TENNIS
Murray moves up
Top-ranked Andy Murray made his debut at the Madrid Open with a comfortable 6-4, 6-3 victory over wild card Marius Copil of Romania in the second round on Tuesday. Murray broke serve once in each set and didn't concede any break opportunities to the 104th-ranked Copil. Murray won the Madrid title in 2008 and 2015 and was runner-up to Novak Djokovic last year. He improved to 11-0 in his opening matches in the Spanish capital, dating back to his debut in 2006. Eighth-seeded Dominic Thiem of Austria advanced to the third round by defeating Jared Donaldson of the United States 6-3, 6-4, while ninth-seeded David Goffin of Belgium had nine aces on his way to a 7-6 (3), 6-0 victory over Florian Mayer of Germany.
GOLF
Romo fails to qualify
A bogey for Tony Romo in his attempt to qualify for the U.S. Open in his home state. The former Dallas Cowboys quarterback didn't make it through an 18-hole local qualifier for a spot in the U.S. Open next month in Erin Hills, Wis. Just a few weeks after retiring as an NFL player, and a few months before his new job as an NFL broadcaster with CBS Sports, Romo shot a 3-over 75 on Monday at Split Rail Links & Golf Club. He finished 40th among 107 players competing for seven sectional qualifying spots, six strokes out of a playoff for the last spot. It was Romo's third qualifying attempt for the U.S. Open. He made it to a 36-hole sectional qualifier in 2010, but after his 71 the first 18 holes was forced to withdraw before finishing because of two rain delays and a conflict with a Cowboys minicamp. Romo tied for 44th in a local qualifier in 2011.
BASEBALL
Britton out 45-60 days
The Baltimore Orioles have been reluctant in offering many details regarding the next step for Zach Britton, but it appears the team is preparing for its All-Star closer to miss the next 45 to 60 days, according to an industry source. The Orioles hope Britton can return by the All-Star break in mid-July, the source said. Britton, 29, went to the West Coast on Monday to visit orthopedist Dr. Neal ElAttrache, where he received another MRI that revealed less swelling than the previous one he got when Britton returned to the disabled list Saturday. In his pregame news conference Tuesday, Orioles Manager Buck Showalter said Britton would report to the spring training complex in Sarasota, Fla., but offered no additional details on the club's next step. Britton converted all 47 save opportunities last season and finished with an ERA of 0.54, the best in major league history for a pitcher with at least 50 innings. He did not allow an earned run over 43 consecutive appearances, also a big league record. This season, he has allowed 1 earned run and 12 hits in 8 games covering 9 innings. He has walked four and struck out seven.
FOOTBALL
Murder conviction vacated
Aaron Hernandez's murder conviction was formally vacated Tuesday by a judge in Massachusetts because the former NFL star died before his appeal was heard. Hernandez, the former tight end with the New England Patriots, was convicted in 2015 of the killing of Odin Lloyd, a friend. Hernandez hanged himself in prison last month. His death meant that his murder conviction was vacated under a centuries-old legal doctrine. Judge Susan Garsh, who presided over his murder trial, made the ruling. "The court has no choice," she said. An appeal is possible. Prosecutors had argued that because Hernandez killed himself, the doctrine should not apply. Under the doctrine, known as "abatement ab initio," criminal convictions are nullified if the perpetrator dies before completing the appeals process.
HOCKEY
Daly: Crosby OK to remain
An NHL concussion spotter did not find Sidney Crosby's headfirst slide into the boards as a valid reason to remove him from the Pittsburgh Penguins' Game 6 against the Washington Capitals. Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said the centralized concussion spotter made the determination that the play did not meet the concussion protocol criteria for mandatory removal from play. The protocol states a player must be removed if a spotter sees symptoms after taking a blow to his head or upper torso from another player's shoulder, his head hitting the ice or taking a punch to the head. Daly said the current criteria without boards aren't random but based on a study that determined what events on the ice were "more likely indicators or predictors of (a) concussion." Crosby slid into the boards exactly one week after he was knocked out of Game 3 by a blow the head from the Capitals' Matt Niskanen. He missed Game 4 with a concussion.
HORSE RACING
Smith switches horses
Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith will ride Gunnevera in the Preakness, replacing Javier Castellano who has chosen another horse for the second leg of the Triple Crown. Castellano finished seventh aboard Gunnevera in the Kentucky Derby last weekend. Smith rode Girvin to a 13th-place finish. For the Preakness on May 20, Castellano will be aboard Cloud Computing, trained by Chad Brown. Castellano rides a number of horses for the New York-based trainer. Alex Sano, who assists his trainer-father Antonio Sano with Gunnevera, said they understand Castellano's loyalty to Brown. They're happy to have Smith commit to Gunnevera, a horse he's never ridden. Gunnevera will ride in a van from Louisville, Ky., to Baltimore on Saturday.
GYMNASTICS
Georgia coach is ex-student
Former Georgia gymnastics standout Courtney Kupets Carter has been named the team's coach. Kupets Carter helped Georgia win four national championships and was inducted into the USA Gymnastics Hall of Fame in 2014. At Georgia, in 2009 she won the Honda Broderick Cup as the nation's top female student-athlete in all sports. Former longtime coach Suzanne Yoculan Leebern, who won 10 national championships at Georgia, will serve as a volunteer coach on Kupets Carter's staff. Kupets Carter replaces Danna Durante, who was fired after Georgia finished 12th of 12 teams at this year's NCAA championship. Athletic Director Greg McGarity said that Kupets Carter "knows the heritage of our program and what it takes to compete at the highest levels." Kupets Carter won a bronze medal on uneven bars on the U.S. 2004 Olympic team which won a silver medal.
BASEBALL
Mets’ Harvey apologizes for conduct
NEW YORK — Matt Harvey returned to Citi Field on Tuesday, his three-game suspension over, and immediately apologized for the uproar he created for himself and the New York Mets by belatedly calling in sick for last Saturday night’s game against the Miami Marlins.
Harvey, 28, who is scheduled to rejoin the starting rotation on Friday in Milwaukee, told reporters in a brief news conference that he had spoken to his teammates and his coaches about what occurred, and had expressed remorse.
“I’m extremely embarrassed,” he said to reporters. He acknowledged that he had been out late on Friday night in Manhattan after the Mets game ended, and then played golf on Saturday morning, at which point he did not feel well but did not immediately inform the Mets, who ended up sending team employees to his apartment to check on him.
“It’s completely my fault,” he said of what occurred.
He said he understood the Mets’ reasoning behind the three-game suspension and said a grievance of the Mets’ action, which would proceed through the players’ union, was now the last thing on his mind. But he didn’t completely rule out the possibility that a grievance might take place.
The weekend incident — which echoes an October 2015 episode in which Harvey failed to show up at Citi Field for the Mets’ first workout of the postseason — is just the latest setback for a pitcher who has had to deal with two significant surgeries in recent seasons, a lot of disappointing performances on the mound and a growing sense that he does not take his job seriously enough.
But for the first time he may now confront a hostile atmosphere in his own stadium, with many Mets fans weary of the negative headlines he has generated.
Sports on 05/10/2017