Nielsen's 64 gives him Commerce Bank lead

East Meadow, NY (Sports Network) - Lonnie Nielsen fired a seven-under 64 on Saturday to move into the lead after two rounds of the Commerce Bank Championship.
He finished 36 holes at 12-under-par 130, which was two off Jim Thorpe's tournament record, and is three clear of Tom McKnight, who shot a second-round 66 at the Red Course at Eisenhower Park.
Defending champion John Harris is still in the hunt. He shot his second consecutive four-under 67 on Saturday and is tied for third place with Jay Sigel, who carded a 66, at minus-eight...Full Story

Park leads at halfway point of U.S. Women's Open

Southern Pines, NC (Sports Network) - Angela Park posted a two-under 69 Saturday to take a two-stroke lead after two rounds of the U.S. Women's Open.
Park completed a weather-delayed 36 holes at five-under-par 137.
Julieta Granada, Ji-Yai Shin and Amy Hung each carded 69s and share second place at three-under-par 139.
Kraft Nabisco champion Morgan Pressel is the last player in red figures at minus-one after a 70 in round two.
The tournament has been delayed several times due to inclement weather pushing the completion of round two to Saturday. Only 24 players completed their first two rounds on Friday, with the rest completing their second round Saturday.
Women's World No. 1 Lorena Ochoa, who is still searching for her first major title, posted two straight rounds of even-par 71...Full Story

Gommendy wins pole in Mont-Tremblant

Mont-Tremblant, QC (Sports Network) - Will Power won Saturday's Champ Car qualifying on a partially wet track at the Mont-Tremblant road course, but his time wasn't good enough to unseat Friday's provisional pole winner Tristan Gommendy.
The No.5 Team Australia driver circled the 2.621-mile circuit in one minute, 20.943 seconds (116.571 m.p.h.). However, the time was not better than Gommendy's 1:16.776 which was done in a dry Friday session.
The pole win, the first of Gommendy's Champ Car career, earned the Frenchman one championship point.
Starting in row two will be three-time defending series champion Sebastien Bourdais and Justin Wilson.
The race is set to drop the green flag on Sunday at 2 p.m. (et).

Rain wipes out men's Day 6 at Wimbledon

Wimbledon, England (Sports Network) - Eight third-round matches were on Saturday's schedule at Wimbledon, and all eight were wiped out because of rain at the All England Club.
Rain has now interrupted play on five of the first six days of this 2007 fortnight.
No less than 12 seeded players were on the Day-6 schedule, including No. 2 Spaniard Rafael Nadal, fourth-seeded Serbian Novak Djokovic and former Wimbledon champion Lleyton Hewitt.
The reigning three-time French Open titlist and 2006 Wimbledon runner-up Nadal was scheduled to meet 28th-seeded Swede Robin Soderling, but they'll have to wait until Monday, as Sunday marks the traditional day of rest at the year's third Grand Slam event.
Nadal lost to reigning four-time Wimbledon champion Roger Federer in last year's finale here.
Djokovic was slated to meet German Nicolas Kiefer, while a 16th-seeded Hewitt was supposed to battle 22nd-seeded Argentine Guillermo Canas on Day 6. The former world No. 1 Hewitt is a two-time major titlist, including a Wimbledon championship in 2002. The fiery Aussie is the last man to title here besides the amazing Federer.Seventh-seeded Czech Tomas Berdych was leading Korean Hyung-Taik Lee 6-4, 2-3 when their bout was suspended due to inclement weather. They were the only men to take to the courts here on Saturday.
Other bouts washed away on Saturday had sixth-seeded Russian Nikolay Davydenko going up against Frenchman Gael Monfils, 10th-seeded Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis taking on 23rd-seeded Argentine David Nalbandian, 14th-seeded Russian Mikhail Youzhny meeting 18th-seeded Finn Jarkko Nieminen and 19th-seeded Swede Jonas Bjorkman tangling with Aussie Wayne Arthurs. Nalbandian was the '02 Wimbledon runner-up to Hewitt.

Hansen leads Khan at Open de France

Paris, France (Sports Network) - Denmark's Soren Hansen fired a five-under 66 Saturday to take a one-shot lead through three rounds of the Open de France.
Looking for his second career European Tour win -- and first since the 2002 Irish Open -- Hansen was at seven-under 206.
Englishman Simon Khan, the second-round leader, had a 70 and was alone in second place at six-under 207.
Hansen's 66 was the round of the day at Le Golf National.
"Soren is a quality player and that 66 today was a great score," said Khan. "Hopefully we can go out in the final group tomorrow and have a good game and fight it out for the title."
Playing ahead of them on Sunday will be eight-time Order of Merit champion Colin Montgomerie, who shot a 71 in the third round to end the day within three shots of the lead...Full Story

Nets' Carter reportedly opts out of contract

West Paterson, NJ (Sports Network) - New Jersey forward Vince Carter has reportedly opted out of his contract and is scheduled to become a free agent Sunday, but will most likely return to the Nets.
According to a report in The Record newspaper in New Jersey, Carter opted out of a deal that would have paid him $16.3 million next season, but the 30-year- old swingman is expected to remain with the organization.
The paper also reported that the Nets will likely offer Carter a guaranteed four-year contract with a partial guarantee for a fifth year. The total guaranteed money is $65 million.
Carter led the Nets in scoring last season, averaging 25.2 points per game. He also averaged six rebounds and 4.8 assists per contest. In 12 playoff games, Carter netted 22.3 points per game.

Wie withdraws from U.S. Women's Open

Southern Pines, NC (Sports Network) - Another tournament, another withdrawal for Michelle Wie.
The 17-year-old star pulled out of the U.S. Women's Open during the second round Saturday, marking the second time she has withdrawn in three starts.
Wie struggled with nagging wrist injuries and withdrew during the first round of the Ginn Tribute four weeks ago, then stirred controversy when she showed up to practice for the McDonald's LPGA Championship that weekend.
She was dangerously close to shooting an 88 at the Ginn Tribute, placing her within range of an obscure LPGA Tour rule that disqualifies any non-member for the remainder of the season if they shoot an 88 or worse.
Wie had an 11-over 82 in the first round of the U.S. Women's Open, which has struggled to get on track in the midst of several weather delays.
She made six bogeys through nine holes of the second round and was 17-over par at the time of her withdrawal.

Sharapova, Mauresmo charge into fourth round at Wimbledon

Wimbledon, England (Sports Network) - Second-seeded former champion Maria Sharapova of Russia and fourth-seeded reigning titlist Amelie Mauresmo of France were a pair of third-round winners on a rainy Day 6 at Wimbledon.
The former world No. 1 Sharapova flew past 26th-seeded Japanese Ai Sugiyama 6-3, 6-3, while the former top-ranked Mauresmo won her 10th straight match at the venerable All England Lawn Tennis Club by pasting 28th-seeded Italian Mara Santangelo 6-1, 6-2 in between rain delays on the famed Centre Court.
The start of Saturday's play was delayed by rain, and the wet weather returned just as Sharapova dismissed Sugiyama on Court 1.
The two-time Grand Slam event champion Sharapova was the 2004 Wimbledon champ and is the reigning U.S. Open titlist. She was also this year's Australian Open runner-up to American Serena Williams.
Mauresmo, who is also a two-time major titlist, beat Belgian star Justine Henin in last year's Wimbledon and Aussie Open finals.

