In brief: Marquez, Herrera score late, Mexico beats Uruguay 3-1
Soccer: Rafa Marquez and Hector Herrera scored late goals to lift Mexico over Uruguay 3-1 in an opening-round Copa America match Sunday night in Glendale, Arizona.
Marquez’s close-range shot in the 84th minute broke a 1-1 tie and Herrera’s header from just outside the net added another score in extra time.
Mexico’s other score was an own-goal by Uruguay’s Alvaro Pereira four minutes into the match. Marquez’s score came 10 minutes after Diego Godin’s header tied it for Uruguay at 1-1.
A vastly pro-Mexico crowd of 60,025 watched the matchup of what are considered the top teams in the tournament’s Group C.
The evening began on an odd note when the wrong national anthem was played for Uruguay in the pre-match ceremonies.
Venezuela opens Group C with 1-0 win: Josef Martinez slotted a left-footed shot under goalkeeper Andre Blake in the 15th minute and Venezuela beat 10-man Jamaica 1-0 in their Group C opener in the Copa America tournament in Chicago.
Martinez’s goal was set up by a Jamaican giveaway on a clearance attempt. Venezuela defender Rolf Feltscher intercepted and started a quick-hitting, four-pass combination that freed Martinez near the left corner of the 6-yard box.
Jamaica midfielder Rodolph Austin was sent off in the 23rd minute, receiving a straight red card for a studs-up tackle on Venezuela’s Tomas Rincon.
Michael Hector nearly tied it for Jamaica on a right-footed shot that hit the post in the 49th minute, and Blake had a diving save in the 70th minute to keep the deficit at one goal.
Mitchell carries Fever late, holds off Sun
WNBA: Tiffany Mitchell scored 13 of her career-high 21 points in the final 5:39 to help the Indiana Fever hold off the Connecticut Sun 88-77 in Uncasville, Connecticut.
The Fever (4-4), ranked No. 6 in in the AP WNBA power poll, led by 20 with 3:51 left in the third quarter. Connecticut rallied back within 73-67 as Rachel Banham scored nine of the Sun’s next 20 points.
Mitchell, a rookie, then scored 13 of Indiana’s final 15 points and the Fever pulled away for good.
Marissa Coleman, Devereaux Peters and Tamika Catchings had 12 points each and Shenise Johnson scored 11. Mitchell has scored in double digits in all eight games this season.
Alyssa Thomas led the last-ranked Sun (1-7) with 20 points. Kelsey Bone added 13 points, Banham scored 12 and Chiney Ogwumike had 10. Connecticut has lost its last six and is off to the worst start in franchise history.
Mystics snap Dream’s streak: Tayler Hill scored 17 points and the Washington Mystics led the entire second half to beat host Atlanta 86-79, ending the Dream’s five-game winning streak.
The Mystics (3-6) took the lead for good late in the first half and pushed ahead 52-43 by opening the third quarter with eight straight points. Atlanta got as close as 67-62 early in the fourth, but Washington answered with a 12-3 run.
Washington, ranked No. 9 in the AP WNBA power poll, ended a three-game losing streak.
Emma Meesseman had 15 points and Ivory Latta scored 12 for the Mystics. Meesseman surpassed 1,000 career points in the first quarter. Stefanie Dolson had eight points, 12 rebounds and three blocks.
Angel McCoughtry had 28 points and Elizabeth Williams 21 – both season highs – to lead the Dream (6-2), ranked third in the power poll.
Denver’s Talib suffers gunshot wound
Miscellany: The Denver Broncos say star cornerback Aqib Talib is recovering after being shot in the leg at a Dallas nightclub.
Team spokesman Patrick Smyth said the team has been in touch with the cornerback and that he’s doing OK. Smyth said the team was gathering more information.
Last week, Talib said he was looking forward to the trip on Monday to the White House, where President Barack Obama will honor the Broncos for winning the Super Bowl. It’s unknown if he’ll still be able to make the trip.
The Broncos’ three-day mandatory minicamp starts Tuesday.
Talib is entering his ninth NFL season and has been named to the Pro Bowl the last three seasons.
Police told The Dallas Morning News that Talib was one of two people shot in an altercation at the Vlive club and that both victims were hospitalized with non-life-threatening wounds.
Broncos cornerback Kayvon Webster tweeted, “My boy Talib is fine thanking man upstairs!”
Along with fellow Pro Bowl cornerback Chris Harris Jr. and Bradley Roby, Talib makes up what’s considered by many the best cornerback crew in the NFL. His 30 interceptions and eight pick-6s are tops in the league since 2008, his rookie year in Tampa Bay.
Talib is entering his ninth NFL season and third in Denver. He signed a six-year, $57 million contract in 2014 that includes a base salary of $8.5 million for this upcoming season and a roster bonus of nearly $500,000.
Last year he made $5.5 million minus one game check of $323,529 after being suspended for deliberately poking an Indianapolis Colts player in the eye after a play the previous week.
Talib finished the season with 45 tackles, 13 pass breakups and three interceptions, two of which he returned.
Pearson struggles, Harrison wins: Sally Pearson finished seventh in her first competitive 100-meter hurdles race in a year following a serious wrist injury, far behind an upcoming American who looks in prime shape to take the Australian’s Olympic title.
Kendra Harrison won in 12.46 seconds at the Diamond League event in Birmingham, England, showing her stunning victory in Eugene last week – in 12.24, the second-fastest time ever – was no one-off.
Pearson trailed home in 13.25, a time she described as “disgusting,” but she had an excuse. It’s a year and a day since she suffered what doctors said was a “bone explosion” in a heavy fall in a race in Rome, and Pearson hadn’t raced since.
Among the winners in Birmingham were Mo Farah in the 3,000 meters, Kirani James in the 400 and 40-year-old Kim Collins in a weak men’s 100 field.
Mikulak wins fourth straight U.S. championship: Sam Mikulak used a steady performance on the final day of competition in Hartford, Connecticut, to win his fourth straight all-around gymnastics national championship in advance of the Rio de Janeiro Olympics.
Mikulak, who missed the world championships last fall with an ankle injury, scored 181.5 points, finishing 1.65 points in front of 2012 Olympic alternate Chris Brooks. Jake Dalton, another former Olympian who missed the world championships with an injured shoulder, finished third.
Mikulak broke into a huge smile after sticking the landing on his vault to ensure the victory.
He becomes the first man to win four national titles in a row since Blaine Wilson won five straight in the 1990s.
Eighteen men will be chosen from this competition to compete in the Olympic trials later this month in St. Louis, where they will vie for spots on the five-member Olympic team competing in Rio in August.
Auburn beats Florida State, moves to final
College Softball: Pinch-runner Morgan Podany beat a throw to the plate in the bottom of the eighth inning and Auburn beat Florida State 8-7 in the Women’s College World Series in Oklahoma City to advance to the best-of-three championship round. The Seminoles eliminated Michigan State in a 1-0 victory before being eliminated by Auburn.
Bianka Bell hit two home runs and LSU beat Georgia 4-1 in an elimination game at the WCWS.