AP: Kings will hire Walton

SACRAMENTO — A person with direct knowledge of the agreement says Luke Walton will become coach of the Sacramento Kings, just a day after parting ways with the Los Angeles Lakers following three losing seasons.

The 39-year-old Walton was dismissed by the Lakers on Friday after Los Angeles went 37-45. The person spoke Saturday on condition of anonymity because Walton’s next step hadn’t been finalized. A formal announcement is expected in the next couple of days.

Sacramento general manager Vlade Divac fired Dave Joerger on Thursday after the coach helped develop the young Kings into playoff contenders before ultimately falling short in the franchise’s 13th straight losing season.

The young Kings finished 39-43, nine games out of a playoff spot after being tied for the Western Conference’s eighth seed heading into the final game before the All-Star break.

Beach wins in bad conditions

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. — On a muddy track at Oaklawn Park, Omaha Beach held off Improbable down the stretch to capture the 2019 Arkansas Derby on Saturday.

Omaha Beach entered the Arkansas Derby as an 8-5 favorite over Improbable at 9-5, and by virtue of his win, Omaha Beach earned 100 Kentucky Derby points and further established himself as one of the top contenders to garner the Run for the Roses.

Meanwhile, Improbable earned 40 Kentucky Derby points with the second-place finish and did enough to make it into the Kentucky Derby field.

Going into the Arkansas Derby, Sportsbook.com listed Omaha Beach as the third choice to win the Kentucky Derby at 6-1 and Improbable was the second at 5-1 behind Roadster which is at 9-2.

Tomahawks series tied up

JOHNSTOWN — The Johnstown Tomahawks dropped a 4-3 decision to the Northeast Generals Saturday night in the Robertson Cup playoffs.

Their East Division semifinals are now tied at 1-1 in the best-of-5 series. Game 3 will be in Massachusetts on Wednesday at 7 p.m.

Johnstown, which trailed 3-2 after two periods, got two goals from Oliver Benwell and one from Chris Trouba.

Duluth earns hockey crown

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Parker Mackay had a goal and an assist, Hunter Shepard stopped 18 shots and Minnesota Duluth won its second straight college hockey title, beating Massachusetts 3-0 on Saturday night.

The Bulldogs (29-11-2) became the ninth school to successfully defend a title, and first since Denver in 2004 and ’05. It’s the third championship for Minnesota Duluth, which beat Denver in the Frozen Four final a year ago and also won in 2011.

Shepard had his seventh shutout of the season and nation-leading 29th victory, improving his NCAA Tournament record to 8-0.

Mikey Anderson had a goal and two assists. Noah Cates scored with 2:42 remaining to seal the victory for the Bulldogs, who were making their third consecutive appearance in the final, dating to a 3-2 loss to Denver in 2017.

The Bulldogs’ experience on the big stage proved to be an edge over a young UMass opponent. The Minutemen (31-10) were making their first appearance in the championship game and in just the second tournament berth in school history.

UMass still closes a season in which it eclipsed its previous single-season-best win total of 21 in 2007.

From Mirror, wire reports