HOCKEY

The Maine Mariners responded to reports that the team could be changing affiliations by saying Tuesday that no “final agreement” has been reached with any NHL team.

SportsNet Canada reported recently that the Boston Bruins may switch their ECHL affiliate from Atlanta to Portland. The Mariners, who play at Cross Insurance Arena in downtown Portland, have been affiliated with the NHL’s New York Rangers and AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack since they began playing in the 2018-19 season.

The Mariners released a statement by team president Daniel Briere that said, “We haven’t reached a final agreement about our future affiliation, but we expect to update our fans on the Mariners’ exciting future in the coming weeks.”

Both the Mariners and the Atlanta Gladiators opted out of the 2020-21 ECHL season. The Mariners are scheduled to open the 2021-22 season at home against Worcester on Oct. 22.

The Bruins were the NHL affiliate of the AHL Maine Mariners for five years before moving to Providence in 1992.

COLLEGES

FOOTBALL: The University of Maine football team added a linebacker through a transfer while also losing two players to the NCAA transfer portal.

Brian Lee Jr., a junior, transferred to UMaine from Saint Francis University and will be eligible to play in the fall. In two years at Saint Francis, Lee played in 23 games with 81 tackles, a forced fumble and one interception. He made 13.5 tackles for a loss and 5.5 sacks.

Also, two Black Bears entered the transfer portal: running back Curtis Murray and defensive back Quincy Barber.

Murray, from Upper Marlboro, Maryland, was a contributor in each of his two seasons in Orono. During the 2021 spring season, he rushed for 49 yards and one touchdown. He appeared in three games in 2019.

Barber, from Washington, D.C., did not appear in any games for the Black Bears. Murray and Barber have four years of eligibility.

SOCCER

Real Madrid hired Carlo Ancelotti as coach on Tuesday to replace Zinedine Zidane, who quit last week after the team’s first trophyless season in more than a decade.

The 61-year-old Ancelotti left as manager of Premier League club Everton to take over in Madrid, where he has coached from 2013 to 2015. The Spanish club said that Ancelotti has agreed to a three-year contract and that a press conference was scheduled Wednesday.

Zidane was Ancelotti’s assistant when Madrid won its 10th European title in 2014. Ancelotti also led Madrid to titles in the Copa del Rey, the Spanish Super Cup and FIFA’s Club World Cup.

“While I have enjoyed being at Everton, I have been presented with an unexpected opportunity which I believe is the right move for me and my family at this time,” Ancelotti said in a statement on Everton’s website.

The Italian joined Everton in December 2019, taking over from Marco Silva. The club finished 12th in the Premier League last year, before a 10th-place finish in Ancelotti’s only full season in charge.

Zidane, who led Madrid to three consecutive Champions League titles from 2016-18, quit last week saying he didn’t have the support of the club for a long-term project.

Other coaches who had been touted to replace Zidane included Antonio Conte, Mauricio Pochettino, Xabi Alonso and Raúl González.

HORSE RACING

BELMONT STAKES: Essential Quality was set as a 2-1 favorite for the Belmont Stakes, which will be run Saturday without a horse from trainer Bob Baffert pending an investigation into Medina Spirit’s failed drug test after winning the Kentucky Derby.

Preakness winner Rombauer and Essential Quality headline a field of eight horses for the third jewel of the Triple Crown. Baffert has no horses running at Belmont Park because the New York Racing Association suspended him in light of Medina Spirit’s positive drug test for a corticosteroid at the Derby. Essential Quality, who drew the No. 2 post position, went off as the Derby favorite and finished fourth. Brad Cox’s other Derby horse, Mandaloun, would be named the winner of that race if Medina Spirit is disqualified, but Cox opted to run only Essential Quality in the Belmont.

Rombauer is the 3-1 second choice on the morning line. Jockey Flavien Prat left Rombauer despite winning the Preakness to honor a commitment to ride Hot Rod Charlie, who is the 7-2 third choice from the No. 4 position. Hall of Famer John Velazquez will ride Rombauer, who drew the third post position just outside Essential Quality and No. 1 Bourbonic, who is back after skipping the Preakness.

Bourbonic is 15-1, No. 5 France Go de Ina is 30-1, No. 6 Known Agenda is 6-1, No. 7 Rock Your World is 9-2 and No. 8 Overtook 20-1.

FOOTBALL

CFL NAME CHANGE: The Edmonton CFL franchise has changed its team name to Elks, the club announced.

Edmonton dropped its longtime name, Eskimos, last year following a similar decision by the NFL’s Washington team amid pressure on franchises to eliminate racist or stereotypical names. It had been called the Edmonton Football Team up until the announcement, but its logo continued to feature two Es.

Elks was one of seven potential name changes the Edmonton Football Team provided on its shortlist. The others included: Evergreens, Evergolds, Eclipse, Elkhounds, Eagles and Elements. When the Edmonton Football Team announced last year it was discontinuing the Eskimos name, president Chris Presson said it was the franchise’s hope to keep its double-E logo and green and gold colors.

The decision came following a review by the franchise after it twice opted to maintain its team name.

OLYMPICS

BADMINTON: Olympic badminton champion Carolina Marín will not defend her title at the Tokyo Games because of a knee injury. Marín said medical tests confirmed she has damage to her meniscus and a torn anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee. The Spanish star is expected to undergo surgery this week.

“It’s another tough blow that I will have to overcome,” Marín said on her Instagram account. “But make no mistake about it, I’ll be back.”

Marín, a three-time world champion and a five-time European champion, was injured during training last week. She had a similar injury in her right knee in 2019. Marín was one of Spain’s best hopes for a gold medal in Tokyo, having reached the final in all five tournaments she played this year, winning four of them.

HOCKEY

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: Kevin Labanc and Conor Garland scored two goals apiece and the United States won its sixth straight game with a 4-2 victory over Italy in its final preliminary game at Riga, Latvia.

With the victory, the U.S. clinched first in Group B and will play Slovakia in the single-elimination quarterfinals, which start Thursday.