FOOTBALL
49ers Davis to retire
Tackle Anthony Davis, the 11th-overall pick by the San Francisco 49ers in 2010, has told the team that he plans to retire. The 49ers announced the move Friday. Davis hadn't been with the team during offseason workouts. San Francisco General Manager Trent Baalke thanked Davis in a statement for his contributions to the 49ers and said the team "wishes him the best as he moves on from the game." The 25-year-old Davis had started all 71 games in which he had appeared, as well as eight playoff games. He becomes the fourth 49ers player to retire this offseason, joining linebackers Patrick Willis and Chris Borland and defensive end Justin Smith.
• Miami Dolphins first-round draft pick DeVante Parker underwent surgery Friday on his left foot and will likely miss the start of training camp, but he's expected to be ready for the beginning of the regular season. The former Louisville receiver had surgery on the same foot last year, when he sat out the first seven games of his senior season. Parker's foot bothered him in recent offseason practices with the Dolphins, and he decided to undergo another procedure to replace a screw. His agent, Jimmy Gould, described the latest operation as precautionary. "We did this for the sake of his long-term health," Gould said. With training camp nearly two months away, the timing of the operation gives Parker plenty of time to recover and rejoin the Dolphins, Gould said. Parker caught 43 passes for 855 yards and five touchdowns in six games with Louisville after returning from last year's surgery, and he was impressive in recent practices with the Dolphins until he was sidelined this week.
• Attorneys for New Orleans Saints and Pelicans owner Tom Benson have begun calling their witnesses in the 87-year-old billionaire's mental competency trial, starting with a top sports executive. Dennis Lauscha, who serves as president of New Orleans' NFL and NBA clubs, took the stand Friday afternoon in New Orleans. He was expected to answer questions in closed court about Benson's recent involvement in the operations of his businesses and the past performance of estranged Benson heirs who sued in January, following their ouster from ownership positions with the clubs. The plaintiffs are Benson's daughter, Renee Benson, and her children, Rita and Ryan LeBlanc. They rested their case following testimony from their seventh witness, geriatric psychiatrist Ted Bloch, who spent about eight hours on the witness stand Thursday and Friday morning. The trial resumes next Wednesday.
BASKETBALL
Griner annuls marriage
Brittney Griner filed for an annulment with Glory Johnson-Griner on Friday, a day after Johnson-Griner announced she's pregnant and a month after the two WNBA players were married. "Last Wednesday, Glory and I agreed to either legally separate, get divorced, or annul our marriage," Griner said in a statement. "I can confirm that today I filed for an annulment. In the week prior to the wedding, I attempted to postpone the wedding several times until I completed counseling, but I still went through with it. I now realize that was a mistake." Griner, the 6-foot-8 Phoenix Mercury star, married Johnson-Griner on May 9, three weeks after they were arrested in Arizona on domestic violence charges for a fight at their home in suburban Phoenix. Both players were suspended seven games after their arrests and Griner agreed to undergo 26 weeks of domestic violence counseling as part of a plea agreement. Both players apologized for the incident and said they worked out their differences, saying they were happy about the marriage. Johnson-Griner, a two-time All-Star with the Tulsa Shock, announced on Instagram on Thursday that she was pregnant and would miss the WNBA season. Earlier Friday, a post on Johnson-Griner's Instagram account showed a photo of Griner and a message about seeing her again: "One day until I'm reunited with my Wife brittneygriner ... This is about to be one CRAZY SUMMER!!!" Griner has appealed her suspension and Johnson-Griner's will not start until the 2016 season because she will not play this season. Griner was the WNBA's defensive player of the year and helped the Mercury win the league championship last season.
SOCCER
U.S. tops Dutch
Danny Williams scored in the 89th minute and Bobby Wood in the 90th, capping a comeback from a two-goal second-half deficit and leading the United States over the Netherlands 4-3 Friday night in Amsterdam for the Americans' first victory against the Dutch. Klaas-Jan Huntelaar scored on headers in the 27th and 49th minutes in the exhibition and assisted on Memphis Depay's 53rd-minute goal as the sixth-ranked Netherlands built a 3-1 lead. Gyasi Zardes got his first international goal in the 33rd as the U.S. reached halftime in a 1-1 tie despite having just 39 percent possession. John Brooks cut the U.S. deficit in the 71st minute. Williams and Wood, both second-half substitutes who are far down on the American depth shot, then scored their first goals for the national team. The Americans, ranked 27th, had been 0-4 against the Dutch coming in and had been outscored 7-1. They play at world champion Germany next week in their next-to-last game before starting the defense of their CONCACAF Gold Cup title. U.S. coach Jurgen Klinsmann previously led the Americans to their first victory against Italy and their first victory at Mexico.
MOTOR SPORTS
Power on pole again
Will Power is starting on the pole tonight at Texas for the third year in a row, and three of his fellow Team Penske drivers are close to him. Defending IndyCar Series champion Power had a two-lap average Friday of 218.519 mph, just ahead of Team Penske teammate Simon Pagenaud at 218.441 mph. Helio Castroneves starts third, right behind Power's Chevrolet and ahead of fellow Penske driver Indianapolis 500 champ and season points leader Juan Pablo Montoya, who qualified fifth. Andretti Autosport driver Carlos Munoz qualified third in his Honda. It is Power's fourth pole this year. He won the Indianapolis Grand Prix. Power finished second at Texas last year, and seventh in 2013. He won at the high-banked 1 1/2-mile track at Fort Worth in the second race of a 2011 doubleheader, when he started third.
• Ryan Hunter-Reay crashed Friday in the first IndyCar Series practice at Texas since changes were made to keep the cars from going airborne. Hunter-Reay was OK and his car stayed on the ground. The left rear of Hunter-Reay's No. 28 Honda hit the outside wall before the car settled on the bottom of the 1½-mile track at Fort Worth. IndyCar this week required the use of closure panels on the rear wheel guards for tonight's race, and two other remaining superspeedway races. The change came after three Chevrolets went airborne during preparation for the Indianapolis 500. Hunter-Reay says he's not sure what happened in Turn 2 during the team's first race simulation run. He says the single-car accident "was a complete surprise."
• Kurt Busch turned a lap at 177.599 mph Friday and won the pole at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pa., in a bizarre qualifying session that saw five cars fail to complete a lap in the final round. Denny Hamlin bobbled and lost control of the No. 11 as the qualifying clock ticked down to bring out the red flag. NASCAR scrubbed the rest of qualifying. Hamlin, Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Busch, Joey Logano and Kasey Kahne all failed to record a lap time. Kurt Busch won his third pole of the season in the No. 41 Chevrolet and 19th of his career. Carl Edwards joins Kurt Busch on the front row. Martin Truex Jr., Jeff Gordon and Kevin Harvick complete the top five. Kurt Busch has one victory this season with five top 10s, a nice rebound from a three-race suspension that opened the season because of his offseason legal woes.
Sports on 06/06/2015