COLLEGES

Bowdoin advanced to the semifinals of the NCAA Division III men’s tennis tournament with a 5-3 win over defending champ Case Western Reserve on Tuesday at St. Louis.

Bradley Tristan, Pieter Breuker and Reid Staples had singles wins for the Polar Bears. Breuker and Andrew Mendelson won in doubles as did Ethan Bradley and Jackson Codd.

Bowdoin faces Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges in the semifinals at 1 p.m. Wednesday.

HOCKEY

NHL: Ryan McDonagh is returning to Tampa Bay, hoping to help the Lightning win the Stanley Cup again after two seasons in Nashville.

The Predators traded McDonagh back to the Lightning on Tuesday, giving the veteran defenseman a welcome homecoming with the organization he helped to two championships and clearing some salary cap space to add and make changes this offseason.

Tampa Bay reacquired McDonagh less than 22 months after sending him to Nashville as a money move, this time sending a 2025 second-round pick and a 2024 seventh-rounder to the Predators for the soon-to-be 35-year-old and Edmonton’s fourth-round pick this summer.

McDonagh played a key role on the Lightning’s Cup runs in 2020 and ’21 and their trip to the final in ’22. They have not won a playoff series since, losing in the first round to Toronto and Florida each of the past two years.

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: Dylan Cozens scored a short-handed goal in overtime for Canada to edge the Czech Republic 4-3 and complete the preliminary round with seven straight wins at Prague.

Canada topped Group A with 19 points and will face Slovakia, the fourth team in Group B, in the quarterfinals..

The United States finished second in Group B after beating Latvia 6-3 in their final preliminary game highlighted by Cole Caufield’s two goals and two assists.
Brady Tkachuk, Matt Boldy and Zach Werenski had a goal and an assist each, and Joel Farabee also scored.

The Americans will play the Czech Republic in the quarterfinals on Thursday.

BASKETBALL

WNBA: Caitlin Clark signed a multiyear deal with Wilson Sporting Goods for a signature basketball line, the company announced.

The No. 1 pick in the WNBA draft will also test, advise and provide feedback on a range of Wilson basketball products..

Wilson will release collections that celebrate Clark throughout the rest of 2024, as well as work with her to creatively direct her first-ever signature basketball line that will debut later this year.

It’s the latest endorsement deal for Clark, who also has partnered with Nike and Gatorade.

NBA: Victor Wembanyama’s latest accolade was like none other.

The San Antonio center has become the first player in NBA history to make the league’s All-Defensive first team as a rookie. Wembanyama appeared on 98 of the 99 ballots cast.

Defensive player of the year Rudy Gobert of Minnesota headlined the team and was the only unanimous selection. He was joined on the first team by Wembanyama, Miami’s Bam Adebayo, New Orleans’ Herb Jones and the Los Angeles Lakers’ Anthony Davis.

AUTO RACING

NASCAR: Ricky Rudd, the tough-as-nails driver from Virginia, was selected to the NASCAR Hall of Fame, along with driver Carl Edwards and mechanic and race strategist Ralph Moody, who made it in on the pioneer ballot.

Dr. Dean Sicking, who created the SAFER barrier after being commissioned by NASCAR to make racing safer following the death of Dale Earnhardt at Daytona, was selected as the Landmark Award winner for his contributions to the sport.

They will be officially inducted into the Hall of Fame in January at a ceremony in Charlotte, North Carolina.

TENNIS

FRENCH OPEN: Vanessa Peltier got up at dawn and traveled 310 miles to Paris from the Creuse region of central France just so she could watch Rafael Nadal practice.

Along with thousands of other fans, she lined up outside the main court to catch a glimpse of the Spanish champion at what’s expected to be his final appearance at the French Open, a tournament he’s won a record 14 times.

The line stretched for 200 yards as fans queued up for Nadal’s second day of practice at Roland Garros. Morgan Chevallier said he waited for 45 minutes to get inside the tennis stadium.

Nadal, 37, was sidelined with injuries for nearly all of last year and much of this season. His loss in the third round of the Italian Open two weeks ago left questions about his fitness. He hasn’t yet said whether he’s ready for the clay-court tournament.