Sports briefs
Ex-Steelers coach is HOF finalist
Buddy Parker, who coached the Detroit Lions to back-to-back NFL titles in the 1950s, was picked as a finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s class of 2024.
Parker was announced Wednesday as the candidate from a group of 12 coaches and contributors after multiple votes were needed from the 12-person committee. He will get into the Hall if he is supported by at least 80% of the full Hall of Fame panel of voters next January.
Parker had a 107-76-9 record as a head coach for the Cardinals, Lions and Steelers but his greatest success came during his six years at the helm in Detroit.
After spending one year as co-coach of the Chicago Cardinals in 1949, Parker was hired to take over the Lions in 1951 and ushered in the only sustained period of winning in franchise history.
Parker finished his career with eight seasons as Steelers coach. While he never had the success in Pittsburgh that he did in Detroit, he did lead a franchise that had just three winning records in its first 24 seasons to four winning seasons in eight years. He resigned just days before the start of the 1965 season.
Parker died in 1982 at age 68.
The committee also considered 11 other candidates along with Parker: Tom Coughlin, Mike Holmgren, Frank “Bucko” Kilroy, Robert Kraft, Dan Reeves, Art Rooney Jr., Marty Schottenheimer, Mike Shanahan, Clark Shaughnessy, Lloyd Wells and John Wooten.
In baseball
MLB commissioner Rob Manfred threw his support behind a new stadium for the Royals on Wednesday, calling both of their potential sites near downtown Kansas City “unbelievably high quality” for the type of revenue-producing, multi-use districts that are necessary for small-market clubs to compete.
The Royals plan to announce in September whether they will build a replacement for Kauffman Stadium in the East Village, an area near the T-Mobile Center and the existing Power & Light District, or across the Missouri River in Clay County, where there is more land available for a potentially larger baseball village.
In the NFL
Baltimore Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey was set to have foot surgery Wednesday, a potentially significant blow to the team’s defensive backfield.
Coach John Harbaugh said it isn’t a long-term injury, but he didn’t give a more specific timeline and the start of the regular season is less than four weeks away.
“There’s no long-term concern, and that’s good,” Harbaugh said. “There’s plenty of short-term concern. We’ve got to look at that, and it starts with the guys you have. We have guys that are ready to play.”
Aside from star quarterback Lamar Jackson, Humphrey might be Baltimore’s most important player. He made his third Pro Bowl last season and is a reliable presence at a cornerback position that has been in a bit of flux this past offseason.
- Guard Matt Hennessy is done for the season after the Atlanta Falcons placed him on injured reserve with an apparent knee issue.
Hennessy, who has played 41 games with 22 starts over the past three seasons with the Falcons, was expected to battle for the No. 1 spot at left guard during the preseason.
In tennis
Venus Williams will be back in the U.S. Open at age 43, and Caroline Wozniacki will join her in the field for her return to Grand Slam tennis.
Both players were given wild cards into the tournament on Wednesday by the U.S. Tennis Association.