Harvick wins Busch pole at NHIS

Loudon, NH (Sports Network) - Kevin Harvick earned the pole for Saturday afternoon's Camping World 200 Busch Series race at the New Hampshire International Speedway. The No.21 Chevrolet circled the flat 1.058-mile oval in 29.449 seconds (129.335 m.p.h.).
The pole victory was Harvick's second of the season and 16th of his Busch career.
"The Auto Zone Chevrolet was pretty good, but I left a little on the table in (turns) one and two," said Harvick.
Starting on the front row with Harvick will be Busch Series points leader Carl Edwards who posted a second-best time of 29.461 seconds.
In his first nine 2007 Busch Series starts, Edwards collected a win and eight top-fives. His lead was 424 over Dave Blaney. In the next eight races, Edwards earned only three top-fives (two were wins - Dover and Nashville) yet his lead has ballooned to 776 points over runner-up David Reutimann.
lint Bowyer (29.570) and Bobby Santos (29.580) will make up row two.
Other drivers of note and their starting positions: Denny Hamlin (sixth), Juan Montoya (seventh), Matt Kenseth (eighth), Blaney (ninth), Tony Stewart (10th) and Reutimann (12th).
Thirteen of the top-15 drivers are Nextel Cup drivers. Only Santos and Richard Johns stopped a clean sweep.
The race is set to begin at 3 p.m. (et).

Massa on pole, Alonso has engine problems

Magny-Cours, France (Sports Network) - Ferrari's Felipe Massa won the pole for Sunday's French Grand Prix Formula One race at Magny-Cours. The No.5 Ferrari circled the high-speed 2.756-mile Circuit De Nevers track in one minute, 15.034 seconds.
The pole victory was Massa's fourth of the season and sixth of his F1 career.
"I think that this is encouraging and we are back to fighting (for wins)," said Massa.
Starting on the front row with Massa will be Lewis Hamilton, who posted a second-best time of 1:15.104. Hamilton has won the last two events and holds a 10-point lead in the drivers championship over two-time F1 World Champion Fernando Alonso.
"The team did a fantastic job," said Hamilton. "I had a car to be pole, I lost a bit of time in turn 15."
Kimi Raikkonen (1:15.257) and Robert Kubica (1:15.493) will make up row two.
In the first of three qualifying sessions, Hamilton was quickest. Eliminated were Adrian Sutil, Christijan Albers, Anthony Davidson, Takuma Sato, Alex Wurz and Vitantonio Liuzzi.
Hamilton was again fastest in the second session. David Coulthard was among those dropped in the second session when he had an electronic problem and didn't post a time. Also out after Q2 were: American Scott Speed, Mark Webber, Rubens Barrichello, Jenson Button and Ralf Schumacher.
The final session got underway and Alonso's engine gave off a puff of smoke. He brought the McLaren back to the garage and never returned. The team's first thoughts were engine problem. If he is forced to change his engine, he will suffer a 10-spot penalty on the starting grid.
With just under three minutes remaining in qualifying, Massa held the top spot, but there was time for one last flying lap. Hamilton and Raikkonen took shots at the Brazilian, but came up short.
The race is set to drop the green flag on Sunday at 8 a.m. (et).

Vickers disqualified after qualifying

Loudon, NH (Sports Network) - After qualifying 28th in Friday's Nextel Cup qualifying session, Brian Vickers' No.83 Toyota was disqualified for having a ride height below minimum.
NASCAR allows a quarter-inch tolerance on ride heights but the Toyota was an eighth-of-an-inch below that.
"All the non-top-35 cars go back through inspection," said crew chief Doug Richert. "When we went through, we found the front end of the car didn't meet their minimum height."
The disqualification puts Chad Chaffin into the field at the New Hampshire International Speedway and he will start 43rd for Sunday's Lenox Industrial Tools 300.

Wet weather holds up Day 6 at Wimbledon

Wimbledon, England (Sports Network) - Rain has prevented third-round singles action from resuming Saturday at Wimbledon 2007.
Both the men's and women's draws commenced third-round play here on Friday, but wet weather has kept players off the courts so far on Day 6 of this grass- court fortnight.
If and when players see action on Saturday, second-seeded Rafael Nadal, fourth-seeded Serbian Novak Djokovic, sixth-seeded Russian Nikolay Davydenko, 10th-seeded Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis and former champion Lleyton Hewitt are slated for play on the men's side, while the women's draw will feature matches for second-seeded Maria Sharapova, fourth-seeded Amelie Mauresmo, fifth-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova, sixth-seeded Ana Ivanovic and three-time titlist Venus Williams.
The reigning three-time French Open champion and 2006 Wimbledon runner-up Nadal is scheduled to meet Swede Robin Soderling, while Baghdatis will meet 23rd-seeded and 2002 Wimbledon runner-up David Nalbandian and the '02 titlist Hewitt will encounter 22nd-seeded Guillermo Canas.
The 2004 Wimbledon champion, 2006 U.S. Open titlist and 2007 Aussie Open runner-up Sharapova will take on 26th-seeded Japanese Ai Sugiyama, while the reigning women's Wimbledon titlist Mauresmo will battle 28th-seeded Italian Mara Santangelo and the former world No. 1 and five-time Grand Slam event champion Williams will tangle with Japan's Akiko Morigami.

Jazz hand qualifying offers to Brown, Miles

Salt Lake City, UT (Sports Network) - The Utah Jazz made qualifying offers on Friday to guards C.J. Miles and Dee Brown, making both players restricted free agents.
Brown averaged 1.9 points in 49 games as a rookie, but hiked that mark to 7.6 points over the final five contests of the regular season. Miles has appeared in 60 games, including 13 starts, over two seasons with the Jazz, and has averaged three points.

Weather continues to dominate U.S. Women's Open

Southern Pines, NC (Sports Network) - The U.S. Women's Open has been plagued by weather problems over the first two days.
The first round was completed Friday morning after a 3 1/2 hour weather delay on Thursday. Once the second round commenced Friday, more bad weather blew through the area causing more problems.
Play was stopped twice during the round and the second delay eventually led to action being halted for the day. Lightning was the main culprit, but there was also plenty of rain at Pine Needles as well.
Second-round action is slated to resume at 7:30 a.m. (et) Saturday.
Teenager Angela Park remains atop the leaderboard thanks to her three-under 68 in the first round. She has yet to begin her second round.
All six players -- Ji-Yai Shin, Charlotte Mayorkas, Joo Mi Kim, Shi Hyun Ahn, Amy Hung and Julieta Granada -- tied for second place at minus-one haven't started their second rounds either...Full Story

Claxton rolls to four-shot lead in New York

Findley Lake, NY (Sports Network) - Paul Claxton fired his second straight round of six-under 66 Friday to grab a four-stroke lead after two rounds of the Peek'n Peak Classic.
Claxton stands at 12-under-par 132, which established a new 36-record. Omar Uresti set the old mark of 134 in 2002 and Stan Utley matched that total the following year.
Jon Mills carded his second 68 of the week and is tied for second with Roland Thatcher (67) at eight-under-par 136.
Matt Hansen posted an eight-under 64 Friday to tie the course record on the Upper Course at Peek'n Peak Resort. The 64 moved Hansen into fourth place at minus-seven...Full Story

Roberts shoots 64 to lead Commerce Bank

East Meadow, NY (Sports Network) - Loren Roberts fired a bogey-free, seven- under 64 Friday to take the lead after one round of the Commerce Bank Championship.
Roberts birdied his last two holes, and five of his last eight, to take a one- shot lead over Eduardo Romero, who also played without a bogey to shoot six- under 65.
Lonnie Nielsen had a five-under 66 and was in third place, while Jay Haas, a four-timer winner this season, joined defending champion John Harris to lead a group of six players at 67.
Roberts began his round on No. 10 and made a run of birdies that left him at five-under around the turn.
His first birdie came from 10 feet at the 11th. He followed that with another at the 12th, then a four-foot birdie putt at the 14th.
All of them were set up with good approach shots into Eisenhower Park's fast greens...Full Story

