Sea Dogs outfielder Matthew Lugo earns Eastern League honor

Portland Sea Dogs outfielder Matthew Lugo was named the Eastern League Player of the Week after hitting .438 in five games.

Lugo was 7 for 16 last week with three doubles, a triple, a home run, three runs scored and 10 RBI to help the Sea Dogs win five of six against New Hampshire. In a 5-2 win on Wednesday. Lugo broke a 2-2 tie in the eighth inning with a great trip. On Thursday, he had an RBI double in the seventh to give the Sea Dogs the lead in a 3-0 victory.

On Saturday, he reached base five times, including two hits and three walks, and struck out four in the Sea Dogs’ 6-2 victory.

The Sea Dogs are back in action Tuesday when they begin a six-game homestand in Hartford.

FOOTBALL

NFL: Matt Ryan, who put up Hall of Fame-worthy numbers during his stellar career with the Atlanta Falcons but fell heartbreakingly shy of a Super Bowl championship, has announced his retirement as a player.

The decision wasn’t a surprise considering the quarterback hasn’t played since a disappointing season with the Indianapolis Colts in 2022. He worked last season as an analyst for CBS, receiving a standing ovation when he scheduled a game in Atlanta.

• The New York Jets traded quarterback Zach Wilson to the Denver Broncos, a person familiar with the deal told The Associated Press.

The Jets are sending Wilson and a seventh-round pick in this week’s NFL draft to the Broncos for a sixth-round pick, the person said.

Wilson, the No. 2 pick in the 2021 draft, spent three disappointing seasons with the Jets. New York is also expected to pay a portion of Wilson’s $5.5 million salary this season.

• The Washington Commanders released defensive end Shaka Towney, four days after he was reinstated by the NFL following a gambling suspension.

Towney was one of three players suspended last April through at least the 2023 season for betting on games in the 2022 season. A league review found no evidence of insider trading or compromised games.

BASKETBALL

NBA: Jordi Fernandez was hired to coach the Brooklyn Nets, who are looking to rebound after missing the playoffs for the first time in six years.

The Nets finished 32-50 and fired Jacques Vaughn at the All-Star break. Kevin Ollie finished the season as interim coach.

Fernandez spent the past two seasons as the Sacramento Kings’ associate head coach, helping them win the Pacific Division title last year and reach the playoffs for the first time since 2006.

OLYMPIA

SWIMMING: The World Anti-Doping Agency said after reviewing various media reports that it stands by its decision to release 23 Chinese swimmers who tested positive for a banned heart drug ahead of the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.

WADA answered questions at a news conference on Monday and admitted there would be skepticism about the details of the case following the release on Sunday of a documentary by German broadcaster ARD.

In an earlier statement after the initial newspaper reports, led by the New York Times, WADA said it agreed with Chinese authorities and determined that the swimmers’ samples were contaminated.

The contamination was believed to have come from spice containers in the kitchen of a hotel where part of the Chinese team was staying for a national meet in January 2021.

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Sports Digest: Sykes leads Sea Dogs to fifth straight win