GOLF-U.S. OPEN
U.S. Open begins
PINEHURST, N.C. (AP) — First round play is underway at the U.S. Open under overcast skies.
The first group in the 156-golfer field teed off on Pinehurst No. 2 at 6:45 a.m., eastern time. Among those starting play in the morning groups are six-time runner-up Phil Mickeslon, defending champ Justin Rose, former champs Rory McIlroy and Webb Simpson as well as No. 5 ranked Matt Kuchar.
The weather forecast calls for a chance of showers and storms through the morning and later in the afternoon.
NHL-STANLEY CUP FINALS
Rangers keep Kings’ champagne on ice
NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Rangers have extended the NHL season by at least one game. They avoided a sweep and forced a Game 5 in the Stanley Cup finals by topping Los Angeles 2-1 behind the superb goaltending of Henrik Lundqvist.
The Rangers were outshot 41-19 in the game, including a lopsided 15-1 mark in the third period. But Lundqvist stifled the Kings after surrendering three goals on just 15 shots in Game 3. He was perfect after Dustin Brown scored unassisted midway through the second period.
The Rangers took a 2-0 lead on goals by Benoit Pouliot (BEHN’-wah POO’-lee-aht) and Martin St. Louis (mahr-TAN san loo-EE’). Pouliot tallied 7:25 into the opening period and St. Louis scored early in the second. However, two-goal margins had meant little to New York previously in this series. The Rangers led 2-0 in the opener and had leads of 2-0 and 4-2 in Game 2 before losing both contests in overtime. This time, Lundqvist made sure the series headed back to Los Angeles for Game 5 on Friday.
NBA-CLIPPERS-STERLING
Clippers court battle goes on
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A court will determine next month whether Donald Sterling was properly removed as an administrator for the family trust that owns the Los Angeles Clippers.
An attorney for Shelly Sterling went to probate court Wednesday to request a trial to confirm that she is the sole trustee and can proceed with the $2 billion sale of the team to former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer. Donald Sterling opposes the sale of the team and is suing the NBA for $1 billion.
Sherry Sterling’s lawyer says three doctors have filed reports saying Donald Sterling lacks the mental capacity to be a trustee.
The trial will begin July 7 and last four days. The deadline for the sale is July 15.
MLB-SCHEDULE
Morales comes through for Twins…Royals top Indians
UNDATED (AP) — The Detroit Tigers woke up the morning of May 19 with a major league-leading 27-12 record and a seven-game lead in the American League Central. They’ve posted the worst record in the division since, going 6-16 while being outscored by 53 runs.
The slump continued on Wednesday as the White Sox chased Justin Verlander during a seventh-run sixth that led to an 8-2 rout of the Tigers in Chicago. Gordon Beckham hit a two-run single and Conor Gillaspie added a two-run double during the sixth-inning rally. Jose Abreu (ah-BRAY’-ooh) hit a second-inning homer before opening the sixth with a single.
John Danks held the suddenly-toothless Tigers to two runs and six hits in seven innings to help Chicago pull into with 2 ½ games of Detroit. The White Sox were nine games back less than a month ago.
Elsewhere in the majors:
— Masahiro Tanaka is 10-1 after tossing a six-hitter with nine strikeouts in the New York Yankees’ 4-2 win over Seattle. Mark Teixeira (teh-SHEHR’-uh) launched a three-run homer to back Tanaka, who blanked the Mariners until Robinson Cano’s (kuh-NOHZ’) two-run blast in the ninth.
— Tommy Milone (mih-LOHN’) gave up a run and six hits over 6 2/3 innings of Oakland’s 7-1 triumph over the Angels. Yoenis Cespedes (yoh-EH’-nehs SEHS’-peh-dehs) went 3-for-5 with two RBIS and Stephen Vogt (voht) hit a two-run homer to put the A’s ahead 4-1 in the sixth.
— Jayson Werth socked a solo homer and added a two-run single in Washington’s fourth straight win, 6-2 in San Francisco. Tanner Roark (ROH’-ahrk) gave up two runs in six innings for his fifth win.
— Kendrys (KEHN’-drihs) Morales supplied a three-run double that gave the Twins a 6-0 lead in the seventh inning of a 7-2 win over the Blue Jays in Toronto. Josh Willingham hit a two-run homer and had three RBIs to back Phil Hughes, who improved to 7-2 by limiting the Blue Jays to seven hits while striking out nine in seven shutout innings.
— Wily Peralta (WIH’-lee peh-RAHL’-tah) combined with four relievers on a five-hitter in Milwaukee’s 3-1 win over the New York Mets. Jean Segura and Carlos Gomez hit RBI single to back Peralta, who limited the Mets to four hits over 6 1/3 innings.
— Tampa Bay won for just the second time in 16 games as Desmond Jennings laced a go-ahead, two-run single in the four-run fourth to lift the Rays over St. Louis 6-3. The Rays’ bullpen tossed five innings of one-hit relief after Erik Bedard spotted the Cardinals a 3-0 lead.
— Philadelphia beat San Diego 3-0 on Reid Brignac’s (BRIHN’-yaks) three-run homer in the bottom of the ninth. Cole Hamels gained a no-decision after striking out 11 while allowing just five hits in eight scoreless innings.
