BASKETBALL
Nowitzki to play for Germany
Dirk Nowitzki hinted after the season that he was going to play for his German national team, which is hosting the European Championships in September. During a promotional trip to his homeland, Nowitzki broke the news to media members in Germany as several reports said he has decided to play for his country in the Olympic qualifier. Nowitzki is the face of German basketball and his participation on the national team gives the host nation for the European tournament a legitimate shot at qualifying for the 2016 Olympics. One of Nowitzki's proudest moments was helping the German team make the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. The Dallas Mavericks have no say in whether Nowitzki takes part in international basketball, even though he turns 37 on June 19. "I understand the geographic implications for him," Mavericks Coach Rick Carlisle said after the season ended. "That's going to be one that's going to be tough for him to turn down. Whatever it is, I'll respect it. I've been to Germany enough times to understand the national feeling with respect to their team and of course his importance. Not just on a national basis but a global basis. There are instances when playing on a national team can be akin to a really good base preparation for training camp."
• Taxpayers would pick up half the cost of a $500 million arena for the Milwaukee Bucks under a financial deal that would rely on current and former team owners for the rest, Gov. Scott Walker said Thursday in Milwaukee. Walker has argued for months that it will cost the state more in lost income-tax revenue if the NBA team leaves Milwaukee than it will to pay for a new downtown arena. Standing behind a podium with a sign that read "Cheaper to Keep Them," he announced the long-awaited deal surrounded by Republican legislative leaders, along with the Democratic leaders of the city and Milwaukee County. "The price of doing nothing is not zero. It's $419 million," Walker said, one of repeated references to the estimated lost revenue and growth over 20 years if the team moves. "It's not just a good deal. It's a really bad deal if we don't do anything." The plan Walker spelled out includes $250 million already committed by the Bucks' current and former owners. The other half will come from taxpayers, a contribution capped at $250 million, with the team bearing any responsibility for cost overruns. The taxpayer cost would grow to an estimated $400 million over 20 years with interest. Without a new arena by 2017, the NBA has said it will buy back the team and move it. The Bucks currently play in the 27-year-old BMO Harris Bradley Center. The Bucks issued a statement, calling the plan "a big step forward in our collective effort to build a transformative economic and cultural asset in downtown Milwaukee."
• Clarence "Bevo" Francis, who had 113 points for Rio Grande College in a 1954 game and was one of college basketball's great scorers, has died. He was 82. He died Wednesday at his southern Ohio home, Roberts Funeral Home said. Rio Grande said he died after a long unspecified illness. Francis' landmark game came against Michigan's Hillsdale College on Feb. 2, 1954, and put his small Ohio college on the map. The school in southeastern Ohio is now called University of Rio Grande and had less than 100 students at the time. A year earlier, the 6-foot-9 center scored 116 points against Kentucky's Ashland Junior College, a record that was retroactively erased after the NCAA said it would recognize only games played against four-year, degree-granting institutions. His 113 points set a record that was broken in 2012 by Grinnell's Jack Taylor, who had 138 against Faith Baptist Bible. During the 1952-53 season, he led his school to a 39-0 record. In 1954, Francis averaged 48.0 points a game. Francis played two seasons at Rio Grande, finishing with 3,272 points and powering the team to a 60-7 record. He scored 50 or more points 14 times in his 39 games against four-year colleges, the school said.
FOOTBALL
Son of Broncos' owner arrested
John Bowlen Jr., the 29-year-old son of Denver Broncos owner Pat Bowlen and an administrative employee of the team, has been placed on indefinite leave following his arrest on domestic violence charges. The younger Bowlen was arrested Wednesday night in the Denver suburb of Glendale on suspicion of third-degree assault and harassment after allegedly pushing his girlfriend against a bathroom wall, police said. After being held overnight at the Arapahoe County Jail, which is next to the Broncos' suburban headquarters, Bowlen was released Thursday on $1,000 bond. His next court hearing is scheduled for July 6. Bowlen's lawyer, Harvey Steinberg, was in court Thursday and didn't immediately return a call seeking comment. Bowlen, a marketing assistant with the team based out of Sports Authority Field, is a candidate to take over the team from his father, who is suffering from Alzheimer's. Pat Bowlen relinquished his duties almost a year ago. Team president and CEO Joe Ellis is running the team in the meantime. He said last month that the transfer of ownership to one of Bowlen's seven children was still a ways off.
• At least as far as the St. Louis Rams are concerned, wide receiver Bud Sasser's NFL career is over before it started. Rams Coach Jeff Fisher confirmed what had been rumored for several weeks. Namely, that because of an apparent heart condition, Sasser failed his Rams physical and has been placed on the team's non-football injury list. He signed his rookie contract earlier this week, and will receive his signing bonus of $113,000 after being drafted in the sixth round out of the University of Missouri. But his time with the Rams is over. Sasser was not at the Rams' OTA practice on Thursday, and told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch via telephone: "I'm all right. It'll work out. I'm not down. You can put that out there." Sasser stopped just short of confirming the heart condition, saying, "it's not 100 percent true," and adding "we're going to figure it out."
• A psychiatrist who examined New Orleans Saints and Pelicans owner Tom Benson spent more than five hours Thursday testifying at a hearing in New Orleans about the 87-year-old billionaire's mental health. And he's not done. Dr. Ted Bloch is one of three physicians who performed a court-ordered psychiatric evaluation, the results of which have been sealed. He was called as a witness by the lawyer representing Benson's disowned daughter, Renee, and her children, Rita and Ryan LeBlanc. The estranged heirs contend their ouster from ownership positions with the teams about five months ago resulted from their patriarch being manipulated by his third wife, Gayle, while he was mentally enfeebled. The courtroom has been closed to the public and participants are under a gag order, so they have avoided discussing the substance of evidence presented during trial.
Sports on 06/05/2015