Roundup: Pac-12 alums help Golden State Warriors to NBA title
Congrats to the Golden State Warriors for winning the 2017 NBA title after wrapping up the finals in five games with a 129-120 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers Monday night, and Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area News Group writes about Andre Iguodala’s role as the Warriors’ closer. The 2015 NBA Finals MVP scored 20 points and was a +18 in 38 minutes in the Dubs’ close-out victory over the Cavs.
Iggy wasn’t the only Pac-12 alum to win a ring Monday night, and one of the other ones, former Washington State sharpshooter Klay Thompson, said he’d rather be part of a legacy than be the No. 1 option on a team (CBS Sports through ESPN).
And don’t forget about the UCLA guys to win an NBA title Monday night – Matt Barnes, Kevon Looney and Bob Myers (GM). Luckily, Mike Regalado of Go Joe Bruin is here to remind us.
On Monday, the University of Colorado announced that chancellor Phil DiStefano will be suspended for 10 days and AD Rick George and football coach Mike MacIntyre must donate $100,000 apiece to causes that benefit domestic violence awareness for failing to respond to domestic violence allegations against former assistant football coach Joe Tumpkin. The Denver Post has more detail in the link.
The man who shot and killed former NFL running back and USC star Joe McKnight, Ronald Gasser, will go to trial on Aug. 7 (CBS Sports). Gasser is charged with second-degree murder and has pleaded not guilty.
In emails sent to presidents and athletic directors at each of the Power 5 schools, Brenda Tracy lobbied for schools to disqualify “prospective student-athletes with records of sexual violence.” Andrew Greif has more in his writeup.
The MLB Draft began Monday night, and the New York Mets selected Oregon pitcher David Peterson with the 20th pick. Peterson went 11-4 with a 2.51 ERA and a school-record 140 strikeouts against just 15 walks in 100.1 innings in 2017.
From a real draft to a hypothetical draft… Andrew Sharp of Sports Illustrated has Markelle Fultz going No. 1 to the Boston Celtics in his latest NBA mock draft, as expected. He also has Lonzo Ball going No. 2 to the Lake Show, Lauri Markkanen going 10th to Sacramento, Ike Anigbogu going 17th to the Bucks, T.J. Leaf going 26th to the Blazers and Jordan Bell going 29th to the Spurs.
Soon-to-be Arizona State golfer Mason Andersen is playing in the U.S. Open this week, and Andrew Vailliencourt of The Arizona Republic lets us know all about it. Andersen will begin his Arizona State career in August.
Vytas Mazeika of the Bay Area News Group notes that Stanford sophomore Grant Fisher winning the 5,000 meters at the NCAA Track & Field Championships gave the Cardinal its first NCAA men’s outdoor title in an event since 2012.
Aaron Falk of The Salt Lake Tribune whips up a feature on the Utah esports program, the first of its kind in the Power 5 realm.
This is not an athletics link, but you should take some time to read this story from Marcos Bretón of The Sacramento Bee on how recent high school graduate and homeless teen Nataly Romero made her way to Cal, where she will begin her studies in the fall. Romero was deported to Mexico at a young age and came back to the Fresno, Calif., on her own, moving from place to place while she earned a 4.0 in the classroom. Great read.