Miyazato, Michaels share Safeway lead
GOLF: Mika Miyazato and Sydnee Michaels shot 7-under-par 65s on Friday in 100-degree heat to share the first-round lead in the LPGA Tour’s Safeway Classic in North Plains, Ore.
Miyazato and Michaels each had eight birdies and a bogey on Pumpkin Ridge’s Ghost Creek Course.
Cristie Kerr, Inbee Park and Pornanong Phatlum were a stroke back. So Yeon Ryu, the Toledo Classic winner last week, was two shots behind at 67 along with Brittany Lincicome, Alison Walshe and Jee Young Lee.
Michelle Wie opened with a 69, top-ranked Yani Tseng had a 70, and defending champion Suzann Pettersen shot 71.
The 65 was the best score of the season for Michaels, an LPGA Tour rookie from UCLA.
Miyazato, winless on the LPGA Tour, has five top-10 finishes this season.
Wendy Ward of Edwall, Wash., shot a 71 and is tied for 36th.
• Walker leads Wyndham: Jimmy Walker shot an 8-under 62 to top the leaderboard at 12 under in the Wyndham Championship in Greensboro, N.C.
Defending champion Webb Simpson was a stroke back after a 63. First-round leader Carl Pettersson, Tim Clark, Sergio Garcia and rookie Harris English were 10 under. Pettersson had a 68, Clark shot 67, Garcia 63 and English 64.
Tim Herron matched the tournament record with a 61 but was still nine strokes back.
Play was halted for 1 hour, 17 minutes late in the day when a system of thunderstorms passed through the central North Carolina Triad.
Walker, who began the day four strokes back, had eight birdies in compiling one of the best two-day scores in event history. Only Pettersson at 125 in 2008 was better than Walker through 36 holes at Sedgefield Country Club.
• Rain halts Champions Tour event: Bernhard Langer topped the leaderboard at 7 under when first-round play in the Champions Tour’s Dick’s Sporting Goods Open in Endicott, N.Y., was suspended because of rain.
Defending champion John Huston, Willie Wood and Chien Soon Lu were 5 under. Willie Wood, one of 12 players to complete the round, shot a 67. Huston had three holes left, and Lu had nine to go.
Former Pullman resident Kirk Triplett is tied for 34th at 1 under through 13 holes.
Uganda falls short in debut at LLWS
Little League: Win or lose, the Little League World Series team from Uganda has become a hometown favorite.
The first team from Africa to advance to South Williamsport, Pa., in the 66-year history of the tourney did fall in its debut. Panama defeated the boys from Lugazi 9-3.
Uganda’s coaches said they didn’t expect any parents of the players to make the expensive transatlantic trip to Pennsylvania.
But Uganda has still drawn vocal fans who cheered wildly, especially after Daniel Alio’s towering home run to center in the sixth.
Also at the tournament: Mason Gillis drove in two runs with a check-swing double in a four-run fifth for New Castle, Ind., to break open a pitcher’s duel in a 4-0 victory over Gresham, Ore.; Jordan Cardenas homered and pitched 2 1/3 innings of hitless relief, and San Antonio, Texas, took advantage of defensive miscues to beat Parsippany, N.J., 5-2; and outfielder Thomas Neal’s lunging catch saved an extra-base hit and helped Vancouver, British Columbia, beat Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, 13-9.
Report: ‘Honey Badger’ in rehab
College football: Former LSU star Tyrann Mathieu has entered a drug rehabilitation program in Houston since being dismissed from the Tigers, according to a television report.
Fox 8 in New Orleans reported that Mathieu’s adoptive father, Tryone Mathieu, says that the 20-year-old star cornerback and punt returner known as the “Honey Badger” has been at the Right Step recovery center and is being counseled by former NBA player John Lucas.
Tyrone Mathieu says his son is committed to restoring his health and won’t play football until he is confident that his rehab is complete. That may rule out the possibility of Mathieu transferring to a school at the FCS level and playing this season, after which he would be eligible for the NFL draft.
No one from Mathieu’s family appeared on camera in the New Orleans television report. Lucas has not returned a phone message left by the Associated Press.
• Sooners suspend McGee: Oklahoma defensive tackle Stacy McGee was suspended indefinitely for what coach Bob Stoops called a violation of university policy.
McGee is the fifth Oklahoma player to be suspended during this offseason. Receiver Kameel Jackson was eventually dismissed from the team, while defensive back Quentin Hayes and receivers Jaz Reynolds and Trey Franks have been reinstated to practice but won’t be allowed to play in games.
McGee has started 17 games over the past three seasons. He played in 12 games last season, starting three times and recording 22 tackles and 1 1/2 sacks.
Serena falls, Venus advances to semis
Miscellany: Serena Williams lost her cool and her 19-match winning streak at the Western & Southern Open. Sister Venus did much better, reaching the semifinals for the first time this season.
Serena Williams flubbed routine shots while falling to German’s Angelique Kerber 6-4, 6-4 in Mason, Ohio. She hadn’t lost a set since she won the title match at Wimbledon.
After losing a game in the second set, she threw her racket at the ground, picked it up and slammed it on the court again.
Venus Williams advanced by winning a three-set match for the third time in the tournament, beating Samantha Stosur 6-2, 6-7 (2), 6-4.
On the men’s side, Novak Djokovic and Juan Martin del Potro won in straight sets, setting up a rematch of their bronze-medal match at the Olympics won by Del Potro.
• Richards-Ross takes 400 meters: Olympic champion Sanya Richards-Ross was pushed to the limit by Botswana’s Amantle Montsho but won the women’s 400 meters at the DN Gala Diamond League event in Stockholm.
The American took the lead in the closing stage of the race to win in 49.89 seconds. Montsho finished in 50.03, with Britain’s Christine Ohuruogu third in 50.77.
Also, American Michael Tinsley defeated Olympic champion Felix Sanchez in the men’s 400 hurdles, clocking 48.50. Sanchez, who won gold ahead of Tinsley at the London Games, finished 0.43 behind. Leford Green of Jamaica was third in 48.97.