GOLF
Miyazato to quit tour
Japan's Ai Miyazato said Monday she has decided to quit the LPGA Tour at the end of the season because she lost her motivation for the sport after years of struggling to win again. Miyazato, 31, who was ranked No. 1 and captured 25 professional titles during her career, has not won a tournament since the 2012 Walmart NW Arkansas Championship in Rogers and said that lack of success has diminished her drive to keep going. Miyazato joined the LPGA Tour in 2006 and has earned more than $8 million in her career but has fallen down the rankings and is currently outside the top 100. She does not have a top-10 finish this season and had only one last year. Miyazato does not have a major title -- her best results were ties for third at the Women's PGA Championship (2006, 2010) and the Women's British Open (2009) -- but she is one of only nine players to make it to No. 1 since the women's world golf rankings were introduced in 2006.
'Beef' among 15 to qualify
Andrew "Beef" Johnston of England was among 15 players who earned a spot in the U.S. Open at a 36-hole sectional qualifier in Tadsworth, England. He finished at 10-under par 134. Aaron Rai of England, who already has won two Challenge Tour events this year, was the medalist Monday at Walton Heath. He had rounds of 66-64 and finished one shot ahead of Li Haotong of China. The final four spots were determined by a seven-man playoff. Paul Dunne of Ireland and Thomas Aiken of South Africa each made par on the par-3 opening hole on the New Course and the par-3 17th on the Old Course at Walton Heath. Matt Wallace (par) and Wade Ormsby (bogey) advanced on the second extra hole. Richie Ramsay will be playing the U.S. Open for the first time in 10 years, and his first one as a pro. Ramsay played in 2007 at Oakmont as the U.S. Amateur champion. The others to qualify were Oliver Bekker, George Coetzee and Brandon Stone of South Africa; Alexander Levy and Joel Stalter of France; Eddie Pepperell of England; and Bradley Dredge of Wales. The U.S. Open is June 15-18 at Erin Hills in Wisconsin.
LACROSSE
Maryland men win title
Dylan Maltz had two goals and an assist and Tim Rotanz scored three times as top-seeded Maryland defeated Ohio State 9-6 on Monday in Foxborough, Mass., in the NCAA lacrosse championship game, putting an end to a 42-year title drought. Rotanz scored the final goal with 59 seconds left, allowing the Terps (16-3) a little comfort to count down the final minute after three goals by Ohio State in the fourth quarter pulled the Buckeyes within two.
TENNIS
Minor NCAA women's champ
Brienne Minor gave Michigan its first NCAA women's tennis title, while Virginia's Thai-Son Kwiatkowski beat a familiar foe to capture the men's championship. Minor defeated Florida's Belinda Woolcock 6-3, 6-3 on Monday in Athens, Ga., to become only the third player from the Wolverines to capture a singles title. The other two were men's champions: Barry MacKay in 1957 and Mike Leach in 1982. Kwiatkowski took Virginia to its second men's singles title in three years, beating William Blumberg from North Carolina 6-4, 7-6 (5) in an all-Atlantic Coast Conference final. Ryan Shane of the Cavaliers won in 2015. Wrapping up the 12-day championships at the University of Georgia, Andrew Harris and Spencer Papa of Oklahoma and Francesca Di Lorenzo and Miho Kowase of Ohio State claimed doubles titles.
HOCKEY
Tampa to host All-Star Game
Commissioner Gary Bettman said Tampa will host the 2018 All-Star weekend, the surest sign yet that the NHL will actually bypass the Olympics. The Lightning had been rumored to host the event, which will take place Jan. 27-28 at Amalie Arena, but the Olympics remained the elephant in the room. The league has said since early April that it won't be sending players to Pyeongchang and would be making its 2017-2018 schedule as normal, but some held out hope. The previous time the NHL held an All-Star weekend and sent players to the Olympics was 1998, the first of five trips to the Games.
JOURNALISM
Sports writer, columnist Deford, 78, dead
Award-winning sports writer and commentator Frank Deford has died. He was 78.
His family says he died Sunday in Key West, Fla.
Deford was a six-time Sports Writer of the Year and a member of the National Association of Sportscasters and Sportswriters Hall of Fame. He wrote with a lyrical elegance and was best known for his work at Sports Illustrated and on National Public Radio. He retired this month from NPR's "Morning Edition" after 37 years as a contributor.
"Frank was dealing with an audience that doesn't turn to the sports pages first thing," said Tom Goldman, an NPR sports correspondent who recently spent time with Deford in Key West. "And he was proudest of the many comments he got over the years from people saying, 'I don't really like sports, but I like what you did, and you made me more interested in it.' "
He was the first sports writer awarded the National Humanities Medal. In 2013, President Barack Obama honored him for "transforming how we think about sports."
"A dedicated writer and storyteller, Mr. Deford has offered a consistent, compelling voice in print and on radio, reaching beyond scores and statistics to reveal the humanity woven into the games we love," Obama said at the time.
Deford called the award the one he is most proud of.
His long profiles, covering all corners of sports, were for years a showcase in Sports Illustrated.
"He could watch the grittiest game and zoom in on the moment that made it important," Associated Press national sports columnist Jim Litke said. "Nobody was better at connecting sports to the culture at large. He dressed up every event he attended."
Deford also was a prolific book author and contributed commentaries to HBO's Real Sports program.
"I'm stunned by Frank's passing. Yes, he'd been ill, but just a week ago, he'd joked to me about finally being released from the hospital," said Bryant Gumbel, host of Real Sports.
"In addition to being an immense talent, he was a consummate gentleman, a dear friend, and a beloved, original member of our 'Real Sports' family. Frank was a giant in the world of sports. His loss is immeasurable."
Deford joined HBO Sports in 1995 and his first report chronicled life in Augusta, Ga., outside of the Masters. It was called "The American Singapore." He delivered 119 segments for the show and was a feature reporter at Wimbledon in the 1990s. Deford also hosted HBO documentaries.
Sports on 05/30/2017