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The PGA Tour's merger with rival LIV Golf has reignited a debate over sportswashing and drawn critics ranging from current professional golfers to the families of Sept. 11 victims. Sportswashing has been going on for decades in the Olympics and other sports across the globe. The sportswashing angle with LIV Golf gained steam last year when its first big-name signing, Phil Mickelson, was quoted as calling the Saudis “scary (expletives)” as he discussed what the CIA concluded was the Saudi-backed killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018. Family members of Sept. 11 victims who blame Saudi Arabia for the 2001 terror attacks have also been vocal critics of Mickelson and others who have accepted multiple millions from LIV Golf.

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Aaron Judge’s spectacular catch in Dodger Stadium resulted in a bruised right toe, and the Yankees held their slugger out of the lineup for Tuesday’s game against the Chicago White Sox. The Yankees did not announce results of testing for Judge. He was scheduled to meet with team physician Dr. Chris Ahmad later Tuesday. Judge knocked open the door of the visiting bullpen while making the catch on J.D. Martinez’s liner into the right field corner on Saturday. He missed Sunday's game. Judge has already had one stint on the injured list this season. He leads the AL with 19 homers.

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Once rivals in court, the PGA Tour and LIV Golf are now partners in business. The PGA Tour, Europe tour and Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund says they are merging their commercial business into a single company and will work together. This shocking announcement is filled with questions. What will the PGA Tour look like? Can the defectors to LIV Golf return to their old tours? Who's in charge? And what about Greg Norman? The next big divide in golf could be players who stayed loyal to the tour only to see them join forces with the Saudis.

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Frank Vogel led the Los Angeles Lakers to an NBA title in his first season by finding a way to mesh the skills of LeBron James and Anthony Davis. The veteran coach is now in a similar situation in the desert, where he takes over a Phoenix Suns team led by stars Devin Booker and Kevin Durant. The blueprint is there. Vogel just needs to make the pieces fit. Booker and Durant will be back, giving the Suns one of the best scoring duos in the NBA. Veteran point guard Chris Paul had a productive regular season, but his body gave out in the playoffs for the second straight year.

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Texas ace Jacob deGrom will have season-ending Tommy John surgery. It cuts his first season after the oft-injured right-hander signed a $185 million, five-year contract with the Rangers. General manager Chris Young says the decision came after the latest MRI on deGrom’s ailing right elbow. The two-time NL Cy Young Award winner hadn’t pitched since April 28. He exited early against the the New York Yankees because of injury concerns for the second time in a span of three starts. DeGrom spent his first nine years with the Mets. Injuries limited him to 156 1/3 innings over 26 starts his last two years in New York.

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It's been 50 years since Secretariat and jockey Ron Turcotte crushed the field by 31 lengths to win the Belmont Stakes and become horse racing's Triple Crown champion in 1973. The colt nicknamed “Big Red” and his Canadian-born rider were a formidable duo on the track and shared a special relationship off it. Turcotte says “it was love at first sight and first ride” when they got together. Now 81, Turcotte is the last surviving member of Secretariat's team. He's been a paraplegic since a riding accident at Belmont Park in 1978. He lives in his tiny Canadian hometown, where a bronze statue of him and Secretariat was installed.

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The Atlanta Braves recalled right-hander Roddery Muñoz from Triple-A Gwinnett and outrighted left-hander Lucas Luetge to Gwinnett before their series opener against the New York Mets. The Braves also acquired right-hander Ben Heller from the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for international bonus pool money. The 31-year-old Heller was 2-0 with a 2.59 ERA in 31 games with the New York Yankees from 2016 to 2020. Heller was optioned to Gwinnett. Heller, who hasn’t pitched in the majors since 2020, was designated for assignment by the Rays on June 2. The 23-year-old Muñoz was 1-3 with a 4.94 ERA with Gwinnett this season.

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Aaron Rodgers participated in practice for the first time in front of reporters after a strained calf kept the New York Jets quarterback out of the sessions the past two weeks when reporters were in attendance. The 39-year-old Rodgers was acquired by New York from Green Bay in April. He tweaked his right calf during warmups on May 23 when reporters were first able to watch practice. Rodgers was mostly a spectator last Tuesday when reporters returned but got back on the field last Friday. Rodgers is participating in everything except 11-on-11 team drills and coach Robert Saleh said he has had some “wow” moments.

