GOLF
Swafford in lead
Hudson Swafford shot his second consecutive 7-under 65 on Friday to take a one-stroke lead in the CareerBuilder Challenge at La Quinta, Calif., finishing as an afternoon storm hit the desert layouts. Winless in his four-year PGA Tour career, Swafford had a bogey-free round on the Jack Nicklaus Tournament Course at PGA West after opening Thursday at La Quinta Country Club. First-round leader Dominic Bozzelli and Danny Lee were tied for second. Bozzelli followed an opening 64 on PGA West's Stadium Course with a 67 at La Quinta. Lee, from New Zealand, had a 64 at La Quinta. Phil Mickelson got to use all of his rain gear, playing the final six holes in intermittent showers in the second-to-last group off the 10th tee on the Nicklaus course. The tournament ambassador followed an opening 68 at La Quinta with a 66 to reach 10 under. Bryce Molder (Conway) and David Lingmerth (Arkansas Razorbacks) were tied in a pack for 21st at 7 under. Each shot a 4-under 68 on Friday. Ken Duke (Arkadelphia, Henderson State) had an even-par 72 and is 3 under going into the weekend. Tag Ridings (Razorbacks) shot a 1-under 71 and is even after two rounds.
Langer leads Electric
Bernhard Langer closed with back-to-back birdies to shoot a 7-under 65 Friday for a 15-under 129 total and a one-shot lead over Fred Couples after the second round of the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai. Langer began the day tied for first with defending champion Duffy Waldorf and Marco Dawson after an opening-round 64 at the Jack Nicklaus-designed course located adjacent to the Four Seasons Resort on the Big Island of Hawaii. Couples birdied four of the first five holes en route to a 7-under 65 to come in at 130 after 36 holes. Kirk Triplett shot an 8-under 64 to sit alone in third at 131. Nine of the 47 golfers who teed it up in the first event of the PGA Tour Champions season were within four shots of the lead entering today's final round. Conditions were ideal the first two days as 41 golfers were under par. John Daly (Dardanelle, Arkansas Razorbacks) shot a 1-over 73 and is tied in a pack at 6-under 138.
Kaymer ahead by 1
Martin Kaymer, the two-time major winner from Germany, set up another chance for a fourth victory at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, shooting a second consecutive 6-under 66 Friday to take a one-stroke lead after the second round. Kaymer's round on Friday took off after rolling in a 20-foot eagle putt on No. 8, allowing him to rebound from a bogey on No. 6. He birdied six holes on the back nine as the wind died down, having been quite strong in the early afternoon. Sunny and still conditions greeted Cabrera Bello in the morning and the Spaniard responded with 66 of his own, completed by three consecutive birdies. Danny Willett, the Masters champion, missed the cut after adding a 76 to a 74 and finished 121st in the 126-man field. Dustin Johnson, the U.S. Open champion, shot a bogey-free 68 to move to 4 under overall, alongside defending champion Rickie Fowler (68). Henrik Stenson's 71 lacked the fireworks of his first round, when he shot 64, but the Swede said he felt he was hitting the ball better. Tommy Fleetwood (67), Kiradech Aphibarnrat (68) and Paul Dunne (66) were tied for third at 10 under, two behind Kaymer.
BASKETBALL
Fifteen suspended
Fifteen players have been suspended for their roles in a fight that broke out during a basketball game Saturday in Memphis between Division II programs Lane College and LeMoyne-Owen. The Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association, which includes both schools, also announced Friday that it would fine the schools and their respective coaches an undisclosed amount. Conference officials said three players who "left the bench and were actively involved in the altercation" face five-game suspensions. Two players "directly involved in the incident" received three-game suspensions. Ten more players who left the bench were suspended two games. The names of the suspended players were not mentioned in the release announcing the punishments. Memphis police are investigating the incident, which caused the game to be postponed. No arrests have been made.
FOOTBALL
Herman defends hire
New Texas football Coach Tom Herman defended the hiring of former Baylor staffer Casey Horny in his first public comments on the subject Friday. The hiring of Horny as a quality control staffer drew criticism and questions from fans, media and from sexual assault survivor and activist Brenda Tracy on Twitter. Horny was a member of the Baylor staff for nine years and was a strong supporter of former coach Art Briles. During a tense time during last season between the Baylor football staff and school regents, Horny had backed Briles in tweets with the TruthDontLie hashtag. Texas Athletic Director Mike Perrin issued a statement explaining the hire Tuesday. "He was vetted very rigorously through the athletic department and also myself and my relationship with him," Herman said.
New league to debut
An independent football league debuting in April is embracing high-profile NFL players who were shunned, extending invitations to Johnny Manziel and Ray Rice and lining up several former draft picks with the promise of a shot to display their talent. Spring League CEO Brian Woods told The Associated Press he had conversations with representatives for Rice and Vince Young, and challenged Manziel to prove himself on the field in a few months. Manziel told ESPN on Friday he's achieved sobriety without professional help and that his next goal is to play football. "A preseason game, anything, I don't care what it is," Manziel said. "Only need one team to believe in me and I'll do anything to make that a possibility." The Spring League debuts in April with four teams composed of free agents. They'll start training April 5 at The Greenbrier Resort in West Virginia, and will play a total of six games there in a three-week span.
MISCELLANEOUS
Alums assist search
Retired NFL quarterback Peyton Manning and Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam are part of a search committee helping Tennessee in its search for an athletic director. Tennessee announced Friday that it has hired the Turnkey Sports and Entertainment search firm to assist the school as it seeks a replacement for Dave Hart, who said in August he would step down. Hart's contract expires June 30.
School officials also announced that incoming Chancellor Beverly Davenport has assembled a search committee to assist her in the hiring process. The committee is chaired by Board of Trustees vice chairman Raja Jubran and also includes Manning, Haslam, senior associate athletic director Donna Thomas and business professor Donald Bruce. Officials said Turnkey will start seeking applications and interviewing potential candidates as early as next week.
NCAA
Power 5 vote to stop off-campus practices
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Any coaches wanting to follow Jim Harbaugh’s lead and take a team off-campus just for practice to build their brand name and boost recruiting likely have missed that opportunity.
The Power Five conferences voted Friday to stop coaches from taking teams off-campus during any vacation period outside a sport’s season for practice, a rule proposed after Harbaugh took his Michigan Wolverines to Florida last year.
The rule passed by a 58-22 margin at the Power Five conferences’ third autonomy session at the NCAA convention and will take effect Aug. 1. The Big Ten voted 11-3 for the change.
Michigan Athletic Director Warde Manuel opposed the proposal before the vote and said he wasn’t surprised by the result. He also noted that the 15 student-athlete representatives from the Power 5 schools voted 11-4 against the rule change.
Manuel said Michigan had been waiting for this vote before deciding whether to hold an off-campus practice during spring break for a second consecutive year. Harbaugh did not immediately return messages left by The Associated Press.
SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey also spoke for the rule change and noted the Pac-12 sponsored the proposal. The SEC voted 13-1 for the rule.
Sankey said he was influenced by this group’s meeting last year where student-athletes asked officials to stop grabbing more time from them. He said allowing breaks to be used for practice seemed to be the wrong direction.
“It’s as fundamental as that,” Sankey said. “It wasn’t about one institution. It wasn’t about some regional protection effort. It was very simply if we’re going to sit here and talk about trying to be attentive to the time expectations and managing those appropriately for student-athletes. We have to look at that type of out-of-season, off-campus, take-a-trip practice.”
The Power 5 conferences also approved other rule changes, including rules giving student-athletes time off to rest.
Sports on 01/21/2017