BASKETBALL
Another company joined Cooper Flagg’s growing list of sponsors, with Gatorade becoming the latest big name to partner with the basketball phenom.
Gatorade announced the partnership Tuesday, making him the first men’s college basketball player to sign with the sports drink giant, according to ESPN.
Flagg was named the Gatorade National Boys’ Basketball Player of the Year in March. The deal is just the latest endorsement for the Newport native; New Balance was the first to sign him in August, and New Era came on board in early September.
Flagg plays his first official college game Monday, when Duke hosts UMaine.
He averaged 15.5 points, 4.5 assists and 2 blocks over two preseason games.
Flagg told ESPN that he has tried to stay humble in the wake of both the endorsements and the hype that has surrounded his high school career and Duke signing.
“It just comes down to trying to just stay grounded and kind of stay where my feet are and focus on the present and where I am,” he said. “Whether that’s focusing on a day we have practice, class … Whatever I’m doing, I’m just trying to stay present and really just focus on the moment.”
Since leaving Nokomis Regional High after guiding the Warriors to the 2022 Class A championship as a freshman, Flagg has seen his profile skyrocket. He thrived at Montverde Academy in Florida en route to becoming the No. 1 high school prospect in the country, and also was named USA Basketball’s Male Athlete of the Year after leading Team USA to victory in the 2022 FIBA U17 World Cup.
He’s currently projected to be the top overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, which will take place in June.
NBA: Joel Embiid and Paul George are 0 for 4 for the 76ers’ season.
Embiid’s and George’s season debuts remain on hold for the Philadelphia 76ers, and both players will miss Wednesday’s game against Detroit with knee injuries.
Embiid and George participated in portions of Tuesday’s practice and their playing status will be reassessed later in the week.
Sixers Coach Nick Nurse declined to elaborate on their health and potential timeline to return to the lineup.
HOCKEY
PWHL: The six-team Professional Women’s Hockey League is launching its expansion process with plans to add as many as two franchises for the start of the 2025-26 season, a league executive announced.
Speaking at the ESPNW Summit in New York, senior vice president of business operations Amy Scheer said the league will begin sending requests for proposals to several markets starting as early as next week, while also accepting applications.
Among the U.S. expansion candidates are Detroit and Pittsburgh, where the PWHL hosted neutral site games during its inaugural season last year. Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia would also be regarded as candidates after both were considered before the league established teams in Boston, New York and Minnesota. Denver and Seattle are also considered potential candidates.
In Canada, where the league has teams in Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal, Quebec City has already announced its intention of being a candidate for an expansion franchise. Calgary would be a potential option with the city previously being home to the Inferno from 2011 to 2019, before the Canadian Women’s Hocky League folded.
COLLEGES
FOOTBALL: Michigan quarterback Jack Tuttle is retiring from football following a fifth concussion.
Tuttle made the announcement on social media Monday night, pointing to a string of injuries that have plagued his college career. He said he never fully recovered from ligament damage in his throwing elbow.
• West Virginia fired defensive coordinator Jordan Lesley. Inside linebackers coach Jeff Koonz will replace Lesley for the rest of the season, Coach Neal Brown said.
West Virginia’s injury-riddled secondary has struggled all season. The Mountaineers are surrendering 9.3 yards per pass play, worst in the Big 12, and their 17 touchdown passes allowed are the second-worst.
MEN’S BASKETBALL: South Florida introduced Ben Fletcher as interim basketball coach, saying he’s the right man to lead the Bulls following the death of Amir Abdur-Rahim.
Fletcher, a close friend of Abdur-Rahim who helped the late coach turn around struggling programs at Kennesaw State and USF, promised to help grieving players cope with the loss and uphold a new standard for success at the American Athletic Conference school.
Abdur-Rahim, 43, died Thursday from complications that arose while he was undergoing a procedure at a Tampa-area hospital.
TENNIS
PARIS MASTERS: Sixth-seeded Andrey Rublev lost two tiebreakers and his temper as his hopes of qualifying for the ATP Finals took a hit.
Facing Francisco Cerundolo in the second round, Rublev lost 7-6 (6), 7-6 (5) after a match that lasted more than two hours. Rublev was so frustrated at one point in the second set that he smashed his racket against his left knee at least seven times in succession. Video footage showed the outburst left his knee bleeding.
The Russian player held the eighth and final qualifying place in the race for the season-ending ATP Finals and could be overtaken by rivals this week.
Top-seeded Jannik Sinner has pulled out, citing a virus.
The Italian player, who is guaranteed to finish the year as No. 1, said in a message relayed by organizers that he is not able to play this week.
SOCCER
MLS: Atlanta United has lost midfielder Edwin Mosquera for the remainder of the team’s Eastern Conference first-round series against Inter Miami following surgery on the meniscus of his left knee.
Atlanta United is facing a must-win game at home on Saturday night after losing 2-1 to Inter Miami on Friday night in the opener of the best-of-three series.
Inter Miami also lost a player to a knee injury in Game 1. The team announced Saturday that defender Ian Fray will have surgery to repair his meniscus.
• Felipe Carballo scored his first goal with New York in the 25th minute and the visiting Red Bulls beat the Columbus Crew 1-0 in the opening game of the best-of-three series.
New York won a road game during the MLS Cup playoffs for the first time since 2017. It was also the Red Bulls’ first postseason win in Columbus following four straight losses.
The Red Bulls will host Columbus on Sunday.
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