Furyk, Perry and Quigley share Buick Open lead

Grand Blanc, MI (Sports Network) - Kenny Perry caught fire, then stumbled to a bogey on his last hole to join Jim Furyk and Brett Quigley in the lead after two rounds of the Buick Open.
Still struggling to get back to form following knee surgery last year, Perry scorched Warwick Hills for a nine-under 63 on Friday, bolstered by a key eagle putt and a stretch where he made five birdies in seven holes.
Furyk bookended a three-hole birdie run with a pair of unfortunate bogeys and shot a four-under 68. Quigley finished with a three-under 69 after managing just seven pars and a bogey on his last eight holes.
The trio were knotted at 10-under 134, leading three players by a shot.
"The scores are bunched up there pretty tight," said Furyk, making his first start since a runner-up at the U.S. Open. "The opportunity is there for us to fire low numbers."
And there have been plenty...Full Story

Gommendy grabs provisional pole

Mont-Tremblant, QC (Sports Network) - Frenchman Tristan Gommendy topped Champ Car provisional qualifying in Friday's first of two sessions at the Mont- Tremblant road course. The No.22 PKV Racing driver circled the 2.621-mile circuit in one minute, 16.776 seconds (122.898 m.p.h.).
The provisional pole win earned Gommendy one championship point and a guaranteed position on the front row. His previous best start was a fifth in Portland. The rookie driver's best finish to date was a fifth-place in the season opener at Las Vegas.
Second best on Friday was the more well-known French driver Sebastien Bourdais (1:16.783) followed by Will Power (1:16.841), Justin Wilson (1:16.843) and Robert Doornbos (1:16.850).
Alex Figge led the early going, but admittedly the "big guns" waited almost 10 minutes before starting their runs. With still 15 minutes to run, Bourdais went to the top of the charts. Power and then Gommendy posted better laps than the three-time series champion as the clock marked just 10 minutes to go.
Gommendy and Power still led a very close top-seven as the drivers prepared for their final runs. All 17 drivers were on the track with five minutes remaining, but none could match Gommendy's time.
Less than two-tenths of-a-second separated first and seventh place.
Final qualifying is set for Saturday at 2 p.m. (et) with the race set to drop the green flag on Sunday at 2 p.m. (et).

Nascar: Toyota earns first Nextel Cup pole win

Loudon, NH (Sports Network) - Dave Blaney won the pole for Sunday's Lenox Industrial Tools 300 to give manufacturer Toyota its first Nextel Cup pole victory. The No.22 Bill Davis Racing Toyota circled the 1.058- mile flat oval in 29.426 seconds (129.437 m.p.h.).
When told of his time, Blaney could only say "Wow!"
The pole victory was Blaney's first of the season and second of his Nextel Cup career. His other pole victory was in 2003 at Rockingham.
"We've had a tough year, we've had so many DNFs (did not finish) it's been killing us," said Blaney. "But the guys never give up, their attitudes are great, they dig in...and its paying off."
Starting alongside Blaney will be Kurt Busch who posted a second-best time of 29.484 seconds.
Reed Sorenson (29.620) and Johnny Sauter (29.640) will make up row two. Infineon Raceway winner Juan Montoya was fifth quickest.
Other drivers of note and their starting positions: Dale Earnhardt Jr. (sixth), Kevin Harvick (seventh), Jeff Gordon (eighth), Jimmie Johnson (10th), Denny Hamlin (11th), Ryan Newman (12th) Tony Stewart (14th), Kyle Busch (18th) and Matt Kenseth (31st).
Johnson swept both events at NHIS in 2003 and Kurt Busch matched that in 2004. Tony Stewart won the summer of 2005 event and just missed, finishing second, in the fall race that year.
Last year Kyle Busch won this race while Kevin Harvick finished fifth. Harvick would bring that knowledge to the fall race and win it to take the early lead in last year's "Chase."
Harvick was pretty good last Sunday, finishing second to Montoya. He lead his RCR teammates to a two-three-four finish. All three are currently qualified for the "Chase" in what is turning out to be a very good year for Richard Childress Racing.
"Kevin is our leader on the road-course thing and really has made us as competitive as we are," said Burton. "That's as much to do with our performance today as anything is Kevin pushing them (the crew) to get better fuel mileage, to build better cars."
The race is set to drop the green flag on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. (et).

Henin, Jankovic, Serena win third-rounders at Wimbledon

Wimbledon, England (Sports Network) - Top-seeded Belgian Justine Henin, Serbian Jelena Jankovic and two-time champion and former world No. 1 Serena Williams were a trio of third-round winners Friday at Wimbledon 2007.
Henin, who captured a third straight and fourth overall French Open title earlier this month, giving her six career Grand Slam titles, easily defeated Russian Elena Vesnina 6-1, 6-3 after the match was delayed about an hour in the second set due to rain.
Henin, the two-time Wimbledon runner-up, still needs a title here to complete a career Grand Slam.
Henin, now 25-6 at the All England Club, having won nine of her last 10 matches here, will meet 15th seed Patty Schnyder of Switzerland in the fourth round. Schnyder outlasted 24th seed Alona Bondarenko of Ukraine 6-4, 3-6, 8-6 in their third-round bout.
A third-seeded Jankovic came from behind to down Czech Lucie Safarova 5-7, 7-6 (7-4), 6-2 to advance to round four. The rising star Jankovic reached the French Open semis three weeks ago, then captured a grass- court title in Birmingham by beating Maria Sharapova in the final and was a runner-up last week in The Netherlands.
In the fourth round, Jankovic will meet Frenchwoman Marion Bartoli, the 18th seed, who easily defeated No. 16 Shahar Peer of Israel 6-3, 6-2.
The seventh-seeded Williams improved to an impressive career record of 36-5 at Wimbledon after whipping Venezuelan Milagros Sequera 6-1, 6-0 in just 43 minutes.
The eight-time Grand Slam event champion Williams captured Wimbledon back-to- back in 2002 and 2003 and was the 2004 runner-up here to Sharapova. The American star captured this year's Australian Open by pasting Sharapova in the finale in Melbourne.
Up next for Williams will be No. 10 Slovakian Daniela Hantuchova, who rebounded from an opening set loss to defeat No. 19 Katarina Srebotnik of Slovenia 2-6, 6-3, 6-4.
In an upset, five-time major titlist Martina Hingis was sent packing, as the ninth-seeded veteran lost to American Laura Granville 6-4, 6-2. Hingis captured Wimbledon as a 16-year-old 10 years ago, as she corralled three of the four Grand Slam titles back in 1997. The "Swiss Miss" hasn't secured a major championship since the 1999 Aussie Open.
There was another upset on Day 5 as No. 31 Michaella Krajicek of the Netherlands outlasted eight seed Anna Chakvetadze of Russia 7-6 (10-8), 6-7 (5-7), 6-2.
On Saturday, the second-seeded Sharapova battles Ai Sugiyama as third-round action continues while No. 4 Amelie Mauresmo will play 26th seed Mara Santangelo. Svetlana Kuznetsova, the fifth seed, squares off against Agnieszka Radwanska and No. 6 Ana Ivanovic will play Aravane Rezai. Venus Williams will also be in action as she will take on Akiko Morigami.

