Sports briefs

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Officer who arrested Scottie Scheffler criticizes attorney

LOUISVILLE, Ky. | The Louisville police officer who arrested Scottie Scheffler said he has “no ill will” toward the pro golfer for injuries he said he suffered while directing traffic after a fatal accident during the PGA Championship.

A Louisville prosecutor dropped charges against Scheffler on Wednesday. Jefferson County Attorney Mike O’Connell said Scheffler’s explanation that he had a misunderstanding May 17 with an officer directing traffic outside Valhalla Golf Club was “corroborated by the evidence.”

The officer, Detective Bryan Gillis, said he wishes Scheffler and his family “all the best” but took issue with comments by Scheffler’s attorney after the Wednesday court hearing. Gillis released the one-page statement to WAVE-TV in Louisville Wednesday night.

Scheffler attorney Steve Romines said his client had been “falsely arrested” and has grounds for a civil suit but does not wish to pursue any litigation. Romines said Wednesday that multiple on-scene witnesses can confirm Gillis was not dragged by the car.

Gillis wrote that Romines’ claim of a false arrest was “unfortunate and disturbing” and a challenge to his “honesty and integrity.”

“To be clear, I was drug by the car, I went to the ground and I received visible injuries to my knees and wrist,” Gillis wrote. “I’m going to recover from it, and it will be ok.”

Gillis also joked about his torn pants that he mentioned in the initial police report, saying, “I never guessed I’d have the most famous pair of pants in the country because of this.”

More details of the arrest surfaced in a video online that appears to show Scheffler being interviewed by another officer who is recording on his body camera. Louisville police released two video recordings at the scene of the arrest last week, but neither had audio.

O’Connell said Wednesday that the body camera video wasn’t released because his office was still investigating the case. A mayor’s spokeswoman has also confirmed its validity to media.

On the new video, Scheffler acknowledged to the officer that he “should’ve stopped. I did get a little impatient because I’m quite late for my tee time.” The golfer was preparing to play early in the second round of the four-day tournament but had a 30-minute delay getting to the course.

Romines said the video shows Scheffler being interrogated “after the most stressful situation of his life.”

Gillis was disciplined for not activating his body camera during the arrest. He wrote in a police report that Scheffler “refused to comply and accelerated forward, dragging” him to the ground.

Scheffler said on the recording that his window was down and he heard a person yelling for him to stop, though he didn’t know it was a police officer.

“As he was reaching the car, he grabbed my shoulder and hit me,” Scheffler said. “It seemed to be a little over-aggressive because the entrance was open.” He said he pulled away a little “because I thought he was going to start hitting me.”

Louisville police said some videos and documents related to the case will be released at a later date.

Dolphins agree to

three-year deal with

WR Jaylen Waddle

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. | Wide receiver Jaylen Waddle has agreed to a three-year, $84.75 million contract extension with the Miami Dolphins, a person familiar with the deal told The Associated Press.

The deal includes $76 million guaranteed and keeps Waddle under contract through the 2028 season. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the contract details have not been announced.

Waddle will now become one of the highest-paid receivers in the NFL after three productive seasons to start his pro career.

ESPN first reported the deal.

Waddle, drafted sixth overall out of Alabama in 2021, had his third straight 1,000-yard receiving season in 2023. He set a rookie record with 104 catches in 2021, along with 1,015 yards and six touchdowns. He followed that with a career-best 1,356 yards in 2022, averaging a league-high 18.1 yards per catch.

Even as Miami’s No. 2 receiver the past two years behind Tyreek Hill — last season’s NFL receiving yards leader — Waddle’s 3,385 career receiving yards rank 13th in the NFL since 2021.

Locking in Waddle long term had been a priority for the Dolphins all offseason. General manager Chris Grier has repeated that the team wants to keep Waddle in Miami and said in April that the Dolphins intended to pick up the fifth-year option on his rookie deal.

Waddle’s extension comes as Tua Tagovailoa waits on a new deal that could push the salary of Miami’s starting quarterback to somewhere around $50 million annually. Tagovailoa is entering the final year of his rookie deal and will play under a $23.1 million fifth-year option if the two sides can not reach an agreement on an extension.

