Sports briefs
By NewsPress Now
Roglic crashes,
stage won by Girmay
on Tour de France
VILLENEUVE-SUR-LOT, France | Primoz Roglic lost more than two minutes to his rival Tour de France contenders after crashing near the finish where the new king of sprints, Biniam Girmay, completed a hat trick of stage wins on Thursday.
Roglic hit the tarmac with some 12 kilometers left after a rider in front of him hit road furniture and lost control of his bike. Roglic could not avoid the crash and went down with several others.
It was the second accident in 24 hours for Roglic, a four-time Grand Tour champion. He got back on his bike but struggled at the back and was helped to the stage finish by his Bora-Hansgrohe teammates. He crossed 2 minutes, 27 seconds after the winner according to provisional results and dropped to sixth place overall.
Girmay, who became the first Black rider to ever win a Tour stage this month, edged Wout van Aert, who was boxed on the right side of the road, and Arnaud Demare to extend his lead at the top of the rankings for the best sprinter’s green jersey. Demare later was demoted from second to 67th for having pushed Van Aert to the barriers, with Pascal Ackermann promoted to third place.
Two-time Tour champion Tadej Pogacar kept the yellow jersey. He said he was “devastated” when he found out that Roglic, his fellow Slovenian, had crashed.
“It’s really sad to see him crash today. I hope he is fine. Normally he is a big fighter, maybe he bounces back and wins some stages.”
Pogacar has a lead of 1:06 over Remco Evenepoel, with two-time defending champion Jonas Vingegaard in third place, 1:14 off the pace. Roglic dropped behind Joao Almeida and Carlos Rodriguez, lagging 4:42 behind Pogacar.
The crash disturbed preparations for the final sprint, with Matthieu Van der Poel also missing from the main group and unable to lead out teammate Jasper Philipsen.
Girmay had Mike Teunissen with him, and his Intermarche-Wanty teammate did an amazing job to guide him through traffic. Girmay jumped into Teunissen’s wheel and was perfectly set up before he unleashed his raw power in the final 200 meters.
“First of all I would say thanks God giving me a lot of strength and power,” Girmay said. “Without God we cannot do anything so I’m super happy. The last 600 meters I found Mike and then he did a super good job, he took me from 15th to top 3 and from there I just knew I could deliver.”
Stage 12 took riders on a 204-kilometer (126-mile) route from Aurillac to Villeneuve-sur-Lot in southwestern France without major difficulty. There were 167 riders on the start line after Michael Morkov tested positive for coronavirus and the Astana-Qazaqstan team’s medical staff withdrew him from the Tour.
There was an early breakaway but Jonas Abrahamsen, Quentin Pacher and Valentin Madouas were caught after 162 kilometers.
Friday’s Stage 13 is another flat trek in southwestern France from Agen to Pau.
Georgia has two more players arrested for reckless driving
Georgia starting linebacker Smael Mondon was arrested by Athens-Clarke County police on Wednesday night on charges of speeding and reckless driving, according to jail records.
One day earlier, freshman offensive lineman Bo Hughley was arrested by University of Georgia police on similar charges as the team’s difficulty with driving offenses continues more than a year after a player and staffer died in a crash while racing.
Jail records show Hughley posted bond of $26 following his arrest on Tuesday night on misdemeanor charges of reckless driving and failure to maintain a lane.
Mondon, a senior who ranked second on the team with 68 tackles last season, was booked at 11:05 p.m. Wednesday following his arrest on the misdemeanor charges and also posted bond of $26 early Thursday morning. It was not clear if Mondon or Hughley had obtained a lawyer.
On March 24, Athens-Clarke County police arrested running back Trevor Etienne on charges of drunken driving, failure to maintain a lane or improper driving as well as affixing materials that reduce visibility through the windows or windshield.
The DUI charges against Etienne, a transfer from Florida, were dismissed Wednesday during a hearing in Athens-Clarke County Municipal Court when he pleaded no contest to reckless driving, underage possession of alcohol and two other driving offenses.
It is not known if Etienne will be available for Georgia’s season-opening game against Clemson on Aug. 31. According to Georgia’s team policy, athletes convicted of DUI face a suspension of at least one game. Georgia wide receiver Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint served a one-game suspension after pleading guilty to a reckless driving charge in 2023.