— Yordano Ventura allowed a run and six hits in seven innings as Kansas City earned its fourth straight win, downing Cleveland 4-1.The Royals tied a team record with four sacrifice flies and became only the second team to score four runs all on sac-flies since it became an official stat in 1954.
— Wei-Yin Chen is 7-2 after allowing four hits over seven innings of Baltimore’s 6-0 shutout of Boston. Chris Davis hit a two-run homer for the Orioles, who allowed just one run in taking two of three from the Red Sox.
— Chris Carter smacked a pair of solo homers and Dallas Keuchel (KY’-kul) improved to 8-3 as Houston downed Arizona 5-1. George Springer had two hits and an RBI to support Keuchel, who gave up only a run and four hits in eight innings.
— Texas beat Miami 6-0 behind Yu Darvish, who struck out 10 and allowed six hits in his first major league complete game. Shin-Soo Choo broke a long hitless streak with a three-run double to help the Rangers stop the Marlins’ record-tying 13-game winning streak in interleague play.
— Pittsburgh doubled up the Chicago Cubs 4-2 as Andrew McCutchen homered and reached base four times. The Pirates rocked Cubs starter Jason Hammel for 11 hits in five innings.
— Tyler Matzek was terrific in his major league debut, yielding just two runs and five hits in seven-plus innings of Colorado’s 8-2 rout of Atlanta. Matzek retired his first 13 hitters and carried a two-hit shutout into the eighth.
— Johnny Cueto KWAY’-toh) matched his career high with 12 strikeouts in just six innings of the Reds’ 5-0 shutout of the Dodgers in Cincinnati. Joey Votto (VAH’-toh) hit a two-run double and Jay Bruce belted a homer as the Reds ended the Dodgers’ three-game winning streak.
MLB-CARDINALS
Wainwright returns home for tests
UNDATED (AP) — Cardinals ace Adam Wainwright returned to St. Louis Wednesday for tests on his sore right elbow, although the team is optimistic the situation isn’t serious.
Wainwright became the NL’s first nine-game winner by pitching seven innings in last night’s 1-0 win at Tampa Bay. Wainwright had elbow ligament replacement surgery four years ago, but Cardinals manager Mike Matheny says the discomfort was on the other side of the elbow.
In other major league news:
— Texas Rangers reliever Tanner Scheppers is going back on the disabled list because of right elbow inflammation less than a week after being activated. Scheppers is 0-1 with 9.00 ERA.
— The New York Yankees have reacquired left-hander David Huff from San Francisco in a cash deal and activated right-handed reliever Shawn Kelley from the 15-day disabled list. Yanks righty Matt Daley was optioned to Triple-A and lefty Wade LeBlanc was designated for assignment.
— Seattle has activated Logan Morrison, who hasn’t played for the Mariners since April 14 because of a strained hamstring. Morrison spent the past 18 games on a rehab assignment at Triple-A Tacoma, hitting .308 with three homers.
— The Chicago White Sox have signed Olympic speedskater Eddy Alvarez to a minor league deal as an infielder. The 24-year-old Alvarez was part of the team at the Sochi Olympics that won the silver medal in the 5,000-meter relay.
— Outfielder Andres Torres has signed a minor league pact with Boston. The 36-year-old Torres played in 103 games for San Francisco last season and is a lifetime .242 hitter with 174 RBIs.
NFL-SCHEFFLER
Concussions forcing veteran receiver to retire
UNDATED (AP) — Tony Scheffler is retiring from the NFL.
Scheffler told The Associated Press that having three concussions over the past four years had “a lot” to do with his choice.
He had 258 receptions for 3,207 yards and 22 touchdowns in his eight-year career. The Detroit Lions released Scheffler in October. He later had workouts with Chicago and Kansas City and says there was “moderate” interest in him as a free agent this offseason.
Denver drafted him in the second round in 2006 out of Western Michigan and traded him four years later to Detroit.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL-NEWS
Tigers suspend Mills…Gators receivers coach resigns
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — LSU starting safety Jalen Mills has been indefinitely suspended from the football team after the junior’s arrest on a battery charge early Wednesday morning.
A probable cause document states that a woman says Mills punched her in the mouth on May 4 in his apartment. She says she fell to the ground and was briefly unconscious.
WORLD CUP-US-KLINSMANN
Klinsmann maintains US expectation
SAO PAULO (AP) — Jurgen (YUR’-gihn) Klinsmann maintains the United States shouldn’t be expected to win the World Cup, even if that stance is upsetting to some fans back home.
The U.S. coach spoke at his first news conference after arriving at the World Cup
Klinsmann caused a stir last weekend when he was quoted by The New York Times Magazine as saying in a December interview “we cannot win this World Cup, because we are not at that level yet.”
The U.S. opens Monday against Ghana, then plays Portugal and Germany in one of the more difficult first-round groups.
WORLD CUP-TICKETS
Some tickets still remain
SAO PAULO (AP) — A day before the World Cup opener, tickets remained available for more than 15 matches, including some involving Germany, Italy and France.
FIFA said it already sold more than 2.9 million tickets. Fans can still get tickets on FIFA’s website for matches such as Germany-Ghana, Switzerland-France and Italy-Uruguay.
Only tickets for the highest-priced categories remained available for the better matches.
