Roundup: Tim Lincecum is back in baseball
Former Washington pitcher Tim Lincecum agreed to a deal with the Los Angeles Angels on Monday (ESPN). Lincecum hasn’t pitched in the majors since June after spending nine seasons with the Giants.
Chris Ballard of Sports Illustrated features Stanford running back Christian McCaffrey, going into his tenacious work ethic and how he rose to college football prominence. Great read here. Also, Brenda Villa was named Pac-12 Women’s Water Polo Player of the Century.
Jacob Thorpe reports that former Washington State men’s basketball player Valentine Izundu will transfer to San Diego State. He was initially not allowed to contact the Aztecs by the Cougs, but that was later reversed. Also, Que Johnson will graduate from Wazzu and play his final year at Western Kentucky.
It was a good day on the course for Arizona State. The Sun Devils, led by Jon Rahm, currently sit atop the leaderboard at the Albuquerque Regional at two-under after one day of play.
NBA officials have taken heavy criticism during the playoffs this season, and Monday night’s Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals between Oklahoma City and Golden State didn’t help matters. The NBA’s officiating czar Joe Borgia said that referees made a mistake in not calling travelling on Russell Westbrook at a critical juncture late in the game. That said, Westbrook’s second-half scoring splurge help carried the Thunder to the 108-102 win (he finished with 27 points, 12 assists and seven steals; just another ridiculous stat line).
USC men’s golf is tied for third after the first round of NCAA Regional action in Albuquerque, buoyed by Sean Crocker’s 2-under 70.
Amy Donaldson of the Deseret News whips up this feature on Utah cornerback Dominique Hatfield, who says he is a changed man after his legal troubles last summer. He walked in last week’s graduation ceremony (but does have 15 credit hours to complete this summer).
Gina Mizell breaks down the Auburn Regional of the NCAA Softball Tournament that features Oregon State, Auburn, Jacksonville State and USC Upstate.
Off to Knoxville for NCAA regional play, Arizona softball knows pitching is vital to the team’s postseason success, writes Zack Rosenblatt of the Arizona Daily Star. The Wildcats will do battle with THE Ohio State University, Tennessee and Marist this weekend.
Connor Letourneau tells us that NBA front offices are “divided” on Jaylen Brown. Mock drafts have him going anywhere from third to 13th.
David Lombardi breaks down the toughest stretch of the 2016 season for Colorado football – at USC, Arizona State, at Stanford, bye, and UCLA from Oct. 8-Nov. 3 isn’t exactly a cakewalk.
Chantel Jennings is of the opinion that running back Royce Freeman is Oregon football’s most indispensable player.