GOLF
Grillo takes lead
Emiliano Grillo holed out from the fairway for an eagle on the par-4 18th hole Friday to take the lead in the Web.com Tour Finals-ending Web.Com Tour Championship at Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. Grillo, 23, from Argentina finished with a 6-under 64 to reach 10-under 130 after two rounds on TPC Sawgrass' rain-soaked Dye's Valley Course. Lucas Glover, the 2009 U.S. Open champion, was second after a 67. The tournament is the fourth and final event in the series for the top 75 players from the Web.com Tour money list, Nos. 126-200 in the PGA Tour's FedEx Cup standings and non-members such as Grillo who earned enough money to have placed in the top 200 had they been eligible to receive points. The top 25 players on the Web.com Tour regular-season money list earned PGA Tour cards. Grillo is fifth on the series money list with $103,667, more than enough to wrap up a PGA Tour card. Chez Reavie and D.H. Lee were tied for third at 8 under. They have already secured PGA Tour cards. Reavie, the winner of the second event in the series, had a 65, and Lee shot 67. Reavie leads the series money list with $215,067. He won the 2008 Canadian Open. Tag Ridings (Arkansas Razorbacks) shot a 2-under 68 for a two-round total of 2-under 138. Austin Cook (Jonesboro, Razorbacks) had a 1-under 69 (139). Andrew Landry (Razorbacks) and Zack Fischer (Little Rock) were cut.
• Jimmy Mullen and Anthony Wall shared a one-stroke lead after the second round of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship on Friday at St. Andrews, Scotland. Overnight co-leader Mullen, who is making his professional debut, added a 3-under 69 at St. Andrews to his opening 64 at Kingsbarns to finish on 11-under 133 alongside fellow Englishman Wall. The tournament is split between three courses, with players alternating between St. Andrews, Kingsbarns and Carnoustie. Wall shot a 4-under 68 at St. Andrews with seven birdies and three bogeys. One shot behind Mullen and Wall is Ireland's Paul Dunne (70), experienced Ryder Cup star Jamie Donaldson (65), Denmark's Thorbjorn Olesen (66) and American Chris Stroud (66). The lowest rounds of the day came at Kingsbarns, where Bradley Dredge and Kiradech Aphibarnrat both shot 9-under 63 to finish 8 and 6 under, respectively. Defending champion Oliver Wilson could only card a second consecutive 74 to lie 4 over. David Lingmerth (Arkansas Razorbacks) shot a 6-under 66 at Kingsbarns for a two-round total of 137, placing him in a tie for 13th. John Daly (Dardanelle, Razorbacks) had a 9-over 81 (155) at Carnoustie.
BASEBALL
Hahn: Ventura to return
Chicago White Sox General Manager Rick Hahn said Friday he expects Manager Robin Ventura to return next season. Hahn said the team will not be renewing the contract of bench coach Mark Parent and that assistant hitting coach Harold Baines has requested to move into an ambassador role. Ventura and the rest of the staff members are expected back next season. "Obviously, everyone with this organization is extremely disappointed with the way the season has played out," Hahn said. "We have already begun the work of trying to address several of the areas in which all of us need to improve in order to get us to the level that we want to get to for the future."
BASKETBALL
Silver gets adviser
Gen. Martin Dempsey, the recently retired chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has been appointed a special adviser to NBA Commissioner Adam Silver. The league said Friday that Dempsey, the highest-ranking U.S. military officer for the past four years, will participate in NBA functions and serve as chairman of the newly formed Jr. NBA Leadership Council. His position begins Jan. 1, 2016. Dempsey worked closely with the NBA through the league's Hoops for Troops program, which conducted basketball clinics and health seminars on military bases throughout the country. He says basketball has always been a favorite sport in his family and he's "seen firsthand how it can bring people together." Among Dempsey's roles, he will take part in the NBA's overseas exhibition games and its All-Star weekend, and participate in some league meetings.
• The Milwaukee Bucks have locked up big man John Henson on a four-year extension worth $44 million, a person with knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press. The contract was agreed upon Friday morning and could reach $48 million with incentives. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because an official announcement has not been made. Henson, 24, averaged 7.0 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.0 blocks in 18 minutes per game last season. But his playing time increased in the playoffs and the Bucks value the defensive presence he brings in the paint and his ability to guard multiple positions. The deal ensures that Henson will remain a core member of a young team on the rise as he enters his fourth season in the league.
• Forward Tristan Thompson of the Cleveland Cavaliers has declined to sign a one-year, $6.8 million qualifying offer for this season and remains a restricted free agent. Thompson had until 11:59 p.m. Thursday to accept the offer. The elite rebounder and the defending Eastern Conference champions remain apart on a long-term contract. Thompson was a key contributor during Cleveland's run to the NBA Finals last season, filling in when starter Kevin Love dislocated his shoulder. Thompson and his representatives believe he deserves a maximum contract. The Cavs value Thompson, but aren't willing to go beyond what they're comfortable offering. Twice in the past few days LeBron James said he was confident the sides could reach a long-term deal. James is also represented by Thompson's agent, Rich Paul.
SOCCER
Court reverses Solo case
U.S. national team goalkeeper Hope Solo could again face assault charges stemming from an altercation last year with family members after a Washington state appeals court on Friday reversed a lower court's dismissal of the case. The case stems from a dispute between Solo and her half-sister and 17-year-old nephew during a party in June 2014. Solo was charged with two misdemeanor counts of fourth-degree domestic violence assault. She pleaded not guilty. A municipal judge dismissed the case in January, but prosecutors -- in a rare move -- appealed that decision. The appeals court sent it back to the lower court on Friday. Solo's attorney, Todd Maybrown, said he plans to appeal Friday's decision.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Book: Louisville staff hired escorts for recruits
Louisville said Friday that it has launched an investigation into allegations that former Cardinals staffer Andre McGee paid an escort service to provide sex for recruits.
The allegations by Katina Powell are in an upcoming book, Breaking Cardinal Rules: Basketball and the Escort Queen, from a publishing arm of the Indianapolis Business Journal. Some details of the book were published on the Journal’s website and said that McGee hired Powell to provide strippers and prostitutes for recruits and some of their fathers during a four-year period.
Louisville issued a statement saying it learned of the allegations in August and immediately notified the NCAA. McGee left Louisville in 2014 to become an assistant at Missouri-Kansas City. The school did not immediately comment Friday evening.
Cardinals Coach Rick Pitino said the situation caused sleeplessness when he first found out and said that he tried to conduct his own investigation before being rebuffed by the school’s compliance office. He said McGee denied the allegations in a brief conversation.
Louisville retained Chuck Smrt of the Compliance Group, which assists schools in NCAA cases, to review the claims.
“We’re an open book,” Louisville Athletic Director Tom Jurich said. “We want to get to the bottom of it.”
The Journal’s summary of the book said that Powell brought women to 22 parties from 2010 to 2014 at Billy Minardi Hall, which houses Cardinals basketball players.
Powell said she and three of her daughters, along with other women, danced and stripped for Louisville recruits and players and performed sex acts with them, according to the book.
McGee played for Louisville from 2005-09 and started 57 games during his career. He played professionally in Europe before becoming a program assistant in 2010 and was promoted to director of basketball operations in 2012.
Jurich and Pitino said they believe that money was the woman’s motivation for writing the book. Powell was paid for the book but said in an interview with the Journal that she felt it was important to tell the story. The publishing company said it paid investigators and Pulitzer Prize winning reporter Dick Cady to vet Powell’s story, and based much of it on journal entries, photos and text messages.
Sports on 10/03/2015