Yawkey Way Will Now Be Jersey St.
Boston officials Thursday approved changing the name of Yawkey Way, the street outside Fenway Park, because of allegations former Red Sox owner Tom Yawkey was a racist who resisted signing black ballplayers in the 1940s and ’50s.
The city’s Public Improvement Commission unanimously approved a proposal by current Red Sox ownership to call the stretch of road Jersey Street, which it was originally named before being changed in 1977 to honor Yawkey the year after he died.
“The spirit of Boston is being renewed,” said Walter Carrington, 87, a former member of the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination who investigated the Red Sox organization in 1959.
The vote drew immediate condemnation from the Yawkey Foundations, the charity named for Yawkey and his wife, Jean Yawkey.
Joe Kelly’s appeal of a six-game suspension was denied by John McHale Jr., a special assistant to baseball commissioner Rob Manfred, and the Boston pitcher started serving the penalty on Thursday night against Toronto.
Meanwhile, Tyler Austin’s suspension was cut from five games to four. The New York first baseman will start serving the penalty on Friday when the Yankees open a series at the Los Angeles Angels.
Kelly threw at Austin twice in the seventh inning on April 11, missing with the first attempt but hitting Austin on the side with the second. Austin charged the mound.
PRO HOCKEY
Penguins nip the Capitals
Patric Hornqvist, Sidney Crosby and Jake Guentzel scored in a 4:49 span to help the Pittsburgh Penguins rally to beat the Washington Capitals 3-2 in Game 1 of the second-round series.
Down 2-0 early in the third period and playing without Evgeni Malkin and Carl Hagelin, Pittsburgh turned it around with all three of its top-line forwards chipping in a goal. Crosby scored the tying goal when the puck bounced to him off Alex Ovechkin’s stick, and assisted on Guentzel’s go-ahead goal.
PRO BASKETBALL
NBA: Refs botched key call
The NBA said LeBron James’ block in the closing seconds of Game 5 on Indiana’s Victor Oladipo should have been called goaltending.
In the league’s Last Two Minute Report, the NBA said the three officials missed the call with 5.1 seconds left. The league said the video shows James blocked Oladipo’s shot “after it makes contact with the backboard.” Under league rules, the play could not be reviewed because it wasn’t called on the floor. James then hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give the Cavaliers a 98-95 win and a 3-2 lead in the series.
GENERAL
Olsen receives extension
Greg Olsen isn’t quite ready to become a full-time NFL broadcaster -- he still has football to play.
The Panthers agreed to a two-year contract extension with three-time Pro Bowl tight end Olsen worth $8.5 million per season, a person familiar with the situation said.
Chez Reavie and Lucas Glover teamed to shoot a 12-under 60 for a share of the Zurich Classic lead with China’s Zhang Xinjun and Dou Zecheng in Avondale, La.
Reavie and Glover each had six birdies in the best-ball format, pushing through soggy weather early in the round before conditions cleared at TPC Louisiana. Zhang and Dou birdied four of their final five holes.
Tony Finau-Daniel Summerhays, Chris Paisley-Tommy Fleetwood, J.J. Henry-Tom Hoge, Michael Kim-Andrew Putnam, Kevin Kisner-Scott Brown and Troy Merritt-Brendon de Jonge were tied for third at 62.