NEW YORK -- The NBA's board of governors has approved the Detroit Pistons' relocation to downtown Detroit.
The league announced the approval Thursday.
The Pistons will begin playing next season at Little Caesars Arena, a new venue that will also house the Detroit Red Wings. The Pistons are moving there after 29 seasons playing their home games in the suburbs at The Palace of Auburn Hills.
Detroit will now have all four of its major pro teams playing within a few blocks of each other. Comerica Park (Tigers) and Ford Field (Lions) are in the same area as Little Caesars Arena.
The Pistons had formally announced their plans to move downtown in November.
Warriors: Curry shoots 4-over 74 in pro golf debut
HAYWARD, California -- Stephen Curry pumped his right fist, raised his arms in the air with club in hand and gave a firm shoulder bump to caddie Jonnie West, his golf partner on road trips with the Golden State Warriors.
After three bogeys in five holes of his professional golf debut, a birdie was worthy of celebration.
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There was the animated, confident Steph that NBA fans know so well, the two-time league MVP finally feeling it and making the tough shots on the challenging course at TPC Stonebrae while competing in a tournament one step below the PGA Tour.
With a bogey on the last hole, he had a respectable 4-over 74.
"It was an amazing experience, I've been looking forward to this since I found out and to finally hit my first shot in tournament play was a really, really nervous moment but it was everything I hoped for," Curry said. "If you told me I was going to shoot 74 going into the first round I'd take that all day, every day. I'm pretty happy with it" (see full story).
Bucks: Team takes step forward with new practice facility
MILWAUKEE -- Recruiting and retaining players in the NBA means more than just offering top-dollar contracts.
Money, of course, helps. But a shiny new practice facility, complete with a state-of-the-art weight room and even its own barber shop, can help build a case, too.
Consider the Milwaukee Bucks' new downtown training center another step forward for one of the NBA's up-and-coming teams.
"This is amazing," general manager Jon Horst said. "This is going to change the way we do things."
The Bucks held a grand opening ceremony on Thursday for the Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin Sports Science Center, which is across the street from the construction site of the team's new area scheduled to be ready for the 2018-19 season.
This upcoming season will be the last for the team at the Bradley Center, which is one block south of the new arena site. But when the Bucks return for practice in a couple months, they'll report downtown instead of their old training facility in the Milwaukee suburb of St. Francis (see full story).
Trail Blazers: Lillard's jersey to be retired by Weber State
OGDEN, Utah -- Weber State will retire the jersey of Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard on Aug. 26.
The two-time All-Star will have his No. 1 retired during an alumni game in which he will be one of the coaches.
Lillard will be the third men's basketball player at Weber State to have his jersey retired, joining Willie Sojourner and Bruce Collins. He was a two-time Big Sky MVP and the only player in Big Sky history to be selected to an All-America team. He was named third-team in 2012.
Lillard was second in the country with 24.5 points per game during the 2011-12 season and finished his career with the third-most points (1,934) in school history. He was the No. 6 pick in the 2012 NBA draft and went on to be rookie of the year.
