Report: Haliburton’s dad won’t attend Pacers games for foreseeable future

The Indiana Pacers are moving onto Round 2. John Haliburton is not.

The father of Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton will not attend any Pacers games moving forward after an altercation with Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo on Tuesday, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported.

The decision was made by Indiana’s front office and accepted by John Haliburton, Charania added.

Haliburton issued an apology on Wednesday.

“I sincerely apologize to Giannis, the Milwaukee Bucks and the Pacers organization for my actions following tonight’s game,” Haliburton wrote on X. “This was not a good reflection on our sport or my son and I will not make that mistake again.”

Haliburton and Antetokounmpo exchanged words in the aftermath of the Pacers’ series-clinching overtime win in Game 5.

Amid the madness, Tyrese said he did not notice what happened until he saw replays in the locker room.

“I had no idea it happened until I got back to the locker room and they showed me the video of my pops,” the two-time all-star said after he made a decisive layup with 1.3 seconds left to give Indiana a 119-118 victory and a 4-1 series win.

“We had a little talk about it. I don’t agree with what transpired there. I think basketball is basketball and let’s keep it on the court. I think he just got excited.”

Antetokounmpo wasn’t pleased, either, after his team blew a seven-point lead in the final 40 seconds of overtime, sending the Bucks to their third straight first-round exit. The two-time MVP didn’t recognize John Haliburton, thinking he was just another fan who had run onto the court.

Antetokounmpo said he likes Haliburton, calling him a great competitor, but he said John Haliburton displaying a towel with his son’s image while yelling “this is what we (expletive) do” was wrong.

“I feel like that’s very, very disrespectful,” said Antetokounmpo, who finished with 30 points, 20 rebounds and 13 assists.

Haliburton seemed genuinely upset about the incident, promising to reach out to Antetokounmpo before the teams play again.

“I’ll talk to Giannis about it eventually,” said Haliburton, who grew up in Oshkosh, Wisc. “I don’t think my pops was in the right at all there. It’s unfortunate what happened at the end there.

“It’s unfortunate what happened there (the scuffle), but I think it’s just competition,” he added. “As far as my pops, I don’t agree with what happened there. We’ll have a conversation.”

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Canada’s Aaliyah Edwards out two weeks with back contusion

A Canadian WNBA star could start her season on the shelf.

Washington Mystics forward Aaliyah Edwards was ruled out for two weeks with a lower back contusion, the team said on Thursday.

The team did not say when the injury occurred. Mystics’ training camp ahead of the 2025 season opened on Tuesday.

Edwards, the No. 6 pick in the 2024 draft from Kingston, Ont., averaged 7.6 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.4 assists in her rookie season.

She competed in the inaugural three-on-three Unrivaled campaign during the off-season, making a splash when she reached the final of the mid-season one-on-one tournament.

Washington has already taken an injury blow, ruling out rookie Georgia Amoore for the season after she tore her ACL.

The Mystics season begins May 16 at home against the Atlanta Dream.

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Barcelona, Inter Milan draw in thrilling first leg of Champions League semifinal

BARCELONA — Lamine Yamal’s curler that went in off the post after the teenager’s great dribble? Marcus Thuram’s nifty back-heeled flick? Raphinha’s missile that hit the bar and the goalkeeper before finding the net?

And don’t forget Denzel Dumfries’ bicycle kick, before he scored again with a powerful header.

You have your pick of great goals from Barcelona and Inter Milan’s thrilling 3-3 draw to start their Champions League semifinal on Wednesday, setting up a must-see sequel next week in Milan.

Opta Stats said it was joint-highest highest score for a draw in a Champions League semifinals since Bayern Munich and Dynamo Kiev finished with the same score in April 1999.

What was supposed to be a contrast of styles between the top-scoring Barcelona and the stingiest defense in the competition turned into a shootout.

Inter matched Barcelona’s firepower with two goals from corner kicks, and the hosts needed another stellar performance from Yamal in his 100th appearance for his club.

Except for Inter’s start and strength in set pieces, Barcelona imposed its game and had 66 per cent possession and created seven shots on goal to Inter’s three — but had to settle for a draw.

Thuram was a doubt for the starting 11 after missing Inter’s previous three matches — all losses without a goal. But the striker used the back of his heel to turn in a cross by Dumfries to stun the hosts just seconds after kickoff.

Dumfries then put Inter into what appeared to be a comfortable lead when he scored his first of two goals with a bicycle kick after a corner kick was headed onto him in the 21st.