Federer reaches fourth round at Wimbledon

Wimbledon, England (Sports Network) - Swiss superstar Roger Federer continued his quest for his fifth straight Wimbledon title as he posted a straight-set victory in the third round on Friday.
The top-seeded/world No. 1 Federer faced a former world No. 1 in Marat Safin of Russia and won 6-1, 6-4, 7-6 (7-4). It is his 51st successive win on grass.
The 25-year-old Federer is trying to become only the second man in the Open Era to win this event five years in a row, joining the legendary Bjorn Borg, who captured it from 1976-80. Federer has won his last 31 matches at the All England Club, while the Swedish Borg won 41 straight here from 1976-81 before finally losing to John McEnroe in the 1981 final.
The 10-time Grand Slam champion Federer is also the reigning Australian and U.S. Open titlist and was this year's French Open runner-up to Nadal. The amazing Swiss has played in a record eight straight Grand Slam finals, going 6-2. He beat Nadal in last year's Wimbledon finale and hasn't lost at the AEC since Croatia's Mario Ancic beat him in the first round back in 2002.
Federer, who is now 35-4 lifetime here, will next face 13th-seeded German Tommy Haas, who bounced back from a first set loss to down 21st-seeded Russian Dmitry Tursunov 1-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7-5), 6-4.
There were three third round upsets on Friday as fifth-seeded Chilean Fernando Gonzalez, ninth-seeded American James Blake and 15th-seeded Croatian Ivan Ljubicic were all handed losses.
Gonzalez, the Australian Open runner-up, was handed a defeat in five sets by unseeded Serbian Janko Tipsarevic 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 4-6, 8-6.
Blake took the first set, but then lost the next three to 20th-seeded Spaniard Juan Carlos Ferrero 3-6, 6-3, 6-3, 7-6 (7-4). Blake has never advanced beyond the third round at the All England Club.
Ljubicic won the first set of his match against Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu, but the dropped the next three 4-6, 7-5, 6-2, 6-3.
Twelfth-seeded Frenchman Richard Gasquet marched on by leveling his countryman Edouard Roger-Vasselin 6-3, 6-4, 6-2.
In unseeded play, Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga was a straight-set winner against Spain's Feliciano Lopez 6-3, 7-6 (7-4), 6-3.

Bobcats waive veteran guard

Charlotte, NC (Sports Network) - The Charlotte Bobcats waived point guard Brevin Knight on Friday.
Knight played in just 45 games last season with the Bobcats, averaging 9.1 points and 6.6 assists. He appeared in 180 games over three seasons for the Bobcats and averaged 10.8 points, 8.3 assists, 2.3 rebounds and 2.0 steals in 30.8 minutes.
"Brevin Knight is a natural leader who embodied all of those intangible qualities that you would want in a veteran player," Bickerstaff said. "The professionalism that he brought to this team, both on and off the court, makes this a tough decision. His contributions to this young franchise will continue to have an impact on our younger players as we move forward."
A 10-year NBA veteran, Knight has averaged 8.3 points, 6.8 assists and 1.8 steals in 581 career games with Cleveland, Atlanta, Memphis, Phoenix, Washington, Milwaukee and Charlotte. Over his career, he has averaged at least 1.25 steals in each of his 10 seasons.

Kahn leads Monty and McGinley in France

Paris, France (Sports Network) - England's Simon Khan fired a four-under 67 on Friday to move into the lead midway through the Open de France. He stands at five-under-par 137 and is one ahead of a pair of Ryder Cuppers at Le Golf National.
Colin Montgomerie, the 2000 champion, shot a one-under 70 and is tied with Paul McGinley, who posted his second straight two-under 69 on Friday, at minus-four.
Overnight co-leader Kyron Sullivan only managed a three-over 74 in round two and shares fourth place with Thomas Bjorn (71), Zane Scotland (71) and Tom Whitehouse (69). The group finished 36 holes at three-under-par 139.
Khan began the second round on the 10th tee and wasted little time in breaking into red figures. He birdied the par-three 11th, then parred the final seven holes of his opening nine.
The Englishman started his second nine in style with a birdie at the par-four first. Khan parred his next four holes, but moved to the top of the leaderboard thanks to his play in the middle of his back nine.
At the par-four sixth, Khan drained a seven-foot birdie putt to move to four- under par for the championship. He made it two in a row at seven and that was enough to get him the lead to himself...Full Story

European PGA Tour: Sullivan, Kamte share lead in France

Paris, France (Sports Network) - Welshman Kyron Sullivan and South African James Kamte posted matching rounds of six-under-par 65 Thursday to share the lead after one round of the Open de France.
Swedes Christian Nilsson and Steven Jeppesen are tied for third place with Benn Barham at minus-five.
Frenchman Thomas Levet, who has missed the cut in 10 of 16 starts in his national Open, is alone in seventh place at four-under-par 67 on the Albatross Course at Le Golf National.
Sullivan, who played in the final group off the first tee, packed all the action into the middle of his round. He started with a birdie on the par-four fifth.
The 31 year old collected back-to-back birdies from the par-three eighth to make the turn at minus-three.
Sullivan converted his fourth birdie on the par-three 11th. After a par at the next, the Welshman birdied the 13th and came right back to birdie No. 14 to grab a share of the lead at minus-six. He parred the final four holes to close out a bogey-free round...Full Story

Sharapova, Venus march on at Wimbledon

Wimbledon, England (Sports Network) - Second-seeded and former champion Maria Sharapova and three-time winner Venus Williams were easy second-round winners Thursday at Wimbledon.
The 2004 Wimbledon titlist Sharapova breezed past France's Severine Bremond 6-0, 6-3. The two-time major champion Sharapova was last year's U.S. Open champ and this year's Australian Open runner-up.
A 23rd-seeded Williams improved to a career 46-7 at the All England Club with a 6-2, 6-2 spanking of Czech Hana Sromova. The five-time Grand Slam event champion captured this grass-court extravaganza in 2000, 2001 and 2005 and was the 2002 and 2003 runner-up to her younger sister Serena.
Former U.S. Open champion and 2006 French Open runner-up Svetlana Kuznetsova handled American Bethanie Mattek 7-6 (7-2), 6-4, while 2007 French Open finalist Ana Ivanovic of Serbia bested American Meilen Tu 6-4, 6-3 to advance at the AEC. Kuznetsova and Ivanovic are seeded fifth and sixth here, respectively. Ivanovic gave way to reigning world No. 1 Justine Henin in the final at Roland Garros earlier this month.
Eighth-seeded Russian Anna Chakvetadze cruised past Tatiana Poutchek of Belarus 6-2, 6-1, while 10th-seeded Slovakian Daniela Hantuchova struggled to top Russian veteran Elena Likhovtseva 7-5, 7-6 (7-3).
A surprise came when Japan's Akiko Morigami toppled 13th-seeded Russian Dinara Safina 6-4, 7-5.
In other second-round action involving top-16 seeds, No. 11 Russian Nadia Petrova pasted Indian Sania Mirza 6-2, 6-2; No. 12 Russian Elena Dementieva, a two-time Grand Slam runner-up, drubbed Czech Iveta Benesova 6-2, 6-2; No. 14 Czech Nicole Vaidisova vaulted past veteran Aussie Nicole Pratt 6-3, 6-2; and No. 15 Swiss Patty Schnyder overcame Italian Roberta Vinci 2-6, 6-3, 6-2.
Other seeded second-round winners were No. 19 Slovenian Katarina Srebotnik, No. 24 Ukrainian Alona Bondarenko, No. 25 Czech Lucie Safarova, No. 26 Japanese Ai Sugiyama, No. 28 Italian Mara Santangelo and No. 31 Dutchwoman Michaella Krajicek.
In some other upsets, Austrian Tamira Paszek took out 17th-seeded Frenchwoman Tatiana Golovin 6-2, 3-6, 6-1; Belarusian Victoria Azarenka erased 21st-seeded Italian Tathiana Garbin 6-1, 6-3; France's Aravane Rezai clipped 29th-seeded Italian Francesca Schiavone 6-4, 2-6, 6-4; and Poland's Agnieszka Radwanska leveled 32nd-seeded German Martina Muller 6-1, 4-0, retired.
One other second-round victor was veteran Spaniard Virginia Ruano Pascual.

