BASKETBALL
The New York Liberty won the WNBA lottery on Tuesday night and will have the first pick in next spring’s draft.
It’s the first time in franchise history that the Liberty will have the first pick. The team had a 44.2 percent chance of winning the lottery after finishing with the worst combined record over the past two years.
New York had the No. 2 pick last season and drafted Asia Durr.
Dallas will pick second, Indiana third and Atlanta fourth.
• Alyssa Thomas had 22 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead a balanced Connecticut offense and the Sun opened the semifinals with an 84-75 win over the Los Angeles Sparks in Uncasville, Connecticut.
The teams return to Mohegan Sun on Thursday for Game 2.
SOCCER
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: Liverpool opened its Champions League title defense with a 2-0 loss at Napoli – the latest chapter in what is becoming an intense rivalry between the two attack-minded clubs after also meeting in last season’s group phase.
• Goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen saved a second-half penalty as Barcelona began its campaign by drawing 0-0 at Borussia Dortmund.
• Timo Werner scored twice in the second half as Leipzig stunned Portuguese champion Benfica 2-1 in Group G, in Lisbon, Portugal.
PLAYERS FREED: Two Russian national team soccer players were released from prison Tuesday after a court granted them parole, and one already has a new contract.
Zenit St. Petersburg forward Alexander Kokorin and FC Krasnodar midfielder Pavel Mamayev were arrested last October after being accused of attacking three men in central Moscow during a night out after a game.
Kokorin was sentenced to 18 months in prison, while Mamayev was given 17 months, though both sentences were already reduced due to time spent in pre-trial detention.
HORSE RACING
PENNSYLVANIA DERBY: Maximum Security, the colt who crossed the finish line first in the Kentucky Derby only to be disqualified for interference, won’t run in the $1 million Pennsylvania Derby this weekend because of a colon issue.
TENNIS
OLYMPICS: Roger Federer plans to decide “in the next month or so” whether he will play at next year’s Tokyo Olympics.
Federer said his 2020 schedule is set through Wimbledon, which ends July 12. The week-long Olympic tournament starts July 25 and ends a few days before his 39th birthday.
ST. PETERSBURG OPEN: Andrei Rublev had to come from a set down to beat qualifier Ilya Ivashka 4-6, 6-0, 6-4 Tuesday in the first round in St. Petersburg, Russia.
COLLEGES
FOOTBALL: Michigan State offensive lineman Kevin Jarvis is expected to miss 6-7 weeks with an undisclosed injury.
Coach Mark Dantonio didn’t disclose the specifics of the injury. He said Jarvis isn’t lost for the season, but he has been removed from the depth chart after starting the first three games this season at left tackle. Senior Tyler Higby is now listed as the starting left tackle for Saturday’s game at Northwestern.
TRACK AND FIELD
WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: The suspended Russian track federation is sending a team of 29 competitors to the world championships in Qatar, where they will compete as neutral athletes.
– Staff and news services
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