On the first day of practice at training camp, the Indianapolis Colts locked up their right tackle for the next four seasons. Braden Smith signed a four-year extension worth 72.4 million dollars, including 42 million guaranteed. The 6-foot-6 Smith was a second round pick in 2018 and was set to enter the season on the final year of his rookie contract. The team also placed three players on the Reserve/COVID-19 list. Cornerbacks T.J. Carrie and Xavier Rhodes along with defensive end Al-Quadin Muhammad will need consecutive negative tests 24 hours apart in order to rejoin the team.
Princeton native and former Notre Dame star Jackie Young helped lead Team USA to a gold medal in 3-on-3 basketball Wednesday morning. Young scored two points as the Americans beat Russia 18-15 in the gold medal game. This year marked the inaugural 3-on-3 tournament in the Olympics. IU’s Lilly King and Bloomington resident Annie Lazor each advanced to the final in the 200-meter breaststroke. Lazor trains at IU and finished third, while the Evansville native King came home fifth, and the pair will swim for gold Thursday night.
The Indiana Pacers will look to build for the future Thursday night in the NBA Draft. The Blue and Gold hold the 13th overall selection to go with picks 54 and 60 in the second round. Players linked to the Pacers in mock drafts include Gonzaga’s Corey Kispert, Chris Duarte of Oregon and national champion Davion Mitchell from Baylor. The Detroit Pistons have the first overall pick in the draft, which begins at 8 p.m. Eastern.
Joey Votto homered twice, and the Cincinnati Reds beat the Chicago Cubs 8-2 at Wrigley Field. The future Hall of Famer has gone deep in five straight games and has seven long balls in that span. Votto started the scoring by hitting a solo home run in the second and then crushed a two-run bomb in the ninth. Tyler Mahle earned the victory after scattering five hits over six shutout innings. In Cleveland, Franmil Reyes homered twice, including one that left the ballpark, and the Indians defeated St. Louis 7-2.
The Kansas City Royals walked off the Chicago White Sox 3-2 in 10 innings Wednesday night. Salvador Perez sent the game to extras with a solo blast in the bottom of the ninth off of Chicago closer Liam Hendriks, and Michael Taylor singled home Brian Dozier in the 10th to earn the win. The White Sox scored twice in the fifth inning, but did not record a hit the rest of the way. In Minnesota, it wasn’t a football game, but the Detroit Tigers beat the Twins 17-14. Jeimer Candelario and Eric Haase each drove in three runs for Detroit.
