D2 eZ sU the washington post.thursday, february 20 , 2020
quotable“I’ve never been one for
being told what to do,
and I like to have that
autonomy and freedom.
I would give that up.’
rorY McilroY,
on why he is not in favor of a plan that
would see the top players splitting
from the pga tour for a guaranteed
financial windfall on a rival circuit.
auto racingBY CINDY BOREN
AND DES BIELERLess than 48 hours after his
horrific crash during the Daytona
500, Ryan Newman walked out of
a Florida hospital Wednesday,
flanked by his two young daugh-
ters w hile holding their hands.
Roush Fenway Racing an-
nounced that the NASCAR veter-
an had been released early
Wednesday afternoon, posting a
photo that showed him as he left
the hospital, clad in a green Na-
tional Wild Turkey Federation T-
shirt and jeans and wearing no
shoes.
His wife, Krissie, p osted a video
of the same scene, with Newman
and his daughters walking away
from t he hospital.
Newman’s departure came
shortly after Roush Fenway, for
whom Newman drives, had
shared another image of the driv-
er, grinning in a hospital gown, his
arms draped around daughters
Brooklyn and Ashlyn. The race
team noted that the 42-year-old
“continues great improvement”
after his terrifying wreck on the
final lap o f Monday’s race.
Newman, who was taken from
the crash to Halifax Medical Cen-
ter, showed no obvious signs of
injury and was described as being
“fully alert and walking around”
by Roush Fenway, an almost in-
conceivable update after the fiery
wreck.
“True to his jovial nature, he has
also b een joking around w ith staff,
friends and family while s pending
time playing with his two daugh-
ters,” i t said in a statement. “Ryan
continues to express his apprecia-
tion f or the outpouring of support
from across the country, and he
and his family are grateful for the
immense level of support that has
been provided by the NASCAR
community and b eyond.”
Updates on Newman’s condi-
tion had been scarce, and an ago-
nizing amount of time went by
after he was taken from the track
by ambulance before he was offi-
cially confirmed to be alive. On
Tuesday, Roush Fenway said only
that he was “awake and speaking
with f amily and doctors,” which a t
least provided some cause for re-
lief for NASCAR fans and others
worried a bout his condition.
N ewman was leading the race
in the final turn when he was
contacted from behind by a car
driven by Ryan Blaney. Newman’s
car veered sideways, hit a wall,
flipped and then went airborne
when it was struck by another
trailing driver’s c ar.
Newman needed personnel at
Daytona International Speedway
to extinguish flames from his car
and extricate him from the badly
damaged vehicle.
C ompounding the worst fears
of drivers and fans were memories
of Dale Earnhardt Sr., the legend-
ary NASCAR driver who died in a
crash on the final lap of the 2001
Daytona 5 00.
[email protected]
[email protected]Newman
walks out
of hospital
after crash
BY DES BIELERIf the Houston Astros and
Major League Baseball Commis-
sioner Rob Manfred were hoping
to put the team’s sign-stealing
scandal behind them as spring
training continues, Tuesday
brought noteworthy indications
that anger over the illegal scheme
actually may be growing.
In addition to some of the
sharpest comments yet from oth-
er major league p layers, NBA star
LeBron James weighed in.
James did not name the Astros
or directly specify that he was
discussing sign-stealing in the
pair of impassioned tweets he
posted Tuesday, b ut it was unmis-
takable what he was referring to
while telling Manfred to “fix this
for the sake of Sports!”
“Listen I know I don’t play
baseball but I am in Sports and I
know if someone cheated me out
of winning the title and I found
out about it I would be [exple-
tive] irate!” James wrote on Twit-
ter. “I mean like uncontrollable
about what I would/could do!
“Listen here baseball commis-
sioner listen to your players
speaking today about how dis-
gusted, mad, hurt, broken, etc etc
about this.”
Manfred levied one-year sus-
pensions on general manager Jeff
Luhnow and manager A.J. H inch,
who were both then fired by
Astros owner Jim Crane. Hous-
ton’s players, however, escaped
formal punishment from MLB,
which has been a source of frus-
tration for some in baseball.
