National Sports

Sports briefs

Bob Pettit

dies at 93

NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- NBA great Bob Pettit has died at the age of 93. His alma mater, LSU, says Pettit died Wednesday.

Pettit was an imposing scorer and rebounder for the St. Louis Hawks and winner of the NBA’s first Most Valuable Player award in 1956. After starring at LSU, Pettit became an All-Star in all 11 of his NBA seasons.

At 6-foot-9, he was one of the first big men to play facing the basket. Pettit led the Hawks to the 1958 title over the Boston Celtics. He was also the NBA MVP in 1959 and All-Star game MVP four times.

Crow-Armstrong

joins 40-40

CHICAGO (AP) -- Pete Crow-Armstrong joined the 40-40 club by stealing his 40th base to go along with his major league-leading 45 home runs, and the Chicago Cubs clinched their second straight postseason berth a 2-1 victory over the Miami Marlins.

Seiya Suzuki homered for the Cubs (88-71), who assured themselves of one of the NL’s three wild card berths. Chicago also was a wild card last year, when the Cubs beat San Diego in the first round and lost to Milwaukee in a Division Series.

The Cubs will be making consecutive postseason appearances for the first time since four straight from 2015-18.

Americans

take 3-2 lead

MEDINAH, Ill. (AP) -- Scottie Scheffler and Sam Burns finally won a match together as partners. It helped the Americans take a 3-2 lead after the opening session in the Presidents Cup.

Their match against Min Woo Lee and Sungjae Im came down to the 18th hole. Scheffler saved par from a bunker and Im narrowly missed a long birdie putt. Jackson Koivun also got a win in his Presidents Cup debut. The 21-year-old Koivun teamed with Justin Thomas for an easy win.

The International picked up two convincing wins in fourballs. International captain Geoff Ogilvy says he can live with a one-point deficit.

Juszczyk

gets fined

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) -- The NFL fined San Francisco 49ers All-Pro fullback Kyle Juszczyk for what it deemed an “offensive” celebration similar to one he had been doing for several years with no issues.

Juszczyk was fined $14,926 after he imitated drinking a beverage following a catch in the third quarter of San Francisco’s win over the Miami Dolphins on Sunday. Juszczyk’s nickname is “Juice” and he has been doing a version of that celebration throughout his career in response to 49ers fans chanting his nickname after catches or other big plays.

But the league told him the celebration was an imitation of drinking a beer and was worthy of a fine.

Sun sale

completed

(AP) -- After 24 seasons, the Mohegan Tribe and the WNBA’s Connecticut Sun are parting ways. The tribe purchased the franchise in 2003, becoming the first Native American tribe to own a professional sports team.

In May, the tribe’s business arm closed a $300 million deal with NBA Houston Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta for the Rockets to buy the Sun and relocate the team to Houston. It’s an emotional goodbye for fans. T

he team had become a point of community pride for the Mohegan people and a platform to share their language, culture and values.

Horse is

renamed

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) -- The Jockey Club has ruled that a racehorse known as Austrian Painter has been renamed Merrylegs after a review of a complaint that alleged it was a reference to Adolf Hitler.

The horse’s name drew attention after winning his debut Monday at Horseshoe Indianapolis Racecourse. Hitler was born in Austria and was an artist before becoming the head of the Nazi Party in Germany.

Owner and breeder Scott Herbertson said on social media it was a reference to Austrian painter Gustav Klimt and that his horse New Order was named for his favorite band.

The Jockey Club said that horse had also been unnamed.