Both Tagovailoa and Waddle were part of a Dolphins team that led the NFL in total offense (401.3 yards per game) and passing offense (265.5) and finished second in yards per play (6.5) and red zone offense.

Jorge López cut by Mets, a day after the reliever threw his glove into the stands

NEW YORK | Jorge López was cut by the struggling New York Mets on Thursday, a day after the reliever threw his glove into the stands following his ejection at Citi Field.

New York also recalled left-handed pitcher Danny Young from Triple-A Syracuse before a series opener against NL champion Arizona. The Mets have seven days to trade or release López, or to assign him outright to the minors if he goes unclaimed.

Mets manager Carlos Mendoza had called the outburst “not acceptable” and said it would be handled internally. López expressed no remorse.

“I don’t regret it. I think I’ve been looking (like) the worst teammate probably in the whole … MLB,” López said, using a profanity.

López gave up a two-run homer to Shohei Ohtani late in a 10-3 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Moments later, the right-hander was ejected for shouting at third base umpire Ramon De Jesus over an appeal ruling on Freddie Freeman’s checked swing.

“It’s just emotions. The game, it just takes you there,” López said.

López pointed at De Jesus and yelled some more, then dropped the ball and walked off the mound with his jersey untucked. As he approached the Mets’ dugout, he tossed his glove high over the protective netting and it landed a couple of rows deep in the stands, where it was snagged by a fan.

After his cap fell off his head as well, López left it laying in the dirt in front of the dugout and headed for the bench.

“I’m the way I am,” he said. “I’m not afraid to be me.”

In his first season with the Mets, the 31-year-old López is 1-2 with a 3.76 ERA and two saves in 28 appearances — among the most in the majors. He signed a $2 million, one-year contract with New York in December.

López pitched for three playoff teams last season, going 6-2 with a 5.95 ERA and three saves in 61 relief appearances for Minnesota, Miami and Baltimore.

He moved exclusively to the bullpen in 2022 and was a dominant closer for the Orioles during four breakout months that earned him an All-Star selection. Baltimore traded him to the Twins in early August that year and he finished 4-7 with a 2.54 ERA and 23 saves in 67 games.

Women’s 3-on-3 league to debut in January

NEW YORK | Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier’s 3-on-3 league Unrivaled is set to debut in January with players earning the highest average salary in women’s professional sports league history.

Collier and Stewart said that all salaries will be six figures and that players will also have an equity stake in the league.

“It’s really important to us,” Collier told The Associated Press. “Compensation is a huge part of Unrivaled as a league and a business. All the players in this first year will have equity in the league. For players to have a piece of the pie essentially to grow their generational wealth is something we’re really excited about.”

Stewart said that compensation was key for players, many of whom have spent their offseason overseas supplementing their WNBA incomes. The average WNBA base salary is about $130,000 with the top stars able to earn more than $500,000 through salary, marketing agreements, an in-season tournament and bonuses.

“It’s amazing, not only for the salaries to be similar or more than your WNBA salary, but to be able to build brand partnerships that can’t come into the W or the NBA,” Stewart said. “It’s more than just an initial salary, but showing these companies who you are as a player.”

The league, which was first announced last summer, will run for eight weeks with the 30 players divided into six teams. The squads will play two games a week with the contests taking place on a court about two-thirds the size of a WNBA one. The teams will stay the same throughout the season.

Games will be four quarters long with less time in each quarter than a WNBA contest. Unrivaled President Alex Bazzell said that the rules will be released at a later date.

“This was built as a product,” he said. “It’s meant to solve some of the things that I think just from an average fan’s perspective watching women’s basketball that is missing. It’s space, it’s pace. Some of the things that make the college game and NBA great to watch. At the same time it’s not an All-Star game with trading baskets and everyone having fun. It’s meant to bring out the best of the best to compete.”

The rosters will also be announced at a later date, but Stewart and Collier both said that a few WNBA All-Stars have already signed on.

