UConn’s Kemba Walker to enter NBA draft

Kemba Walker of national champion Connecticut will hold a news conference Tuesday at the school to announce his decision to forgo his final season of eligibility and make himself available for the NBA draft, the Hartford Courant reported. Although an announcement from the school made no mention of Walker’s intentions, an individual confirmed to the newspaper that Walker has indeed played his final game for the Huskies.

Walker was the most valuable player of the Maui Invitational, the most outstanding player at the Big East Conference tournament, the most outstanding player of the Final Four, a first-team All-American and the Cousy Award winner as the nation’s top point guard. He also finished the season with a Connecticut-record 965 points.

Walker, who averaged 23.5 points, 5.4 assists and 4.5 rebounds last season, is projected as a late lottery or mid-first round selection in the June draft.

ETC.

Olympian Lewis sets sights on a new race

Olympic gold medalist Carl Lewis says he’ll run again — for the New Jersey Senate.

“When I run — as you see from my record — I run to win,” the 49-year-old Lewis said outside a historic courthouse in Trenton, in his home county, where he announced his candidacy with his mother and other family members standing nearby.

Lewis said he hopes to inspire people, encourage communities to get together and improve educational opportunities, particularly physical education, for children. He said he’ll announce a specific issue-based platform in coming days.

This is his first bid for elected office. In fact, he said he had registered to vote earlier in the day but said he had been registered previously in California and Texas, two states he has recently lived in.

Lewis will run as a Democrat in the 8th legislative district now represented by Republican Dawn Addiego.

American sports tycoon Stan Kroenke vowed to turn Arsenal back into trophy winners after securing a controlling stake that clears the way for him to become the fifth U.S. owner of a Premier League soccer club.

Although the Denver-based investor said he would bring “new success” to a club in the midst of a six-year title drought, he did not accompany the pledge with a commitment to spending heavily on new players.

Kroenke’s stake in Arsenal will rise from 29.9% to 62.89% after agreeing to buy shares from fellow directors, including Danny Fiszman and Nina Bracewell-Smith. The deal values the club at $1.2 billion.

The Minnesota Wild fired Coach Todd Richards after the team missed the playoffs in each of his two seasons and for a third straight season overall. The team’s playoff fate, and perhaps that of Richards, was sealed by an eight-game losing streak in March.

A former consultant for the University of Kansas will spend nearly four years in prison for his role in a more than $2-million ticket scalping conspiracy that lasted five years and damaged the school’s athletic department.

U.S. District Judge Wesley Brown rejected a defense plea for leniency as he sentenced Thomas Blubaugh to the 46-month prison term sought by prosecutors.

Former UCLA assistant football coach Homer Smith died Sunday in Tuscaloosa, Ala., after an extended illness, the school said. He was 79.

Smith had three stints at UCLA, in 1972-73, 1980-86 and 1990-93. He coached 37 years at the college level and two in the NFL. Smith, who wrote several books about football, was the head coach at Army from 1974 to 1978.