Month: December 2019

The Blackhawks didn’t detail what they are examining, but former NHL forward Sean Avery recently told the New York Post that Crawford kicked him during the 2006–07 season.

CHICAGO — Blackhawks assistant Marc Crawford will be away from the team while it reviews his conduct with another organization.

The Blackhawks didn’t provide any details Monday about what they are examining, but former NHL forward Sean Avery recently told the New York Post that Crawford kicked him after he was whistled for a too-many-men-on-the-ice penalty when he played for Crawford with the Los Angeles Kings during the 2006-07 season.

The team said it will have no further comment until the review is completed.

The issue with Crawford comes after Calgary Flames coach Bill Peters resigned Friday following accusations he directed racist slurs at a Nigerian-born player with one of Chicago’s minor league teams a decade ago. Others claimed Peters kicked and punched players behind the bench during his recent time with Carolina.

Akim Aliu said Peters ”dropped the N bomb several times towards me in the dressing room in my rookie year because he didn’t like my choice of music.” It happened during the 2009-10 season while the two were with the Blackhawks’ top minor league affiliate in Rockford.

The 58-year-old Crawford joined coach Jeremy Colliton’s staff in June. He was the interim head coach for Ottawa at the end of last season. He also has served as the head coach for Colorado, Vancouver, Los Angeles and Dallas, leading the Avalanche to the Stanley Cup title in 1996.

Speaking on a Barstool Sports podcast a year ago, former NHL defenseman Brent Sopel said Crawford ”kicked me, he choked me, he grabbed the back of my jersey and just pulling it back.” Sopel played for Crawford in Vancouver.

Montreal Canadiens great Guy Lafleur had additional surgery, just two months removed from quadruple bypass heart surgery in late September.

MONTREAL — Montreal Canadiens great Guy Lafleur had additional surgery, just two months removed from quadruple bypass heart surgery in late September.

The team disclosed the Nov. 28 procedure at the request of Lafleur’s family and said it removed a lobe on one of his lungs, as well lymph nodes. The statement said the operation was successful and Lafleur would return home in coming days to continue his recovery. The 68-year-old Lafleur had heart surgery Sept. 26.

Lafleur helped the Canadiens win the Stanley Cup five times. In 1,126 career NHL games from 1971 to 1991, the Hockey Hall of Famer had 1,353 points (560 goals and 793 assists) and became the first player in history to score at least 50 goals and 100 points in six consecutive seasons.

Mike Conley left Utah’s game Monday night against Philadelphia with left hamstring tightness.

Things went from bad to worse for the Utah Jazz on Monday night as major free-agent acquisition Mike Conley exited against the Philadelphia 76ers with left hamstring tightness and was ruled out.

Conley left the game for the final time with just over six minutes to go in the third quarter as the Jazz were down 73-50. Utah trailed by a significant margin for the second time in as many games, having lost Sunday against the Raptors 130-110.

Conley was 3-of-9 from the field with seven points, six rebounds and two assists before exiting.

The Ohio State product joined Utah this offseason after playing the first dozen seasons of his NBA career with the Grizzlies. Conley was expected to help make the Jazz a potential threat to win the Western Conference, but the team has struggled at times throughout its first 20 games. 

Heading into Monday night, Conley is averaging only 14.3 points, his lowest output since 2012-13. And excluding 2017-18 when Conley appeared in only 12 games due to injuries, his 4.5 assists per game would be his lowest total since 2008-09.

In Conley’s absence, the Jazz fell 103-94 and dropped to 12-9 on the season.

The Cubs did not offer a contract to infielder Addison Russell, making him a free agent after five years with the team, with his final two seasons marked by controversy.

Two of Georgetown’s top players are leaving the program as both James Akinjo and Josh LeBlanc are reportedly entering the transfer portal.

Georgetown’s starting point guard James Akinjo and reserve big man Josh LeBlanc will no longer be members of the Hoyas’ basketball team, head coach Patrick Ewing announced Monday. As a result, the two have both entered the transfer portal, according to Stadium’s Jeff Goodman.

On Monday night, it was reported that at least two accusers filed for temporary restraining orders on Nov. 5 against LeBlanc and teammates Galen Alexander and Myron Gardner, per CBS Sports. However, Alexander and Gardner were not mentioned in Ewing’s statement. 

One accuser reportedly expressed fear for her safety, as well as the safety of her roommates, and alleges LeBlanc of assault and battery, plus theft of personal property. 

“In response to an alleged burglary that I believe Joshua LeBlanc committed against me on September 16, 2019, Joshua threatened bodily harm against myself and my roommate,” according to the accuser’s statement. “He continued to threaten me verbally and via text message in the following week. Joshua has also committed violence against women in the past.”

Both accusers also said LeBlanc and two of his friends made various threats. The second accusation, filed separately on Nov. 12, alleges Gardner of sexual harassment and assault on Sept. 15 at the accuser’s place of residence. 

The accuser writes that she filed police reports with Georgetown Police and the D.C. Police. Those actions allegedly led to the three players—Gardner, LeBlanc and Alexander—to harass and threaten the accuser, according to the statement.

Georgetown responded to a request for comment on the status of Gardner and Alexander. 

“Georgetown takes student conduct issues very seriously and ensures that they are investigated thoroughly. While we are not able to comment on specific cases, we have processes for investigating and adjudicating alleged violations of our student code that are fair to both parties,” the school told CBS Sports. “We encourage any student who has a concern to be in contact with the Georgetown University Police Department or the Office of Student Conduct.”

Akinjo is reportedly not named in any court documents. He won the Big East Freshman of the Year in 2018–19 and was a member of the Big East All-Freshman team. Akinjo was additionally named Big East Freshman of the Week four times, and was second on the team in scoring and first in assists.

Through seven games this season, he is averaging 13.4 points per game and a team-high 4.4 assists.

LeBlanc was also named to the Big East All-Freshman team last season starting in 22 games. The four-star recruit finished 2018-19 with six double-doubles, having entered the year as an ESPN Top 100 Player in the class of 2018. Through six games this season, LeBlanc was averaging 7.2 points and 2.7 rebounds per game.

The departures of Akinjo and LeBlanc could presumably be a major blow for Georgetown, which is looking to make its first NCAA tournament appearance since 2014–15.

The Hoyas are currently 4–3, having lost to UNC Greensboro on Saturday. 

Georgetown faces off against Oklahoma State Wednesday in Stillwater as part of the Big East/Big 12 Challenge. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m.

A three-team parlay that included an Arizona Cardinals game led the NFL in part to suspend Cardinals defensive back Josh Shaw for violating the league’s gambling policy, multiple sources told ESPN.

Gardner Minshew will remain the Jacksonville Jaguars’ starting quarterback for the rest of the season, sending high-priced addition Nick Foles to the bench.

Washington coach Chris Petersen will step down after the Huskies’ bowl game and be replaced by defensive coordinator Jimmy Lake, the school announced Monday.