Digest

GOLF

Koepka the latest to sign up for LIV series

Brooks Koepka is the latest PGA Tour player to sign on with the Saudi-funded LIV Golf series, The Associated Press has learned.

Koepka has withdrawn from this week's Travelers Championship in Connecticut, the PGA Tour announced on Tuesday. LIV Golf is expected to announce the addition of Koepka in the coming days, sources confirmed.

Koepka is expected to make his debut on the breakaway circuit at its maiden US event near Portland, Oregon next week.

The 32-year-old Koepka is following the likes of Dustin Johnson and six-time major winner Phil Mickelson by joining LIV.

In response to the exodus, the PGA Tour is reportedly planning to revamp its schedule with a series of lucrative new tournaments.

PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan detailed proposed changes to the schedule at a meeting of players on Tuesday at the Travelers Championship, claimed reports.

BASKETBALL

NBA Finals see major hike in viewership

Nearly 14 million Americans watched the Golden State Warriors win their fourth NBA championship since 2015 by beating the Boston Celtics in the sixth game of their series.

The series that matched the NBA's most current dynasty against the one with the most championships overall averaged 12.3 million, which was 24 percent more than the 2021 series between Milwaukee and Phoenix, the Nielsen company said.

As is typical, audience figures increased as the series went on. The 13.99 million viewership figure for the final game was nearly a million more than the audience for any other game, Nielsen said.

The first game of hockey's Stanley Cup Final between Colorado and Tampa Bay was watched by 4.2 million Americans last week.

Each of these sports events was seen on ABC, allowing the network to dominate the weekly US ratings race. ABC averaged 5 million viewers in prime time last week, CBS averaged 2.8 million, NBC averaged 2.6 million, Fox had 1.5 million, Univision had 1.1 million, Telemundo had 940,000 and Ion Television had 900,000.

Suns' new appointment breaks racial barrier

The Phoenix Suns have hired Morgan Cato as an assistant general manager and vice-president of basketball operations, becoming the first woman of color to hold an assistant GM title for an NBA franchise.

Cato comes to Phoenix after spending nearly a decade with the NBA league office, where she most recently worked as the associate vice-president of business operations for the NBA's league operations department.

"We're excited to welcome Morgan to the Valley and to the Suns organization," Suns general manager James Jones said in a statement.

"With the league office, Morgan played a pivotal role on countless initiatives to grow the game and strategically develop for it to be played at its best."

ENTERTAINMENT

Naomi, LeBron team up for joint media venture

LeBron James and Naomi Osaka are becoming teammates in the entertainment world.

Tennis star Osaka and her agent and business partner, Stuart Duguid, are forming a media company called Hana Kuma in partnership with The SpringHill Company, which was created by NBA star James and Maverick Carter.

Tuesday's announcement comes shortly after Osaka and Duguid started EVOLVE, an athlete representation agency.

The 24-year-old Osaka is a four-time Grand Slam champion who also has reached No 1 in the WTA rankings. She was born in Japan to a Japanese mother and Haitian father; the family moved to New York when Naomi was 3 and she now is based in Los Angeles.

Osaka recently said she would be skipping Wimbledon for the second year in a row. She has not competed on tour since a first-round loss at the French Open last month.

Osaka became the world's highest-paid female athlete in 2020 by earning about $37 million thanks to a long list of sponsorship deals.

Agencies