LITTLE ROCK — FOOTBALL
McNeill ends holdout
San Diego Chargers left tackle Marcus McNeill ended his holdout Saturday when he signed his one-year contract tender as a restricted free agent. However, he must sit out the next three games because he and wide receiver Vincent Jackson were placed on the roster exempt list by General Manager A.J. Smith on Aug. 20. Mc-Neill will be eligible to play Oct. 17 at St. Louis.
The Green Bay Packers list left tackle Chad Clifton and left guard Daryn Colledge as probable for Monday night’s game against the Chicago Bears. Both practiced Saturday as the Packers finalized plans before the matchup of unbeaten NFC North leaders.
Two Indianapolis Colts starters, receiver Pierre Garcon and linebacker Clint Session, did not travel to Denver and will not play in today’s game against the Broncos. Backup defensive back Brandon King also did not make the trip. All three have been hindered by hamstring injuries this week.
TENNIS
Simon, Zverev reach final
Eighth-seeded Gilles Simon of France beat No. 6 Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany 6-3, 6-2 Saturday to line up an Open de Moselle final in Metz, France, against German qualifier Mischa Zverev. Zverev advanced to his first career final when No. 4 Richard Gasquet of France withdrew because of a fever.
Unseeded Pablo Andujar beat fellow Spaniard Marcel Granollers 7-6 (5), 4-6, 6-4 Saturday to reach the BCR Open final in Bucharest, Romania, against fourthseeded Juan Ignacio Chela of Argentina. Andujar needed more than three hours to reach today’s championship. Chela had a much easier time, defeating top-seeded Albert Montanes of Spain 6-1, 6-3.
Top-seeded Nadia Petrova withdrew from the semifinals of the Korea Open on Saturday inSeoul, leaving Czech opponent Klara Zakopalova with a place in the final against Russian Alisa Kleybanova. Petrova was trailing 5-4 in the opening set when the Russian decided that she couldn’t continue because of illness, putting the 39th-ranked Zakopalova in today’s final at Seoul Olympic Park. Fifth-seeded Kleybanova defeated eighth-seeded Agnes Szavay of Hungary, 6-3, 6-2 in the other semifinal.
Alla Kudryavtseva has won her first WTA Tour title, beating Elena Vesnina 6-4, 6-4 in an all-Russian final at the Tashkent (Uzbekistan) Open.
HORSE RACING
Apart rolls at Super Derby
Apart used a strong stretch run to easily win the Super Derby on Saturday at Louisiana Downs in Bossier City. Apart, ridden by Jesse Campbell, was fourth at the final turn of the Grade II, $500,000 race for 3-year-olds. He then swung wide, charged to the lead and won going away ahead of runner-up Distorted Economy. Hurricane Ike finished third. Apart finished the 1 1 /8 miles in 1:52.31 and paid $6.60, $3.40 and $2.40. DistortedEconomy returned $3.80 and $2.60, and Hurricane Ike paid $2.20.
Morning Line beat First Dude by a neck to win the Pennsylvania Derby at Philadelphia Park in Bensalem, Pa. Morning Line, ridden by John Velazquez, took the lead at the start and gave it up in the home stretch before coming on at the finish for his first stakes victory in six career races. Morning Line paid $9.60, $5.40 and $3.60 and increased his career earnings to $677,800. First Dude, the 8-5 favorite, returned $3.20 and $2.20, and A Little Warm finished third and paid $2.40.
GOLF
Cochran increases lead
Russ Cochran shot a 5-underpar 67 in the SAS Championship in Cary, N.C., to increase his lead to four strokes, the largest 36-hole margin the history of the Champions Tour’s event. Cochran, the 51-yearold left-hander coming off his first victory on the 50-and-over tour two weeks ago in South Korea, birdied the final two holes at Prestonwood Country Club to finish at 13 under.Ted Schulz (68) was second, and defending champion Tom Pernice Jr. (71) was 8 under along with John Cook (64) and Nick Price (69). Cook played the back nine in a tournament-record 8-under 27, eagling the par-4 14th and par-5 17th.
England’s John Parry shot a 2-under-par 70 to take a one-stroke lead over Denmark’s Mark Haastrup and Sweden’s Johan Edfors in the Vivendi Cup in Chambourcy, France. The 23-year-old Parry, seeking his first PGA European Tour title, was 15 under at Golf de Joyenval Club. Mark Haastrup shot a 66, and Edfors had a 67.
Darron Stiles (202) shot a 6-under-par 66 on Saturday and leads the WNB Golf Classic in Midland, Texas, by a stroke over Brett Lederer (203). Ron Whittaker (Little Rock) is at 205 for the tournament after his 5-under-par score Saturday. Whittaker’s bogey-free round included five birdies. Brendan Pappas (Arkansas Razorbacks) is at 207. His 1-under round included two birdies and a bogey.
BASKETBALL U.S. women beat France 81-60
OSTRAVA, Czech Republic - With the offense struggling early on, the United States turned to its defense.
That kept the Americans inthe game and gave Diana Taurasi time to get the offense going. She finished with 15 points to help the United States beat France 81-60 Saturday and finish first in Group B at the women’s basketball world championship. Both teams advanced to the second round, which beginsMonday.
Unlike the first two games in which they cruises on offense, the United States looked out of sync against France and didn’t really get rolling until the second half.
“We were trying to do too much early,” U.S. forward Tamika Catchings said. “We were making the extra pass or being too stagnant on offense. We did a really good job talking defensively, that kept us in the game early.”
Candice Dupree and Tina Charles each added 10 points for the Americans (3-0), who came into the game averaging 103.5points. Dupree is shooting 84 percent from the field over the first three games.
“She really is amazing,” Catchings said. “You look at her faceand she’s emotionless.”
France (2-1) had routed Senegal and beat rival Greece. Facing the Americans was a much different challenge for the 2009 European champions. The French, who are playing without injured star Sandrine Gruda, have only beaten the U.S. team once in theworlds - in 1971.
“We have a really young team,” French Coach Pierre Vincent said. “You don’t have a chance all the time to play the United States. When you get the chance you want to play with your whole team.”
The United States started slowly, missing five of its first six shots and turning the ball over six times in the first seven minutes. Despite the Americans’ struggles on offense, France couldn’t take advantage and only led 8-3 after Jennifer Digbeu’s two free throws with 2:19 left in the quarter.
Sports, Pages 24 on 09/26/2010