In Brief: Vanderbilt beats Virginia for its first CWS title

College baseball: John Norwood’s home run in the top of the eighth inning gave Vanderbilt the lead, and the Commodores beat Virginia 3-2 in Omaha, Nebraska, on Wednesday night for their first national championship.

Norwood turned on Nick Howard’s 97 mph fastball and sent it into the left field bullpen to break a 2-2 tie in the third and deciding game of the College World Series finals.

It was Norwood’s third homer of the year, his first since April 19, and Vanderbilt’s first since May 16. It also was only the third home run in 16 CWS games and the 22nd in 72 games by the Commodores (51-21).

The Cavaliers (53-16) loaded the bases with one out in the eighth when Adam Ravenelle hit Kenny Towns. But Mike Papi was forced out at home on a chopper to Ravenelle, and Brandon Downes grounded out.

Venus Williams reaches third round

Tennis: Venus Williams overcame a slow start Wednesday at Wimbledon for a 7-6 (4), 6-1 victory over 41st-ranked Kurumi Nara of Japan to reach the third round at a Grand Slam tournament for only the second time in her past 10 appearances.

Williams fell behind 3-0 against Nara, then started finding the mark. In the tiebreaker, Williams again began poorly and trailed 4-1 before grabbing six points in a row for the set.

Williams’ next opponent, sixth-seeded Petra Kvitova, played with her right leg heavily taped because of a recent injury but had zero trouble in a 6-2, 6-0 victory over 59th-ranked Mona Barthel.

The biggest names sent home were No. 8 Victoria Azarenka, the two-time Australian Open champion beaten by Bojana Jovanovski 6-3, 3-6, 7-5; and No. 7 David Ferrer, who lost 6-7 (5), 6-0, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 against qualifier Andrey Kuznetsov.

Defending champion Andy Murray and last year’s runner-up, Novak Djokovic, both won. Murray’s 6-1, 6-1, 6-0 victory over Blaz Rola was devoid of drama. That wasn’t the case with Djokovic’s 6-4, 6-3, 6-7 (5), 7-6 (5) victory over 35-year-old Radek Stepanek.

Chandler back to Mavs in deal with Knicks

NBA: Dallas and the New York Knicks have agreed to a six-player trade that brings center Tyson Chandler back to the Mavericks three years after he helped them win a championship only to leave right away in free agency.

The Mavericks sent guards Jose Calderon, Shane Larkin and Wayne Ellington and center Samuel Dalembert to the Knicks for Chandler and point guard Raymond Felton in the deal.

The Knicks also get both Dallas picks in today’s draft, a pair of second-round selections at Nos. 34 and 51.

• Cleveland introduces Blatt: The Cavaliers introduced new coach David Blatt one day before they pick first in the NBA draft.

Blatt spent the past two decades coaching in Israel, where he built a reputation as one of the international game’s top coaches. He led Maccabi Tel Aviv to the Euroleague championship this season and guided Russia to a bronze medal at the 2012 London Olympics.

The 55-year-old Blatt, who was born in Massachusetts and played at Princeton, is the first coach to make the move from Europe to the NBA.

• Gay exercises option: Sacramento Kings forward Rudy Gay has exercised his $19.3 million player option for next season.

Gay averaged 20.1 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.1 assists in 55 games for Sacramento after being acquired in a trade from Toronto. Gay’s agent, Jeff Austin, says the sides plan to discuss a potential long-term deal before Gay will be an unrestriced free agent next summer.

• Lakers’ Young opts out: Nick Young has opted out of his contract with the Los Angeles Lakers.

General manager Mitch Kupchak said the team hopes to bring him back, though he noted that Young’s agent and the market will dictate his future.

Young averaged a career-high 17.9 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.5 assists last season, his first with the Lakers.

Final hole anguish for Spokane’s Prugh

Golf: Spokane’s Corey Prugh had a heartbreaking finish Wednesday at the PGA Professional National Championship in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

Prugh, an assistant at Manito, was in solid position to earn one of 20 berths into the PGA Championship later this summer but he finished with a 9 after hitting two balls in the water on the par-4 18th at The Dunes Golf and Beach Club.

Prugh shot a 5-over 77 and completed the 72-hole tournament in a tie for 36th at 8-over.

Michael Block of Mission Viejo, California, won the championship in a playoff.

Prugh qualified for the 2012 PGA Championship. He was one of four players remaining in a playoff at last year’s event when Rob Labritz holed out from 95 yards to claim the final PGA berth.