Sports Digest: Virginia men’s basketball coach Tony Bennett retiring effective immediately

COLLEGES

Virginia men’s basketball coach Tony Bennett is retiring effective immediately, a stunning, abrupt departure on the eve of the start of the season.

The program said Thursday the 55-year-old Bennett will announce his retirement at a news conference at 11 a.m. Friday. No reasons were given for his decision, which comes months after signing a contract extension to keep him in the job through at least 2030.

Virginia opens the season on Nov. 6 at home against Campbell.

Bennett led the Cavaliers to the national title in 2019. In his 15 seasons as the coach in Charlottesville, he made 10 NCAA Tournament appearances.

He went 364-136 at Virginia, a tenure that included two ACC Tournament titles and six regular-season conference championships. He was voted national coach of the year three times.

BASKETBALL

NBA: Kawhi Leonard won’t play for the Los Angeles Clippers to start the season because of ongoing rehabilitation from inflammation in his right knee, according to a report.

Citing unidentified sources, ESPN reported that Leonard will be sidelined indefinitely. He hasn’t played during the preseason, which concludes Thursday night at home against Sacramento. The two-time Finals MVP also hasn’t been involved in on-court contact during training camp.

• Oklahoma City Thunder center Isaiah Hartenstein will miss at least a month after sustaining a small, non-displaced fracture in his left hand during a preseason game in Denver.

The Thunder said that Hartenstein, who was hurt in Tuesday’s game, will be re-evaluated in five to six weeks.

HOCKEY

NHL: The Dallas Stars signed No. 1 goaltender Jake Oettinger to an eight-year extension worth $66 million.

Oettinger is now under contract through the 2032-33 NHL season at an annual salary cap hit of $8.25 million. The deal comes on the heels of the Boston Bruins inking fellow American goalie Jeremy Swayman for the exact same amount of money and same term.

• The Florida Panthers may get injured captain Aleksander Barkov back a bit quicker than expected. And if nothing else, he’s still on track to play when the Stanley Cup champions go to his native Finland for a pair of games next month.

Barkov skated Thursday for the first time since leaving a game at Ottawa on Oct. 10 with a lower-body injury and – if all goes well – could return to the Panthers’ lineup sometime on their upcoming road trip that includes an Oct. 24 game at the New York Rangers, an Oct. 26 game at the New York Islanders and an Oct. 28 game at Buffalo.

SOCCER

U.S. WOMEN’S NATIONAL TEAM: Trinity Rodman will miss a trio of upcoming matches for the U.S. women’s national soccer team as she continues to recover from a back injury.

Coach Emma Hayes named her roster for games against Iceland on Oct. 24 in Austin, Texas, and Oct. 27 in Nashville. The Americans then host Argentina on Oct. 30 in Louisville, Kentucky.

The matches are the first for the United States since winning the gold medal at the Paris Olympics. The roster includes 18 members of the team that played in France, but also a handful of newcomers to the team.

FRANCE: France’s richest family, the Arnaults of luxury empire LVMH, announced the planned purchase of second-division soccer club Paris FC  and ambitions to establish it in the top flight.

It’s a major shakeup for soccer in France, putting vast wealth behind a potential challenger in the French capital to the dominant Ligue 1 team of recent years, Qatar-funded Paris Saint-Germain.

A statement from the Arnault family’s holding company, Agache, said it will become the club’s majority shareholder. Energy drink giant Red Bull will come aboard with a minority stake.

TENNIS

SWIATEK’S COACH: Iga Swiatek is hiring Wim Fissette to be her new coach, announcing via social media that she is bringing aboard someone who has worked with a long list of top players that includes Naomi Osaka, Kim Clijsters and Victoria Azarenka.

“I’m excited and motivated to start a new chapter,” posted the No. 1-ranked Swiatek, who parted ways with Tomasz Wiktorowski two weeks ago after three years together.

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