Sports briefs
W&J football ranked
The Washington & Jefferson College football team was ranked No. 13 in Division III by Lindy’s Sports annual National 2021 College Football Preview magazine.
Playing without several key contributors, W&J finished an abbreviated spring 2021 season with a 3-1 record. The Presidents compiled an 8-3 overall mark in the last full season in the fall of 2019. W&J finished that campaign with a 20-17 win at Ithaca College in the ECAC Asa S. Bushnell Bowl.
Mount Union, Wisconsin-Whitewater, North Central, Mary Hardin-Baylor and Delaware Valley made up Lindy’s top five. Fellow Presidents’ Athletic Conference rival Westminster was slotted one spot ahead of W&J at No. 12.
In the NBA
Stan Van Gundy is out as Pelicans coach following just one season at the helm.
“This was a difficult decision as I have tremendous respect for Stan both personally and professionally,” Pelicans basketball operations chief David Griffin said. “But we agreed it is in the best interest of our team to move forward in a different direction.”
Hired last October, about two months before the start of a pandemic-delayed and shortened season, Van Gundy coached a Pelicans squad led by All-Star Zion Williamson to a 31-41 record. New Orleans finished in 11th place, two games out of the final Western Conference play-in spot.
- Scott Brooks won’t be back with the Washington Wizards next season after general manager Tommy Sheppard announced Wednesday the coach’s contract would not be extended.
Brooks is out after just one playoff series victory in 2017 to show for his five seasons on the job.
- Charlotte Hornets point guard LaMelo Ball’s versatility as a passer, scorer and rebounder earned him NBA Rookie of the Year honors Wednesday despite missing 21 games with a fractured wrist.
Ball beat out finalists Anthony Edwards from the Minnesota Timberwolves and Tyrese Haliburton from the Sacramento Kings to win the award, which was determined by a global panel of 100 writers and broadcasters who cover the league.
The 6-foot-7 Ball was selected third overall in 2020 after playing professional ball in Lithuania and Australia.
Ball led all rookies with averages of 6.1 assists and 1.6 steals per game and was third with 15.7 points and 5.9 rebounds.
In swimming
Katie Ledecky got started on a very busy night at the U.S. Olympic swimming trials by winning the 200-meter freestyle Wednesday, claiming a spot in her second individual event at the Tokyo Games.
Ledecky was set to return about an hour later as an overwhelming favorite in the 1,500 freestyle, a new event for the women at these pandemic-delayed Olympics.
The 200 free was one of four gold medals that Ledecky won at the Rio Games. She’ll get a chance to defend that title after touching in 1 minute, 55.11 seconds, a full body length ahead of the field.
Allison Schmitt, who won this event at the 2012 London Games, is headed to her fourth Olympics at age 31.
In college basketball
Jim Phelan, the bow-tied basketball coach who won 830 games during nearly a half-century at Mount St. Mary’s, has died. He was 92.
The athletic department at Mount St. Mary’s said Wednesday that Phelan died overnight at his home in Emmitsburg.
Phelan spent his entire 49-season career at Mount St. Mary’s. He took the Mountaineers to 14 NCAA Division II tournaments, including five trips to the Final Four and a national championship in 1962.