WASHINGTON (AP) — Dylan Cease pitched the second no-hitter in San Diego Padres history, a 3-0 win over the Washington Nationals on Thursday that completed a three-game sweep.
After falling one out short of a no-hitter two years ago when he gave up a single to current teammate Luis Arráez, Cease retired Ildemaro Vargas and Jacob Young on a groundouts for the first two outs of the ninth, then got CJ Abrams to hit a flyout to right on a 1-0 slider.
Cease (10-8) struck out nine and walked three in the 28-year-old right-hander’s third complete game in 145 big league starts. He threw a career-high 114 pitches in a game that included a 1-hour, 16-minute rain delay in the first inning.
Joe Musgrove pitched the Padres’ first no-hitter against Texas on April 9, 2021. Houston’s Ronel Blanco threw the only other no-hitter this season, against Toronto on April 1.
Big deal for Flyer
The Philadelphia Flyers signed All-Star Travis Konecny to an eight-year extension worth $70 million, committing to him being a long-term part of their core as they seek to shift from rebuilding mode to contending.
The deal announced Thursday keeps Konecny under contract through 2033. He will count $8.75 million against the salary cap starting when it kicks in for the 2025-26 NHL season, which would make him Philadelphia’s highest-paid player.
On a video call with reporters, Konecny described his decision as a no-brainer given what he sees as the organization’s trajectory. And he had no doubt in his mind that he wanted to play for the Flyers for the foreseeable future.
Konecny, 27, set career highs with 33 goals and 68 points last season. He was set to be an unrestricted free agent next summer and as a result had been the subject of trade buzz in recent months.
Paris Games record
PARIS (AP) — After getting off to a rocky start last year, Olympics 2024 organizers said the Paris Games have broken the record for the most number of tickets sold or allocated in the event’s history. And yet, tickets are still available.
Organizers say 9.7 million tickets were sold or allocated for this year’s Olympic and Paralympic Games, with 8.7 million sold for the former and one million for the latter.
For Paris, a total of 10 million tickets were put on sale for the Olympics — meaning that despite the historic popularity of the sporting events and unprecedented scale of this year’s competitions, there will still be many empty seats remaining.
The total ticketing figure will, however, likely rise because tickets are still on sale for some of the 45 sports.
Canadian coach removed
PARIS (AP) — The Canadian Olympic Committee removed women’s national soccer head coach Bev Priestman for the remainder of the Paris Games following an alleged drone spying scandal.
The COC said in a statement released early Friday that assistant coach Andy Spence would lead the defending gold medalists for the remainder of the tournament.
Canada’s camp was thrown into disarray this week after two team staffers were sent home for allegedly using a drone to spy on a New Zealand practice.
Priestman denied any involvement, but did not attend Thursday’s 2-1 victory over New Zealand as FIFA — soccer’s world governing body — and the International Olympic Committee investigate.
Canada Soccer CEO and general secretary Kevin Blue said in the COC release “additional information has come to our attention regarding previous drone use against opponents, predating the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.”
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