Former NBA star Kemp pleads guilty to assault charge in shooting

NEWS+NOTES

Serbia’s Novak Djokovic celebrates beating Mackenzie McDonald of the U.S. after their first round match of the French Tennis Open on Tuesday at the Roland-Garros stadium, in Paris. THIBAULT CAMUS – THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

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Former NBA star Shawn Kemp pleaded guilty to an assault charge for shooting at two men inside a vehicle in a Washington state mall parking lot.

Kemp, 55, pleaded guilty to second-degree assault in Pierce County Superior Court in Tacoma as part of a plea agreement, according to the county Prosecuting Attorney’s Office. The Toyota 4Runner the men were inside and another vehicle were damaged in the March 2023 shooting, but the men were not hurt.

Kemp was initially charged with one count of first-degree assault with a firearm enhancement, but prosecutors last week added another count of assault as well as a drive-by shooting charge, The Seattle Times reported.

Nuggets’ Westbrook has surgery on broken fingers >> Denver Nuggets point guard Russell Westbrook said he was having surgery to fix two breaks in his right hand that he suffered during the season.

The 36-year-old Westbrook is coming off a season in which he helped the Nuggets extend the Oklahoma City Thunder to seven games in the second round of the playoffs before being knocked out. He provided a boost off Denver’s thin bench in the postseason. Westbrook averaged 13.3 points, 4.9 rebounds and 6.1 assists in the regular season.

Tennis

French open >> Novak Djokovic experienced the lowest of lows — pulling out of the French Open after tearing the meniscus in his right knee — and the highest of highs — winning a long-sought Olympic gold medal for Serbia — at Roland-Garros last year. This trip to the site went smoothly, once he got going.

Other than some first-set interruptions by, and lengthy discussions about, the windy, wet weather, the 24-time major champion was unbothered during a 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 victory over 98th-ranked Mackie McDonald of the United States at Court Philippe-Chatrier in the first round.

• Gauff showed up on court, opened her bag and peered inside to find it was missing her rackets. The start of the warmup was delayed, but then everything went Gauff’s way, and the 2023 U.S. Open champion got past Olivia Gadecki 6-2, 6-2. • • Other winners included the No. 3 seeds, Jessica Pegula and Alexander Zverev, and 18-year-old Mirra Andreeva, but 2021 U.S. Open champion Daniil Medvedev, who was seeded 11th, lost to Cam Norrie 7-5, 6-3, 4-6, 1-6, 7-5 across nearly four hours.

Baseball

Red Sox trade Pitcher to Athletics >> The Boston Red Sox traded left-hander Sean Newcomb to the Athletics for an undisclosed amount of cash.

The 31-year-old Massachusetts native was designated for assignment on Saturday after posting a 3.95 ERA with 41 strikeouts in 12 games this season. He opened the year as a starter, taking five turns through the rotation, before being sent to the bullpen, where he has given up runs in each of his last four outings.

A first-round draft pick by the Los Angeles Angels in 2014, Newcomb is 28-29 with a 4.46 ERA in 187 career games with the Braves, Cubs, Athletics and Red Sox.

College basketball

Florida’s Condon withdraws from NBA Draft >> Florida forward Alex Condon has withdrawn from the NBA draft and will return to school for his junior season, significantly boosting the Gators’ chances of repeating as national champions.

Coach Todd Golden said last week he was “cautiously optimistic” the 6-foot-11, 230-pound Australian would be back for another season. He got the news a day before the deadline for players to withdraw from draft consideration.

Condon averaged 10.6 points and a team-leading 7.5 rebounds last season. He also blocked 49 shots. He notched seven double-doubles, scored in double figures 18 times and grabbed at least 10 boards 10 times.

Track

California changes competition rules amid Trans athlete controversy >> The governing board for California high school sports is changing its competition rules at this weekend’s state track and field championships to allow more girls to take part amid controversy over the participation of a trans student-athlete.

The California Interscholastic Federation said it was extending access for more cisgender athletes to participate in the championship meet this weekend. The federation announced the change after President Donald Trump posted on his social media site about the participation of a trans athlete in the competition.

“Under this pilot entry process, any biological female student-athlete who would have earned the next qualifying mark for one of their Section’s automatic qualifying entries in the CIF State meet, and did not achieve the CIF State at-large mark in the finals at their Section meet, was extended an opportunity to participate in the 2025 CIF State Track and Field Championships,” the group said in a statement. “The CIF believes this pilot entry process achieves the participation opportunities we seek to afford our student-athletes.”

Soccer

LAFC’s Vela announces retirment >> Former Major League Soccer MVP Carlos Vela announced his retirement.

The 36-year-old Vela spent the previous seven seasons with Los Angeles FC, which signed the Mexican forward as its first designated player in 2017 before the expansion club had played a game.