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It was almost a year ago to the day that Saudi Arabia’s LIV Golf teed off for the first time as the PGA Tour’s newest rival, flush with defectors from golf’s top circuit. Morals were questioned. Lawsuits were filed. Golfers doubled down on their affiliations. A merger, it seemed, wasn’t in the cards. But on Tuesday, professionals from both tours were caught off guard by news that their worlds would collide. When a news outlet broke the embargoed announcement that the PGA Tour, European tour and LIV Golf were merging before PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan could send a memo to the players, some learned about it on social media.

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RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Legalized sports gambling in North Carolina cleared one of its last legislative hurdles Tuesday as the House accepted changes made by the Senate that include adding horse racing to the betting mix and raising the state's cut of wagering revenues.

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Erik Spoelstra has preached about the value of adversity for months, not shying away from saying that it helped the Miami Heat get to these NBA Finals. And now Denver is dealing with a little taste of it as well. Game 3 of the NBA Finals is Wednesday night in Miami, the series between the eighth-seeded Heat and top-seeded Nuggets knotted at a game apiece. It got that way after Miami rallied to win Game 2 in Denver 111-108 on Sunday night, an outcome that prompted Nuggets coach Michael Malone to openly share frustrations primarily over a lack of discipline on a lot of possessions.

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Chicago has had massive roster changes since winning its first championship two years ago. Kahleah Copper is the lone starter remaining from that team as Candace Parker, Courtney Vandersloot, Azura Stevens and Allie Quigley are all gone. Copper has embraced the challenge of her new leadership role and has gotten off to a strong start this year in helping the Sky win four of their first seven games. She is averaging a career-best 17.1 points and 5.9 rebounds.

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With a helmet on, Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin took part in team drills for the first time this spring and some six months since having a near-death experience during a game. Hamlin appeared upbeat by happily waving to the cameras pointed at him during pre-practice stretching drills. Soon after, he served as a punt protector in several special team periods. Hamlin had previously been limited to taking part in individual drills and the stretching portions of practice over the previous two weeks of the team’s voluntary sessions.

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Forte is finally getting a crack at running in a Triple Crown race. The colt who was scratched the day of the Kentucky Derby is the early favorite for the Belmont Stakes. Forte was last year’s 2-year-old champion. He is the slight 5-2 favorite for the grueling 1 1/2-mile race. Trained by Todd Pletcher, Forte will break from the No. 6 post in the nine-horse field on Saturday at Belmont Park. Pletcher’s other horse, Tapit Trice, is the 3-1 second choice and drew the No. 2 post. Preakness winner National Treasure is 5-1.

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French Open tennis player Miyu Kato has forfeited all of her 21,500 euros (about $23,000) in prize money and rankings points from women’s doubles because she accidentally hit a ball girl in the neck with a ball after a point during a match. But she is allowed to keep participating in mixed doubles. Kato’s partner in women’s doubles, Aldila Sutjiadi of Indonesia, did received her money and points for reaching the third round in that competition. French Open tournament referee Remy Azemar made the rulings on penalties. He said that because the ball kid was hit inadvertently, Kato was permitted to continue in mixed doubles with Tim Pütz. They are scheduled to play in the semifinals Thursday.

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The Vegas Golden Knights and Florida Panthers were connected by tragedy five years before meeting in the Stanley Cup Final. Both teams helped their communities recover after the 2017 Las Vegas Strip shooting that left 60 dead and the 2018 massacre of 17 at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland. Both teams have honored the victims, worked with their families and donated to foundations. In each arena, there is a memorial to their community's respective tragedy. Duke University professor Orin Starn says sports teams can help communities heal after tragedy. He points to the New York Yankees' first home game after 9/11 and New Orleans Saints players assisting relief efforts after Hurricane Katrina.

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Two Cleveland Browns defensive players were robbed at gun point by six masked men outside a downtown night club, according to police. Police redacted the names of the players in a field case report. A person familiar with the situation identified the players as cornerback Greg Newsome II and tackle Perrion Winfrey. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter. According to police, one of the players was returning to his truck in a parking lot at 3:30 a.m. when the masked suspects jumped out of a car and robbed him of jewelry before fleeing in his vehicle. The player said he was not injured during the theft.

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Aryna Sabalenka has spoken at a postmatch news conference after beating Ukraine's Elina Svitolina to reach the French Open semifinals for the first time. Sabalenka had skipped her media sessions after her previous two matches in Paris after saying she felt uncomfortable because of questions about her country, Belarus, which aided Russia in its invasion of Ukraine. Sabalenka waited at the net after her 6-4, 6-4 victory Tuesday, even though Svitolina has said she would not shake hands with any opponent from Russia or Belarus. Sabalenka will face Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic in the semifinals.