NEW YORK (AP) β The NFL has handed out penalties to the Cleveland Browns and Atlanta Falcons. Browns’ general manager Ray Farmer has been suspended for the first four games of the season and the team was fined $250,000 for texts Farmer sent to the sidelines during some games last season. The Falcons have been fined $350,000 and stripped of a draft pick for pumping fake noise into the Georgia Dome during home games.
UNDATED (AP) β The Associated Press All-America team has been announced. Comprising the first team are Frank Kaminsky of Wisconsin, Jahlil Okafor (juh-LIHL’ OH’-kuh-for) of Duke, Kentucky’s Willie Cauley-Stein, Notre Dame’s Jerian Grant and Ohio State’s D’Angelo Russell. Kaminsky, Okafor and Cauley-Stein will all be in Indianapolis with their teams this weekend competing in the Final Four.
NEW YORK (AP) β A person with knowledge of the discussions tells The Associated Press that Chris Mullin is returning to St. John’s, this time as head coach. Mullin led St. John’s to the 1985 Final Four and is the school’s all-time leading scorer. He replaces Steve Lavin, who agreed to leave last week after five seasons and two NCAA tournament appearances.
HOUSTON (AP) β Houston Rockets guard Patrick Beverley will undergo season-ending surgery Tuesday to repair a torn ligament in his left wrist and will miss the remainder of the season. He injured the wrist during the Rockets’ win over the Indiana Pacers on March 23. He had averaged 10.1 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3.4 assists in 56 games for the Rockets this season.
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) β Connecticut’s governor and UConn’s athletic director are calling on the NCAA to consider moving next year’s Women’s Final Four out of Indianapolis unless changes are made to Indiana’s new religious-objections law. Gov. Dannel Malloy and other critics contend the law would allow businesses to deny service to gays and lesbians based on religious beliefs. The governor on Monday signed an executive order banning state spending on travel to Indiana and says the NCAA would be wise to move the tournament.
