BASKETBALL
Paul Pierce to have number retired by Celtics
The Boston Celtics will retire Paul Pierce’s No. 34 during their Feb. 11 game against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The longtime Celtics forward will be the 22nd player so honored – the first since 2003.
Pierce was drafted by Boston in 1998 and played 15 seasons for the Celtics. Only John Havlicek played longer in a Celtics uniform. Pierce helped the team win its NBA-record 17th title in 2008 and was named the finals MVP.
Pierce is the franchise leader in 3-point field goals, free throws and steals and is the Celtics’ No. 2 career scorer with 24,021 points. His number has already been retired by the University of Kansas.
BASEBALL
EASTERN LEAGUE: David Thompson hit a two-run homer in the fourth inning and Tomas Nido added a two-run single in the fifth to push the Binghamton Rumble Ponies to a 5-1 win over the Portland Sea Dogs, completing a doubleheader sweep at Binghamton, New York.
Portland (59-63) scored in the seventh on a Cole Sturgeon sacrifice fly.
Marcos Molina went the distance for the Rumble Ponies (73-49), allowing seven hits while fanning five and walking just one.
Danny Mars was 2 for 3 for the Sea Dogs in the second game but had his 17-game hitting streak snapped in the opener, a 4-1 loss. Sturgeon tripled in each game.
TENNIS
WESTERN & SOUTHERN OPEN: Defending champion Karolina Pliskova made it a doubleheader sweep, reaching the semifinals by winning a pair of matches with little rest in between.
First, the top seed completed a 6-3, 4-6, 6-0 victory over qualifier Camila Giorgi in a match resumed from Thursday night. After a quick turnaround, she needed only 67 minutes to beat a rested Caroline Wozniacki, 6-2, 6-4.
Men’s No. 1 seed Rafael Nadal also was trying for a 2-0 day, with little time to rest and prepare.
Nadal spent an hour and 37 minutes on court in beating fellow Spaniard Albert Ramos-Vinolas 7-6 (1), 6-2, a match that never got started Thursday night because of rain. He was scheduled to face Nick Kyrgios late Friday night.
John Isner and Grigor Dimitrov reached the semifinals on the men’s side, while in the women’s bracket, Garbine Mugaruza advanced to face Pliskova and Svetlana Kuznetsova also moved on.
U.S. OPEN: Past champion Samantha Stosur pulled out of the tournament because of an injured right hand.
OUDIN RETIRES: Melanie Oudin is retiring from professional tennis, eight years after her captivating run to the U.S. Open quarterfinals as a teenager.
The 25-year-old American announced her decision in a series of posts on Twitter. She has dealt with a series of health problems in recent years.
SOCCER
NWSL: Former U.S. national team captain Christie Pearce is going to miss the rest of season because of cumulative injuries, Sky Blue FC announced.
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