Woods to return at AT&T National

Bethesda, MD (Sports Network) - Tiger Woods announced Thursday that he will return to play in the AT&T National next month, joining Phil Mickelson in the field at his new tournament.
Woods' wife gave birth to the couple's first child, daughter Sam Alexis, last Monday, a day after he missed a 30-foot putt on the last hole of the U.S. Open that would have forced a Monday playoff.
He skipped this week's Buick Open to remain at home with his family. He would have been the defending champion there.
The AT&T National is a new event, to be hosted by Woods from July 5-8 at Congressional Country Club. Proceeds will benefit the Tiger Woods Foundation.
"As host, this tournament is very special to me, and I am grateful the event is receiving tremendous support from the local community, my fellow PGA Tour players and all the members and staff of Congressional Country Club," Woods said in a statement posted on his Web site.
The event filled a hole in the PGA Tour schedule left when the International folded in February under the weight of declining ratings and the lack of a title sponsor.
Woods rarely appeared at the International, another factor in its demise. He is the third player after Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer to host his own tournament.
"It is extremely special to be hosting an event here over July 4th week, and I'm looking forward to a great tournament that raises funds and awareness for the millions of kids my foundation serves," the statement read.
Mickelson, recovering quicker than expected from his left wrist injury, announced his intention to play on Wednesday.

WTA: Venus, Kuznetsova, Ivanovic move on at Wimbledon

Wimbledon, England (Sports Network) - Three-time champion Venus Williams was an easy winner on Thursday, while fifth-seeded Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova and surging Serbian star Ana Ivanovic also posted second-round wins at Wimbledon.
A 23rd-seeded Williams improved to a career 46-7 at the All England Club with a 6-2, 6-2 spanking of Czech Hana Sromova. The five-time Grand Slam event champion captured this grass-court extravaganza in 2000, 2001 and 2005 and was the 2002 and 2003 runner-up to her younger sister Serena.
The former U.S. Open champion and 2006 French Open runner-up Kuznetsova handled American Bethanie Mattek 7-6 (7-2), 6-4, while the 2007 French Open finalist and sixth-seeded Ivanovic bested American Meilen Tu 6-4, 6-3 to advance at the AEC. Ivanovic gave way to reigning world No. 1 Justine Henin in the final at Roland Garros earlier this month.
Eighth-seeded Russian Anna Chakvetadze cruised past Tatiana Poutchek of Belarus 6-2, 6-1, while 10th-seeded Slovakian Daniela Hantuchova struggled to get past Russian veteran Elena Likhovtseva 7-5, 7-6 (7-3).
In other second-round action involving top-16 seeds, No. 11 Russian Nadia Petrova pasted Indian Sania Mirza 6-2, 6-2; No. 12 Russian Elena Dementieva, a two-time Grand Slam runner-up, drubbed Czech Iveta Benesova 6-2, 6-2; No. 14 Czech Nicole Vaidisova vaulted past veteran Aussie Nicole Pratt 6-3, 6-2; and No. 15 Swiss Patty Schnyder overcame Italian Roberta Vinci 2-6, 6-3, 6-2.

ATP: Federer storms into third round at Wimbledon

Wimbledon, England (Sports Network) - Swiss superstar Roger Federer needed just 10 minutes to dispose of Juan Martin del Potro on Thursday.
Federer was leading the promising Argentine 6-2, 7-5, 2-0 when action was suspended for the day on Wednesday due to rain. As play resumed Thursday, Federer immediately dismissed del Potro by winning four of five games to take the third set 6-1 and claim his 50th successive win on grass.
The 25-year-old Federer is trying to become only the second man in the Open Era to win this event five years in a row, joining the legendary Bjorn Borg, who captured it from 1976-80. Federer has won his last 30 matches at the All England Club, while the Swedish Borg won 41 straight here from 1976-81 before finally losing to John McEnroe in the 1981 final.
Federer has not lost on grass since 2003. The 10-time Grand Slam champion Federer is also the reigning Australian and U.S. Open champ and was this year's French Open runner-up to Rafael Nadal. The amazing Swiss has played in a record eight straight Grand Slam finals, going 6-2. He beat Nadal in last year's Wimbledon finale and hasn't lost here since Croatia's Mario Ancic beat him in the first round back in 2002.
Federer will face former world number one Marat Safin of Russia in the third round. The 26th-seeded Safin downed Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi of Pakistan, 6-4, 6-2, 7-6 (7-4). Qureshi was the first Pakistani to play on the men's side at Wimbledon in 31 years.

Henin, Jankovic, Serena win second-rounders at Wimbledon

Wimbledon, England (Sports Network) - Top-seeded Justine Henin, surging Serbian Jelena Jankovic and two-time champion and former world No. 1 Serena Williams were a trio of second-round winners Wednesday at Wimbledon.
The reigning world No. 1 Henin got past Russian Vera Dushevina 6-0, 6-4 on Day 3 at the All England Club. The gritty Belgian only needed 60 minutes to advance, as she broke Dushevina's serve five times and notched 25 winners, compared to only 12 winners for her Russian counterpart.
Henin is a six-time major titlist and two-time Wimbledon runner-up. The Belgian star lost to France's Amelie Mauresmo in last year's finale here and gave way to Venus Williams in the 2001 title bout.
The diminutive Henin captured her third straight and fourth overall French Open title earlier this month and has appeared in the final in her last five Grand Slam tournaments. She skipped the Australian Open back in January after appearing in all four major finals in 2006.
Henin, now 24-6 at the All England Club, having won eight of her last nine matches here, will meet another Russian, Elena Vesnina, in the third round.
The seventh-seeded Williams improved to a career 35-5 at Wimbledon by dousing Aussie Alicia Molik 7-6 (7-4), 6-3 following a brief rain delay on Court 1.
Williams advanced in 91 minutes, as she swatted 10 aces among her 35 winners and broke Molik's big serve on four occasions.The eight-time Grand Slam event champion Williams captured Wimbledon back-to- back in 2002 and 2003 and was the 2004 runner-up to Russian Maria Sharapova. The American star captured this year's Australian Open by pasting Sharapova in the finale in Melbourne.

WTA: Venus and Serena will play in Fed Cup semi against Russia

White Plains, NY (Sports Network) - Eight-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams, five-time major titlist Venus Williams, the world's No. 1 women's doubles player Lisa Raymond and Vania King comprise the United States' team that will host Russia in the 2007 Fed Cup World Group semifinals next month.
The Americans and Russians will square off in a best-of-five tie from July 14-15 at the Stadium at Topnotch in Stowe, Vermont. This same American team, captained by Zina Garrison, routed Belgium 5-0 in a quarterfinal at Delray Beach, Florida.
"Venus, Serena, Lisa and Vania are committed to continuing their success as a team," Garrison said. "Russia is certainly a formidable opponent and we look to play our very best tennis in front of a loud, patriotic crowd in Stowe."
The United States leads all nations with 17 Fed Cup titles, with the last coming in 2000.
The U.S. and Russia have met five times in Fed Cup play, with the Americans leading the all-time series 4-1. Russia won the most recent matchup, however, defeating the U.S. in the 2005 semis on the way to its second consecutive -- and second-ever -- Fed Cup crown.
The USA-Russia winner will meet either France or Italy in the World Group Final.

Roddick rolls; Federer runs into rain at Wimbledon

Wimbledon, England (Sports Network) - Two-time finalist Andy Roddick was a straight-set second-round winner Wednesday at Wimbledon, while reigning four- time champion Roger Federer was leading his second-rounder when rain halted play for the day at the All England Club.
The third-seeded Roddick improved to a career 25-6 here by handling Thai Danai Udomchoke 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (7-3) following a brief rain delay on the famed Centre Court.
The massive-serving Roddick, who has never lost before the third round here, advanced in 1 hour, 44 minutes with the help of 15 aces among his 40 winners on Day 3.
The 24-year-old Roddick is a former world No. 1 and has appeared in four Grand Slam finals, with his lone victory coming at the 2003 U.S. Open. He lost to Federer in the 2004 and 2005 Wimbledon finales.
Roddick's third-round opponent will be lefthanded Spaniard Fernando Verdasco.
The top-seeded/world No. 1 Federer will have to wait until Thursday if he wants to extend his grass-court winning streak to 50 matches, as he was leading promising Argentine Juan Martin del Potro 6-2, 7-5, 2-0 when action was suspended for the day.
The 25-year-old Federer is trying to become only the second man in the Open Era to win this event five years in a row, joining the legendary Bjorn Borg, who captured it from 1976-80. Federer has won his last 29 matches at the All England Club, while the Swedish Borg won 41 straight here from 1976-81 before finally losing to John McEnroe in the 1981 final.
Federer has won his last 49 grass-court matches overall, dating back to 2003, which includes a 20-match streak in Halle, Germany.

