8-9-21 roundup: Legion baseball, Pro basketball and baseball, College athletics

By Richard Walker

The schedule has been set for the 2021 American Legion World Series that returns for the 10th straight time and 11th time overall to Shelby’s Keeter Stadium at Veterans Field.

Defending champion Idaho Falls, Id., and runner-up Fargo, N.D., are two of the six teams who will comprise the eight-team field.

Midland Berryhill, Mich., will be making its seventh ALWS appearance in Shelby.

Three teams are appearing in Shelby for the first time – Beverly, Mass., Honolulu Team Central, Hi., and Ridge St., Mary’s, Md.

Here is the full schedule of games that begin on Thursday:

Pool play 4-team divisions
Stars – Central Plains (Fargo, N.D.), Mid-Atlantic (Ridge St. Mary’s, Md.), Southeast (Tupelo, Miss.), Western (Honolulu Team Central, Hi.)
Stripes – Great Lakes (Midland Berryhill, Mich.), Mid-South (Dubuque County, Ia.), Northeast (Beverly, Mass.), Northwest (Idaho Falls, Id.)

Thursday Aug. 12
Central Plains vs. Western, 10 a.m.
Mid-South vs. Northeast, 1 p.m.
Great Lakes vs. Northwest, 4 p.m.
Southeast vs. Mid-Atlantic, 7:30 p.m.

Friday, Aug. 13
Central Plains vs. Southeast, 4 p.m.
Mid-Atlantic vs. Western, 7 p.m.
Idle – Great Lakes, Mid-South, Northeast, Northwest

Saturday, Aug. 14
Mid-South vs. Northwest, 1 p.m.
Great Lakes vs. Northeast, 4 p.m.
Southeast vs. Western, 7:30 p.m.
Idle – Central Plains, Mid-Atlantic

Sunday, Aug. 15
Mid-South vs. Great Lakes, 1 p.m.
Mid-Atlantic vs. Central Plains, 4 p.m.
Northeast vs. Northwest, 7:30 p.m.
Idle – Southeast, Western

Monday, Aug. 16 – semifinals
Stars No. 1 vs. Stripes No. 2, 4 p.m.
Stripes No. 1 vs. Stars No. 2, 7 p.m.

Tuesday, Aug. 17
6:30 p.m.

 

 

Pro basketball

The Charlotte Hornets officially confirmed a report that the team had been working to sign head coach James Borrego to a multiyear contract extension.

Team President of Basketball Operations & General Manager Mitch Kupchak made this announcement through a team release:

“We’re extremely pleased with the job that Coach Borrego and his staff have done in their three years in Charlotte. Coach and his staff have built a strong player development program and it has resulted in the continued improvement of our young players. He has implemented an exciting style that our team likes playing and our Hornets fans enjoy watching. Coach has built strong relationships with our players, has demonstrated a great knowledge of the game and has provided tremendous leadership for our group. We’re thrilled to have signed him to an extension and look forward to the future with him leading our team as we continue to grow and improve.”

Borrego became the first Hispanic full-time head coach in NBA history when Charlotte hired him to a reported 3-year, $6 million contract on May 10, 2018. Borrego had spent the previous three seasons as an assistant coach with the San Antonio Spurs.

Last year, the Hornets had a 33-39 record and reached the NBA Play-In Tournament with a the second-highest percentage of total minutes played by first-, second- or third-year players in the NBA.

Borrego had led Charlotte to a 95-124 record overall in his three seasons as head coach.

“I’m thrilled with reaching an extension to remain as the head coach of the Charlotte Hornets,” Borrego said in a team news release. “I want to thank Michael Jordan, Mitch Kupchak and Buzz Peterson for their continued confidence in me and I want to thank my coaching staff for all of their hard work. I’m truly excited about our future and the direction that we are headed. I’m proud to coach a group of dedicated, hardworking and talented players that are committed to both improving and winning. The City of Charlotte and our Hornets fans have embraced my family and I and we are so happy to continue to make this our home. I cannot wait for the start of training camp and the upcoming season.”

An Albuquerque, N.M., native, Borrego began his NBA career as an assistant video coordinator with the Spurs during the 2003-04 season. Borrego spent seven seasons with the Spurs, ascending to the role of assistant coach. In 2010, he left San Antonio for New Orleans, where he served two seasons as an assistant coach (2010-12) under Monty Williams. Borrego then joined Jacque Vaughn’s staff with the Orlando Magic and served three seasons under Vaughn from 2012-15. Borrego gained his initial head coaching experience when he served as Orlando’s interim head coach for the final 30 games of the 2014-15 campaign after Vaughn was dismissed.

He then returned to the Spurs as an assistant coach in 2015. As a member of the Spurs, Borrego was a part of two NBA Championship teams (2005 and 2007) and went to four Western Conference Finals.

Before going to the NBA, Borrego served two seasons (2001-03) as an assistant coach at the University of San Diego, his alma mater. Borrego had played three seasons collegiately for the Toreros and was named to the West Coast Conference All-Academic Team as a senior in 2000-01.

 

Summer league: The Hornets fell to 0-2 in the Las Vegas Summer League in an 80-70 loss to Sacramento on Monday night.

Charlotte trailed most of the game but closed within 58-57 early in the fourth quarter before the Kings pulled away.

Jahmi’us Ramsey had a game-high 22 point to lead Sacramento.

The Hornets were led by Arnoldas Kubolka (13 points), D.J. Carton (13 points), James Bouknight (11 points), Nick Richards (10 points, 6 rebounds) and LiAngelo Ball (10 points, 5 rebounds).

Charlotte was without rookie Scottie Lewis, who missed with the game with a sprained right ankle.

Here is the full Hornets’ summer league schedule:

Aug. 8: Portland (Lost 86-93)

Aug. 9: Sacramento, 6 p.m. (NBA TV)

Aug. 12: San Antonio, 3 p.m. (ESPNU)

Aug. 14: Toronto, 7 p.m. (NBA TV)

Aug. 16 or 17 TBD

 

 

 

 

 

Pro baseball

The Gastonia Honey Hunters take a 31-32 record and four-game winning streak into the start of a nine-game homestand that begins with Tuesday’s 6:50 p.m. game against West Virginia.

 

 

 

College athletics

Gaston College will return to athletic competition this fall for the first time since 1975.

The school is holding a Block Party from 3-8 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 19 to unveil the school’s new nickname, logo and colors.

Gaston College was nicknamed the Rebels from 1965 to 1969 and the Warriors from 1969 to 1972 before the school ceased its athletic programs after the 1974-75 school year.

With its restart this fall, it will again compete in the National Junior College Athletic Association’s Region 10 and field teams in baseball, beach volleyball, esports, men’s basketball, softball and women’s cross country.