Players will be housed about 15 minutes from the facility, which is a soundstage in Miami that’s being built up.

“Stewie and I both have families and understand the importance of childcare,” Collier said. “Make sure the parents in the league are taken care of.”

Collier also said there will be weight rooms and recovery rooms so that players can take care of themselves.

The league added a strong group of investors to fund the launch. Theye include Carmelo Anthony, Alex Morgan, Megan Rapinoe, Michelle Wie West, Ashton Kutcher, Steve Nash and Geno Auriemma.

“It’s not just about the dollars, but the relationships they have. We’ve been very selected with the people we brought in,” Bazzell said. “Investing in women’s sports there’s a ROI for it now. We wanted to have a group of people we could call up and say ‘Hey can you help in this area?’”

Former ESPN President John Skipper and former Turner President David Levy are both investors and will be spearheading the league media rights deal. Levy, who is the co-founder and co-CEO of Horizon Sports & Experiences will work on Unrivaled’s sponsorship sales efforts.

“I’ve never seen a win, win, win like this on all aspects that there are no losers,” Levy said. “The fans win, the media companies win, the leagues win, the ladies win. It seems unusual to get all that lined up at a moment in time. It’s like a penny stock that can go to a $10 in, you know, a year from now, two years from now.”

Levy said a few factors are driving this inflection point for women’s basketball that include attendance, viewership, sports betting, engagement and branding.

“I don’t think this is a one-off,” he said. “Women’s basketball and probably women’s soccer are taking off in a very big way.”

Stewart said that the league has come a long way since the initial dinner two years ago when the idea of the league was first hatched.

“There’s nothing not to like about it, the only thing people are scared of is that it’s in its first year,” Stewart said.

Roger Penske says scandal overblown by critics because there’s ‘blood in the water’

DETROIT | Roger Penske is well aware his integrity has been questioned because of a cheating scandal that cost Josef Newgarden his season-opening IndyCar victory.

“It always bothers you when people take shots at you,” Penske said in an interview with The Associated Press on Thursday. “But you know something, we have a strong foundation. People know who we are and how we operate. I guess we’ll have to move on.

“But sometimes when there’s blood in the water, people like to go after you and I think that’s what happened. I’m fine. I mean, we moved on.”

Newgarden moved past Pato O’Ward in the third turn of the final lap to win his second consecutive Indianapolis 500, giving Team Penske its record 20th victory in the race amid a scandal that has rocked IndyCar.

“The controversy, as far as I’m concerned, was way overblown,” Penske told the AP.

The series shifts to the Motor City this week, racing in the Detroit Grand Prix on Sunday.

Nearly six weeks after Newgarden’s victory in Florida, IndyCar discovered Penske’s three cars had an illegal version of the push-to-pass software installed that allowed their drivers to use the horsepower boost when no one else in the field had access to the advantage.

“Newgarden never should have had to worry about it because our team missed it, but it was not malicious,” Penske said. “By the way, it was available for everybody to look at it at all the races. So at the end of the day, we took our medicine and we’re moving on.”

Penske suspended four crew members, including team president Tim Cindric, the star strategist in IndyCar who calls Newgarden’s races, for the Indy 500.

“They weren’t there and we were able to show you how deep our bench was because we won the race,” Penske said, adding the previously suspended crew members are back with the team in Detroit.

Zak Brown, head of Arrow McLaren Racing, said the Penske punishments were too light.

Brown called Cindric’s presence at Penske’s sports car win at Laguna Seca earlier this month while under suspension “a bad look.”

Newgarden, following a luncheon to promote the Detroit Grand Prix, said he did not want to hypothesize to suggest the motivation behind the shots Penske has taken.

After Newgarden’s latest Indy 500 win, though, he did say he was grateful for everything during this turbulent season.

“It’s an experience that it’s got to either break you or tough you up, and for me, that’s all I’ll say about it,” he said. “We’ve been moving forward. We’ve never worked together more as a group, and I thought that was difficult to do.

“This is the most tight-knit team I’ve ever seen.”

—From AP reports