Former college star Van Lith waived

CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago Sky waived point guard Hailey Van Lith after drafting her in the first round last year and signed guard Natasha Cloud on Monday.

Van Lith struggled after being drafted with the No. 11 overall pick. She averaged 3.5 points in 29 games following a standout career at Louisville, LSU and TCU.

Cloud has averaged 8.8 points, 3.3 rebounds and 5.3 assists in 10 seasons with Washington, Phoenix and New York. She averaged 10.1 points and 5.1 assists for the Liberty last season.

The Sky also waived second-round picks Maddy Westbeld and Aicha Coulibaly on Monday.

Chicago opens the season at expansion Portland on Saturday. The Sky went 10-34 and tied for last in the WNBA a year ago. They made a series of big moves in the offseason, most notably trading two-time All-Star Angel Reese to Atlanta last month.

Ionescu injured

NEW YORK (AP) — Sabrina Ionescu avoided a significant injury after rolling her ankle and hurting her left foot in the New York Liberty’s preseason win over the Connecticut Sun over the weekend.

The team said Monday that she’ll be re-evaluated in two weeks, putting her out for the team’s regular-season debut on Friday against Connecticut. Ionescu had an MRI that revealed no major injury to the foot and ankle, which was the same one she hurt her rookie season that sidelined her for the remainder of the year after only three games in 2020.

The star guard landed awkwardly on Sunday during a drive to the basket and rolled the ankle early in the third quarter at Connecticut. She appeared to get her feet tangled with the Sun’s Diamond Miller as she went up for a reverse layup.

Ionescu stayed down for a few seconds before getting up and waving toward New York’s bench on the other side of the court. She walked with a slight limp back to the locker room. She was seen in a walking boot after the game.

“Obviously wasn’t good to see,” Liberty forward Jonquel Jones said. “I was able to check in with our (physical therapist) and stuff during the game to make sure she’s OK.”

Ionescu had six points in just under 16 minutes of play. She was 2 for 8 from the field.

Breanna Stewart said she talked with Ionescu after the game and said her teammate was in “good spirits.”

Ionescu played in 38 games last season for New York, averaging 18.2 points, 5.7 assists and 4.9 rebounds.

Heartland downs East Liverpool

EAST LIVERPOOL — Heartland Christian defeated East Liverpool 4-1 on Monday at Thompson Park.

East Liverpool is at Steubenville on Wednesday.

Heartland Christian 4, East Liverpool 1

FIRST SINGLES: Cooper Grim (HC) def. Brady Dawson 6-0, 6-0

SECOND SINGLES: Garrett Cooper (EL) def. Jacob Vande Kappele 6-3, 7-6

THIRD SINGLES: Brody Conway (HC) def. Rowan Stokes 6-3, 6-2

FIRST DOUBLES: Capri Dromin-Keagan Pruitt (HC) def. Hunter Estell-Braydan Schwerha 6-0, 6-0

SECOND DOUBLES: Maylee Norbod-Ava Shavlis (HC) def. Andrew Dalton-Jude Brown 4-6, 6-1, 10-0

Royals speed run win over Guardians

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Michael Wacha needed only 79 pitches to get through seven strong innings and Bobby Witt Jr. homered to spark a four-run fourth as the Kansas City Royals beat the Cleveland Guardians 6-2 on Monday night.

Jac Caglianone also went deep for the surging Royals, who have won four in a row and eight of 10. Nick Loftin delivered a two-run single with two outs in the fourth to give Kansas City a 4-2 lead.

Five different Royals had an RBI, including Witt’s fourth homer and Caglianone’s solo shot in the sixth on his bobblehead night.

Wacha (3-2) allowed four hits and two runs while striking out three. He has given up just three runs over 14 innings in two starts against the Guardians this season.

David Fry hit a two-run homer for Cleveland in the second, but Wacha retired 16 of his next 17 batters. Wacha, Matt Strahm and Alex Lange combined to throw a total of 95 pitches for the Royals.

Witt’s 422-foot drive put the Royals on the board in the fourth. He went the first 27 games of the season without a home run before hitting three over the past eight games.

Salvador Perez tied it at 2 with an RBI single that went through the legs of pitcher Tanner Bibee. Kansas City then loaded the bases, setting up Loftin’s key hit.

Bibee (0-5) was tagged for four runs and five hits in four innings. He entered with only one run of support across his last six starts, all Guardians losses.

Up next

Kansas City LHP Noah Cameron (2-2, 5.40 ERA) makes his seventh start of the season Tuesday against Cleveland RHP Gavin Williams (5-1, 2.70).

John Sterling was theatrical broadcaster

NEW YORK (AP) — John Sterling, the ebullient radio broadcaster known for extravagant, individualized home run calls and shouting “theee Yankees win!” after each of New York’s victories, died Monday. He was 87.

Sterling had a heart attack and bypass surgery this winter and had returned to his home in Edgewater, New Jersey, where he was cared for by health aides. He died of complications Monday at Englewood Hospital, according to his former wife, Jennifer.

“John Sterling breathed life and excitement into Yankees games for 36 years while wearing his passion for baseball and the Yankees on his sleeve,” the team said in a statement. “He informed and entertained generations of fans with a theatrical and unapologetic style that was uniquely his own. John treasured his role as the voice of the New York Yankees, and his enthusiasm for the art of broadcasting perfectly complemented our city and our fans. The symmetry between John and his audience was both undeniable and magical, and his signature calls will resonate for as long as we put on pinstripes — especially after every Yankees win.”

Starting during down years with Dallas Green and Bucky Dent in the dugout and Don Mattingly trying vainly to push the Yankees back to glory, Sterling entertained fans through the dynasty days of Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera and into the Aaron Judge era.

During a game against Boston on June 10, 2023, Sterling was hit by a foul ball off the bat of Boston’s Justin Turner, said “Ow! Ow! Ow! It really hit me. I didn’t know if it was coming back that far,” and without pause continued his game commentary.

“He brought that New York theater to the ballpark,” Judge said. “He was almost a kid up there in the broadcast talking about the game.”

Sterling called 5,651 games — 5,426 in the regular season plus 225 postseason — including 5,060 in a row from September 1989 through July 2019. He retired in April 2024 just after the season’s start, citing fatigue, then returned to broadcast Yankees games during the 2024 postseason.