BASEBALL
Nick Yorke was 3 for 5 with a double, a triple and a home run as the Portland Sea Dogs beat the Erie Seawolves, 12-3, on Friday in Erie, Pennsylvania.
Yorke had two RBI and scored three times for the Sea Dogs (14-5), who have won three straight.
Tyler McDonough was also 3 for 5, with a double and a home run. He drove in three and scored three times. Niko Kavadas and Tyler Dearden each added three hits, while Ceddanne Rafaela had two hits, two RBI and scored three times.
BASKETBALL
NBA GLEAGUE: Alex Barlow, who has been with the Maine Celtics since 2017 and served as head coach for 2022-23 season, has been hired as an assistant coach at Butler University.
Barlow led the Celtics to a 19-13 record in the regular season and its first playoff berth since the 2016-2017 season. Maine lost in the first round to the Cleveland Charge. The Celtics went 11-7 during the showcase portion of the schedule before losing in the semifinals.
Barlow was a walk on at Butler University where he played for Boston Celtics President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens. When Stevens was the head coach in Boston, he hired Barlow as a video assistant.
At Butler, Barlow will join the staff of head coach Thad Matta.
WORLD CUP: Qatar is going to host another World Cup, adding basketball to the sports portfolio of a tiny country with long-term Olympic hosting ambitions.
The International Basketball Federation picked Qatar to host the 2027 edition of its marquee men’s World Cup. There was no vote between competing bids.
GOLF
PGA: Tony Finau kick-started what had been a disappointing 2022 with a runner-up finish in the Mexico Open at Vidanta. He moved into position for an even better result on Friday, shooting a 7-under 64 to take a one-shot lead through two rounds, in Vallarta, Mexico.
Finau, the second highest-ranked player in the field behind world No. 1 and defending champion Jon Rahm, made five birdies on his front nine — none from longer than 11 feet. After four straight pars, he holed a 30-footer on the par-3 fifth hole for the first of three consecutive birdies.
The 33-year-old Finau was at 13-under 129 at Vidanta Vallarta, one better than Brandon Wu — who finished alongside him in a tie for second last year — and Erik van Rooyen. Wu closed with three straight birdies for a 64; van Rooyen shot 66.
LIV: Talor Gooch backed up his Australian LIV win by taking a one-stroke lead at the fledgling tour’s Singapore event.
Gooch eagled the par-5 18th hole after a 90-minute rain delay to shoot 7-under 64 and lead four others at the Sentosa course – British Open champion Cameron Smith, Brooks Koepka, Sergio Garcia and Cameron Tringale.
Phil Mickelson, Louis Oosthuizen and Bryson DeChambeau were another stroke back in a tie for sixth after 66s.
TENNIS
FRENCH OPEN: The uncle and former coach of Rafael Nadal says the 22-time Grand Slam winner plans to be back fit in time to play the French Open next month.
Toni Nadal told Spain’s Radio Marca on Friday his nephew will soon be ready to return from a hip injury that has sidelined him since January. Toni Nadal, who coached Rafael until the end of the 2017 season, said he expects him to try to come back at Rome in early May.
ITALIAN OPEN: Former Wimbledon runner-up Matteo Berrettini withdrew from the upcoming Italian Open as he continues to recover from a stomach muscle tear.
AUTO RACING
FORMULA ONE: Charles Leclerc beat Max Verstappen in qualifying for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku, Azerbaijan, to end Red Bull’s streak of pole positions in Formula One this season.
Leclerc and Verstappen had the exact same time midway through the final session of qualifying before both improved on their final runs, with Leclerc going faster by 0.188 seconds in his Ferrari to take pole in Baku for the third year in a row.
SOCCER
PREMIER LEAGUE: After a third round of bidding for Manchester United, Qatari banker Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani and British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe are still hoping to take control of the storied soccer team.
Persons with knowledge of the bids said the latest offers were submitted on Friday. The persons spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not permitted to comment publicly.
Sheikh Jassim and Ratcliffe confirmed their intention to buy United this year after current owners, the Glazer family, announced in November their willingness to listen to offers for the English Premier League club.
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