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Wander Franco criminally responsible for abuse, judge finds, but spared punishment in Dominican case

PUERTO PLATA, Dominican Republic (AP) — A Dominican judge has ruled that Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco is criminally responsible for the sexual and psychological abuse of a minor but will not serve a sentence. Judge José Antonio Núñez found Franco was a victim of extortion by the minor’s mother, who was sentenced to ten years for trafficking her daughter. Franco was arrested in January 2024 for a relationship with a 14-year-old girl. After the ruling, Franco expressed relief and asked fans for support. The full sentencing is set for June 16.

Heat wave at French Open impacts the clay courts and sends fans to sprinklers

PARIS (AP) — Tennis players at the French Open say they haven’t experienced conditions this hot at Roland Garros since the 2024 Paris Olympics. And the Olympics were held in July and August. Temperatures for the opening two days of the clay-court Grand Slam have soared to 33 degrees C (91 F). That’s far beyond normal for late May in the French capital. And it’s forecast to stay that way for the entire first week. Besides making it uncomfortable for fans and players alike the sultry conditions have also created faster conditions on court. Russian-born Australian player Daria Kasatkina says “I don’t remember the last time it was so hot at Roland Garros.”

In the Western Conference (chess) finals, it’s 2-2 between the Spurs and Thunder. Game 5 awaits

It’s like Victor Wembanyama has been here before. Dec. 28, 2024, was a cold and drizzly morning in New York. Wembanyama had time before the San Antonio Spurs’ charter flight to Minnesota that afternoon, so he posted a message on social media: Come meet me in Washington Square Park to play chess, he wrote. He played four games that morning: two wins, two losses. Fast forward to now, where the Spurs and Oklahoma City are playing a different form of chess — the Western Conference finals, with Game 5 set for Tuesday on the Thunder’s home floor. The score to this point, just like that morning in New York: two wins, two losses.

Mexico’s president sees ‘no issue’ with her country hosting Iran’s World Cup team during tournament

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum says she has “no issue” with her country hosting Iran’s World Cup team after its training base was moved from the United States to Mexico for the summer soccer competition. The Iranian team will still play its matches in the U.S. but its base has been moved to Tijuana, Mexico, just south of San Diego, California. FIFA confirmed the move on Monday. The development comes against the backdrop of the war in Iran. Sheinbaum told a news conference that a FIFA representative had told her the U.S. was reluctant to have the Iranian soccer team spend time outside the games on U.S. territory.

Felix Rosenqvist is savoring a busy schedule as the spoils of victory from his Indianapolis 500 win

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Felix Rosenqvist’s Indianapolis 500 victory lap started sinking in quickly. After gulping the traditional swig of milk and dumping the rest over his head, the winner of the closest race in Indy 500 history began making the winner’s rounds. He spent two hours answering questions in his fire suit before heading to another photo shoot. Then there was a short celebratory night before hitting the early morning television shows, more photo shoots and Monday night’s postrace dinner where he’ll find out how much money he won. Never mind that there’s another race next weekend in Detroit. But the 34-year-old Swede wasn’t about to start complaining. No, he was too busy savoring the spoils of victory.

Spire Motorsports is on the rise after winning a second race, but bigger goals are on the horizon

CONCORD, N.C. (AP) — Daniel Suarez’s surprising win at the Coca-Cola 600 gave Spire Motorsports its second victory of the season, matching racing giant Hendrick Motorsports. Suarez says the team isn’t satisfied yet. He praised the structure and foundation built by team owner Jeff Dickerson and crew chief Ryan Sparks. Spire, once considered a small NASCAR team, is changing perceptions. Dickerson aims to put two cars in the playoffs and win three races this season, and Suarez said the team hasn’t yet reached its full potential.

UCLA earns No. 1 seed for NCAA baseball tournament ahead of offensive juggernaut Georgia Tech

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — UCLA is the No. 1 national seed for the NCAA baseball tournament. The Bruins were rewarded for their dominant wire-to-wire run through the regular season. The tournament opens Friday with 16 double-elimination regionals. Winners advance to eight best-of-three super regionals. Those winners move on to the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska, beginning June 12. The Bruins swept the Big Ten regular-season and tournament titles. Their 51 wins are most wins entering regionals since Tennessee came in with 53 in 2022. ACC champion Georgia Tech is the No. 2 seed and followed by Georgia, Auburn, North Carolina, Texas, Alabama and Florida.

Brewers’ Misiorowski sets record with 57 100 mph pitches in game since tracking era started in 2008

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Milwaukee’s Jacob Misiorowski threw 57 pitches of at least 100 mph — the most in a single game since pitch tracking began in 2008 — while getting 12 strikeouts to match his career high Monday against the St. Louis Cardinals. The previous record for 100-mph pitches in a single game was 47 by Cincinnati’s Hunter Greene against St. Louis on Sept. 17, 2022. The 24-year-old right-hander reached 101 mph on 40 of his 96 pitches. He got to 102 mph on 22 pitches and had nine of at least 103. His top velocity was 103.4 mph.

Messi joins high-profile World Cup injury concerns just weeks before big kickoff

Injuries to some of soccer’s star players are mounting ahead of next month’s World Cup. Lionel Messi has joined a list of concerns that already included Lamine Yamal. Kylian Mbappé and Mohamed Salah have recovered from injuries ahead of the tournament co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico. Now the focus will switch to Messi. The Argentina great left the field after reaching toward his left hamstring in a game for Inter Miami in Major League Soccer on Sunday. Spain’s Yamal missed the final weeks of the season for Barcelona because of a muscle injury in his left leg. Others ruled out are France’s Hugo Ekitike and Brazil stars Rodrygo and Éder Militão.

Atlanta Dream storm back again, stay atop WNBA at 4-1 after rally vs Phoenix

The Atlanta Dream have shown resilience by rallying from 15-point deficits twice this season, including Sunday’s win over Phoenix. No other WNBA team has done this, according to ESPN. The Dream lead the WNBA standings at 4-1 and are the only team with just one loss. Coach Karl Smesko believes facing tough competition strengthens them. Atlanta moved to No. 1 in power rankings for the first time. Kelsey Plum of Los Angeles was selected as the AP player of the week.