Yamal sparked Barcelona into action in the 24th when he dribbled past two defenders and sliced a shot in off the far post. He went close to an equalizer moments later after gliding down the endline and firing a shot with just a sliver off an angle off the crossbar.

“Yamal is a fantastic player, in the big matches you can see his quality, and he showed it today,” Barcelona coach Hansi Flick said about his forward.

“At 2-0 down,” he continued, “I knew that this was a semifinal between great clubs and I knew that the huge experience they have was being demonstrated. They are good at set plays too, but Lamine showed us the way forward. His goal to make it 2-1 was so important.”

Ferran Torres rammed in a headed pass by Raphinha to equalize for Barcelona in the 38th.

Inter suffered another blow when Lautaro Martínez had to be substituted at halftime, but Dumfries charged in to head home a corner kick to put Inter back ahead in the 63rd.

Raphinha needed two minutes to pull Barcelona level again when his blistering shot from outside the top of the box struck the crossbar, ricocheted off the back of goalkeeper Yann Sommer and found the net.

“Playing at home, we had the obligation to win,” Raphinha said. “But the result is not that bad and we will prepare for the second game so we come out on top.”

Barcelona is trying to reach its first final since 2015, when it collected its fifth title. In its first season under Flick, the Spanish club is also trying to repeat the treble of major trophies it won a decade ago.

Simone Inzaghi’s Inter is aiming for its second final in three years, after losing to Manchester City in the trophy match in 2023.

The last time three-time winner Inter lifted the European Cup it beat Barcelona at the same stage in 2010.

The winner will face either Paris Saint-Germain or Arsenal in Munich on May 31. PSG beat Arsenal 1-0 in London on Tuesday in their first match.

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Report: Bills sign former Browns wide receiver Elijah Moore

Turns out the Buffalo Bills were interested in adding a wide receiver after all.

Two days after a heated local radio interview with Buffalo general manager Brandon Beane focusing on the team’s decision not to prioritize a receiver at the draft went viral, the Bills signed former Cleveland Browns WR Elijah Moore to a one-year deal worth a maximum of $5 million, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported Wednesday.

Moore, 25, has played with non-playoff teams in three of his four years in the NFL — the New York Jets from 2021-22 and the Cleveland Browns from 2023-24.

The Ole Miss product had 61 catches for 538 yards and one touchdown last season for a Browns team that finished 3-14.

A second-round pick (34th overall) by the Jets in 2021, Moore requested a trade from New York during the 2022 season. His wish was granted in 2023 when he was shipped to the Browns.

Moore joins a receiving corps featuring free-agent signing and former Los Angeles Charger Joshua Palmer of Brampton, Ont., 2024 second-round pick Keon Coleman and standout slot man Khalil Shakir.

The Bills did not have a true No. 1 receiver last season after trading away Stefon Diggs, yet MVP quarterback Josh Allen still produced some of the best offensive numbers in the league, and the team advanced to the AFC Championship before losing to the Kansas City Chiefs.

The Browns, meanwhile, placed an unrestricted free agent tender on Moore this week. Though Moore was free to sign elsewhere, his departure now factors into the NFL’s formula in determining whether to award Cleveland a compensatory pick in next year’s draft.

— With files from the Associated Press

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Elks draft pick Darien Newell receives year-long ban for doping violations

Edmonton Elks draft pick Darien Newell has been given a year-long ban by the CFL for a series of doping infractions.

The Queen’s defensive lineman was Edmonton’s second-round pick in this week’s draft. 

All nine CFL teams were made aware of Newell’s situation before the draft and that he had a hearing pending with an arbitrator on the matter.

The Elks didn’t have a first-round pick Tuesday night but took the six-foot-two, 289-pound Newell with the second selection of the second round, 10th overall. Newell, of Brampton, Ont., was regarded as a blue-chip CFL prospect and was the top-ranked U Sports player on the CFL scouting bureau’s top-20 list released Monday.

“The Edmonton Elks organization was aware of Darien Newell’s impending suspension before selecting him on Tuesday night. Throughout the draft process, we completed our due diligence on Darien and came away satisfied with both the person and the player. The organization is committed to supporting Darien throughout this process, and we look forward to when he can join the Green and Gold,” said Elks Vice-President of Football Operations & General Manager Ed Hervey in a statement released by the team.

According to the CFL, Newell was selected for a random test March 19 while participating in the league’s national combine. His sample tested positive for nine banned substances, including Boldenone, Nandrolone, Drostanolone and Norclostebol, all forms of steroids.

