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Briefs
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Pony baseball
Jase Banco doubled and Matthew Smith earned the victory on the mound as Printscape defeated Ace Sporting Goods 9-3 in the Washington Pony League.
Max Dotson hit a home run for Ace Sporting Goods. Anthony Adkins, Logan Hatfield and Gibby Havanis all doubled.
Phoenix to hire Williams
Philadelphia 76ers assistant Monty Williams will be the new coach of the Phoenix Suns, replacing Igor Kokoskov, who was fired last week after one disappointing season.
The Suns announced Friday that they had come to terms with Williams, who will join Phoenix after the 76ers complete their run in the NBA playoffs. The 76ers have a 2-1 lead over Toronto in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
“Monty brings a wealth of NBA experience, both as a coach and former player, in addition to being a high-character individual who will infuse basketball wisdom and life lessons into our locker room,” Suns general manager James Jones said in a release announcing the move. “Monty is well respected for his coaching pedigree, leadership and commitment to the community, all of which make him the ideal person to lead our team moving forward.”
The 47-year-old Williams has previous head coaching experience, spending five seasons in charge in New Orleans from 2010 to 2015, a stint during which he led the franchise to two postseason appearances. He is in his first season as an assistant coach with the 76ers. He also played nine years in the NBA, including time with New York, San Antonio, Denver, Orlando and Philadelphia.
Williams takes over a team that has been mired in mediocrity, missing the playoffs for nine straight seasons. The Suns finished 19-63 this season, Kokoskov’s only year in the desert.
Seattle still in running to hold NHL draft
NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly says Seattle remains in contention to host the 2021 draft despite arena construction delays.
Daly told the Associated Press on Friday that the league would like to decide on the host at least a year out. Seattle officials have been hoping the city’s new arena could be the site of the league entry draft and the expansion draft as part of the lead up to the debut of the city’s NHL franchise for the 2021-22 season.
Seattle officials were hoping to have the building open by early spring 2021 but design delays and a change in general contractors has delayed the project.
Mortenson, the new contractor, has been given incentives to try to have the arena ready by June 1, 2021, which would also allow it to host a full home slate for the WNBA’s Seattle Storm.
Team officials have said they’ll have a better idea of the timeline early next year.
Daly said the building isn’t the only factor in determining a draft site.
“There are a lot of logistical issues you have to make sure are squared away before you make a decision like that,” Daly said. “If they don’t get the draft in ’21, it’s not going to be long before they have a draft. That’s been part of our discussions already. It’s really part of the ownership transaction.”
The cost of the privately funded project, which is being built on the site of the former KeyArena, has grown to between $900 million and $930 million. The cost was originally expected to be about $650 million.