Duncan will play another season

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Tim Duncan is returning to San Antonio for a 19th season with the Spurs.

Duncan tells the San Antonio Express-News that “I’ll be on the court next year.” Until Duncan made his announcement Thursday, there was speculation that he could call it a career after the Spurs lost to the Los Angeles Clippers in a thrilling seven-game series in the first round of the playoffs.

Many expected him to return, particularly since he was coming off such a strong season. Duncan averaged 13.9 points, 3.0 assists and 2.0 blocks and earned third team All-NBA and second team All-Defense honors.

Duncan turned 39 in April and accompanied the Spurs on a recruiting trip for star free agent LaMarcus Aldridge on Wednesday.

 

Mozgov’s surgery proves successful

CLEVELAND (AP) — Cleveland Cavaliers center Timofey Mozgov has undergone successful right knee arthroscopic surgery and the team says he’ll be out about six weeks.

The Cavaliers say Mozgov had the procedure Wednesday at the Cleveland Clinic Marymount Surgicenter.

On Tuesday, the team picked up the $5 million option on his contract for next season.

The 7-foot-1 center was acquired in a January trade from Denver in exchange for two first-round draft picks.

Mozgov transformed the Cavs on defense, giving them a rim-protecting big man after Anderson Varejao was lost for the season.

Mozgov, who will turn 29 in mid-July, averaged a career-high 10.6 points and 6.9 rebounds in 45 regular-season starts. He became a needed offensive option during the postseason, averaging 10.6 points and 7.3 rebounds in 20 postseason starts.

 

NAU player shoots himself, dies

DENALI NATIONAL PARK AND PRESERVE, Alaska (AP) — Northern Arizona football player Michael DeGroote died after apparently shooting himself with a gun while vacationing with his family in Alaska.

The 22-year-old DeGroote died Tuesday at a campground at Denali National Park and Preserve. Park spokeswoman Kathleen Kelly says an investigation is under way to try to determine if the shooting was accidental or deliberate, but adds the answer may never be known.

Kelly says the family is adamant that the shooting was accidental. Park officials say DeGroote was visiting the park with his father, but the father was not present when the shooting occurred.

A family spokesman earlier confirmed to the university that DeGroote died Tuesday in Alaska, though no other details were given.

 

Nadal upset by No. 102 at Wimbledon

LONDON (AP) — Two-time champion Rafael Nadal is making another early exit from Wimbledon, after losing in the second round to a 102nd-ranked qualifier who played the match of his life.

Dustin Brown, a German of Jamaican heritage with a clever touch, go-for-broke attitude and throwback serve-and-volley game, beat Nadal 7-5, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 on Centre Court on Thursday in by far the biggest surprise of the tournament so far.

Brown, a 30-year-old journeyman who had never beaten a seeded player at a Grand Slam, kept Nadal off balance all match with a mix of drop-volleys, big serves, reflex shots and quick-fire backhand serve returns.

It’s the first time Nadal has lost to a qualifier at a Grand Slam, and the fourth year in a row he has lost in the early rounds at Wimbledon to a player ranked 100th or lower.

 

OSU band to play for NFL in London

COLUMBUS (AP) — Ohio State University’s marching band is ramping up to appear this fall at the NFL International Series in London. It is the group’s first-ever trip abroad.

Interim Director Christopher Hoch (hohk) says the band is scheduled to perform a pregame show Sunday, Oct. 25, at the overseas match-up between the Buffalo Bills and the Jacksonville Jaguars in Wembley Stadium. It’s the second of three games in the series.

Hoch says the NFL has requested a London-themed show from the band, known for its revolutionary design techniques using iPads.

The special honor follows a year of unrest inside what fans call The Best Damn Band in the Land. The university identified a “sexualized culture” inside the band last summer and fired then-director Jonathan Waters. He disputes the findings and has sued.