AP Sports SummaryBrief at 7:36 p.m. EDT

Tampa Bay Rays Wander Franco found guilty in sex abuse case, receives 2-year suspended sentence PUERTO PLATA, Dominican Republic (AP) Wander Franco, the suspended Tampa Bay Rays shortstop, has been found guilty in a sexual abuse case involving a minor.

On Thursday, a Dominican Republic court sentenced him to a two-year suspended sentence.

Franco was accused of having a relationship with a 14-year-old girl and transferring money to her mother for consent.

Prosecutors sought a five-year prison term for Franco and a 10-year sentence for the girls mother, who will serve her full term.

Major League Baseball acknowledged the verdict and stated it would conclude its investigation later.

Francos career remains on hold amid ongoing legal issues.

NFL suspends Justin Tucker for first 10 weeks of the season for violating personal conduct policy NEW YORK (AP) The NFL has suspended former Baltimore Ravens kicker Justin Tucker for the first 10 weeks next season for violating the leagues personal conduct policy.

The league announced the punishment Thursday.

It takes effect on Aug.

26, which is roster cutdown day, and Tucker is eligible for reinstatement on Nov.

11.

He is a free agent after the Ravens released him last month in the aftermath of reports that he was accused of inappropriate sexual behavior by massage therapists.

A five-time All-Pro, the 35-year-old Tucker has played his entire 13-year career with Baltimore.

Hes considered one of the best kickers in NFL history, although 2024 was his worst season.

NHL and NHLPA close to agreeing on 4-year CBA extension including an 84-game season, AP sources say Two people familiar with negotiations tell The Associated Press the NHL and NHL Players' Association are close to an agreement on a four-year extension of the collective bargaining agreement.

They confirmed that going to an 84-game season from 82 is among the changes coming.

The league and union have been in talks since April and are on the verge of a deal more than a year before the current CBA expires.

Other changes include shortening the maximum length of contracts and adding a playoff salary cap.

Barry Bonds will be getting a statue outside the Giants' ballpark, team CEO says SAN FRANCISCO (AP) Barry Bonds will be getting a statue outside the San Francisco Giants home stadium where he set baseballs career home run record.

Giants President and Chief Executive Officer Larry Baer said Thursday during a radio interview in San Francisco that Bonds is certainly deserving of a statue and that one is on the radar.

Baer didnt have any details of when that would happen.

Bonds played for San Francisco the last 15 of his 22 big league seasons, hitting 586 of his 762 career homers while with the Giants from 1993-2007.

He set the single-season MLB record with 73 homers in 2001, and hit his record-breaking 756th homer to pass Hank Aaron in a home game on Aug.

7, 2007.

Kevin Roy and Aldrich Potgieter shoot Rocket Classic-record 62s to share 1st-round lead DETROIT (AP) Kevin Roy and Aldrich Potgieter each shot 10-under 62 on Thursday to break the Rocket Classic record and share the first-round lead.

Detroit Golf Club has been one of the easiest courses since the PGA Tour made it an annual stop in 2019.

A pair of Korn Ferry graduates took full advantage.

Potgieter, the 20-year-old South African who grew up in Australia, started at No.

10 and set a tournament record with a 7-under 29 on the back nine.

He added three birdies on his back nine and caught the left edge on a 12-foot putt on his final hole.

Potgieter and Roy each had an eagle and eight birdies in bogey-free rounds.

Min Woo Lee, Max Greyserman and Mark Hubbard were a stroke back.

Fleming, Raynaud, Penda headline the list of best available players entering Round 2 of NBA draft The freshman-heavy first round of the NBA draft squeezed out some veteran college big men.

That means players like St.

Joseph's junior Rasheer Fleming and Stanford senior Maxime Raynaud are among the notable names waiting to hear their name called entering the second round Thursday night.

The list includes fifth-year big men in Creighton's Ryan Kalkbrenner and Auburn's Johni Broome.

The list of best-available talents includes French forward Noah Penda and Marquette guard Kam Jones.

Minnesota is on the clock for the first pick of the second round.

Judge, Ohtani elected to start in All-Star Game as top vote-getters NEW YORK (AP) The Los Angeles Dodgers Shohei Ohtani and the New York Yankees Aaron Judge have been the first players picked for the July 15 All-Star Game at Atlantas Truist Park, elected as starters by fans.

Judge led the major leagues with 4,012,983 votes in the first round of fan balloting and the outfielder was picked for his seventh American League start in eight All-Star Games, though he missed the 2023 game because of a sprained right big toe.

He also was the leading vote-getter during the first phase in 2022 and last year.

Ohtani topped the NL and was second in the big leagues with 3,967,668 votes, becoming the first designated hitter to start in five straight All-Star Games.

NCAA considering proposal to allow college athletes, staff to bet on professional sports INDIANAPOLIS (AP) The NCAA is considering a proposal to allow athletes and staff to bet on professional sports while maintaining strict bans on college sports betting.

The Division I Council introduced the idea, which requires approval from Divisions II and III.

The NCAA says this shift reflects the rise of legalized gambling and aims to focus enforcement on college sports integrity.

Current rules already ban betting on NCAA sports, with severe penalties for violations.

Officials argue this approach could better address gambling issues among athletes.

Funding of Olympic sports a bargaining chip as NCAA seeks antitrust help, AP sources say College sports leaders seeking antitrust and other protections from Congress have a potential bargaining chip: School assurances that they will provide funding for their increasingly imperiled Olympic programs, by far the biggest pipeline of talent for Team USA.

Four people familiar with the talks tell The Associated Press that the discussions are ongoing.

The idea is to find common ground that could help legislation win enough Democratic support make it through a narrowly divided Congress.

Dodgers left-hander Kershaw strikes out 5, moves closer to 3,000 career strikeouts DENVER (AP) Los Angeles Dodgers left-hander Clayton Kershaw inched closer to 3,000 career strikeouts on Thursday, fanning five in six innings against the Colorado Rockies.

Kershaw has 2,997 strikeouts in his 18-year career, three short of becoming the 20th major leaguer to reach the milestone.

The 37-year-old would be the third active pitcher to reach the mark behind Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer.

Verlander, in his 20th season, has 3,468 strikeouts.

Scherzer has 3,412 in 18 seasons..

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