BASEBALL
Darvish returns Saturday
Right-hander Yu Darvish reported no problems in a bullpen throwing session on Wednesday and will return to the Texas Rangers' rotation during the weekend series at the Chicago Cubs. The club will bring Darvish off the disabled list on Saturday. He has been on the list since June 9 because of shoulder soreness. The club believes the condition arose because Darvish made changes in his delivery to protect his right elbow. He is returning from Tommy John surgery. Darvish made two injury-rehabilitation starts while on the disabled list, with a high pitch count of 72. He likely will be limited to about 90 pitches in the start against the Cubs.
All-Star Game rating
The baseball All-Star Game drew a record-low television rating for the second consecutive year. The American League's 4-2 victory over the NL in San Diego on Tuesday night got a 5.4 rating on Fox. The previous low was 6.6 last year for the game in Cincinnati. Fox said Wednesday that the game drew a 10 share and 8.7 million viewers. Ratings represent the percentage of homes with televisions tuned to a program, the share is the percentage of households watching among TVs in use at the time. Baseball remains the most-watched all-star game of the four major North American pro sports. Fox said Tuesday night's game was its highest-rated telecast of the summer season.
BASKETBALL
Duncan: It wasn't fun
San Antonio Spurs star Tim Duncan said he decided to retire after 19 seasons because playing basketball wasn't "as fun anymore." Two days after the Spurs announced Duncan's retirement in a news release, he sat down for an interview with longtime friend Rashidi Clenance. The interview was streamed online via ViVid Streaming. Duncan said he has no regrets after deciding to end his career with five championships and two MVP awards. He grew emotional as he said he "enjoyed the ride" and he thanked Spurs fans and all of those who have reached out in the last two days. He did not reveal any specific plans for his retirement, and said that for the first time in 20 years, he doesn't have a plan.
TENNIS
Johnson advances
Top-seeded Steve Johnson advanced to the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships quarterfinals Wednesday at Newport, R.I., beating Japan's Yuichi Sugita, 6-1, 6-4. Coming off a career-best finish in a Grand Slam, Johnson, 26, needed just 20 minutes to win the first set and 59 to close the match. It was his first on Newport's grass this week after the top four seeds were given byes. Defending champion Rajeev Ram, a two-time winner in Newport -- also in 2009 when he won his only other career ATP tourney -- lost to seventh-seeded Dudi Sela of Israel, 6-3, 6-4. Second-seeded Ivo Karlovic of Croatia rallied past Canadian qualifier Frank Dancevic, 3-6, 7-6 (5), 6-4.
Verdasco moves on
Fernando Verdasco saved the only break point he faced Wednesday to advance to his sixth Swedish Open quarterfinal with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Albert Montanes. The fifth-seeded Spaniard, who won his seventh ATP title in Bucharest in April, was a finalist in Bastad in 2013. Verdasco next faces Facundo Bagnis, who ousted fourth-seeded Marcel Granollers of Spain 7-5, 6-3. The 32-year-old Argentine capitalized on three of his seven break point opportunities to reach his second tour-level quarterfinal. Third-seeded Albert Ramos-Vinolas prevailed over Roberto Carballes Baena 7-6 (5), 6-3 to face Andrea Arnaboldi in the quarterfinals. Arnaboldi upset eighth-seeded Evgeny Donskoy of Russia 6-3, 6-2 for his third tour-level victory and first quarterfinal berth. The 28-year-old Italian saved both break points he faced.
Hercog wins 2nd round
Polona Hercog of Slovenia took advantage of a poor performance from fifth-seeded Monica Niculescu of Romania to win their Bucharest Open second-round match 6-4, 6-3 on Wednesday. "I made a lot of mistakes and I relied a lot on my return which was not good today," said Niculescu, who beat Hercog in the 2014 quarterfinals. Hercog plays fourth-seeded Laura Siegemund in the quarterfinals after the German beat Japanese qualifier Misa Eguchi 6-4, 6-1. Vania King of the United States ousted eighth-seeded Cagla Buyukakcay of Turkey 7-6 (5), 4-6, 6-1 to set up a match against Pauline Parmentier. The Frenchwoman defeated Aliaksandra Sasnovich of Belarus 7-6 (3), 6-4.
HOCKEY
GM hired for Las Vegas
George McPhee has been hired as general manager of the NHL's expansion Las Vegas franchise. Owner Bill Foley announced McPhee as the franchise's first GM at a news conference Wednesday afternoon in Las Vegas. McPhee will be in charge of building the team from scratch to begin play in the 2017-18 NHL season. McPhee most recently served as special adviser to New York Islanders GM Garth Snow. Before that he spent 16 seasons as GM of the Washington Capitals. As the Capitals' GM, McPhee oversaw a complete rebuild around star winger Alex Ovechkin that led to the team making six consecutive playoff appearances before he was fired in 2014. McPhee has a strong history of drafting and developing players, and his extensive NHL experience earned him the position over younger candidates. Foley said McPhee was one of seven candidates who interviewed for the job.
FOOTBALL
Group gets extension
Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval is giving a committee more time to hammer out the details of a proposed NFL-grade stadium in Las Vegas. Sandoval formally extended a deadline for the Southern Nevada Tourism Infrastructure Committee on Wednesday. The group was supposed to turn in a final recommendation at the end of the month, but now has until Sept. 30. Supporters of the stadium presented nine potential sites to the committee on Monday and projected it would cost $1.7 billion to $2.1 billion, which was more than the original $1.4 billion estimate. The committee wants the backers to narrow the list and fine-tune the cost, which could be partially footed by hotel tax revenue. Sandoval expanded the committee's scope and is allowing them to consider methods for funding more police officers.
No promotion to kids
The NFL has agreed to curtail its marketing of fantasy football to children ages 6 to 12. Last season, the league marketed fantasy football to youngsters on its NFL Rush Fantasy website and app, offering cash prizes and game consoles to contest winners. It also promoted an elementary school curriculum that encouraged children to play the fantasy game. The NFL confirmed Wednesday it has informed several advocacy groups that it will make significant changes to the game. The school curriculum based on the game has been discontinued and the league has promised it will not promote fantasy sports in schools in the future.
GOLF
Absences to be discussed
The absence of many of the top men from the Olympic golf tournament in Rio de Janeiro will be taken into account in evaluating the sport's future in the games, IOC President Thomas Bach said Wednesday. Golf is making its first appearance in the Olympics for the first time since 1904, but 20 men -- including the top four in the world rankings -- have pulled out, many citing concerns over the Zika virus. "We have to respect the individual decisions, even if they are going contrary to the recommendations given by the World Health Organization, if Zika is given as a reason," Bach said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press and two other international news agencies. Bach added that "very different reasons" not related to Zika have also been cited in golf circles for skipping the Olympics. "We're also following with interest the discussions in the golf community, how they themselves are considering these discussions and what judgment they are making," he said.
Sports on 07/14/2016