Latest sports news: LaMelo Ball eyes sale for NBL team; Evan Gattis apologizes for Astros scandal; WNBA postponed
LaMelo Ball is forcing the NCAA's hand if he is able to complete the purchase of his former NBL team.
LaMelo Ball in process of buying his former NBL team
LaMelo Ball and his agent Jermaine Jackson are in the process of buying Australian NBL team, the Illawarra Hawks. Early reports said that Ball had purchased the team, but the Hawks later said in a statement that no sale has been made.
This isn’t some news to just glance over and move on to your next read. This could be a significant move. More and more top American high school prospects are electing the overseas route as opposed to playing college basketball. The trust high school players will have in someone like Ball owning a team will create an even bigger pull toward overseas competition. That would force the NCAA’s hand even more in regards to paying players to keep them home.
“When high school kids hear LaMelo owns the team, they’ll want to come,” Jackson said. “They’ll know they will be taken care of.”
College basketball was interesting to watch this season but not nearly as entertaining. Why? Because it lacked the usual freshman sensation on a top-tier team. There was no Zion Williamson, Anthony Davis or Joel Embiid. Could Ball or R.J. Hampton have been those guys if they hadn’t chosen the NBL? We will never know, but college basketball needs all the star power it can get if Ball completes the sale.
Evan Gattis speaks out against Astros cheating scandal
Former Astros catcher and designated hitter Evan Gattis is the latest player from the team to issue a public apology for his role in Houston’s sign-stealing scheme in 2017. Gattis played with the Astros from 2015-2018 and recently retired.
“Everybody wants to be the best player in the f---ing world, man…and we cheated that, for sure, and we obviously cheated baseball and cheated fans,” Gattis said to the New York Post.
The apology could be sincere, but it sounds like the classic case of, you’re only sorry because you got caught. And besides, Gattis made a questionable post a week ago about former Houston pitcher Mike Fiers that echoed a different stance. Fiers is known as the whistle-blower of the Astors sign-stealing scandal.
NBA players gearing up for NBA 2K Tournament
We know who has game on the court, but now it’s time to see who can do it on the game system. A 16-player NBA 2K Players Tournament will premiere tonight at 7 p.m. on ESPN.
The players were ranked based on their overall 2K ratings. Kevin Durant and Trae Young lead the way and 2020 NBA Slam Dunk Contest winner Derrick Jones Jr. is the 16th-seeded player.
The games will move to ESPN2 at 8:30 p.m. The second round is scheduled for Sunday, the quarterfinals will be played on Tuesday and the semifinals/finals on next Saturday. The winner of the event will donate $100,000 to a charity in support of COVID-19 reliefs.
WNBA postponing start of its season
The WNBA is postponing the start of training camp and the regular season, the league said in a statement. The season was scheduled to start May 15.
The situation in the WNBA is different from most leagues. The schedule is formatted to work around the Olympics every four years. With the Tokyo games being postponed to 2021, the league may have an easier resolution to playing its games.
However, the WNBA’s focus right now remains on its 2020 virtual draft, which is scheduled for April 17 on ESPN.
In case you missed it in Philly
Bryce Harper and his wife, Kayla, donated $500,000 toward coronavirus relief in Las Vegas and Philadelphia. Harper is from Las Vegas, N.V. and made his name as baseball’s premier high school prospect at Las Vegas High School.
Harper donated to Philabundance in Philadelphia, the largest food bank in the Philadelphia region. It serves more than 24 million pounds of food a year. Harper is currently back home in Las Vegas.