Big East All-Star games set Saturday
OLD TOWN — The Big East Senior All-Star games will be held Saturday at Old Town High School’s MacKenzie Gym with the girls game to tip off at 1 p.m., followed by the boys game.
An awards ceremony will follow each game.
There is a $5 admission for adults and $3 for students.
Bangor native heading to swim nationals
Former Bangor High School swimming standout David Smallwood will travel to Shenandoah, Texas, with his Worcester Polytechnic Institute men’s swimming and diving 800-yard freestyle relay team to compete in the NCAA Division III Championships on March 20.
It is the first relay team in school history to earn an invitation to the national meet.
The men’s 800 yard freestyle relay quartet of Smallwood, Alex Powers, Nathan Hughes and Andrew Bauer posted its qualifying time of 6:45.47 last week en route to winning the event for the second straight year at the New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference Championships. The time was also a school and pool record for the Engineers.
Injury ends camp for Braves’ Upton
Atlanta Braves outfielder Melvin Upton was diagnosed with inflammation in his left foot that likely will sideline him for the remainder of spring training.
An X-ray and MRI of the foot identified the injury as sesamoiditis, which is inflammation behind the ball of the foot, the Braves said Friday.
Upton’s foot will be placed in a cast for two weeks, followed by a walking boot for four to six weeks. The Braves expect Upton to return to baseball activities in early April when the regular season opens.
The 30-year-old made news earlier at spring training when he told reporters that he wanted to be referred to as Melvin going forward rather than his nickname, B.J.
Sam invited to first veteran combine
Michael Sam, the first openly gay player in the NFL, has been invited to the league’s inaugural veteran combine on March 22.
The league confirmed Friday a report by Adam Schefter of ESPN.
Sam was drafted in the seventh round last May by the St. Louis Rams but failed to make their 53-man roster at the end of the preseason. He was picked up by the Dallas Cowboys and added to their practice squad before being released in October after seven weeks.
Sam this week joined the new season of “Dancing With The Stars.” He is currently in rehearsals.
Earlier this month marked the one-year anniversary of Sam’s landmark announcement that he is gay and wants to play in the NFL.
Bulls GM: Rose could be back in 4-6 weeks
A gloomy week in Chicago ended with optimism Friday when Bulls general manager Gar Forman said the team expects Derrick Rose to be back in 4-6 weeks following successful surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee.
Forman said Rose, 26, is driven to get back on the court this season after the medial meniscus tear in his right knee was fixed in surgery for the second time since November 2013. Team physician Brian Cole performed the surgery Friday and Forman said Rose was immediately able to bear weight on his leg.
When the Bulls announced the injury earlier in the week, most suspected it was another season-ender.
Rose played in only 10 games last season and in the past the Bulls have been vague with timelines and recovery expectations with the former MVP.
Cavaliers’ Irving out with shoulder injury
Cleveland Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving has a strain in his left shoulder and did not travel with the team for its game Friday night in Indianapolis.
He will be evaluated before the Cavaliers play in Houston on Sunday, the team announced Friday.
Irving suffered the injury Thursday night in the Cavaliers’ 110-99 win against the Golden State Warriors.
He remained in Cleveland to undergo an MRI as the team traveled to Indianapolis, where the Cavaliers were to play the Indiana Pacers on Friday.
Irving is averaging 21.7 points and 5.2 assists per game this season.