Newell had appealed the positive test and the case was passed on to an independent arbitrator. Newell withdrew his appeal Wednesday, incurring an anti-doping rule violation and one-year sanction.

“I’m incredibly grateful to have been drafted by the Edmonton Elks and given this opportunity to continue chasing my dream at the highest level. During my preparation for the CFL Draft, I was notified by the league that I had tested positive for banned substances. I believe that the substances in question came from products I took while attending my pro day in Buffalo, where I did not have access to my usual supplements. I did not knowingly or intentionally use a product that violated the league’s substance policy. Still, as an athlete, I must take full accountability for everything I put in my body,” Newell said in Edmonton’s statement.

“This experience has taught me how important it is to be diligent and thorough moving forward. I’ve taken steps to ensure this never happens again, and I’m committed to maintaining the highest standard of professionalism as I enter the next chapter of my career. I will accept the league’s ruling and put this incident behind me. I’m thankful to the Edmonton Elks organization for believing in me, and I’m ready to get to work and earn everything that comes next.”

Last season, Newell had 33 tackles (17 solo, eight for loss), five sacks and a forced fumble. He was a perennial All-Canadian, registering 92 tackles (56 solo, 27.5 for loss), 17 sacks and a forced fumble at Queen’s.

— With files from Sportsnet Staff

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Canada’s Gabriel Diallo into quarterfinals at Madrid Open with win over Dimitrov

MADRID — Montreal’s Gabriel Diallo advanced to his first Masters-level quarterfinal with a comeback 5-7, 7-6 (7), 6-4 fourth-round win over 15th-seed Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria at the Madrid Open on Wednesday.

Diallo won the second set in a hard-fought tiebreaker to tie the match 1-1, then made a break in the opening game of the third set stand up.

The 23-year-old Canadian won his first match point after forcing his veteran opponent into an error.

“Tennis is up and down, so you just try and manage,” Diallo said. “Luckily today I managed to flip and win the match.”

Dimitrov used his big serve to his advantage in the hotly contested second set, firing seven aces over his last three service games and another in the tiebreaker.

But Diallo fought off three match points and won two points on return to go up 8-7 before taking the second set with an ace.

“I honestly thought I was going home,” Diallo said. “I thought the margins were so thin.

“It might be the best serving performance I’ve ever displayed in my whole life. I was lucky I got the point at 4-6 with (his) loose error, and then I was really confident at 5-6 behind my serve. Then I saved another match point.”

The pivotal moment of the first set came in Game 11, when Diallo alternated two double-faults with two aces before Dimitrov prevailed to score the only break of the set at a crucial time.

Both players were strong on serve, with just two breaks in the entire match. Diallo faced just one break point while Dimitrov faced four.

Dimitrov had 14 total aces to Diallo’s eight — an impressive total between the players on the ball-deadening clay surface.

Diallo will next face 10th seed Lorenzo Musetti of Italy in Thursday’s quarterfinals.

Diallo’s best-ever run at an ATP 1000 tournament has come with a couple of big breaks. He advanced to the main draw as a lucky loser after coming up short in qualifying and avoided a huge hurdle when Spanish star Carlos Alcaraz withdrew from their second-round match with an injury.

But he has been full value on the court, beating Belgium’s Zizou Bergs, Poland’s Kamil Majchrzak, former world No. 8 Cameron Norrie of Britain and now Dimitrov.

Diallo entered the tournament with a career-high ATP Tour ranking of 78. His win over Dimitrov will move him up to No. 54, according to the tour’s live rankings. 

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Mackinnon, Kucherov and Makar named finalists for Ted Lindsay Award

The Ted Lindsay Award is presented annually to the “most outstanding player” in the NHL, as voted on by fellow members of the National Hockey League Players’ Association.

For the 2024–25 season, the three finalists for the award are Colorado Avalanche centre Nathan MacKinnon, his teammate defenceman Cale Makar, and Tampa Bay Lightning winger Nikita Kucherov, as announced by the league on Wednesday.

MacKinnon, who won the award last season, finished second in the league in points with 116 and tied for first in assists with 84.

Kucherov, also a finalist last year and the award’s winner in 2019, led the league with 121 points and tied with MacKinnon for the league lead in assists.

Makar, a first-time Ted Lindsay finalist, led all defencemen this season in points (92), goals (30) and assists (62). His point and goal totals were also both good for eighth overall in the league. He is a finalist for the Norris Trophy as well.

The winner will be announced at the NHL award show, which will take place in June, with an exact date yet to be announced.

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