Off the wire

GOLF McDowell tops Mahan

Not even Graeme McDowell can believe he’s still alive in the Match Play Championship. For the third consecutive round, McDowell pulled off another improbable escape to advance to the quarterfinals Friday at Dove Mountain in Marana, Ariz. This time, all he had to do was win the last two holes against Hunter Mahan to force overtime and make a 20-foot par putt to stay in the match on the 20th hole. He won with a birdie on the 21st hole. In three matches, McDowell has played 58 holes and has never had the lead until he won. Jordan Spieth beat Matt Kuchar. Ernie Els ousted Jason Dufner, Victor Dubuisson beat Bubba Watson, and Rickie Fowler won on the last hole against Sergio Garcia. The other winners were Louis Oosthuizen and Jason Day.

Anna Nordqvist made two late bogeys at the rainy LPGA Thailand, leaving her a stroke ahead after Friday’s second round. The Swede shot an even-par 72 to remain 6 under. Germany’s Sandra Gal, Paraguay’s Julieta Granada and Spain’s Azahara Munoz were tied for second. Munoz and Granada shot 68, and Gal had a 70. The players got a break from the usual hot, humid conditions, with the temperature only reaching the 70s the first two days at Siam Country Club. Americans Stacy Lewis (Arkansas Razorbacks) and Michelle Wie were 4 under. The third-ranked Lewis had seven birdies and four bogeys in a 69. Wie shot 73.

TENNIS Johnson, Anderson advance

Steve Johnson defeated No. 6 seed Feliciano Lopez 6-3, 6-2 at the Delray Beach (Fla.) Open on Friday. Johnson, who upset top-seeded Tommy Haas two days ago, earned a spot in the semifinals for the first time at an ATP event. The 24-year-old from the University of Southern California will face fellow South African Kevin Anderson, the fourth seed. Johnson had to win two qualifying matches to earn a spot in the 32-player main draw. Anderson, ranked No. 21 in the world, got into the semifinals by beating Australian Marinko Matosevic 6-7 (3), 6-3, 6-3. Neither player broke serve until 3-3 of the second set when Anderson broke Matosevic and went on to close out the set. He also broke Matosevic twice in the first four games of the third set and punctuated the victory with a 131-mph ace on the match’s final point.

Top-seeded Richard Gasquet of France and defending champion Jo-Wilfried Tsonga both advanced to the Open 13 semifinals at Marseille, France, on Friday. After Gasquet beat fifth-seeded Ivan Dodig of Croatia 7-5, 6-3, Tsonga followed up with a 6-7 (3), 6-2, 6-2 victory against sixth-seeded Edouard Roger-Vasselin in an all-French match. Gasquet, ranked ninth, broke Dodig twice in the first set and once more in the second set, where he saved three breakpoints of his own. He sealed the victory on his own serve when Dodig’s forehand from the back of the court was wide. Gasquet next faces third-seeded Ernests Gulbis of Latvia, who won 6-3, 7-6 (1) against No. 8 Nicolas Mahut of France to reach his second consecutive semifinal.

MOTOR SPORTS

Patrick, teammates 1-2-3

Danica Patrick cleared a path for her teammates in NASCAR’s new knockout qualifying that led to a Turner Scott Motorsports rout at Daytona International Speedway.Dylan Kwasniewski won the pole for his Nationwide Series debut - the first rookie since Rusty Wallace in 1985 to win the pole at Daytona - by following Patrick and Kyle Larson through traffic in Friday’s qualifying session. The 18-year-old topped the speed chart with a lap at 192.078 mph in the rain-shortened qualifying session. Larson qualified second with a lap at 192.074 and Patrick was third as Turner Scott’s cars went 1-2-3 for today’s race. The qualifying session was the first for NASCAR’s new multicar, knockout-style format. All cars were on track for the opening 25-minute segment that was interrupted twice by rain. The fastest 24 cars were scheduled to advance to a second, 10-minute round, but it was rained out.

Bill Elliott and Terry Labonte are among the first-year eligible nominees for the NASCAR Hall of Fame. Mark Martin (Batesville) failed to make the ballot in his first year of eligibility. NASCAR announced sweeping changes to the Hall of Fame election process last year, making drivers eligible if they have competed for 30 or more years in NASCAR or turned 55 in the calendar year before nominating day. Previously, drivers were not eligible until they had been retired for three years, so drivers can continue to compete and still reach the hall. The ballot will also include only 20 nominees, down five from the first five classes. Les Richter, Ralph Seagraves, Annie B. France, T. Wayne Robertson and Clay Earles were dropped off the ballot.

FOOTBALL Chiefs may lose players

Kansas City Chiefs General Manager John Dorsey said he does not anticipate using the franchise tag to keep one of the team’s free agents, something they’ve done each of the past three seasons. After speaking at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, Dorsey addressed the Chiefs’ tentative plans with a small group of local reporters. The Chiefs are poised to lose several key players, including Pro Bowl left tackle Branden Albert and Pro Bowl punt returner Dexter McCluster. Also scheduled to become unrestricted free agents are starting safety Kendrick Lewis, starting defensive end Tyson Jackson and part-time starting offensive linemen Jon Asamoah and Geoff Schwartz. Dorsey did say that he’s having “ongoing conversations” with representatives of all of the Chiefs’ free agents. The free agency period begins March 11.

A new report released Friday found that the number of football players 8 or younger increased by 10.2 percent from 2012 to 2013 - a stark contrast to recent trends showing overall athletic participation is waning. The study was conducted by the Sports and Fitness Industry Association for Indianapolis-based USA Football, an umbrella group for youth sports. Association President Tom Cove warned that inactivity among America’s children could lead to more significant problems later in life. “Physical inactivity is a pandemic with terrible consequences for American children,” said Cove, who also serves on USA Football’s board of directors. “Research shows that a child who is not active before age 10 is much more likely to remain inactive throughout his or her life. It is important to note that this is not exclusive to any one sport.” The five-year trends for all the sports measured by the study continue to show declines. From 2008-12, soccer participation dropped by 7.1 percent, baseball participation fell by 7.2 percent and basketball participation declined by 8.3 percent. Football showed the smallest decline, 5.4 percent, over the same span.

BASKETBALL James iffy for Sunday

LeBron James has a broken nose, and his availability for the Miami Heat on Sunday against Chicago will be a game-time decision.

The Heat announced the diagnosis after James’ injury was evaluated Friday. He missed the final 5:50 of Thursday’s game at Oklahoma City when he was struck inadvertently by defender Serge Ibaka on a drive to the basket.

James finished with a dunk but then crumpled to the floor, blood gushing from his nose. He left the court with a towel over his face.

He passed a concussion test but didn’t talk to reporters after the Heat’s victory, instead sitting in front of his locker with a towel draped over his head. The team was off Friday.