Berdych out of Wimbledon
Tomas Berdych, the 2010 Wimbledon runner-up, has pulled out of the grass-court Grand Slam tournament because of a bad back. Berdych announced his withdrawal on Twitter, saying he has been "struggling with back pain" for a couple of months. The 19th-ranked Czech lost in the final at the All England Club eight years ago to Rafael Nadal. Berdych also was a semifinalist at Wimbledon each of the past two years. He said he tried various treatments for his back, but he is not in good enough health to compete. The draw for Wimbledon is Friday. Play begins next week.
Pliskova, Wozniacki advance
Defending champion Karolina Pliskova survived a scare to beat Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and reach the third round of the Eastbourne International on Monday. Top-seeded Caroline Wozniacki, last year's runner-up, had an easier passage as she beat Camila Giorgi 6-2, 6-2. Pliskova had never lost a set to Pavlyuchenkova in five previous meetings but the Czech player struggled in the second set before prevailing 6-4, 2-6, 6-3.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Court backs transfer rule
A federal appeals court has backed an NCAA rule requiring most football players who transfer schools to sit out a year. The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago upheld a lower-court finding that NCAA transfer rules don't violate U.S. antitrust laws. Monday's decision was in a lawsuit brought by a former punter for Northern Illinois University, Peter Deppe. The ruling focuses on a requirement that most Division I football players who transfer to another school must sit out a year. Deppe's lawyers argued the Indianapolis-based NCAA enforces the rule primarily to ensure transfers don't hurt the quality of the football and thereby cut into lucrative revenues. They say that makes it an unreasonable restraint on trade. But the 7th Circuit rejected that. Its unanimous opinion accepted the NCAA's concern that easy player transfers would undermine "the amateur character of college athletics." A statement from the NCAA welcomed the ruling, saying it was consistent with prior court rulings that recognize "the NCAA's ability to preserve college sports."
BASKETBALL
Pacers part with Stephenson
The Indiana Pacers will not pick up the team option on guard Lance Stephenson's contract for next season. Pacers President of Basketball Operations Kevin Pritchard announced the move Monday. He said it was a very difficult decision but the team needs flexibility for free agency, which opens on July 1. The Pacers are coming off a surprisingly good season, winning 48 games after trading star Paul George to Oklahoma City for Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis. Stephenson, an eight-year veteran, brought energy off the bench and finished the season averaging 9.2 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game.
Louisville signs ex-Richmond guard
Former Richmond starting guard Khawn Fore has signed to play his final season of college basketball at Louisville. The 6-foot, 175-pound Fore started 64 of 99 games for the Spiders and averaged 11 points and 3.2 rebounds per contest as a junior in 2017-18. He made 54 steals and shot nearly 51 percent as a sophomore while helping Richmond reach the NIT quarterfinals. First-year Louisville Coach Chris Mack said Monday that Fore is an "explosive athlete" in a release and added that he expects him to be one of the Cardinals' better perimeter defenders. The Huntsville, Ala., native earned his bachelor's degree in sociology from Richmond in May and chose Louisville over Tennessee, Auburn and Alabama-Birmingham.
Serious violations by Ollie
UConn President Susan Herbst said in a letter upholding the firing of Kevin Ollie that the former men's basketball coach had a pattern of breaking NCAA rules and committed serious violations. The school released the June 19 letter Monday to Ollie in response to open records requests from The Associated Press and other news organizations. Ollie has asserted that the violations which led to his firing were minimal and isolated. Herbst refutes that idea in the letter, calling them "serious under any definition which may be applied." She also said Ollie's failure to report any inadvertent violations constitutes either a knowing disregard for his compliance obligations or a "gross inability to satisfy them." Ollie was fired in March amid an NCAA investigation after leading UConn to a 127-79 record over six seasons, including the 2014 national title. His attorney did not immediately reply Monday to a request seeking comment.
COLLEGE BASEBALL
Miss. St. tabs Lemonis
Mississippi State has hired Indiana's Chris Lemonis to be its next baseball coach. Lemonis, 48, has led the Hoosiers to the NCAA Tournament in three of the past four years. He also was an assistant at Louisville when the school made three trips to the College World Series. The school announced Monday that Lemonis will replace interim coach Gary Henderson, who led the Bulldogs on a surprise run to the College World Series. He'll be introduced on campus today. Henderson was named the interim coach after Andy Cannizaro resigned in February for off-the-field conduct. Lemonis said in a statement that it's "an incredible honor to be the head coach at Mississippi State. The tradition, fan base and facility in Starkville are second to none in college baseball."
GOLF
Lawrie to miss British
Paul Lawrie, who won the 1999 British Open at Carnoustie following a dramatic collapse by Jean Van de Velde, will miss next month's edition at the same venue because of injury."It is with regret that I announce my withdrawal from all Tour events forthe remainder of the current season," Lawrie said in a statement on Monday. "Unfortunately, both the back and foot injuries I have been carrying for the last six months, and more, have become debilitating, to the point where Iam not currently able to compete at the highest level." Van de Velde, hoping to become France's second British Open champion after Arnaud Massy claimed the coveted Claret Jug in 1907, led by three shots on the final tee of regulation play but then proceeded to triple bogey the last hole. That meant Van de Velde went into a play-off with Lawrie and American Justin Leonard and it was the Scottish player who prevailed on home turf. Next month's British Open begins on July 19.
Sports on 06/26/2018