COLLEGES

Fransoso is player of the year as Maine earns three America East baseball honors

Maine took home three of America East’s four major baseball awards on Tuesday, with senior shortstop Michael Fransoso named player of the year, junior Tommy Lawrence named pitcher of the year and Steve Trimper named coach of the year.

Fransoso, the fourth Black Bear to win the Len Harlow Award, hit .356 and led the conference with 41 runs and 45 RBI.

Lawrence had a 2.59 ERA in 901/3 innings, going 9-3 overall with a record eight wins in conference play.

Trimper led Maine to a 34-20 record and the conference’s regular season title.

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GOLF

PGA: After six months of sometimes rancorous debate, golf’s two governing bodies outlawed the anchored putting stroke used by four of the last six major champions, approving a new rule that starts in 2016.

The Royal & Ancient Golf Club and the U.S. Golf Association adopted Rule 14-1b, which prohibits players from anchoring a club against their bodies.

The rule was opposed by the PGA Tour and the PGA of America, which contended the stroke commonly used for long putters was not hurting the game and there was no statistical proof that it was an advantage.

PGA: Guan Tianlang, the 14-year-old from China, has decided not to try to play in the U.S. Open.

TENNIS

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FRENCH OPEN: U.S. Open champion Andy Murray withdrew from the French Open because of a chronic back injury and will prepare for the grass-court season next month.

NICE OPEN: Fabio Fognini beat Marco Cecchinato 1-6, 6-1, 6-2 in the first round at Nice, France.

POWER HORSE CUP: Nikolay Davydenko lost his fourth straight match, falling 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 to Aljaz Bedene of Slovenia in the first round at Dusseldorf, Germany.

SOCCER

MLS: The New York Yankees are combining with English power Manchester City to own a Major League Soccer expansion team in New York that will start play in 2015.

The team, the 20th in a league that has doubled in size in two decades, will be called New York City Football Club. Manchester City, owned by Sheik Mansour bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan of Abu Dhabi, will be the controlling owner. The Yankees will have an interest of 20 percent to 25 percent.

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MEDIA

ESPN: The landmark sports network is cutting its workforce, the latest Disney division to reduce staff. Reportedly, up to 400 jobs will be trimmed. ESPN has about 4,000 employees at its headquarters in Bristol, Conn.

–From staff and news services

 


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