MLB salary

cap proposed

(AP) — Major League Baseball owners made their long-expected salary cap proposal to the players’ association on Thursday, a system the union has vowed never to accept, setting the sides on course for a confrontation that threatens the 2027 season and perhaps beyond. Baseball owners haven’t proposed a firm cap since 1994.

Their effort prompted a 7 1/2-month strike that forced the cancellation of the World Series for the first time in 90 years. The proposal would cap spending in 2027 at $245.3 million, with a salary floor of $171.2 million.

NBA draft

lottery altered

(AP) — The NBA has approved sweeping changes to the draft lottery that will strip the teams with the worst records from receiving the best odds of winning the No. 1 pick. The changes were approved Thursday in large part to crack down on tanking.

A vote by the league’s Board of Governors made the plan official for the next three seasons. The plan will be evaluated again before 2030.

Starting with next year’s lottery, the 16 participating teams will all get somewhere between one and three lottery balls.

Mahomes

joins Chiefs

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Patrick Mahomes is still targeting Week 1 for his return from a serious knee injury with the Kansas City Chiefs. The two-time MVP has taken an important step in his recovery from torn ligaments by participating in voluntary workouts this week. On Thursday,

Mahomes did individual work and 7-on-7 drills while reporters watched, wearing a brace on his knee. He hasn’t been cleared for full-team drills yet. Chiefs coach Andy Reid is being cautious about setting a timeline for that step, but Mahomes is hopeful for a return to games by Sept. 14, when the Chiefs open against Denver on Monday night.

Claude Lemieux

dies at 60

(AP) — Four-time Stanley Cup champion Claude Lemieux has died. He was 60. The NHL Alumni Association announced Lemieux’s death in a social media post.

A cause of death was not immediately available. Lemieux was the Montreal Canadiens’ torch bearer prior to Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Final on Monday night. He won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP with New Jersey in 1995.

Lemieux had become an agent in the years since his lengthy playing career ended and represented Carolina’s Frederik Andersen and Detroit’s Moritz Seider among more than a dozen clients in the NHL.

Jannik Sinner

loses in heat

PARIS (AP) — Top-ranked Jannik Sinner is out in the French Open second round. Sinner struggled with dizziness and wasted a chance to serve for the match in a 3-6, 2-6, 7-5, 6-1, 6-1 loss to 56th-ranked opponent Juan Manuel Cerundolo.

Sinner was on a 30-match winning streak and was an overwhelming favorite to complete a career Grand Slam. Sinner bent over on the clay court in apparent exhaustion multiple times. He attempted to cool himself with a hand-held fan on changeovers and put bags of ice around his neck. The temperature rose to 32 C (90 F).

Canada

beats US

FRIBOURG, Switzerland (AP) — Macklin Celebrini scored again and Jet Greaves stopped 34 shots as Canada beat the United States 4-0 to advance to the semifinals at the ice hockey world championship. In the latest edition of their fierce rivalry, Canada’s quarterfinal victory ended the Americans’ quest to retain the trophy that they had won for the first time since 1933.

The two teams met for the first time since the final at the Milan Cortina Olympics three months ago, when the Americans prevailed 2-1 in overtime to take the gold medal.

Celebrini scored his sixth goal at the worlds, Sidney Crosby netted his first, and Dylan Holloway and Connor Brown also scored. Mark Scheifele had two assists.