Horse Racing: Lava Man goes for third straight Hollywood Gold Cup

Inglewood, CA (Sports Network) - Two-time defending winner Lava Man is back to retain his title in the $750,000 Hollywood Gold Cup on Saturday. The six-year- old can join Native Diver as the only three-time winner of the Gold Cup.
The 1 1/4 mile race has attracted nine older thoroughbreds.
Lava Man, owned by STD Racing and Jason Wood, will start from post eight with regular rider Corey Nakatani in the saddle. Trained by Doug O'Neill, Lava Man is coming off a second place finish in the Charlie Whittingham Handicap on the turf to After Market.
In his career Lava Man has won 16 of 39 starts for more than $4.7 million. This year he won the Sunshine Millions Turf and repeated as champ in the Santa Anita Handicap.
Last year he became the first thoroughbred to sweep the three big handicap races in Southern California in the same year, Santa Anita Handicap, Hollywood Gold Cup and Pacific Classic. Lava Man's lone loss in 2006 was a seventh place finish to Invasor in the Breeders' Cup Classic.
Native Dancer won the Hollywood Gold Cup from 1965 to 1967 and along with Lava Man are the only two-time winners of the race. Native Dancer also was third to Colorado King in the 1964 Gold Cup.
Molengao, second in the Santa Anita Handicap, returns to face Lava Man, Coming off a victory in the Mervyn LeRoy Handicap, Molengao will be ridden by Victor Espinoza from post five.

NBA: Bobcats' Wallace to test free agent waters

Charlotte, NC (Sports Network) - Charlotte Bobcats forward Gerald Wallace has reportedly decided to become an unrestricted free agent.
According to the Charlotte Observer, Wallace gave up a guaranteed salary of about $6 million for next season to test the free agent waters. The paper said, however, that the Bobcats plan to meet with Wallace's agent on Sunday when the NBA's free agency period begins.
Wallace led the Bobcats in scoring this past season with an average of 18.1 points per game and was second in rebounding at 7.2 boards. He has spent the past three seasons with Charlotte, joining the club in the 2004 expansion draft.
After three years as a role player in Sacramento, Wallace's scoring average has increased in each of his three years with the Bobcats. In six NBA seasons overall, he has averaged 10.1 points.

WTA: Mauresmo, Jankovic cruise in Wimbledon openers

Wimbledon, England (Sports Network) - Amelie Mauresmo began defense of her Wimbledon women's crown with a convincing victory over American Jamea Jackson on a dry day at the All England Club. Third-seeded Serbian star Jelena Jankovic also eased into the second round on Day 2 here.
Seeded fourth this year, Mauresmo sailed to a 6-1, 6-3 triumph in just 63 minutes on Centre Court. The Frenchwoman had five aces among her 21 winners, while converting 4-of-8 break points.
Jackson managed only one break-point chance against Mauresmo's serve and failed to convert.
Mauresmo captured her second Grand Slam title when she battled back from a set down to beat Justine Henin in last year's finale at the All England Club. It's been a tough 2007 for the former world No. 1, who was a fourth-round loser as the defending champion at the Australian Open earlier this year and missed time in the spring recovering from an appendectomy.
After a third-round loss at the French Open, Mauresmo tuned up for the grass courts of Wimbledon with a runner-up finish at Eastbourne last week -- losing to Henin.
The French Open semifinalist Jankovic drubbed Britain's Anne Keothavong 6-2, 6-0 as she continues her surge on the WTA Tour. After reaching the semis at Roland Garros earlier this month, the Serbian promptly captured a grass-court event in Birmingham and was last week's runner-up to rising Russian Anna Chakvetadze at Eastbourne.
An eighth-seeded Chakvetadze also advanced on Tuesday, with a 7-5, 6-3 victory over German Angelique Kerber, while 10th-seeded Slovakian Daniela Hantuchova was on court for a mere 40 minutes in a 6-0, 6-1 thrashing of Russia's Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.
Rain on Monday forced many of the opening day's scheduled matches to be postponed until Tuesday.

ATP: Blake, Safin, Henman post opening wins at Big W

Wimbledon, England (Sports Network) - American James Blake, former world No. 1 Russian Marat Safin and four-time semifinalist Tim Henman of Great Britain recorded first-round wins Tuesday at Wimbledon.
The ninth-seeded Blake handled Russian Igor Andreev 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 on a dry day at the All England Club. Andreev beat Blake's fellow American star Andy Roddick in the opening round at the French Open last month.
The 26th-seeded Safin, a two-time Grand Slam champ, got past South African Rik De Voest 7-6 (7-5), 6-4, 7-5 on Day 2 of this grass-court fortnight.
Meanwhile, an unseeded Henman needed two days to upset 25th-seeded Spaniard Carlos Moya 6-3, 1-6, 5-7, 6-2, 13-11 on the famed Centre Court. The two ATP veterans were tied at 5-5 in the fifth set on Monday when play was called for the day due to insufficient light.
The 32-year-old Henman blew four match points against Moya on Monday and needed three more on Tuesday to finally close out his 30-year-old counterpart, who capped his stay here with an untimely double fault. The total match time was ultimately 4 hours, 11 minutes.
Henman is trying to give Britain its first male champion here since Fred Perry way back in 1936.
In other action involving top-16 seeds, No. 12 Frenchman Richard Gasquet cruised past Czech Bohdan Ulihrach 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 and No. 15 Croat Ivan Ljubicic, fresh off his grass-court title last week in The Netherlands, held off American Vincent Spadea 6-4, 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (7-4).

NFL: Bears waive Tank Johnson

Lake Forest, IL (Sports Network) - Embattled defensive tackle Tank Johnson was waived by the Chicago Bears on Monday following yet another off-field incident.
"We are upset and embarrassed by Tank's actions last week," said general manager Jerry Angelo. "He compromised the credibility of our organization. We made it clear to him that he had no room for error. Our goal was to help someone through a difficult period in his life, but the effort needs to come from both sides. It didn't, and we have decided to move on."
Johnson was stopped for speeding in Arizona on Friday and was then cited for "being impaired to the slightest degree," a police spokesman told the Chicago Tribune.
The three-year pro out of Washington has already been suspended for the first eight games of the 2007 regular season for violating the NFL's personal conduct policy.
Johnson was sentenced to 120 days in jail on March 15 for violating probation from a gun charge in 2005. He was released on good behavior after serving half of the sentence and met with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell in May.
Last December, Johnson was arrested on misdemeanor weapons charges after police raided his home and found several guns. The raid resulted in six misdemeanor counts of possession of a firearm without a firearm owner's ID card.
Goodell had told Johnson that he would be prepared to reduce the suspension to six games if certain conditions were met. That reduction is now more than unlikely.
Originally a second-round pick in the 2004 NFL Draft, Johnson posted 26 tackles and 3 1/2 sacks in 14 regular-season games last year, helping the Bears to the Super Bowl. He has 63 tackles and nine sacks for his career.

