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Former UConn coach Kevin Ollie is joining a new basketball league designed to offer elite high school players another potential pathway to the NBA. Ollie will serve as coach and director of player development for Overtime Elite, which markets itself to players between 16 and 18 years old with promises of academic education and a six-figure salary. The league offers another possibe alternative to NBA besides the NCAA, developmental G League or overseas play. It’s  to start in September and features 30 players all living and playing in a city yet to be named.   

A Black man died after being shot by police in a Minneapolis suburb during a traffic stop and crashing his car several blocks away, sparking violent protests as officers in riot gear clashed with demonstrators and the man’s mother called for calm. The death of the man, identified by family as 20-year-old Daunte Wright, ignited protests in Brooklyn Center that lasted into the early hours Monday in a metropolitan area already on edge and midway through the trial of the first of four police officers charged in George Floyd’s death. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz tweeted he was praying for Wright’s family “as our state mourns another life of a Black man taken by law enforcement.” Daunte’s mother, Katie Wright, attempted to curb any unrest by calling for calm.

PRAGUE (AP) — As the coronavirus pandemic eases up in the Czech Republic, one of the European Union’s hardest-hit countries took its first steps on Monday toward easing of its tight lockdown. Health experts, however, warned that the relaxation was…

A Democratic state lawmaker is mounting a bid to unseat Republican U.S. Sen. Tim Scott. State Rep. Krystle Matthews told The Associated Press that she will try to register 150,000 new voters across South Carolina to tighten the margin Democrats have struggled to close in statewide elections. Matthews was elected to her second term in the state House last year. Scott has said 2022 would be his last Senate race. He has already been endorsed by former President Donald Trump and has $8 million in his campaign funds.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Antony Blinken is heading to Brussels for talks with European and NATO allies about Afghanistan, Ukraine and other matters. The State Department says Blinken will have meetings in the Belgian capital on Tuesday and…

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson urged people to “behave responsibly” as shops, gyms, hairdressers, restaurant patios and beer gardens reopened after months of lockdown. Monday brought the easing of restrictions that had been in place in England since early January. They were imposed to suppress a surge in coronavirus infections linked to a more transmissible new variant first identified in the southeast of the country. Long lines formed outside some stores, including a branch of Nike Town in London’s busy Oxford Street, and pubs and restaurants with outdoor space reported a flood of bookings. The chief executive of the British Retail Consortium said businesses that have endured months of enforced closure were “excited and desperate” to welcome customers back.  

LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — An iconic Pakistani human rights defender and journalist I.A. Rehman has died in the eastern city of Lahore after a brief illness, his family and friends said Monday. Rehman was 90. He spent his life defending…

NEW DELHI (AP) — Tens of thousands of Hindu devotees gathered by the Ganges River for special prayers Monday, many of them flouting social distancing practices as the coronavirus spreads in India with record speed. The Kumbh Mela, or pitcher…

India reported another record daily surge in coronavirus infections to overtake Brazil as the second-worst hit country. The 168,912 cases added in the last 24 hours pushed India’s total to 13.5 million. Data compiled by Johns Hopkins University shows Brazil has 13.4 million. India also counted another 904 deaths, taking its total to 170,179, which is the fourth highest toll, behind the United States, Brazil and Mexico. India is experiencing its worst surge of the pandemic, with a seven-day rolling average of more than 130,000 cases per day. Hospitals across the country are becoming overwhelmed with patients, and experts worry the worst is yet to come.

Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human in space 60 years ago. Gagarin’s steely self-control was a key factor behind the success of his pioneering  108-minute spaceflight. His April 12, 1961, mission encountered glitches and emergencies, from the capsule's entry hatch failing to shut properly just before blastoff to a parachute misfire in the final moments before touchdown. The successful one-orbit flight made the 27-year-old Gagarin a national hero and cemented Soviet supremacy in space until the United States put a man on the moon more than eight years later. By then, Gagarin had died in a training jet crash. 

