Thursday Sports in Brief

June 24, 2022 GMT

NBA

NEW YORK (AP) — The Orlando Magic selected Duke freshman Paolo Banchero on Thursday night with the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft.

After leading the Blue Devils to the Final Four in coach Mike Krzyzewski’s final season, the 6-foot-10 forward was called first by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver to begin the draft, beating out fellow first-year forwards Jabari Smith Jr. and Chet Holmgren.

The Magic were picking first for the fourth time and they’ve done well with their previous choices. They took Shaquille O’Neal in 1992, traded the rights to Chris Webber for Penny Hardaway the next year, and went with Dwight Howard in 2004.

Holmgren went second to the Oklahoma City Thunder after the 7-footer led the West Coast Conference in blocked shots, rebounding and shooting percentage at Gonzaga. The Houston Rockets took Smith at third. Forward Keegan Murray jumped all the way to the No. 4 pick by the Sacramento Kings. The Detroit Pistons took athletic Purdue guard Jaden Ivey fifth.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The latest Manning quarterback, and the nation’s top recruit for next year’s class, has verbally committed to a future SEC school: Arch Manning tweeted Thursday that he plans to play at Texas.

The quarterback’s message included a photo of him dropping back for a pass while wearing a Longhorns shirt.

Manning is going into his senior season at Isidore Newman, a prep school in New Orleans where his Super Bowl MVP uncles Peyton and Eli also played. Arch Manning’s father, Cooper, is the older brother of Peyton and Eli.

Peyton Manning played his college ball at Tennessee. Eli Manning followed their father and Arch’s grandfather, Archie, in playing at Ole Miss.

OLYMPICS

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) — Recent meetings with the IOC have led U.S. officials to believe all signs point toward Salt Lake City bidding for the 2034 Winter Olympics, though they say Utah’s capital will be ready if asked to host the 2030 Games, too.

U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee chair Susanne Lyons said she views Salt Lake City as the leading candidate for the 2034 Olympics. She added the complexities of hosting 2030 only two years after the Summer Games in Los Angeles make that a less-likely scenario.

The LA organizing committee takes over marketing duties for the entire U.S. Olympic movement in the lead-up to hosting the Games, so reworking some of the arrangements to account for back-to-back Olympics in the same country would be tricky.

SWIMMING

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — American swimmers Lilly King, Ryan Murphy and the men’s 4x200 freestyle team claimed three more gold medals for the United States at the world swimming championships on Thursday.

King atoned for missing out on the podium in the 100 breaststroke by winning the 200 breaststroke final for the first time. The 25-year-old finished strongly to clock 2:22.41 and beat Australia’s Jenna Strauch by 0.63. Kate Douglass claimed the bronze for the U.S. King previously won golds in the 50 and 100 breaststroke at the 2017 and 2019 worlds.

Murphy got the Americans’ second gold of the evening in the men’s 200 backstroke, clocking 1:54.52 to beat Britain’s Luke Greenbank by 0.64 seconds and U.S. teammate Shaine Casas by 0.83.

In the 4x200 freestyle relay, Americans Drew Kibler, Carson Foster, Trenton Julian and Kieran Smith clocked in at 7:00.24, finishing more than three seconds ahead of the Australian and British teams.

HORSE RACING

The New York Racing Association suspended trainer Bob Baffert for one year Thursday for repeated medication violations,

A panel credited Baffert for time served from an initial suspension that makes the two-time Triple Crown-winner eligible to saddle horses in New York again Jan. 26. The final decision marks the end of a protracted back and forth about Baffert’s status in the state that began in May 2021.

The ban is shorter than the two years Churchill Downs sidelined Baffert after Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit tested positive for a substance that is not allowed on race day. Retired New York State Supreme Court Justice O. Peter Sherwood, who was serving as the NYRA hearing officer, previously recommended a two-year suspension.

COURTS

BUENOS AIRES (AP) — An Argentinian judge ruled on Wednesday that eight medical personnel involved in the care of soccer star Diego Maradona will face a public trial for criminal negligence.

Brain surgeon Leopoldo Luque and psychiatrist Agustina Cosachov are among those who will stand trial for homicide, the judge ruled. The trial is not expected to begin until the end of 2023 or early 2024.

The defendants are accused of failing to take proper care of Maradona when he was recovering from surgery, which led to his death.

Maradona died at the age of 60 on Nov. 25, 2020 due to a cardio-respiratory arrest while he was recovering at a house outside Buenos Aires from surgery for a blood clot on his brain.

A few days after his death, Argentine prosecutors began an investigation into the doctors and nurses involved in his care. In 2021, a medical board appointed to examine Maradona’s death found Maradona’s medical team acted in an “inappropriate, deficient and reckless manner.”

OBITUARY

Hugh McElhenny, the elusive Hall of Fame halfback who starred in the San Francisco 49ers’ “Million Dollar Backfield” in the mid-1950s, has died. He was 93.

The Pro Football Hall of Fame said Thursday that McEhlenny died of natural causes June 17 at his home in Nevada, and that son-in-law Chris Permann confirmed the death.

Elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1970, McElhenny’s thrilling runs and all-around skills as a runner, receiver and kick returner made him one of the NFL’s top players of the 1950s. With the 49ers from 1954-56, McElhenny was part of the “Million Dollar Backfield” with quarterback Y. A. Tittle, halfback John Henry Johnson and fullback Joe Perry — also all Hall of Famers.

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