Thursday's Sports In Brief
NBA
SAN ANTONIO (AP) Kawhi Leonard is keeping some Hall of Fame company.
The San Antonio forward was selected the NBA Defensive Player of the Year on Thursday, joining Michael Jordan and Hakeem Olajuwon as the only players to win the award and the NBA Finals MVP.
''It feels great,'' the 23-year-old Leonard said. ''Growing up as a kid, you're watching these players and you want to become who they are or get the accolades that they have. It just shows that hard work pays off.''
Leonard led the league in steals at 2.3 per game and has become the Spurs' primary individual defender.
Leonard received 37 first-place votes and 333 points from a panel of 129 writers and broadcasters. Golden State forward Draymond Green had 45 first-place votes, but appeared on fewer ballots and had 317 points. Los Angeles Clippers center DeAndre Jordan finished third, receiving 32 first-place votes and 261 points.
HAVANA (AP) - Former NBA greats Steve Nash and Dikembe Mutombo have opened their training camp for Cuban basketball players, hoping to boost the game's popularity on the communist-run island following the declaration of detente between Washington and Havana.
The flags of Cuba and the United States flew at the Havana university where the four-day camp began Thursday. Nash, a former MVP, and Mutumbo, a Hall of Fame inductee, were joined by ex-WNBA player Ticha Penicheiro and NBA coaches in teaching the more than 100 athletes.
''Basketball is a bridge that can unite people and cultures so I am happy to be here,'' Mutumbo said.
The NBA is the first U.S. professional league to visit Cuba since the detente announcement.
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BASEBALL
NEW YORK (AP) - Commissioner Rob Manfred says Pete Rose will be allowed to participate in activities surrounding this summer's All-Star Game in his hometown of Cincinnati.
Rose, baseball's career hits leader and a former Reds star player and manager, agreed to a lifetime ban from the sport in 1989 after a Major League Baseball investigation concluded he bet on his team to win while he was managing the club.
Manfred said initial thoughts about Rose's role at the July 14 game will come from Reds owner Bob Castellini.
MLB permitted Rose to take part in the All-Century team announcement at Atlanta's Turner Field during the 1999 World Series and a Reds ceremony in 2013 honoring their 1975 and `76 championship teams.
In 24 seasons in the majors, Rose had 4,256 hits. A 17-time All-Star, Rose made the team at five different positions.
CHICAGO (AP) - Benches cleared at the end of the seventh inning of Thursday's game between the Kansas City Royals and Chicago White Sox.
Kansas City starter Yordano Ventura snagged a grounder from Chicago outfielder Adam Eaton and the pair appeared to exchange words before Ventura threw to first to end the inning. After the play, players from both dugouts and bullpens ran onto the field. Several punches were thrown.
There were five ejections - Kansas City's Ventura, Lorenzo Cain and Edinson Volquez along with Chris Sale and Jeff Samardzija from Chicago.
During the bottom of the fourth, Ventura hit Jose Abreu in the left arm with a pitch. In the top of the fifth, Sale hit Mike Moustakas, leading to warnings for both benches.
The Royals won 3-2 in 13 innings.
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NFL
WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama is honoring the New England Patriots for winning the Super Bowl despite a ''huge distraction and media circus.''
Obama recognized the football champions Thursday during a White House ceremony on the South Lawn.
The president said ''that whole story got blown out of proportion,'' referring to an investigation of underinflated footballs, as the crowd chuckled.
Head coach Bill Belichick presented Obama with a Patriots jersey and signed helmet and called him the ''ultimate Patriot,'' despite Obama's allegiance to his beloved Chicago Bears.
The Patriots defeated the Seattle Seahawks 28-24 in Super Bowl XLIX.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) - The family of late Pro Bowl safety Dave Duerson will appeal this week's NFL concussion settlement amid concerns it doesn't include future awards for the brain decay diagnosed after his 2011 suicide.
An appeal could hold up the settlement approved Wednesday by a federal judge in Philadelphia. The potential $1 billion deal is designed to monitor more than 20,000 NFL retirees over 65 years and compensate those with dementia, Alzheimer's disease and other serious neurological conditions.
But the plan doesn't include future awards for chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, often called the signature disease of football.
The judge concluded CTE research is in its ''infancy'' and suspected early symptoms including violence, mood swings and depression shouldn't by themselves trigger awards.
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WNBA
GOODYEAR, Ariz. (AP) - Phoenix Mercury star Brittney Griner and her fiancee, fellow WNBA player Glory Johnson, were arrested on suspicion of assault and disorderly conduct after an argument in the home they recently purchased together became physical.
The two 24-year-olds were each arrested Wednesday on counts of assault by recklessly causing physical injuries and disorderly conduct for fighting. They were booked into the Maricopa County Jail in downtown Phoenix and later released.
''The last few months have been an extremely stressful time for Brittney and Glory. They will continue to work through these hardships together and ask that the media respect their privacy as they handle this family matter,'' Griner's attorney, David Michael Cantor, said in a statement released Thursday.
The agent for Johnson did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday.
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NASCAR
NEW YORK (AP) - NASCAR chairman Brian France is not sure if Kyle Busch will be granted a waiver to be part of the championship chase when he returns from injury, but said Thursday the sanctioning body would like to ''accommodate'' him.
Busch broke his right leg and left foot in a crash into a concrete wall in the Xfinity Series race at Daytona International Speedway the day before the season-opening Daytona 500.
He'll miss his ninth race this weekend at Richmond International Raceway, but has indicated he'll return to racing this season. The only way he'd be eligible to make the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship is if NASCAR grants him a waiver, and he wins a race that would qualify him for the 16-driver field. He'd also have to be inside the top 30 in points.
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SOCCER
NEW YORK (AP) - Major League Soccer on Thursday suspended Colorado midfielder Marcelo Sarvas for two games and Seattle defender Chad Marshall and New York City FC goalkeeper Josh Saunders for one game. All three players were also fined an undisclosed sum.
Sarvas was suspended for fouling and then stepping on Seattle striker Clint Dempsey. Earlier in the same game, Marshall drew a yellow card for his hard tackle of Colorado's Vicente Sanchez.
Saunders was disciplined for endangering the safety of an opponent during the 69th minute of New York's match against the Portland Timbers on Sunday.
Sarvas will miss Colorado's games against FC Dallas and New York Red Bulls. Marshall will be on the sideline Sunday when Seattle hosts rival Portland. New York plays at Chicago on Friday night.