BASKETBALL
Injured Portis finds role
Bobby Portis (Little Rock Hall, Arkansas Razorbacks) spoke to the media Tuesday for the first time since spraining the MCL in his right knee last Wednesday, an injury that will sideline the Chicago Bulls' forward four to six weeks. Portis had to sit and watch the Golden State Warriors' rout of the Bulls on Monday night. Klay Thompson set an NBA record with 14 three-pointers, and the Warriors dropped 92 first-half points en route to a 149-124 victory over the Bulls. "It does hurt to sit there in the training room and watch the game," said Portis, who hasn't been cleared to sit on the bench. "But when they come back I try to talk as much as possible, try to do the little things. Somebody asks me for advice, I can give it to them. I've been through just about everything you can go through now in the league in four years." The injury occurred against the Charlotte Hornets when he contested Nicolas Batum's dunk and Tony Parker's head slammed into his knee. Portis screamed, ran off the court and crumpled into a heap with his head down at the edge of the stands. "I felt it pop a little bit, thought it was worse than it was and obviously I try to fight through everything," Portis said. "Any injury I've ever had, I've always fought through it. This is something I can't fight through."
Love out for weeks
Cleveland Cavaliers forward Kevin Love said Tuesday night he will miss several weeks with a left toe injury that has bothered him since the preseason and recently got so severe he had trouble walking. He did not rule out surgery. The 30-year-old had an MRI and visited Dr. Martin O'Malley at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York. He's been told to rest the injury, and there is no clear timetable for when he'll play again. Love missed his third consecutive game Tuesday as Cleveland hosted the Atlanta Hawks. The Cavs entered the game 0-6, and the four-time defending Eastern Conference champions are reeling after coach Tyronn Lue was fired Sunday. Compounding the slow start, the Cavs are still working through contract negotiations with assistant Larry Drew, who wants more security before he takes over and said he's "very disappointed" the team has not given him a new deal. Love said he first injured his toe during the preseason opener against Boston on Oct. 2. He then missed the club's final three exhibitions. He pushed through the pain for Cleveland's first four regular-season games, but struggled with his shot. Love was making 32 percent of his shots while averaging 19.0 points and 13.5 rebounds. The five-time All-Star signed a four-year, $120 million contract extension this summer.
Cleveland picked for game
Cleveland has been selected to hold the 2022 All-Star Game at Quicken Loans Arena, a person familiar with the decision told The Associated Press on Tuesday. An announcement is expected later this week, said the person who spoke on condition of anonymity because the league has not made Cleveland's selection official. Crain's Cleveland Business was first to report the midseason event will be in Cleveland. The Cavs had submitted bids to the league to host earlier All-Star Games, but a renovation at their downtown arena made that impossible. Construction, which began this year, is on schedule and should be completed by the end of next summer. Cleveland last hosted the event in 1997 in the same building, which was called Gund Arena at the time, when the league honored its Top 50 players.
BASEBALL
Series TV ratings plummet
Boston's five-game World Series victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers averaged 14,125,000 viewers on Fox, down 25 percent from last year and the fourth-lowest ever. The Series featuring a pair of large-market teams averaged an 8.3 rating and 17 share, Nielsen said Tuesday. That was down from a 10.7 rating, 20 share and 18,909,000 average viewers for the Houston Astros' seven-game victory over the Dodgers last year, and 40 percent from 23,386,000 average viewers for the Cubs' seven-game win over Cleveland two years ago -- Chicago's first title since 1908. The only Series with fewer average viewers were Philadelphia's five-game win over Tampa Bay in 2008 (13,062,000), San Francisco's four-game sweep of Detroit in 2012 (12.7 million) and the Giants' seven-game win over Kansas City in 2014 (13,825,000).
TENNIS
Djokovic cruises
Novak Djokovic began his bid for a record-extending fifth Paris Masters title with a 7-5, 6-1 win against Joao Sousa in the second round Wednesday. The second-ranked Serb set up match point with an ace and sealed the victory on his third match point when Sousa returned a second serve long. The U.S. Open champion won four of the past five tournaments he has entered, including Wimbledon, the U.S. Open and most recently the Shanghai Masters. Fifth-seeded Marin Cilic, the Australian Open runner-up, won his second-round match 6-3, 6-4 against Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany. Damir Dzumhur upset 14th-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-3, 6-3, while big-hitting Russian Karen Khachanov also advanced to the third round. He led 6-2, 2-0 against Matthew Ebden when the Australian retired.
FOOTBALL
Meyer discusses future
Ohio State Coach Urban Meyer reiterated lingering health issues have been causing him occasional severe headaches this season, but he said he intends to remain with the Buckeyes "as long as I can." Meyer spoke with a small group of reporters Tuesday to try to clear up questions about his future at Ohio State and why he has looked uncomfortable on the sideline this season. The headaches are related to an arachnoid cyst in his brain that he has been dealing with for years, he said. Dr. Andrew Thomas, Meyer's personal physician, released a statement, saying he has been working with Meyer to monitor and manage symptoms. Thomas said: "This includes aggressive headaches, which have particularly flared up the past two years."
FOOTBALL
Maryland Coach Durkin cleared to return
BALTIMORE -- DJ Durkin is poised to return as head coach of a splintered Maryland football program, coming back to the sideline after multiple investigations involving the death of a player and bullying by the coaching staff.
Not everyone is happy about the University System of Maryland board of regents recommendation Tuesday that Durkin, who has been on paid administrative leave since Aug. 11, should retain his job, along with the university president and athletic director.
The decision opens the door for Durkin to return to the team as soon as this week.
"We believe Coach Durkin has been unfairly blamed for the dysfunction in the athletic department," said Jim Brady, chairman of the board of regents. "He has acknowledged his role in the athletic department's shortcomings."
Durkin was placed on administrative leave after offensive lineman Jordan McNair collapsed during practice and later died, which spawned an investigation into the potential dangerous culture of the football program.
In a statement issued by the university, Durkin said he was "grateful for the opportunity to rejoin the team" and appreciated the support of the board of regents.
The attorney for McNair's parents in August called for Durkin to be fired, and reiterated that assertion during a news conference that started a couple of hours after the board's announcement.
Hassan Murphy, an attorney for the McNair family, said the decision to retain Durkin was "callous and indefensible," and could be a part of future legal actions.
McNair's father, Marty McNair, said: "I feel like I've been punched in the stomach and someone spit in my face."
The recommendation by the board of regents comes after the release of 198-page external report, which found the program was not toxic but had problems because many players feared speaking out.
Sports on 10/31/2018