks.
He also is investigating allegations against the Boston Red Sox.
In the NBA
Aaron Gordon had 27 points, 10 rebounds and a big blocked shot in the final seconds, helping the Orlando Magic rally for a 115-113 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Monday night.
The Magic charged back from a 19-point deficit in the first half to move within 1½ games of the Nets for seventh place in the Eastern Conference.
Terrence Ross added 21 points and eight rebounds, Evan Fournier scored 21 and Nikola Vucevic had 16 points and 10 boards for the Magic, who were superb offensively in the second half when they couldn’t rely on their trusty defense to get stops.
- Joel Embiid scored a career-high 49 points and grabbed 14 rebounds, Tobias Harris had 25 points and the Philadelphia 76ers beat the Atlanta Hawks, 129-112.
Missing All-Star Ben Simmons for the second time in three games because of a back injury, the Sixers mixed up their starting lineup and got 15 points from Furkan Korkmaz in a reserve role.
Trae Young led Atlanta with 28 points despite missing nine of 11 from 3-point range. De’Andre Hunter added 22 and John Collins had 21 for the Hawks.
In college basketball
Trent Forrest scored 14 of his 16 points after halftime, and No. 6 Florida State rallied from a double-digit deficit to beat No. 11 Louisville 82-67 on Monday night.
The Seminoles (24-4, 14-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) moved past the Cardinals into first place in the ACC. They lead Louisville and No. 7 Duke by a half-game.
Patrick Williams’ thunderous dunk put an exclamation point to a 15-0 run that put the Seminoles ahead for good. Florida State outscored Louisville 50-27 in the second half and extended its home winning streak to 22 games.
Lions re-sign Amendola
The Detroit Lions are bringing back veteran wide receiver Danny Amendola.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Amendola had 62 receptions for 678 yards receiving with one touchdown last season in his first year with the Lions.
The 34-year-old Amendola was just 12 yards receiving away from surpassing his career high set in 2010 with the St. Louis Rams.
The former Texas Tech standout made his NFL debut with the Rams in 2009 as an undrafted free agent. He has 547 catches for 5,362 yards and 21 touchdowns with the Rams, New England, Miami and the Lions.