GOLF
Spaun, Schnell tie at top
J.J. Spaun and Brady Schnell were tied for the lead at 9-under 133 after the second round of the Web.com Tour's Rex Hospital Open in Raleigh, N.C., on Friday. Spaun had a 1-under 70 and Schnell had a 4-under 67. Jason Millard, Chris Wilson, Julian Etulain, Chase Marinell and Dominic Bozzelli were tied for third at 134. Tag Ridings (Arkansas Razorbacks) was tied for 12th at 6-under 136 after a 67 on Friday. Scott Gardiner (Farmington) shot a 1-over 72 (140). Matt Atkins had a 2-over 73 (142). Andrew Landry (Razorbacks) and Zack Fischer (Little Rock) did not make the cut.
• Andrew Dodt opened a three-shot lead at the Mauritius Open after putting together a solid 2-under 70 in the second round on Friday. The Australian extended his overnight advantage at Four Seasons Golf Club with five birdies to go 8 under overall. He had an adventurous back nine, with four of those birdies, a bogey and a double-bogey seven on his way back in. But in blustery sea winds on the Indian Ocean island's east coast, that round proved to be one of the best. South Korea's Wang Jeung-hun, who won his maiden European Tour title last week in Morocco, is second on 5 under after also carding a 70. Belgium's Nicolas Colsaerts made his move with a 65 to climb into a tie for third at 4 under.
TENNIS
Djokovic moves on
Novak Djokovic earned a berth in the Rome Masters semifinals on Friday, outdueling seven-time champion Rafael Nadal 7-5, 7-6 (7-4), while women's favorite Serena Williams cruised in 51 minutes. A two-and-a-half-hour battle with Nadal marked the 12th consecutive victory at the event for Djokovic, who next faces Japan's sixth seed Kei Nishikori, a winner over 15th-ranked Austrian Dominic Thiem 6-3, 7-5. Williams spent well under an hour dismantling two-time grand slam winner Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-2, 6-0, limiting the ninth seed to just three winners in the rout. Kuznetsova, who beat Williams two months ago in Miami, finished with a double-fault; Williams has not lost in Rome since a 2010 semifinal, picking up the 2013 and 2014 titles on the clay. She plays Romanian Irina Begu, who beat Misaki Doi 6-2, 7-6 (7-3). Andy Murray survived swirling clay and a stubborn Belgian opponent to book his spot as he defeated David Goffin 6-1, 7-5. The second-seeded Scot will face 52nd-ranked Frenchman Lucas Poulille, who earned a free spot as Juan Monaco retired injured before their match. In the women's draw, third seed Garbine Muguruza beat Timea Bacsinszky, edging the 11th seed and 2015 French Open semifinalist 7-5, 6-2. She plays for the final against American Madison Keys, who beat Barbora Strycova 6-4, 4-6, 6-3.
MOTOR SPORTS
Harvick wins pole
Kevin Harvick won the pole at Dover International Speedway after rain wiped out qualifying on Friday. Harvick will start first in Sunday's Sprint Cup race because he posted the fastest lap of 165.145 mph in the only practice. Dale Earnhardt Jr. joins Harvick on the front row. Joe Gibbs Racing placed Kyle Busch third and Carl Edwards fourth. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. rounded out the top five. Harvick had not won a pole through the first 11 races of the season. The lone practice was marred by a three-car accident that involved Danica Patrick, Tony Stewart and Jamie McMurray. Patrick's No. 10 dumped oil on the track, spun and the rear of her Chevrolet burst into flames. Stewart, her Stewart-Haas Racing teammate, was behind her and the No. 14 hit the oil and smacked the wall. McMurray hit an unprotected portion of the wall. He held his left elbow as he walked out of the medical center. Stewart told his team the hit hurt him. He missed the first eight races of the season with a fractured vertebra suffered in a January all-terrain vehicle accident.
• Matt Crafton raced to his first Trucks Series victory in 16 career starts at Dover International Speedway. Crafton held off Daniel Suarez down the stretch Friday for his 12th career series victory. The two-time season champion had been unable to turn 75 career laps led into a victory in his previous starts on the mile concrete track. Crafton had said he never thought he'd be able to break though and win at a track that had given him fits. Coming off a second-place finish last weekend at Kansas Speedway, Crafton led 78 of the 200 laps. With truck owner Kyle Busch rooting him on from pit road, Suarez was second. Kyle Busch Motorsports driver William Byron won last week at Kansas. Christopher Bell, Johnny Sauter and Cole Custer complete the top five.
• Simon Pagenaud continued his early-season dominance Friday by winning the pole for IndyCar's Grand Prix of Indianapolis. The French driver who leads the standings took the top spot with a fast lap of 1 minute, 8.6868 seconds in the final round of qualifying. He has won two consecutive poles and two consecutive races for Team Penske. American Charlie Kimball, who drives for Chip Ganassi, will start a career-best second after completing the 2.439-mile, 14-turn road course in 1:08.9816. Graham Rahal, another American, had the best lap by a Honda driver, going 1:09.1816. He will start third. Pagenaud can add to his 48-point lead today and will become the first two-time winner of the race -- if he reaches Victory Lane. He also won the inaugural grand prix in 2014.
• IndyCar will return to the road course at Watkins Glen International in New York on Labor Day weekend as the replacement race for a canceled event in Boston. The Watkins Glen race will be held Sept. 4, the same day Boston had been scheduled. The race will be the 15th event on the 16-race schedule. Watkins Glen joins Phoenix International Raceway and Road America in venues that returned to IndyCar this season. Boston was scheduled to host a race on the city's streets, and IndyCar had touted the weekend as an opportunity to showcase its event in front of a new audience that would include many college students. But late last month, organizers called off the race and said their relationship with city officials was "untenable."
FOOTBALL
Hardy gets therapy
The Dallas Cowboys have moved on from Greg Hardy after one disappointing and controversial season. The veteran defensive end still doesn't have a team but his agent Drew Rosenhaus remains hard at work looking to find him a new home. Per Mike Florio of Profootballtalk.com, Rosenhaus has sent detailed reports to all NFL teams regarding Hardy's efforts toward self improvement in hopes of getting back in the league. Hardy has been evaluated and treated by a number of NFL physicians, gone through individual and group counseling, and has been assessed for anger management, temper management, domestic violence and ADHD, per the report. He has undergone 24 psychiatric therapy sessions this year and will continue with that going forward. This is good for Hardy, but he remains in the past for the Cowboys. Hardy didn't live up to expectations on or off the field in 2015. He was brought in to improve the pass rush, but ended up with only six sacks, including two in the final eight games. Meanwhile, he drew the ire of Coach Jason Garrett for frequent tardiness and inappropriate statements on social media and in the media. The Cowboys have not given up on giving players second chances, but they decided Hardy wasn't worth the effort.
"In our business, you're dealing with human beings and you don't ever know exactly how that's going to work," vice president Stephen Jones said recently.
Sports on 05/14/2016