Month: February 2024

The Brooklyn Nets said in a statement that they have fired head coach Jacque Vaughn, with the franchise set to name an interim replacement in the “near future.” Vaughn, 49, was in his second year as head coach after being promoted from assistant in 2022; the team is 21-33 this season and currently sits 11th in the Eastern Conference, just outside of a Play-In Tournament spot.

Nets General Manager Sean Marks said: “This was an incredibly difficult decision, but one we feel is in the best interest of the team going forward. Jacque has represented this organization with exemplary character and class for the past eight years. The consistent positivity and passion he poured into our team daily will remain with the players and staff he interacted with throughout his tenure. We thank Jacque for all he has done for the Nets and the borough of Brooklyn, and wish him, Laura and their family nothing but the best in the future.”

Vaughn helped lead the Nets to the playoffs last season before being swept by the Philadelphia 76ers, 4-0, in the first round; however, the franchise has struggled in the last couple of months, going 8-18 since Christmas Eve. The 2023-24 Nets rank 21st in points per game (113.4) and 16th in points allowed (115.6). They were 12-9 through their first 21 games, but are 9-24 since. The Nets lost five of their last six games before the All-Star break and sit in 11th place in the Eastern Conference.

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According to MLB.com, closing pitcher Liam Hendriks and the Boston Red Sox have agreed to a two-year, $10 million deal, including incentives that could increase the value to $20 million as well as a third-year mutual option that could keep Hendriks off the free-agent market until 2027.

Hendriks, 35, spent the last three seasons with the Chicago White Sox. Hendriks missed the start of last season after being diagnosed with Stage 4 Non-Hodgkin lymphoma in January 2023 and immediately began cancer treatment. He announced in April that he was cancer free and began the 2023 season on the injured list, making his return to the majors on May 30. He went 2-0 with a 5.40 ERA and one save in five appearances last season before missing the remainder of the year because of an elbow injury. undergoing Tommy John surgery on Aug. 2, and could potentially miss the entire 2024 season.

Hendriks is 33-34 with a 3.82 ERA and 116 saves in 476 career appearances. The right-handed relief pitcher previously played for the Minnesota Twins, Toronto Blue Jays, Kansas City Royals and Oakland Athletics.  In his two seasons with the White Sox before 2023, Hendriks, a three-time All-Star, went 4-4 with 37 saves and a 2.81 ERA over 58 appearances in 2022. He went 8-3 with an American League-high 38 saves and a 2.54 ERA over 69 appearances in 2021.

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NASCAR has postponed the season-opening Daytona 500 until Monday, citing two days of rain at Daytona International Speedway. The race was to begin Sunday afternoon; the last time the Daytona 500 was postponed a full day was in 2012.a

The postponement means tat NASCAR will run two races on Monday. Saturday’s Xfinity Series race was postponed to Monday at 11 a.m. ET, hours ahead of the 4 p.m. start time for the Daytona 500.  Saturday’s fourth-tier ARCA Series race was pushed up to late Friday night after the Truck Series race to ensure that it wasn’t delayed as well.

Rain was expected to taper off Monday morning as skies clear in the afternoon, and the forecast looks good enough for both races to be run to their scheduled distances. If and when both races are run on Monday, it will be the first time in Speedweeks history that two races have been run on a Monday.

Joey Logano is set to start the Daytona 500 from the pole position whenever the race does begin. It’s Logano’s first career Daytona pole. The two-time Cup Series champion won the 2015 Daytona 500.

For information on NASCAR’s weather protection program for ticket holders, head here.

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Former world champion boxer Manny Pacquiao has been denied an exemption to compete at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris France. Pacquiao, who retired in 2021, was attempting to compete at 45 years old at the upcoming games.

The International Olympic Committee sent a letter to the Philippines denying an exemption to the rule that caps the age limit for boxers at 40, which was raised from 34 years old in 2013. The Philippines had also reportedly attempted to be granted a “universality” entry, an entry given directly to the Olympics for countries with too few athletes in the Olympic games, for Pacquiao to compete. The IOC said in a statement: “Universality places are not allocated to [teams] with an average of more than eight athletes in individual sports/disciplines at the last two editions of the Olympic Games. This is the case for the Philippine Olympic Committee.”

Pacquiao made his professional debut in January 1995, when he was 16. He won his first world championship in December 1998, earning the WBC flyweight title by knocking-out Chatchai Sasakul.  would go on to become the world champion in eight weight classes, including titles at junior featherweight, featherweight, junior lightweight, lightweight, junior welterweight, welterweight and junior middleweight.

In May 2015, Pacquiao lost a decision to Floyd Mayweather Jr.. and after suffering a loss to Yordenis Ugas in August 2021, he retired from the sport.  Pacquiao served in the House of Representatives of the Philippines from 2010 to 2016, and due to his position he declined an invitation to compete at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

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