In brief: Allenby, Wi top leaderboard
Robert Allenby shot a 2-under-par 68 Friday, getting him to 5 under after two rounds of the Honda Classic at Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., and into a tie atop the leaderboard with first-round leader Charlie Wi – who shot a wild round of even-par 70.
Allenby is winless in his last 139 PGA Tour events, yet came here this week insisting that it’s only a matter of time before that streak ends.
Tennis
Federer advances
Roger Federer beat Tommy Haas 6-4, 7-5 to reach his fifth straight Dubai Open final at Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Federer will next face Mikhail Youzhny, who beat Sweden’s Robin Soderling 7-5, 6-2.
“Top-seeded Justine Henin beat fourth-seeded Jelena Jankovic of Serbia 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-4 to advance to the final of the Qatar Open in Doha, Qatar.
Henin will play today against second-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova, who beat sixth-seeded Daniela Hantuchova 6-4, 6-2.
“Top-seeded James Blake was removed from the quarterfinals of the Tennis Channel Open at Las Vegas after ATP Tour officials reversed a ruling that had allowed him to advance because of a competitor’s withdrawal during round-robin play.
It was initially ruled that Blake would have won his round-robin group if Juan Martin del Potro hadn’t retired in their match. But a review of the rules found that an incomplete match can’t count as a match played for the retiring player.
Basketball
Coach under fire
The Mountain West Conference reprimanded Wyoming coach Steve McClain for published “negative remarks regarding the TCU men’s basketball program.”
The remarks were published Thursday and violated a rule against public criticism of a member institution. Neither the conference nor Wyoming officials would say what the remarks were or where they appeared.
“Bobby Speight, the former North Carolina State forward who led the Wolfpack to Southern Conference championships in 1951 and ‘52, died in Richmond Virginia Thursday after a battle with cancer. He was 76.
“The WNBA Phoenix Mercury will be without center Kamila Vodichkova for the season because of pregnancy.
Miscellany
American wins hurdles
Michelle Perry of the United States won the 110-meter hurdles in 12.82 seconds at the Melbourne Track Classic in Melbourne, Australia.
“Carolina Zhang led a U.S. sweep of the top three spots in the women’s short program at the Junior World Figure Skating Championships at Oberstdorf, Germany with 59.17 points.
“Heisman Trophy winner Troy Smith and fellow former college quarterbacks Chris Leak and Brady Quinn are among the finalists for the 2006 AAU Sullivan Award honoring the top U.S. amateur athlete.
“Austrian Julia Mancuso finished second in a super-combi race for her eighth top-three result of the season at Tarvisio, Italy. Fellow Austrian Nicole Hosp won the race.