Georgia did not release an immediate statement on Thursday regarding the latest arrests. Georgia coach Kirby Smart will address media on Tuesday at the Southeastern Conference media days in Dallas.
Smart acknowledged last year he has struggled to find ways to convince his players to drive safely. In January 2023 — hours after Georgia celebrated its second straight national title — offensive lineman Devin Willock and recruiting staffer Chandler LeCroy were killed in a crash while LeCroy and defensive tackle Jalen Carter were racing.
Bill Belichick joining ‘Inside the NFL’ for upcoming season
LOS ANGELES | Bill Belichick has added a second media job for the upcoming season.
The CW Network announced Thursday that Belichick will be one of the analysts on “Inside the NFL.” Belichick, who coached the New England Patriots to six Super Bowl titles during his 24 years at the helm, will also appear on the Manningcast during “Monday Night Football.”
Belichick joins Ryan Clark, Chad Johnson and Chris Long. Johnson and Long each played one season for Belichick in New England.
“I’m thrilled to join my new team at NFL Films and to work on such a historic television franchise,” Belichick said in a statement. “I’ve always appreciated ‘Inside the NFL’s’ depth of analysis, and I hope to bring the same detailed insight to The CW by talking real football with real pros — Ryan, Chris and Chad — this coming season.”
“Inside the NFL,” which is in its 48th season, is produced by NFL Films. While Belichick was infamous for his short answers and refusing to engage with reporters while he was a coach, the times he has been revealing and forthcoming have often been on shows or pieces produced by NFL Films.
Belichick was nominated for a Sports Emmy for Outstanding Studio Analyst for his work on the 2019 NFL Films series “NFL 100 All-Time Team,” which aired on NFL Network.
St. Louis Blues
sign defenseman Ryan Suter to 1-year deal
ST. LOUIS | The St. Louis Blues have signed veteran defenseman Ryan Suter to a one-year contract.
General manager Doug Armstrong announced the signing on Thursday, saying the 39-year-old who has spent the past three seasons in Dallas will make a base salary of $775,000.
Suter had two goals and 15 assists in 82 regular-season games, and a goal and three assists in 19 postseason games with the Stars. Dallas bought out his contract roughly two weeks ago.
Suter was originally drafted seventh overall by Nashville in 2003 and has had a 19-year NHL career with three teams, with the Minnesota Wild being the other. Suter has 105 goals, 576 assists and 761 penalty minutes in 1,444 regular-season games. He has seven goals and 37 assists in 133 postseason games.
The Wisconsin native ranks first among active defensemen in career games played, sixth in points, 15th in goals, tied for third in assists and ninth in penalty minutes.
Internationally, he has represented the United States in multiple competitions, including earning a gold medal at the 2004 world juniors and a silver medal at the 2010 Olympics.
Sean Burroughs, former MLB player, died of fentanyl intoxication
LOS ANGELES | Sean Burroughs, a two-time Little League World Series champion who won an Olympic gold medal and went on to a major league career that was interrupted by substance abuse, died of fentanyl intoxication, according to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s office.
His death on May 9 near his car at Stearns Champions Park in Long Beach, California, was accidental, according to online records released this week. Burroughs was 43.
The Long Beach Fire Department responded to the park on a report of a person in full cardiac arrest in the parking lot. “We did all of our lifesaving measures, but we weren’t successful,” public information officer Brian Fisk said at the time, adding that the person was pronounced dead at the scene.
Burroughs grew up in Long Beach and coached in the city’s Little League program.
He was a standout as a pitcher in the Little League World Series for the Long Beach team, which became the first U.S. squad to win consecutive titles. They won the 1992 championship after the Philippines, their opponent in the title round, had to forfeit for using overaged players.
Burroughs pitched consecutive no-hitters in the 1993 LLWS — with a then-record 16 strikeouts — and his team won the title over Panama, 3-2.
He won a gold medal with the U.S. baseball team at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
Burroughs was a career .278 hitter, with 12 home runs and 143 RBIs with the San Diego Padres, Tampa Bay, Arizona and Minnesota.
—From AP reports