Atlanta outfielder Nick Marka-
kis hinted Tuesday that oppo-
nents m ight choose to administer
their own brand of justice when
they face Houston this season.
“I feel every single guy over
there d eserves a beating,” he said.
“I think the commissioner com-
pletely handled it the wrong
way.”
Another high-profile NBA fig-
ure, Dallas Mavericks owner
Mark Cuban, also criticized Man-
fred on Tuesday.
“Baseball is a mess right now
and they have zero vision to see
them out of it,” Cuban tweeted.
“I’m thankful they didn’t let me
buy a team.”
[email protected]
baseball
On Astros,
James tells
Manfred
to ‘fix this’
Pro basketballcraig Mitchelldyer/associated press
S tephen Curry wants to boost overlooked young players. “I was underrated,” he said. “I don’t even know if I was ranked.”BY BEN GOLLIVERStephen Curry’s favorite memory of
Kobe Bryant wasn’t a b uzzer-beater or a
dunk. It was a compliment.
The Golden State Warriors’ two-time
MVP was just a 21-year-old rookie in
2010, facing questions about his size,
style of play and small-school
background. Bryant, the Los Angeles
Lakers legend who died last month in a
helicopter crash, was headed toward his
second consecutive title. As Curry
remembers it, the Lakers were closing
out a win over the Warriors in Oakland
when he hit a “shoulder shimmy off-the-
glass” shot.
“They panned to [Bryant] on the
bench watching,” Curry recalled in a
phone interview Tuesday. “He mouthed
to whoever was sitting next to him, ‘Yo,
he’s n ice.’ I saw that clip afterwards, and
I cracked a big smile knowing Kobe was
impressed with what I was doing on the
court as a rookie. That moment was
invaluable in building my confidence.
He was always great at validating the
next generation of talent. Once he took
an interest in you, you had to know you
were doing something right.”
Throughout his career, Curry has
tried to pay forward experiences such as
that by hosting youth basketball camps.
He launched the Underrated To ur last
year to provide a showcase for high
school players who were overlooked by
the traditional rankings system, and the
second rendition of the student camp
will hold a regional tour stop in the
District on March 14 and 15.
“I was underrated, I was a three star,
and I don’t even know if I was ranked,”
Curry said of his own prep career. “I
wouldn’t have been invited to my own
camp. I was looking for a way to reach
out to underrated recruits, who have all
the game in the world, and give them an
opportunity to get their name out there.
There’s always going to be rankings.
That’s not going anywhere. It’s about
how you can help kids build confidenceat a d elicate age and help them compete
for Division I scholarships.”
The Underrated To ur will hold
regional stops in Chicago, Dallas, the
District and Los Angeles before
proceeding to a final tournament in the
Bay Area. There will be separate boys’
and girls’ divisions composed of at least
300 high school athletes total. The
application deadline for interested D.C.-
area high school players is Friday.
While Curry honed his signature
ballhandling, three-point shooting and
work ethic by watching Steve Nash,
Reggie Miller and Michael Jordan as a
teenager, he hesitated when asked
whether there is a rising “Curry
Generation” of three-point marksmen
coming up through the ranks.
“I’m not getting that old where I’ve
got a generation of kids,” t he 31-year-old
point guard quipped. “They call it that
‘ruin the game’ mentality — that
comment [by ESPN commentator Mark
Jackson] where kids just want to launch
40 -footers. To me, it’s amazing that
people are trying to stretch their
imagination on the court and where
their range is at, but it has to come with
understanding the process and how you
have to work on your game to get to that
point. Now we’re so visible, hopefully
the kids get to see the work we put in
and that inspires them even more.”
When Curry says kids, he means both
boys and girls. He f irst took notice of the
women’s game as a child in North
Carolina, and he has watched with
interest as the WNBA’s profile has
grown in recent years.
