Sports briefs
Wake’s Williams gets ACC’s top honor
Wake Forest’s Alondes Williams and coach Steve Forbes have earned the top individual honors from the Atlantic Coast Conference.
The league announced Williams as its player of the year and Forbes as its top coach on Monday. The Demon Deacons were picked 13th in the preseason but have enjoyed a 23-win season and hold the No. 5 seed at this week’s ACC Tournament in New York.
Duke freshman Paolo Banchero was voted rookie of the year, while teammate Mark Williams was chosen as defensive player of the year. North Carolina State’s Dereon Seabron was most improved player, while Florida State’s Matthew Cleveland was sixth man of the year.
Alondes Williams and Banchero joined North Carolina’s Armando Bacot, Miami’s Kameron McGusty and Syracuse’s Buddy Boeheim on the all-ACC first team.
Seabron joined Virginia Tech’s Keve Aluma, Duke’s Wendell Moore Jr., Notre Dame’s Blake Wesley and Wake Forest’s Jake LaRavia on the second team.
Mark Williams joined Notre Dame’s Dane Goodwin, Miami’s Isaiah Wong, Virginia’s Jayden Gardner and Georgia Tech’s Michael Devoe on the third team.
In the NFL
The Cleveland Browns are holding on to David Njoku.
Cleveland placed its franchise tag for next season on the tight end, who once asked to be traded but has become one of the team’s top targets and says he wants to finish his career with the Browns.
Njoku was one of the few bright spots last season for the Browns. He caught 35 passes for 475 yards and four touchdowns.
- The Cincinnati Bengals placed the franchise tag on safety Jessie Bates III, keeping him with the team for the 2022 season.
The Bengals had tried unsuccessfully to come to terms on a long-term contract for the 25-year-old Bates, whose rookie deal expired, putting him on the verge of becoming a free agent.
- Longtime Indianapolis Colts tight end Jack Doyle is retiring.
The 31-year-old Doyle played all 131 games of his nine-year career with his hometown team. His down-to-earth demeanor made him one of the locker room’s most respected players and even prompted a teammate to wear a T-shirt with four playing cards featuring Doyle’s face and the phrase “Jack of all trades.”
- The Pro Football Hall of Fame induction ceremonies are moving from prime time to Saturday afternoon in August.
The enshrinement on Saturday, Aug. 6 will begin at noon EDT at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium. Those ceremonies have been held at night since 2007.
Pole vault record
Olympic champion Mondo Duplantis broke his own world pole vault record with a 6.19-meter (20 feet 3.7 inches) clearance at the Belgrade Indoor Meeting on Monday.