COLLEGES
Sabrina Ionescu capped off a unprecedented college career by entering an exclusive club.
Oregon’s star guard was a unanimous choice Monday as The Associated Press women’s basketball player of the year, receiving all 30 votes from the national media panel that selects the Top 25 each week during the season. Since the award was first given in 1995, the only other player to receive all the votes is former UConn star Breanna Stewart.
Ionescu, who was only the eighth player to earn AP All-American honors three times, shattered the NCAA career triple-double mark and became the first player in college history to have 2,000 points, 1,000 rebounds and 1,000 assists.
n Dawn Staley helped guide South Carolina to No. 1 and has now earned coach of the year honors from The Associated Press for the first time.
The veteran Gamecocks coach received 20 votes from the national media panel that selects the Top 25 poll each week.
South Carolina finished the season 32-1, winning the SEC season and tournament championships. The Gamecocks won their final 26 games and were No 1 in the AP poll for the final 10 weeks of the season.
HOCKEY
NHL: The Nashville Predators signed goaltender Connor Ingram to a three-year contract.
The 22-year-old Ingram posted a 21-5-5 record for the AHL’s Milwaukee Admirals in the 2019-20 season. He ranked third among AHL goaltenders in save percentage and goals-against average and he tied for third in wins.
The contract is worth $700,000 at the NHL level in 2020-21 and $750,000 each of the following two seasons.
• The Buffalo Sabres have agreed to sign college free-agent forward Dawson DiPietro to a one-year entry-level contract.
DiPietro just completed his senior season at Western Michigan. He had 12 goals and 17 assists to finish second on the the team with 29 points in 35 games. Overall, he had 34 goals and 88 points in 105 games for the National Collegiate Hockey Conference program.
From Ohio, the 24-year-old DiPietro caught the Sabres’ attention when he was invited to the team’s annual development camp in June.
CORONAVIRUS
SOCCER: Pacaembu Stadium in downtown São Paulo is being turned into an open-air hospital to handle cases from the coronavirus outbreak.
The 45,000-seat stadium is expected to house more than 200 beds for minor cases of COVID-19. It should be ready in 10 days.
As of Monday afternoon, Brazil had more than 1,600 confirmed cases, and 25 deaths.
• UEFA formally postponed the Champions League final – an inevitable move with European soccer in total shutdown and four Round of 16 games yet to be completed.
The final was scheduled for May 30 in Istanbul before the spreading coronavirus pandemic forced the four remaining second-leg games on March 17-18 to be delayed indefinitely.
HOCKEY: The top three Canadian junior hockey leagues have called off the remainder of their seasons and playoffs, and the Memorial Cup trophy given out to the national champion will not be awarded for the first time in its 102-year history.
The Canadian Hockey League announced the cancellation of the Quebec Major Junior, Ontario and Western Hockey League playoffs and the Memorial Cup tournament in light of the coronavirus pandemic. The CHL says: “Given the troubling state of our global climate and public welfare, there is still too much risk and uncertainty to move forward in good conscience.”
The 2020 Memorial Cup was scheduled to run May 22-31 in Kelowna, British Columbia.
The National Hockey League season has been paused, though officials are still hopeful it can resume and the Stanley Cup be awarded. The International Ice Hockey Federation recently canceled the world championship that was scheduled to be played in Switzerland in May.
SWIMMING: Former Olympic swimming champion Cameron van der Burgh said he has contracted the coronavirus and added his voice to concerns for athletes’ well-being if the Tokyo Games go ahead as scheduled.
Van der Burgh, who retired from competitive swimming in 2018, posted a series of messages on social media on Sunday describing how he had been ill with the virus for two weeks.
“Although the most severe symptoms (extreme fever) have eased, I am still struggling with serious fatigue and a residual cough that I can’t shake,” van der Burgh wrote on his Twitter account. “Any physical activity like walking leaves me exhausted for hours.”
– News service report
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