Of course, he has an obvious personal
connection thanks to his two daughters,
7-year-old Riley and 4-year-old Ryan.“Selfishly, I want my girls to play
basketball,” Curry said. “But neither one
of them has taken to it yet, so I’m still
staying patient. The camp is more so
about knowing that I can help and
knowing how good the girls’ game of
basketball is. There needs to be more
awareness of the girls’ game, and with
awareness comes more opportunity. We
see that reflected in what’s happening
with the WNBA, increasing their pay
and strengthening their CBA. That will
be a great north star for girls who want
to hoop.”
Curry, who has been sidelined since
October with a broken left hand,
returned to practice with the Warriors
this week. He still “has a few hurdles to
clear” and has yet to participate in a
full-contact practice, but he remains on
track for a March 1 return against the
Washington Wizards at Chase Center in
San Francisco.
Although he was able to spend the
all-star break on a family vacation for
the first time in years, Curry said that
his thoughts have often turned to
Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter,
Gianna, in recent weeks. He counts an
autographed All-Star Game jersey and
sneakers he acquired during Bryant’s
2016 farewell tour among his most
prized possessions, and he recently
watched ESPN anchor Elle Duncan’s
viral “Girl Dad” t ribute to Bryant.
“That’s the worst tragedy I’ve seen in
terms of how visible his love for his
daughters was,” Curry said of the
Bryants’ deaths. “How Gigi would go to
play every chance she could get and
emulate his stuff. H ow excited he looked
to be on the sideline coaching. I’ve seen
it up close. I met both of them many
times and took pictures at All-Star
Games. It makes me appreciate the
father-daughter connection, the joy
that being a father of daughters brings
on a daily basis. You don’t need any
more reason to not to take it for granted,
but that definitely hit home for sure.”
[email protected]Memory of Bryant inspires Curry
Warriors star’s youth camp,
which visits D.C. next month,
is one way he pays it forwardwashingtonpost.com/sports
Pro basketball
Beilein steps down
as coach of Cavaliers
W ildly successful at Michigan
and o ther stops i n his coaching
career, John Beilein resigned
Wednesday after j ust 54 games
with the rebuilding Cleveland
Cavaliers.
The 67-year-old Beilein never
got comfortable during his short
stint in the p ro game. The
demands of t ravel, lack of p ractice
time and a group of players who
didn’t respect him o r respond to
his coaching style proved t o be
too m uch, so he decided to move
on before t he team returned f rom
the a ll-star break.
“This was a very d ifficult
decision for m e, but I want t o be
clear — this was my decision to
step d own a nd I t ruly appreciate
the u nderstanding and support of
the f ront office during this time,”
Beilein said i n a statement
released by the team.
The Cavaliers went just 14-40
under B eilein, whom Cleveland
signed to a five-year contract l ast
May. T he team said h e will be
reassigned to a different r ole
within the o rganization. Beilein’s
next role is still being d iscussed,
but h is college c onnections would
make him i nvaluable in d raft
preparation.
Associate head c oach J.B.
Bickerstaff will t ake over f or
Beilein. T he team i s still working
through s ome contract language
for B ickerstaff, w ho had become
the p referred s ounding board for
Cleveland’s p layers. He h as head
coaching experience after nearly
two full seasons in Memphis and
one w ith Houston....
A federal judge d ismissed
Charles Oakley’s l awsuit against
executive c hairman James Dolan
and Madison Square Garden,
stemming f rom the f ormer New
York Knicks f orward’s e jection
and a rrest from a game three
years a go....
The Connecticut Sun acquired
guard Briann January from
Phoenix in a t hree-way WNBA
deal that s ent guard Courtney
Williams to t he A tlanta Dream.
The Sun also get a second-
round draft pick f rom the
Mercury. P hoenix received
forward Jessica Breland and
forward Nia Coffey from A tlanta.golF
Rory McIlroy became the f irst
top p layer t o publicly reject the
idea of a proposed n ew t our,
saying he v alues his choice of
where t o play over whateverDigestmoney t he Premier G olf League is
promising.
“I would like to be on the right
side of history on this one,”
McIlroy said a t the Mexico
Championship in Mexico City.
