TENNIS
No. 2 Isner advances
John Isner served up 26 aces in beating Japan's Yoshihito Nishioka 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 on Wednesday night to reach the quarterfinals at the Memphis Open. The second-seeded American managed only five of those aces in dropping the first set. Isner, making his debut at The Racquet Club, bounced back by serving up 11 aces in the second set where he won all 15 points on his first serve. He had 10 more aces in the third set, winning 17 of 18 points on first service. American Ryan Harrison upset No. 3 seed Sam Querrey 6-3, 6-1 in 54 minutes. Harrison won the first five games and broke Querrey twice in taking the first set 6-3. Then he broke Querrey twice to go up 4-0 in the second set before finishing out the match. Harrison will play Damir Dzumhur of Bosnia-Herzegovinia, who was the first to advance to the quarterfinals by upsetting seventh-seeded Steve Darcis of Belgium 7-6 (2), 6-4. Donald Young beat fellow American Reilly Opelka 7-6 (3), 6-3 earlier Wednesday. Nikoloz Basilashvili of Georgia beat Australia's Jordan Thompson 6-3, 6-0, and will play top-seeded Ivo Karlovic today. Mikhail Kukushkin of Kazakhstan downed Germany's Benjamin Becker 6-3, 6-4.
Top seed beats local favorite
Top-seeded Kei Nishikori overcame a slow start to beat local favorite Diego Schwartzman 5-7, 6-2, 6-2 in a second-round match Wednesday at the Argentina Open at Buenos Aires. Nishikori, No. 5 in the ATP rankings, needed 2 hours, 6 minutes to advance. The Japanese star will next play Joao Sousa of Portugal in the quarterfinals. Earlier, Gerald Melzer of Austria upset eighth-seeded Paolo Lorenzi of Italy 6-3, 6-3 in the first round. No. 5 Albert Ramos-Vinolas advanced in his second-round match when Argentina's unseeded Leonardo Mayer retired in the third set with an injury. Ramos-Vinolas was leading 6-7 (4), 7-6 (3), 1-0.
BASKETBALL
Ross' debut delayed
Terrence Ross' Orlando Magic debut will have to wait until after the NBA All-Star break. Magic Coach Frank Vogel said Ross passed his physical Wednesday and was set to make his debut against San Antonio, but Serge Ibaka had not completed his physical in Toronto prior to tipoff Wednesday night. Ibaka later passed his physical, but sat out for Toronto against Charlotte. The Magic traded Ibaka to Toronto on Tuesday in exchange for Ross and a 2017 first-round pick in the June draft. Orlando's next game is Feb. 23 against Portland. Ross attended the shootaround with his new teammates Wednesday morning, but he did not participate.
SKIING
Takanashi takes title
Sara Takanashi of Japan clinched her fourth World Cup ski jumping overall series title Wednesday with a second-place finish in a test event at Pyeongchang, South Korea, site of the 2018 Winter Olympics. Yuki Ito won the World Cup normal hill event with 234.4 points, Takanashi had 224.9 and third-place finisher Ema Klinec of Slovenia had 218.7. Takanashi moved to 1,275 points for the season. But with only two competitions left, including another event today at Pyeongchang, Ito, 247 points behind, cannot catch her Japanese teammate. Stefan Kraft of Austria had the best jump in both rounds to win the men's event Wednesday. His jumps of 138 and 137.5 meters gave him 293.5 points. Andreas Wellinger of Germany was second with 279.8, while World Cup series leader Kamil Stoch of Poland was third with 268.2. Stoch has 1,240 points to lead the men's standings, but Kraft is just 100 points behind in second. The men also have a second race today in Pyeongchang.
HOCKEY
Vermette faces suspension
Anaheim Ducks center Antoine Vermette is facing the likely prospect of a 10-game suspension from the NHL for slashing a linesman. Vermette slapped his stick against the back of linesman Shandor Alphonso's legs after losing a faceoff to Minnesota Wild captain Mikko Koivu during the third period of the Ducks' 1-0 victory Tuesday night. Vermette had a disciplinary conference call with the league and the players' union Wednesday, but the NHL didn't issue an immediate confirmation of what's expected to be an automatic 10-game suspension under league rules for applying physical force to an official without intent to injure. The normally mild-mannered Vermette appeared to act out of frustration when Alphonso dropped the puck before the forward had put his stick in place on the ice.
MMA
Lesnar: I've retired
Former UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar has informed the mixed martial arts promotion that he is retired from competition. The UFC confirmed Lesnar's decision Wednesday. The decision does not affect Lesnar's professional wrestling career, where he has spent most of the past five years. He returned from a 4 1/2-year MMA absence last July to beat Mark Hunt at UFC 200, but the result was overturned after Lesnar failed two doping tests. He was subsequently suspended from competition for a year by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, which administers the UFC's doping policy. Lesnar's decision to retire means he has been removed from USADA's drug-testing pool, which monitors fighters year-round.
SOCCER
Players' brains studied
The degenerative damage potentially caused by repeated blows to the head in soccer has been highlighted by a rare study of brains of a small number of retired players who developed dementia. Fourteen former players were part of the research that began around 40 years ago and six brains, which underwent post-mortem examinations, had signs of Alzheimer's disease. Four brains were found to have chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) pathology, a possible consequence of repeated impacts to the brain, including heading the ball and concussion injuries from head-to-head collisions. A previous study of 268 brains from the general population in Britain found a far lower CTE detection rate of 12 percent. The small sample size of former footballers prevented researchers from University College London and Britain's National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery from drawing any conclusions about the dangers posed by playing soccer as they released their research. But researchers say they hope the findings provide the impetus for more substantial studies in conjunction with soccer authorities.
FOOTBALL
Indictment declined
A grand jury has declined an indictment against a Baylor University athletics official charged with misdemeanor assault after allegedly grabbing a reporter by the throat following a football game. The McLennan County, Texas, grand jury declined the indictment Wednesday against associate athletic director Heath Nielsen. The 17-year Baylor spokesman was accused of grabbing James McBride, a reporter for the Keller-based Texas Blaze newspaper, as McBride tried to take a picture with a Baylor player on Nov. 5. According to an arrest affidavit, McBride said Nielsen told him he was violating his media privileges. The affidavit said McBride had visible scratches and complained of pain around his throat. McBride also told police it hurt to swallow. Nielsen, who denied the charges, is no longer listed on the Baylor athletics website.
Jets release Clady
Ryan Clady's tenure with the New York Jets lasted just one injury-shortened season. The left tackle was released Wednesday when the Jets declined to pick up a $1 million roster bonus, according to a person with direct knowledge of the team's plans. Clady was due $10 million next season, making his return to New York under that contract unlikely. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the Jets had not yet announced the move, which ESPN first reported. Clady, acquired last April from Denver to replace the retired D'Brickashaw Ferguson, was limited to only nine games because of a torn rotator cuff. He was injured in Week 3 at Kansas City and played through it for a few weeks. When his shoulder failed to respond to treatment, the Jets decided to shut Clady down for the rest of the season and placed him on injured reserve. The move Wednesday created $10 million in salary cap space for New York.
Sports on 02/16/2017