Hard Road To World Cup Dream For Young Russian Players

Kris Bryant, the Rockies’ oft-injured first baseman and right fielder, is back on the 10-day injured list with a low back strain, the club announced Wednesday. Bryant’s stint on the injured list is retroactive to April 14. To replace Bryant on the 26-man roster, the Rockies recalled outfielder Sean Bouchard from Triple-A Albuquerque. Bryant, 32, is improving from the injury he sustained when making a catch and crashing into the right-field wall on Saturday at Rogers Centre in Toronto, but the club decided he needed more time to get healthy. Manager Bud Black originally said he didn’t think Bryant would need to go on the injured list. Bryant, hitting .149 with one home run through 13 games this year, has missed a lot of time since signing a seven-year, $182 million contract before the 2022 season. Bryant hit well in 2022, slashing .306/.376/.475 with five home runs, but played only 42 games due to lower-back problems and plantar fasciitis in his left foot.

In the latest edition of the Nuggets Ink podcast, beat writer Bennett Durando and sports editor Matt Schubert reconvene after the Los Angeles Lakers beat New Orleans in the play-in round to set up another playoff series with Denver. Among the topics discussed: The Lakers held on to beat Zion Williamson and the New Orleans Pelicans, setting up a third playoff series in five seasons.  With the series tied 1-1, can the Nuggets ride their eight-game win streak against the Purple and Gold to the second round? With the No.

The transfer portal is filling up with Colorado Buffaloes, as two more players have decided to move on. On Wednesday, outside linebacker Khairi Manns and safety Vito Tisdale added their names to the transfer portal after each spent one season in Boulder. The 15-day spring transfer portal window for undergraduates opened Tuesday and runs through April 30.

Jontay Porter, the younger brother of Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr., has been banned from the NBA after a league investigation found he disclosed confidential information to sports bettors about his health, limiting his own participation in one or more games for betting purposes. Porter, 24, was on a two-way contract with the Toronto Raptors, splitting time between the NBA team and its G League affiliate. The league investigation found that Porter also placed at least 13 bets on NBA games using an associate’s online betting account, according to a news release.

LeBron James is going back to the Olympics for the first time in 12 years. Stephen Curry is headed to the games for the first time. Kevin Durant will go there with his eyes on history. And they’re just part of a star-studded roster the Americans have assembled for the Paris Games. USA Basketball announced its men’s Olympic team for Paris on Wednesday — James, Curry, Durant, Bam Adebayo, Devin Booker, Joel Embiid, Jayson Tatum, Anthony Davis, Jrue Holiday, Tyrese Haliburton, Anthony Edwards and Kawhi Leonard the 12 names on the current roster. “We’re giving ourselves a chance to win with the talent we have,” USA Basketball managing director Grant Hill said on NBC’s “Today” show.

By TIM REYNOLDS (AP Basketball Writer) Golden State guard Stephen Curry knew he was running out of chances to play in what would be his first Olympics, so he and his wife Ayesha started planning many months ago about how to make the Paris Games work for their family. Their growing family, that is. Ayesha Curry revealed in March that she is pregnant with the couple’s fourth child and the baby is due in June.