WTA: Hingis advances at rainy Wimbledon

Wimbledon, England (Sports Network) - Former champion Martina Hingis was among the first-round winners Monday at Wimbledon, which has had its opening day dominated by rain thus far.
A ninth-seeded Hingis staved off a pair of match points in the second set in order to sneak past game British wild card Naomi Cavaday 6-7 (1-7), 7-5, 6-0 at the All England Club. The start of play was delayed for just over 2 1/2 hours and the wet stuff returned later in the afternoon to completely wreak havoc on the opening-day schedule.
Some light rain is also in the forecast here for Tuesday.
The former world No. 1 and five-time Grand Slam champion Hingis captured her lone Wimbledon title back in 1997, a year in which she corralled three of the four major titles as a spry 16-year old.
The Swiss Hingis' second-round opponent here will be Japan's Aiko Nakamura.
Another victor among top-16 seeds on Day 1 was No. 16 Israeli Shahar Peer, who dropped Thai veteran Tamarine Tanasugarn 7-5, 6-2.
In other action involving seeds, No. 20 Austrian Sybille Bammer blitzed Uzbekistan's Varvara Lepchenko 6-2, 6-2 and No. 25 Lucie Safarova handled fellow Czech Zuzana Ondraskova 7-5, 6-2.
Other Day-1 wins came for Italian Roberta Vinci, Estonian Kaia Kanepi, the aforementioned Nakamura and American Laura Granville.

ATP: Federer, Roddick open with wins at rainy Wimbledon

Wimbledon, England (Sports Network) - Reigning four-time champion Roger Federer and two-time runner-up Andy Roddick were a pair of straight-set winners on a rain-interrupted opening day at Wimbledon.
The top-seeded/world No. 1 Swiss Federer handled Russian Teimuraz Gabashvili 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 on Centre Court at the venerable All England Club. Federer barely broke a sweat in an uneventful 91-minute victory. The start of the match, and all of the day's action, was delayed by rain for just over 2 1/2 hours, and the wet stuff is in the forecast for most of this first week.
Federer fired nine aces and broke Gabashvili's serve on four occasions on his way to the second round, where he'll meet 6-foot-5 Argentine Juan Martin del Potro or Italian veteran Davide Sanguinetti.
The 25-year-old Federer is trying to become only the second man in the Open Era to win this event five years in a row, joining the legendary Bjorn Borg, who captured it from 1976-80. Federer has won his last 29 matches at the All England Club, while Borg won 41 straight here from 1976-81 before finally losing to John McEnroe in the 1981 final.
The 10-time Grand Slam champion Federer is also the reigning Australian and U.S. Open champ and was this year's French Open runner-up to Rafael Nadal. The amazing Swiss has played in a record eight straight Grand Slam finals, going 6-2. He beat Nadal in last year's Wimbledon finale and hasn't lost here since Croatia's Mario Ancic beat him in the first round in 2002.
A third-seeded Roddick got past fellow American Justin Gimelstob 6-1, 7-5, 7-6 (7-3) on Court 1. Roddick uncorked 16 aces and held his lethal serve throughout the entire match.
The former No. 1 star and 2003 U.S. Open champion Roddick lost to Federer in the 2004 and 2005 Wimbledon finals and could meet the mighty Swiss in this year's semis. Federer also downed Roddick here in the semis in 2003.

Champions PGA Tour: Haas collects fourth win of the year

Concord, MA (Sports Network) - Jay Haas collected his fourth win of the season on Sunday when he came from behind to title at the Bank of America Championship.
He fired a final-round, six-under 66 to finish regulation at 13-under-par 203.
"I didn't know I was leading until 13 or 14," admitted Haas, who padded his money lead with the $247,500 first-place check. "I was fortunate the guys didn't make a bigger run at me there on the last few holes."
Leonard Thompson shot a four-under 68 and tied for second place with Brad Bryant, who posted a 67 on Sunday. The pair came in at 10-under-par 206 at Nashawtuc Country Club.
Overnight leader Tom Purtzer seemed to be in control of the tournament until a flurry of missed putts after the turn. He bogeyed three in a row from the 10th, then double-bogeyed the 17th to eliminate any possibility of a miracle finish.
Purtzer shot a one-over 73 to take fourth place at minus-nine.
Purtzer now has held the 36-hole lead at this event three years in a row with no wins to show for it.
"I feel bad for Tom," said Haas. "He's probably one of my two or three best friends out here. I thought maybe he and I might get into a playoff. I was hoping for that."
Any hope of a playoff with his friend was dashed around the turn.

LPGA Tour: Ochoa defeats teenager in U.S. Women's Open tuneup

Pittsford, NY (Sports Network) - World No. 1 Lorena Ochoa parred the second playoff hole Sunday to defeat rookie teenager In-Kyung Kim and win the Wegmans LPGA.
This was Ochoa's second win at this event, third this season and 12th on the LPGA Tour.
It came at a good time for Ochoa. Despite being the No. 1 player on the money list and the Rolex Rankings, she has yet to capture a major championship. Now, Ochoa will head into next week's U.S. Women's Open at Pine Needles with some momentum.
"I like my chances," acknowledged Ochoa, who pocketed $270,000 for Sunday's win. "I've been playing good. I'm going to try and be very patient and enjoy my week."
She could not have liked her chances on the second playoff hole, No. 10 at Locust Hill Country Club. Kim was first off the tee and hit her drive right, but Ochoa's drive landed farther right of Kim's ball.
Neither player reached the green with her second shot, but Kim's pitch ran 15 feet past the stick. Ochoa cozied her third within three feet, not quite guaranteeing a par, but certainly applying pressure on her teenage opponent.
Kim's putt moved right and she left herself with a longer putt for par than Ochoa. She made the putt, but Ochoa stepped up and converted hers to collect her first playoff win in five tries on tour.
"It was my first playoff win, so I'm really happy," said Ochoa.
She only managed a one-over-par 73 on Sunday, while Kim was steady with an even-par 72. The pair finished regulation tied at eight-under-par 280, which was one clear of Mi Hyun Kim, who bogeyed the last for a three-under 69.
Cristie Kerr posted a one-under 71 and finished in fourth at minus-six.

LPGA Tour: Lee wins Duramed Championship by three shots

Batavia, OH (Sports Network) - Seo-Jae Lee closed with a three-under 69 Sunday to win the Duramed Championship, her first victory on the Duramed Futures Tour.
Lee, an 18-year-old Korean, played the final round at Stonelick Hills without a bogey. She finished three rounds at 15-under 201 for a three-shot win over two players.
The $14,000 first-place check more than doubled her rookie season earnings to $25,277 in nine events. Her previous best finish was a tie for third place at the Louisiana Pelican Classic.
Violeta Retamoza, who shared the overnight lead with Lee, had an even-par 72 Sunday and shared second place with Eunjung Yi (69) at 12-under 204. It was Retamoza's second runner-up finish of the season.
Mollie Fankhauser fired a nine-under 63 to climb from a tie for 33rd place overnight into fourth place alone at 10-under 206. Cortney Reno (69) was another shot further back at 207.

Horse Racing: Mike Fox captures 148th Queen's Plate

Toronto, ON (Sports Network) - Mike Fox, ridden by Emma-Jayne Wilson, overtook Alezzandro in deep stretch to win Sunday's $1 million Queen's Plate at Woodbine Racecourse. The victory made Wilson the first female jockey to capture Canada's preeminent thoroughbred event.
The Queen's Plate is the first leg of the Canadian Triple Crown. The second leg is the $500,000 Prince of Wales Stakes at 1 3/16 miles on July 15 at Fort Erie, and the final jewel is the $500,000 Breeders' Stakes at 1 1/2 miles on the grass on August 5 at Woodbine.
Eight Canadian-bred three-year-olds went postward for the 1 1/4 mile race. Leonnatus Anteas, last year's champion two-year-old in Canada, was scratched from the Queen's Plate because of an infection of the pastern, which is the area in the leg right above the hoof.
Setting the pace around the first turn and into the backstretch was Alezzandro. Mike Fox was second followed by Twilight Meteor and Daaher. Alezzandro continued to lead up the backstretch with Twilight Meteor, Mike Fox and Daaher pressing the pace.
With a half-mile to run Plate Trial winner Jiggs Coz moved into second behind Alezzandro. Coming out of the final turn Alezzandro still had the lead with Jiggs Coz second and Mike Fox in third about three lengths back.

