In brief: Williams exits U.S. Open, future in doubt
Tennis: Her 2011 U.S. Open done and tennis future in doubt because of an immune system disease, Venus Williams rode away from Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York in the back seat of a car Wednesday.
Williams revealed she recently was diagnosed with Sjogren’s syndrome, which doctors say is usually not life-threatening. The most common complaints are dry eyes and dry mouth; in rare cases, it can cause joint pain.
Lately, as the 31-year-old Williams and 29-year-old sister Serena have dealt with health problems and played less frequently, people have wondered when – and perhaps whether – another American woman would make an impact in the sport. For one day, at least, Christina McHale and Irina Falconi did just that.
McHale, a 19-year-old from Englewood Cliffs, N.J., delivered a 7-6 (2), 6-2 victory over eighth-seeded Marion Bartoli of France. Falconi, a 21-year-old who went to Georgia Tech, followed that up by beating 14th-seeded Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia 2-6, 6-3, 7-5.
Elsewhere, Andy Roddick held on to beat 96th-ranked Michael Russell 6-2, 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 in all-American first-round match.
After his victory, 2006 U.S. Open champion Maria Sharapova went out and beat 84th-ranked Anastasia Yakimova of Belarus 6-1, 6-1 in a match that ended a little past midnight.
Prosecutors drop other Bonds charges
Baseball: Federal prosecutors dropped all the remaining charges against Barry Bonds, days after a judge upheld the slugger’s conviction on an obstruction of justice count.
The U.S. attorney’s office in San Francisco filed court papers informing U.S. District Judge Susan Illston it was dismissing the three charges of making false statements still pending against Bonds, Major League Baseball’s all-time home runs leader.
A jury deadlocked on the three counts at Bonds’ trial in April.
• Giants designate Rowand, Tejada: Outfielder Aaron Rowand and infielder Miguel Tejada were designated for assignment by the defending World Series champion San Francisco Giants, who began the day trailing first-place Arizona by a season-high six games in the N.L. West race.
• Rangers trade for Gonzalez, Treanor: A.L. West-leading Texas made a pair of trades to strengthen its roster for the stretch run, acquiring reliever Mike Gonzalez and bringing back catcher Matt Treanor.
Texas A&M makes Big 12 exit official
College football: Texas A&M dealt a blow to the Big 12 Conference, saying it plans to leave by July 2012 if it is accepted by the SEC or another league.
The move, which had been expected, may set off another round of conference realignment in college sports.
The Aggies have made it clear they want to join the Southeastern Conference and the Big 12 said again after the announcement that it will move swiftly to find at least one replacement for the Aggies.
NBA owners, players meet for second time
NBA: For just the second time since the beginning of the lockout, representatives for the NBA owners and players met in New York.
The bargaining session, which lasted about six hours, included NBA commissioner David Stern and National Basketball Players Association executive director Billy Hunter.
Stern said extra sessions will be scheduled for September.
Lagat leads way in 5,000 qualifying
Track and field: Washington State alum Bernard Lagat had the fastest qualifying time in the men’s 5,000-meter heats at the IAAF World Track & Field Championships in Daegu, Korea.
His prelim time of 13 minutes, 33.90 seconds was well off his American record time of 12:53.60. The 5,000 final will be run Sunday (3:40 a.m. Pacific).
Calhoun announces his return to UConn
Miscellany: Nearly five months after winning his third national basketball championship, Jim Calhoun finally has made it official. He is returning for his 26th season as coach of the UConn men’s basketball team.
• Gordon clinches wild card: Four-time NASCAR champion Jeff Gordon clinched at least a wild-card berth in the 12-driver Chase for the Sprint Cup championship.
• Moncoutie takes stage: David Moncoutie won a mountain finish to take the 11th stage of the Spanish Vuelta at A Pobra de Trives, while Bradley Wiggins claimed the overall lead.