BASKETBALL
2 more on leave
Louisville has placed associate men's basketball coach Kenny Johnson and assistant Jordan Fair on paid administrative leave while the school handles its involvement in a national federal investigation of the sport. Neither Fair nor Johnson have participated in practices conducted this week by interim coach David Padgett, who was named Sept. 29 as Rick Pitino's replacement. Pitino is on unpaid administrative leave and facing dismissal after 16 seasons in the wake of the investigation. Vince Tyra was named acting athletic director on Tuesday in place of Tom Jurich, who's on paid leave pending an Oct. 18 review by trustees. Tyra said in a release Friday that the school is doing due diligence while cooperating with federal authorities and called the decisions regarding Fair and Johnson "an appropriate step at this time." Johnson is in his fourth season with Louisville; it's Fair's second season on the staff.
GOLF
Fleetwood, Hatton lead
Tommy Fleetwood broke the course record at Carnoustie by shooting 9-under 63 to tie for the lead with defending champion Tyrrell Hatton after two rounds of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship at St. Andrews, Scotland, on Friday. Hatton also tamed the tough British Open venue, shooting 65 to move to 11 under par for the tournament. The English golfers were a stroke clear of Nicolas Colsaerts, and two ahead of Paul Dunne and Marcel Siem. Carnoustie is regarded as the most difficult of the three courses that stage the tournament. Kingsbarns and the Old Course at St. Andrews are the others, with players alternating between the three in the first three rounds before playing at St. Andrews again for the final round. Colsaerts has had consecutive 67s, at Kingsbarns then the Old Course. Rory McIlroy shot a 71 at Carnoustie and was even par after two rounds. Eleven shots off the lead, McIlroy is likely to finish a season without a victory for just the second time in his pro career. Pep Angles (Central Arkansas) shot 72 on the Old Course and was even par after two rounds.
TENNIS
Nadal advances
Top-ranked Rafael Nadal moved into the semifinals of the China Open in Beijing by beating sixth-seeded John Isner 6-4, 7-6 (0) on Friday. The French Open and U.S. Open champion has won five titles this season and is closing in on the year-end No. 1 ranking. Nadal saved all three break points he faced against Isner. He will next play third-seeded Grigor Dimitrov, who defeated Roberto Bautista Agut 7-6 (5), 4-6, 6-2. Nick Kyrgios also advanced. The eighth-seeded Australian won when opponent Steve Darcis retired from the match with a neck strain while trailing 6-0, 3-0. Kyrgios will next face second-seeded Alexander Zverev. The 20-year-old German beat Andrey Rublev 6-2, 6-3 and qualified for the season-ending tournament in London. Earlier, second-seeded Simona Halep reached the semifinals by beating Daria Kasatkina 6-2, 6-1. The Romanian could take over the top ranking from Garbine Muguruza. She needs to reach the final and not lose to third-seeded Elena Svitolina. Halep will next face either ninth-seeded Jelena Ostapenko or Sorana Cirstea. Petra Kvitova advanced by beating Barbora Strycova 6-3, 6-4. The 12th-seeded Kvitova will next face either Svitolina or Caroline Garcia in the semifinals.
Goffin, Cilic move up
David Goffin and Marin Cilic reached the semifinals of the Japan Open in contrasting styles on Friday. Goffin recovered from a 5-2 deficit in the first set and won 10 of the next 11 games to beat Richard Gasquet 7-5, 6-2 in Tokyo. The top-seeded Cilic defeated Ryan Harrison 6-2, 6-0. Goffin will face Diego Schwartzman in the semifinals today before Cilic takes on Adrian Mannarino. Earlier Friday, Schwartzman defeated Sam Johnson 6-0, 7-5 for his career-high 32nd victory of the season. In a late match, Mannarino beat Yuichi Sugita 6-2, 6-4.
Davis Cup changes
Seeking to keep the Davis Cup attractive to top players amid a crowded calendar, the international team event in men's tennis will test a two-day format and best-of-three set matches next year. The changes will be applied for matches in Zonal Groups I and II -- the tiers below the World Group -- starting with the first round in February. Group I matches will be played on Friday and Saturday, and Group II matches on Saturday and Sunday. The singles will be played on Day 1, followed by the doubles and then the reverse singles on Day 2. ITF President David Haggerty said the changes could be applied to World Group matches if the trial is deemed a success. In other trials taking place following a vote by member nations at the ITF's annual general meeting in August, team sizes can be increased from four players to a maximum of five for matches in the World Group and Zonal Groups I and II. Also, there will be no fifth match if the fourth match is decisive. If a team takes an unassailable 3-0 lead, only the fourth match will be played.
BASEBALL
Prieto, D'backs fined
Arizona coach Ariel Prieto and the Diamondbacks have been fined by Major League Baseball for his wearing an Apple Watch in the dugout during the NL wild-card victory over Colorado. MLB announced the discipline Friday, two days after the game. The commissioner's office said in a statement that it interviewed Prieto and examined his watch and cellphone. It said it "found no evidence that Mr. Prieto used the Apple Watch or cellphone for any purpose in the dugout, nor any baseball-related communication on either device, during Wednesday's game." Prieto and the team were fined because he violated a regulation, and MLB will donate the fine money to hurricane relief efforts in Puerto Rico. Last month, the Boston Red Sox were fined by MLB for using an Apple Watch to relay signs to hitters.
More seeds in '18
The NCAA plans to double the number of teams it seeds in its Division I baseball tournament to 16, hoping to provide a more equitable competitive balance. The organization announced the move Friday and it will take effect for the 2018 tournament. The change will allow the baseball tournament to follow the same seeding principles used by other sports that have at least 64 postseason participants. The NCAA said that under the existing format, with only eight seeded teams, the ninth-best could be paired against the No. 1 seed in the super regional round. With the change, a top seed will face the No. 16 seed. The change was approved last week at a meeting of the Division I Competition Oversight Committee in Indianapolis.
FOOTBALL
Packers RB doubtful
Green Bay Packers running back Ty Montgomery is listed as doubtful to play against the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday because of broken ribs. Montgomery got hurt in last week's victory over the Chicago Bears. He appeared to be wearing a flak jacket under his jersey while practicing on a limited basis this week. Backup running back Jamaal Williams, who hurt his knee in the Bears game, was dropped from the injury report Friday and should be available against Dallas. Receiver Davante Adams was listed as questionable. He remains in the concussion protocol following a helmet-to-helmet hit by Bears linebacker Danny Trevathan, though he has been moving around well at practice.
Chiefs' center, RG out
The Kansas City Chiefs will be without center Mitch Morse and right guard Laurent Duvernay-Tardif when they face J.J. Watt and the Houston Texans' defensive front Sunday night. Morse remains sidelined after spraining his foot last month against Philadelphia, while Duvernay-Tardif was ruled out Friday after spraining his left knee last Monday night against Washington. Zach Fulton is expected to start again at center, but Coach Andy Reid did not indicate who would start at guard. Jordan Devey got the spot duty when Duvernay-Tardif went down last week, but Cam Erving and Parker Ehinger could factor into the mix against the Texans. Erving, a former first-round pick, hasn't played since arriving in a preseason trade with Cleveland, while Ehinger hasn't played since tearing a knee ligament with the Chiefs last season.
Sports on 10/07/2017