Roddick announces retirement

Tennis: Andy Roddick’s tennis career will close at the U.S. Open, the site of his biggest triumph.

The 2003 champion at Flushing Meadows and former No. 1-ranked player decided to walk away from the sport whenever his U.S. Open ends, making the surprise announcement at a news conference on Thursday, his 30th birthday.

“I’ll make this short and sweet: I’ve decided that this is going to be my last tournament,” said Roddick, wearing a black T-shirt and baseball cap with his clothing sponsor’s logos.

“I just feel like it’s time. I don’t know that I’m healthy enough or committed enough to go another year,” he said. “I’ve always wanted to, in a perfect world, finish at this event.”

The 20th-seeded Roddick is scheduled to play Bernard Tomic, 19, of Australia in the second round tonight.

Associated Press

No Pac-12 on DirecTV

Colleges: The Pac-12 Networks opened it football coverage Thursday night with the Utah-Northern Colorado and Arizona State-Northern Arizona games, but DirecTV subscribers were unable to watch because of a distribution stalemate.

The Pac-12 Networks has exclusive rights to 15 nonconference games and 20 Pac-12 games this season. On Wednesday, the networks issued an open letter to fans recommending they switch to another television provider.

“If you’re one of the fans who won’t be satisfied without Pac-12 football, or our more than 135 men’s basketball games and hundreds of other live events, we recommend finding Pac-12 Networks with another … provider,” it said.

Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott said, in addressing the situation, “there’s no signal from DirecTV (that’s) going to happen any time soon.

“We want to fans to know if they have options, they ought to seriously consider them if they want to get” the Pac-12 Networks.

Associated Press