McIlroy said t he only thing
that could change his mind was i f
all the t op players decided t o join,
and h e doesn’t s ee t hat
happening.
“I think it’s v ery split at t he
moment,” he said.
Ta lk o f a Premier G olf L eague
has b een around for about six
years a nd p icked up momentum
— along w ith serious funding,primarily from S audi Arabia — in
recent m onths. Organizers have
been talking to players and a gents
the p ast few months in t he
Bahamas, Australia and last week
in Los Angeles.
Phil Mickelson, who p layed
with officials involved during the
pro-am in the S audi International
last month, said Sunday he was
not r eady t o announce his
intentions but might be r eady to
state his view publicly by the
Players Championship.
Tiger Woods has said only that
he and his people were looking
into it.teleVision anD raDio
nHl
7 p.m. Montreal at Washington » NBc sports Network, NBc sports Washington,
WJFK (106.7 FM)
nba
8 p.m. brooklyn at Philadelphia » tNt
10:30 p.m. Houston at golden state » tNt
Men’s college basketball
7 p.m. ohio state at iowa » espN
7 p.m. connecticut at temple » espN2
7 p.m. south Florida at Wichita state » cBs sports Network
7 p.m. Vermont at stony brook » espNU
7 p.m. elon at James Madison » MasN
8 p.m. oregon state at arizona » pac-12 Network
8:30 p.m. Michigan state at nebraska » Fox sports 1
9 p.m. oregon at arizona state » espN
9 p.m. southern california at colorado » espN2
9 p.m. santa clara at bringham Young » cBs sports Network
9 p.m. unc asheville at radford » espNU
10 p.m. stanford at Washington » pac-12 Network
11 p.m. san Francisco at gonzaga » espN2
11 p.m. Hawaii at uc riverside » espNU
11 p.m. loyola Marymount at saint Mary’s » cBs sports Networktennis
To p-seeded Simona Halep’s
first match since s he lost t o
Garbiñe Muguruza in the
Australian Open semifinals was a
tough 1-6, 6 -2, 7-6 (9-7) win over
Ons Jabeur at t he D ubai
Championships.
Halep saved a match point in
the two-hour match against
Jabeur, who lost to eventual
champion Sofia Kenin at t he
Australian Open....Te enage wild-card Brandon
Nakashima beat qualifier
Cameron Norrie, 7-5, 6 -2, to
become the youngest
quarterfinalist a t the D elray
Beach (Fla.) Open in 12 years.
The 18-year-old Nakashima,
from S an D iego, is playing in h is
first tour-level tournament. He’s
the y oungest D elray B each
quarterfinalist s ince Kei
Nishikori won the t itle in 2008.
— From n ews servicesWoMen’s college basketball
6 p.m. clemson at syracuse » acc Network
6 p.m. louisville at georgia tech » NBc sports Washington plus
7 p.m. tennessee at arkansas » sec Network
7 p.m. Michigan state at Purdue » Big te n Network
8 p.m. north carolina state at Miami » acc Network
8 p.m. Virginia tech at notre Dame » NBc sports Washington plus
9 p.m. Mississippi state at auburn » sec Network
college Wrestling
9 p.m. northern iowa at Wisconsin » Big te n Network
golF
10:30 a.m. Pga tour: Puerto rico open, first round » golf channel
2 p.m. Pga tour: Wgc-Mexico championship, first round » golf channel
tennis
5 a.m. Wta: Dubai championships, quarterfinals; atP: rio open, open 13 and
Delray beach open, early rounds » tennis channel
5 p.m. atP: rio open and Delray beach open, early rounds » tennis channel
soccer
5:15 p.m. copa sudamericana, first round, second leg: blooming at emelec »
beiN sports
7:30 p.m. copa sudamericana, first round, second leg: Fenix at el nacional »
beiN sports
8 p.m. concacaf champions league, round of 16 : new York city Fc at san carlos
» Fox sports 2
10 p.m. concacaf champions league, round of 16 : seattle at olimpia » Fox sports 2