TENNIS-WIMBLEDON
Bouchard, Kvitova reaches women’s final
LONDON (AP) β Eugenie Bouchard (boo-SHARD’) has made Canadian tennis history.
The 20-year old has become the first from her country, male or female, to make it to a grand slam final. Bouchard will play for the Wimbledon title after beating third-seed Simona Halep (HA’-lehp) 7-6, 6-2.
Bouchard makes it to the title match in just her sixth major championship.
She’ll take on Petra Kvitova (kuh-VIHT’-oh-vuh) for the women’s crown. The 2011 champ beat fellow Czech Lucie Safarova (sa-fuh-ROH’-vuh) 7-6, 6-1.
Kvitova improved her record to 25-5 on the Wimbledon grass and she’s made at least the quarterfinals five years in a row.
MLB-SCHEDULE
Tanaka tries again
UNDATED (AP) β After an impressive start to his rookie season in the majors, Masahiro Tanaka has cooled off.
The right-hander tries a third time for this 12th win of the season when he gets the start at Minnesota tonight. Despite losing two in a row for the first time, he still boasts an American League best 11-3 mark, with a league-leading 2.10 ERA. Phil Hughes gets the assignment for the Twins with an 8-4 mark.
Last time out Hughes pitched decently but was out-gunned by Yu Darvish. The Rangers ace is scheduled to start against the Orioles. Darvish has hit double digits in strikeouts in five of his last eight starts.
Max Scherzer gets the ball for the surging Tigers as they open a home series against Tampa Bay. He’ll take another run at earning his 10th win of the season.
After being swept in a three-game series in Detroit, the Athletics return home to do battle with another division leader. AL East-leading Toronto is in town for a weekend series. Despite the sweep, the Athletics still top the AL West with the best record in the majors.
Struggling San Francisco closes out its homestand with a series finale against the Cardinals this afternoon. The NL West-leading Giants have lost seven of their last nine and three of those losses have been shutouts.
GOLF-THE GREENBRIER CLASSIC
Blixt takes lead
WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W. Va. (AP) β Jonas Blixt has posted the early number to beat at The Greenbrier Classic. The Sweden came in with a 6-under 64 to take the clubhouse lead in the first round. But he has plenty of company at the top of the leaderboard. Six golfers are just a shot off the pace, including Jason Bohn, Joe Durant and D.A. Points. Five others are two back.
NBA-ANTHONY-FREE AGENCY
Knicks brass plans meeting with Carmelo
NEW YORK (AP) β A person with knowledge of the plans says the New York Knicks president Phil Jackson and general manager Steve Mills plan to meet with Carmelo Anthony today in Los Angeles.
Anthony is in Los Angeles to meet with the Lakers, who are among the teams hoping to convince the All-Star forward to leave New York. Anthony already visited Chicago, Houston and Dallas this week.
The Knicks can offer him the largest contract, though Jackson has said he hopes Anthony will take less than a maximum contract.
NBA-BUCKS-DREW
Drew accepts dismissal
MILWAUKEE (AP) β Larry Drew says his sudden firing as the Milwaukee Bucks’ coach came as a surprise, but he accepts the decision by the team’s new owners.
Drew said in a statement issued by his former team that although he only had a year on the job, it was memorable.
Wesley Edens and Marc Lasry, both New York investment firm executives, recently purchased the team from former U.S. Sen Herb Kohl for about $550 million. They replaced Drew with Brooklyn Nets’ coach Jason Kidd earlier this week, and acknowledged they may have made some errors in the way they lured Kidd to Milwaukee.
Drew had no indication he wouldn’t return for a second season, and the messy affair played out in the media for days before the deal was formally announced.
NFL-CONCUSSION LAWSUIT
Ex-players sue opposing concussion settlement
UNDATED (AP) β Seven retired NFL players are objecting to a proposed settlement of concussion claims, calling it a “lousy deal” for ex-players whose symptoms don’t qualify them for compensation.
The players’ lawyers filed a motion in federal court in Philadelphia on Wednesday urging a judge to reject the settlement between the NFL and as many as 20,000 retired players. The settlement provides up to $5 million each for retired players who develop Lou Gehrig’s disease, dementia or other neurological problems believed to be caused by concussions suffered during their pro careers.
The players’ objection says the deal excludes players with symptoms of a degenerative brain condition, those suffering from milder brain injuries and veterans of the defunct NFL Europe.
WORLD CUP-GERMANY-ILLNESS
Get those guys some lozenges
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) β Seven German players are suffering from sore throats prior to Friday’s important World Cup quarterfinal meeting with France. Coach Joachim Loew says none seemed to be suffering from any fatigue and he expects all to take part in the match with France.
WORLD CUP-OVERPASS COLLAPSE
Two killed in overpass collapse
SAO PAULO (AP) β An overpass under construction collapsed in a World Cup host city, killing at least two people and trapping a commuter bus, two construction trucks and a car. Nineteen people are reported injured.
The overpass was one of the infrastructure improvement projects planned for the World Cup but like most urban transportation projects related to the tournament was not finished in time for the event.
NHL-HURRICANES-GLEASON
Gleason returns to Carolina
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) β Carolina and defenseman Tim Gleason have agreed to a one-year, $1.2 million contract. The deal comes just six months after the Hurricanes sent Gleason to Toronto in a trade.
The Maple Leafs placed the 31-year old Gleason on unconditional waivers this week for the purpose of buying out his contract.
MLB-GEHRIG GLOVE
Gehrig glove on the block
GREENWICH, Conn. (AP) β An autographed mitt signed by Yankee great Lou Gehrig goes up for auction July 15 and is expected to fetch between $200,000 and $300,000. Gehrig presented the glove, which he supposedly used in games, to the 12-year-old son of family friends some 80 years ago.
