One month before filing a lawsuit against the Toronto Raptors, New York Knicks owner James Dolan resigned from his committee positions on the NBA’s board of governors, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
“Given all that has occurred lately, I have come to the conclusion that the NBA neither needs nor wants my opinion,” Dolan wrote in a July letter to commissioner Adam Silver and the league’s other 29 owners, according to Wojnarowski.
“My hope is that the Knicks will be treated equally and fairly as all other NBA teams,” Dolan’s memo read.
He continued: “As you know, I am very busy with all my duties at MSG family of companies. I need to apply my time where I can be most productive.”
Dolan also resigned from the league’s advisory/finance and media committees, Wojnarowski added. He no longer takes part in board of governor meetings and noted that Knicks general counsel Jamaal Lesane now represents the team at meetings. Dolan does, however, continue to hold voting power in league-wide matters on behalf of the organization.
The decision by the long-serving chairman of the Knicks came before a lawsuit was filed against the Raptors in August. Additional documents filed on Monday show that the Knicks seek more than $10 million in damages for the alleged theft of confidential files.
Filed at the U.S. District Court in Manhattan, the August lawsuit claims that former Knicks employee Ikechukwu Azotam sent the Raptors thousands of confidential files that include video scouting, play frequency reports, and other proprietary information.
The lawsuit also claims that Azotam, the Knicks’ former assistant video coordinator, violated confidentiality stipulations of his employment agreement and that the Raptors “directed Azotam’s actions and/or knowingly benefited from Azotam’s wrongful acts,” according to ESPN’s Baxter Holmes.
In an Oct. 16 filing, the Raptors sought to dismiss the suit and have Silver arbitrate the dispute. The Knicks argued Monday that Silver’s involvement would be a conflict of interest due to the commissioner’s close relationship with Raptors governor Larry Tanenbaum.
“Tanenbaum serves as Silver’s boss and exercises control over and heavily influences Silver’s continued employment and salary,” the suit read, according to Wojnarowski.
“Silver himself described Tanenbaum as ‘not just my boss as the chairman of the board of governors, but he’s very much a role model in my life,'” the Knicks’ lawsuit added. “If Silver were to preside over the instant dispute, he would be arbitrating a case for his boss and ally.”
Dolan’s decision is the latest in a series of criticisms of Silver and the NBA. His was the sole vote against Michael Jordan’s sale of the Charlotte Hornets and the WNBA awarding a group led by Rick Schnall and Gabe Plotkin an expansion franchise in San Francisco, according to Wojnarowski. He’s also expressed issues with the league’s revenue-sharing model, which requires large-market franchises like the Knicks to share revenues with smaller-market organizations.
CLEVELAND (AP) — Restricted free agent forward Isaac Okoro has agreed to re-sign with the Cleveland Cavaliers on a three-year contract, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press on Saturday.
Okoro’s new deal is worth $38 million, according to the person who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the contract has not been signed or announced by the team.
ESPN.com first reported the agreement, citing Okoro’s representation.
The fifth overall pick in the 2020 NBA draft, Okoro is Cleveland’s best perimeter defender, often drawing the assignment of guarding the opponent’s top scorer. Okoro also has worked to improve his offensive game.
The 23-year-old averaged 9.4 points and 3.0 rebounds in 69 games — 42 starts — last season for the Cavs, who beat Orlando in the opening round of the playoffs before losing to eventual champion Boston.
Okoro shot a career-best 39% on 3-pointers, forcing teams to come out and guard him.
His agreement caps an extraordinarily busy summer for the Cavs that began with coach J.B. Bickerstaff being fired and replaced by Kenny Atkinson. All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell signed a three-year, $150 million extension in July, ending months of speculation that he wanted out of Cleveland.
Also, power forward Evan Mobley signed a five-year, $224 deal and center Jarrett Allen signed a three-year, $91 million extension.
GUADALAJARA, Mexico – Canada’s Marina Stakusic fell 6-4, 6-3 to Poland’s Magdalena Frech in the quarterfinals of the Guadalajara Open tennis tournament on Friday.
The 19-year-old from Mississauga, Ont., won 61 per cent of her first-serve points and broke on just one of her six opportunities.
Stakusic had upset top-seeded Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (0) on Thursday night to advance.
In the opening round, Stakusic defeated Slovakia’s Anna Karolína Schmiedlová 6-2, 6-4 on Tuesday.
The fifth-seeded Frech won 62 per cent of her first-serve points and converted on three of her nine break point opportunities.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
TORONTO – Alejandro Kirk’s long single with the bases loaded provided the Toronto Blue Jays with a walk-off 4-3 win in the 11th inning of their series opener against the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday.
With the Cardinals outfield in, Kirk drove a shot off the base of the left-field wall to give the Blue Jays (70-78) their fourth win in 11 outings and halt the Cardinals’ (74-73) two-game win streak before 30,380 at Rogers Centre.
Kirk enjoyed a two-hit, two-RBI outing.
Erik Swanson (2-2) pitched a perfect 11th inning for the win, while Cardinals reliever Ryan Fernandez (1-5) took the loss.
Blue Jays starter Kevin Gausman enjoyed a seven-inning, 104-pitch outing. He surrendered his two runs on nine hits and two walks and fanned only two Cardinals.
He gave way to reliever Genesis Cabrera, who gave up a one-out homer to Thomas Saggese, his first in 2024, that tied the game in the eighth.
The Cardinals started swiftly with four straight singles to open the game. But they exited the first inning with only two runs on an RBI single to centre from Nolan Arendao and a fielder’s choice from Saggese.
Gausman required 28 pitches to escape the first inning but settled down to allow his teammates to snatch the lead in the fourth.
He also deftly pitched out of threats from the visitors in the fifth, sixth and seventh thanks to some solid defence, including Will Wagner’s diving stop, which led to a double play to end the fifth inning.
George Springer led off with a walk and stole second base. He advanced to third on Nathan Lukes’s single and scored when Vladimir Guerrero Jr. knocked in his 95th run with a double off the left-field wall.
Lukes scored on a sacrifice fly to left field from Spencer Horwitz. Guerrero touched home on Kirk’s two-out single to right.
In the ninth, Guerrero made a critical diving catch on an Arenado grounder to throw out the Cardinals’ infielder, with reliever Tommy Nance covering first. The defensive gem ended the inning with a runner on second base.
St. Louis starter Erick Fedde faced the minimum night batters in the first three innings thanks to a pair of double plays. He lasted five innings, giving up three runs on six hits and a walk with three strikeouts.
ON DECK
Toronto ace Jose Berrios (15-9) will start the second of the three-game series on Saturday. He has a six-game win streak.
The Cardinals will counter with righty Kyle Gibson (8-6).
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
