Oilers, GM Holland opt to part ways

The Oilers said Thursday general manager Ken Holland will not have his contract renewed, calling it a mutual decision between the Hall of Fame executive and the NHL club. Holland spent the last five seasons as the Oilers’ GM and built a team that advanced to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final before losing to the Panthers. His departure has been anticipated since Connor McDavid’s agent, Jeff Jackson, took over as CEO of hockey operations in August. Holland, 68, spent 22 seasons as GM of the Red Wings, winning the Cup three times. Building around McDavid and elite forward Leon Draisaitl, the Oilers finished the season looking like the potential champions many expected to see when Holland took over for interim GM Keith Gretzky on May 7, 2019. But the Oilers’ rise to the top came in fits and starts, with Holland coming under fire over much of his tenure for building a top-heavy roster and failing to solve goaltending woes. Now the Oilers have a major role to fill as they head into the offseason looking for a way to make the final step toward winning their sixth Cup title and first since 1990.

Kerr: All of Team USA ready for camp

Kawhi Leonard, Tyrese Haliburton and Joel Embiid are all good to go for the start of USA Basketball’s men’s national team training camp in Las Vegas next week, the first step toward what the Americans hope is a fifth consecutive Olympic gold medal. Leonard missed 12 of the Clippers’ final 14 games this past season with right knee inflammation. Haliburton was hampered at the end of the Pacers’ playoff run by issues with his left hamstring. And Embiid was dealing with left knee issues throughout his season with the 76ers. “We expect everybody to be good to go,” U.S. coach Steve Kerr said Thursday. The Americans will go to the Paris Games as the favorite and the top-ranked men’s team in the world — though nobody expects these Olympics will be a cakewalk. The U.S. still hasn’t had to make any changes to the roster since it was originally announced in April. The original 12 names remain unchanged: Leonard, Haliburton, Embiid, Kevin Durant, LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Anthony Edwards, Jrue Holiday, Jayson Tatum, Devin Booker, Bam Adebayo and Anthony Davis.

Ronaldo avoids fan crossing barrier

Cristiano Ronaldo narrowly avoided being hit by a young fan who jumped from the crowd to get close to the soccer star when Portugal suffered a shocking 2-0 loss to Georgia at the European Championship on Wednesday. A video widely circulated on social media shows someone leaping over the top of the players’ tunnel at the Veltins Arena in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, as Ronaldo headed to the locker room. A safety steward rushed to shield the former Real Madrid and Manchester United star and other security staff raced toward the fan, who fell away out of sight. A bemused-looking Ronaldo stopped, but appeared to be unharmed. During Portugal’s previous match against Turkey in Dortmund on Saturday, the 38-year-old Ronaldo was confronted on the field by four supporters who wanted selfies. He posed for one with a young fan who evaded stewards to get on the field in the 69th minute, but looked frustrated when approached by more fans later in the game and after the final whistle. —Associated Press