Oklahoma State pitcher Justin Campbell, OU shortstop Peyton Graham named first-team All-Americans
OSU's Campbell, OU's Graham named first-team All-Americans
Oklahoma State pitcher Justin Campbell and Oklahoma shortstop Peyton Graham were named first-team All-Americans on Wednesday by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association.
Campbell was 9-2 with a 3.82 earned-run average this season. The sophomore threw two complete games for the Cowboys, who were recently eliminated from the NCAA regionals. He also struck out 141 in 101 1/3 innings.
Graham, a redshirt sophomore, has 20 home runs. He has a .335 batting average while helping the Sooners reach the College World Series for the first time since 2010.
More: Tramel: OU baseball's stealth rise to College World Series gives hope for future in SEC
Browns' Watson defends himself again
Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson says he's determined to keep fighting to clear his name and insists he never committed sexual misconduct. He stood by previous comments proclaiming his innocence.
Watson is facing civil lawsuits from 24 massage therapists in Texas accusing him of sexual assault and harassment. But Watson says he never assaulted, harassed or disrespected anyone.
Watson was speaking publicly for the first time since March 25, a week after the Browns signed him to a fully guaranteed $230 million contract despite his complex legal situation. Since then, his legal entanglements have grown with two more women filing lawsuits.
STEELERS: Minkah Fitzpatrick is starting summer vacation with a nice payday after securing a deal to become the NFL's highest-paid safety. ESPN reported that the Pittsburgh Steelers signed their star safety to a four-year extension that will pay Fitzpatrick more than $18.4 million per year. He was also given $36 million guaranteed at signing, ESPN's Adam Schefter confirmed.
NBA investigation of Suns almost over
The NBA's investigation of Phoenix Suns team owner Robert Sarver is reportedly drawing closer to an end. ESPN reported that Melissa Fender Panagiotakopoulos resigned last month, alleging she experienced bullying from team supervisors after sharing concerns about gender equity and misconduct within the franchise.
A Suns employee since 2007, Panagiotakopoulos emailed in her resignation on May 20 to 16 members of the ownership group, including Sarver, that called upon them to address "a toxic and misogynistic workplace culture" within the organization.
The ESPN report said Panagiotakopoulos wrote the Suns have "never been more dysfunctional, and the culture is rapidly eroding."
Panagiotakopoulos didn't specifically note issues with Sarver or name an individual employee, but mentioned several allegations that reflect "the character of our leadership," according to the ESPN report.
PELICANS: New Orleans Pelicans center Jaxson Hayes has been sentenced to three years of probation, 450 hours of community service and a year of weekly domestic violence classes. The sentence follows a scuffle with police officers who were responding to a domestic violence call last summer in Los Angeles. Hayes pleaded no contest on Feb. 24 to misdemeanor counts of false imprisonment and resisting an officer. The 22-year-old was the eighth overall pick out of Texas in the 2019 NBA Draft. He played in 70 games for the Pelicans last season, starting 28. He averaged 9.3 points.
Extra points
OKC DODGERS: Reno scored five runs over the first two innings and went on to a 9-3 Pacific Coast League baseball win over Oklahoma City on Tuesday night at Greater Nevada Field. Michael Busch drew the first-place Dodgers (37-24) within 5-2 with a two-run homer in the fourth inning, but the Aces (34-27) added a run in the sixth and three more in the seventh to pull away.
COLLEGES: George Washington University will stop using the name "Colonials" for its teams by the 2023-24 academic year, the school announced Wednesday. The Colonials name has been criticized in the past for its association with colonialism, which is defined as domination of a people or area by a foreign state or nation, occupying it with settlers and exploiting it through economic means. Officials at the Washington D.C. university said that the nickname has divided the community and “no longer serve its purpose as a name that unifies."
Staff and wire reports
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma State's Justin Campbell, OU's Peyton Graham are All-Americans