The new-look Mets have a familiar problem so far: Even when Jacob deGrom is on the mound, they’re surprisingly beatable. DeGrom struck out 14 on Saturday, but New York lost 3-0 to the Miami Marlins. In his other start this season, deGrom held Philadelphia scoreless for six innings, but the Mets gave up five runs in the eighth and lost 5-3. Whether it’s blamed on poor run support or shaky relief pitching, New York hasn’t taken advantage of deGrom’s brilliance the last few years. Since the start of the 2018 season, he’s just 25-20 despite posting a stellar 2.06 ERA.

Hideki Matsuyama almost turned down his first chance to play the Masters. It was a month after a devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan, disasters that killed thousands and destroyed much of the region he called home in March 2011. He decided to play a month later, only because he thought it would lift spirits. A decade later, he lifted his country again — becoming Japan’s first man to win a golf major. Matsuyama’s one-shot victory over Will Zalatoris at Augusta National made him the Masters champion, easily the biggest moment for the sport in his golf-crazed homeland.

From Japan’s prime minister on down the country celebrated golfer Hideki Matsuyama’s victory in the Masters. He is the first Japanese player to win at Augusta National and wear the famous green jacket. Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga says: “It was really wonderful. As the coronavirus drags on, his achievement moved our hearts and gave us courage.” Japan is struggling to pull off the postponed Tokyo Olympics in just over three months with coronavirus cases on the rise again in Tokyo and Osaka. The Olympics open on July 23.

BANGKOK (AP) — Asian shares were lower on Monday, as investors grew wary over the recent surge in coronavirus cases in many places while vaccination efforts are making scant headway. Shares fell in Tokyo, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Sydney. The…

Jon Rahm had a great week before even getting to the Masters. His stay at Augusta National wasn’t bad, either. Rahm shot a 6-under 66 in the final round of the Masters on Sunday, getting him to 6 under for the week and in a fifth-place tie — four shots behind winner Hideki Matsuyama. Rahm shot even-par rounds of 72 on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The 66 on Sunday gave him 15 consecutive rounds of par or better at Augusta National, one shy of matching the record in that category held by Tiger Woods.

Martin Truex Jr. won a stirring, laps-long duel for the lead with teammate Denny Hamlin in the delayed NASCAR Cup Series race at Martinsville Speedway on Sunday night. Truex, who nudged Hamlin repeatedly in the turns and tried to get to his inside on the straightaways without success, finally made the pass with 15 laps to go, ducking underneath Hamlin coming out of the second turn. He sailed off to victory without another challenge as Hamlin and Chase Elliott battled the rest of the way for second. Truex won for the third time in the last four races on the 0.526-mile oval, and became the first repeat winner this season.  Elliott held off Hamlin for second.

Hideki Matsuyama hopes to be a pioneer for Japanese golf. He made history at Augusta National by becoming the first man from Japan to win one of golf's major championships. Matsuyama is pulling for others from his country to follow his lead at the Masters. He held on to win by a single stroke after knocking one in the water at the 15th. He finished with a 1-over 73 and held off Masters rookie Will Zalatoris. A decade ago, Matsuyama made a sterling debut as the best amateur at Augusta National. Now he's claimed the ultimate prize. A green jacket. 

Maybe the first hint that Will Zalatoris had what it took came when he was 6, and Ken Venturi went over to him on a driving range to show him a grip that he hasn’t changed since. Or maybe it was at 11, when a pro named David Price said he could be great if he put in the work. Or maybe it was Sunday, when the 24-year-old finished second at the Masters. Either way, the secret is out now. He finished alone in second, only one shot behind Hideki Matsuyama, his final round of 2-under 70 getting him to 9 under for the week and into the spotlight for as long as he wants.

Xander Schauffele stepped up to the 16th tee with all the momentum at the Masters. He had just ripped off four straight birdies. He had closed the gap on Hideki Matsuyama to a mere two strokes. Schauffele decided to hit one right at the flag. Instead, he added another close call to a career that is becoming “a big ball of scar tissue.” Schauffele's tee shot at the 16th went in the water, and so went his chances of claiming his first major championship. Schauffele took an ugly triple-bogey at the 16th and finished in a tie for third.