IRL: Franchitti survives crash fest in Iowa

Newton, IA (Sports Network) - Dario Franchitti survived numerous crashes to capture Sunday's inaugural Iowa Corn Indy 250 at the Iowa Speedway. Seven drivers were forced out of the race because of accidents. Franchitti was able to avoid the accidents and crossed the finish line 0.0681 seconds ahead of Marco Andretti.
The victory was Franchitti's second of the season and sixth of his Indy career.
Scott Sharp, Buddy Rice and Darren Manning completed the top-five.

Auto Racing: Tracy holds off Doornbos for Champ Car win

Cleveland, OH (Sports Network) - Paul Tracy captured Sunday's Grand Prix of Cleveland Champ Car race at the Burke Lakefront Airport. The No.3 Forsythe Championship Racing driver crossed the finish line on fumes just 0.513 seconds ahead of Robert Doornbos.
The victory was Tracy's first of the season and 31st of his Champ Car career.
"The team did a great job and kept me in the race," said Tracy.
The race got underway with Sebastien Bourdais leading the field to the green flag. For a change, just the second time in eight years, all the drivers made it through the first turn without incident.
That calm lasted until lap three when Tracy tried to duck underneath Graham Rahal and the two made contact. Tracy went to the pits for a new nose, but otherwise was ok.
Tracy was involved in a second incident a couple of laps later to bring out a second caution flag. Again, the Canadian needed a new nose, but was still able to race.
"I made a couple of pretty bad mistakes at the start," said Tracy. "We got into Bruno (Junqueira) and Graham (Rahal) and I really thought we were out of it."
The race restarted on lap 11 with Bourdais leading Will Power and Simon Pagenaud.
On lap 15, Power used some of his push-to-pass to close to within two seconds of Bourdais. The gap stayed at about that margin as the pair pulled away from third-place Pagenaud.

MLB: Nats re-acquire Speigner from Twins

Washington, DC (Sports Network) - The Washington Nationals have re-acquired pitcher Levale Speigner from the Minnesota Twins in exchange for outfielder Darnell McDonald.
Speigner was selected by the Nationals from Minnesota in the Rule 5 draft and was 2-3 with an 8.78 earned run average in 19 games, including six starts, this season before Washington designated him for assignment on June 19.
The Nationals had to offer the 26-year-old right-hander back to Minnesota, which accepted and worked out a deal to send him back to Washington.
Speigner will be assigned to Triple-A Columbus.
McDonald, who signed with Washington as a minor league free agent last November, was hitting .315 with two homers and 41 runs batted in for Columbus.

Tennis: Murray withdraws from Wimbledon

London, England (Sports Network) - Andy Murray of Britain has decided to withdraw from Wimbledon because of a nagging wrist injury.
The third Grand Slam of 2007 is scheduled to get under way Monday from the venerable All England Club.
"I have done everything possible to get ready for Wimbledon," said Murray on Sunday. "I have played practice sets the last few days but still cannot hit a topspin forehand properly."
Murray was slated to face Ecuador's Nicolas Lapentti in the first round and will be replaced in the draw by lucky loser Kevin Kim of the United States.
The eighth-seeded Murray was likely Britain's best hope to end the nation's long drought of homegrown Wimbledon winners. A Brit has not won the men's singles title since Fred Perry in 1936.
Murray was hurt at the Hamburg Masters six weeks ago when he hit a forehand against Filippo Volandri. After playing two more points, Murray decided to retire and hasn't played competitively since.
The 20-year-old Scotsman practiced on Saturday, but was advised by doctors not to play for at least another 10 days.
"It has been six weeks of really hard work but I'm not 100 percent ready," Murray added. "The wrist is a very important part of tennis and there are a number of players who have made the decision to come back too soon and ended up with long term injuries and I do not want to take the risk and make the same mistake.
"The doctor has advised me not to play and that I probably need about 10 days to be ready. Unfortunately, I don't think it is going to rain for the next 10 days. I love playing Wimbledon because of the great support I get from the British public and that is what I will miss the most."
Murray, who reached the fourth round at Wimbledon last year in his second appearance, has won a pair of ATP titles in his young career, including a triumph at San Jose in February.

Golf : South Korean Lee wins rain-shortened Mizuno Open

NISHINOMIYA, Japan (AP) -- South Korea's Lee Dong-hwan earned a spot in the British Open on Sunday by winning his first title on the Japanese tour at the rain-shortened Mizuno Open.

Lee shot three straight 68s through Saturday and played five holes Sunday before the final round was canceled because of bad weather.

The 20-year-old finished with a 54-hole total of 12-under 204, four strokes ahead of six players tied for second.

Lee, a former national amateur champion in South Korea, earned a ticket to the July 19-22 British Open in Carnoustie, Scotland.

European PGA Tour: Fasth earns sixth tour win at BMW International

Munich, Germany (Sports Network) - Niclas Fasth recovered from a double-bogey on the par-four 10th with two birdies over the final eight holes to claim a two-shot win Sunday at the BMW International Open.
Fasth won for the sixth time on tour and the fifth time in the last three seasons.
Bernhard Langer, who has never won this event, fired a five-under 67 to share second place with Jose-Filipe Lima (72) at minus-11. For Langer, this was his first top-five finish on the European Tour since back-to-back fifth place finishes at the 2005 British Open and Deutsche Bank Players Championship.
Anders Hansen (68), Maarten Lafeber (67) and Ricardo Gonzalez (70) shared fourth place at 10-under-par 278.
Fasth and Lima were tied for the lead through five holes at 12-under at Golfclub Munchen Eichenried. Each birdied the third, Fasth with a chip-in and Lima with an eight-foot putt.
The turning point for those two came at the par-five sixth. Lima found water and walked off with a two-putt bogey, while Fasth two-putted for birdie and a two-stroke lead over his playing partner.
Fasth parred the next three holes to make the turn at 13-under, three strokes clear of Lima, who also bogeyed the seventh.
Trouble loomed for Fasth at the 10th. He found the fairway off the tee, but knocked his second over the green and against the collar of the rough.
The Swede duffed his chip, then three-putted for double-bogey as his lead dropped to one over Lima, Langer and Hansen.
Fasth, who won for the third time in five tries when holding a piece of the 54-hole lead, came right back with a birdie on 11 from seven feet out. It was his fourth birdie in four days on the par-five.
The 35-year-old Fasth parred the 12th and led by one over Langer, who made a big run on the front nine. Fasth made some tough par saves over the next five holes to maintain that lead.
Fasth dropped his tee shot within seven feet at the par-three 17th. He poured that in for his first birdie in four days at the hole. Fasth closed with an easy par at the last to secure his sixth tour title.
Langer opened with a birdie on the first, but he flew up the leaderboard with three birdies in a four-hole span from the fifth.
The German made the turn at 10-under and remained there as he parred eight straight from the ninth. Langer birdied the 17th to get within one of Fasth. Langer closed with a par at the last to share second at minus-11.
Lima made the turn at 10-under after a birdie and two bogeys over the first nine holes. He dropped another stroke on the par-four 14th, but posted birdies on two of the last four holes to join Langer in second.
World No. 5 Ernie Els carded a final-round, five-under 67 to end in a tie for seventh at nine-under-par 279. He was joined there by Simon Khan, who closed with a 66. Thomas Levet and Benn Barham were one stroke further back at minus- eight.