Sports Today

Elite Eight field finalized

SYRACUSE, N.Y – Przemek Karnowski had 18 points and nine rebounds and second-seeded Gonzaga used a big run early in the second half to pull away for a 74-62 victory over No. 11 UCLA on Friday night in the South Regional semifinals of the NCAA Tournament.

The victory puts Gonzaga (35-2) in the Elite Eight for the second time, its first regional final since 1999. The Bulldogs will play Duke on Sunday.

UCLA (22-14) opened the second half with a 6-0 run to get within 35-34. Gonzaga scored the next 12 points, thanks to the powerful inside game of the 7-foot-1, 288-pound Karnowski to make it 47-34.

The Bruins, who lost in the Sweet 16 for the second straight year, were done in by a tough shooting night that included long stretches without scoring. They were led by Norman Powell’s 16 points.

Sporting Life Royal Ascot review

For every bookmaker in the land the standout highlight has to have been every race in which Ryan Moore didn’t ride a winner! In all seriousness, though, it was great to see arguably the best in the world prove himself head and shoulders above many of his contemporaries. Looking at the equine stars then Muhaarar made the most competitive Group One of the meeting look like a procession but, Time Test is the one that will stick in the mind. He’s regally-bred, won in a great style and even had the form of his London Gold Cup victory franked when Space Age took the Duke Of Edinburgh. There might not be a race for him in the UK until his owners’ Juddmonte International at York in August, but he’ll be worth the wait.

Time Test and Acapulco were the two horses who made me audibly expostulate at the two-furlong pole, although I think I made some even louder noises when Udododontu got caught in the final strides of the Britannia having looked to have put the race to bed 100 yards from the winning post. The Commonwealth Cup was a bit of a highlight too, in the sense that although I didn’t back the winner, the new race proved a massive hit with horsemen and punters alike and proved the cynics – such as me – who are sceptical about any sort of meddling with the race programme, to be wrong.

Day tees off in 3rd round of US Open

UNIVERSITY PLACE, Wash. – Australian Jason Day has teed off in the third round of the U.S. Open about 24 hours after collapsing at the end of his second round due to vertigo.

Day arrived on the practice range at Chambers Bay around 12:55 p.m. local time and proceeded to hit balls for 40 minutes. Day holed his second practice chip from about 25 yards and went through every club in his bag before taking a shuttle to the first tee.

Day’s status was in question after he was overcome by dizziness and collapsed on his final hole at the U.S. Open on Friday. Day was walking down the ninth hole — his last of the day — and fell over to his left.

Day, who has dealt with vertigo in the past, was treated by doctors on Friday evening.

Attentions to the Tour de France

The Team Sky rider was down to ride the time trial and the road race at the British nationals in Lincolnshire this weekend, but withdrew from both events on Monday evening.

The thinking behind the decision, taken mutually according to Thomas and Sky, is that the events would be excessive given the proximity of the Tour and the rider’s recent exertions at the Tour de Suisse.

“Sadly, the call has been made to not compete at the Nationals this week,” Thomas wrote on his Facebook page. “It was a really difficult decision to make with the team, but it was felt that resting at home this week would be best. After such an intense week at the Tour de Suisse, both mentally and physically.

Hofstra coach Mihalich agrees to extension

“We are very pleased with the work that Joe and his staff has done over the last two years,” Hofstra athletics director Jeffrey Hathaway said. “When Coach Mihalich joined our staff he was the perfect choice and that thought certainly continues today. He has done an excellent job interacting and building relationships with our current student-athletes, prospective student-athletes, donors and members of the Hofstra community. Joe has enhanced our success in the classroom and on the court.

“The future is very bright for the Hofstra Basketball program under Joe’s leadership and I’m thrilled that the contract extension will enable him to be at Hofstra for many years to come.”

Rain would suit Head for Solow

Solow enjoyed a tremendous start to the year with victories in the Dubai Turf at Meydan and the Prix d’Ispahan at Longchamp and completed a Group One hat-trick in the Queen Anne Stakes at Royal Ascot last week.

The four-year-old is set to return to Britain for what could be his biggest test yet on July 29, with Aidan O’Brien’s dual Guineas hero and St James’s Palace Stakes scorer Gleneagles lying in wait.”He is very well, he took the race well and I’m very happy with him,” said Head.

“That (Goodwood) is the plan if all goes well and I hope we get a little rain.”Head is relishing what promises to be a mouthwatering clash of the generations and wonders whether a tough first half to Gleneagles’ Classic year could catch up with him.

He said: “It’s going to be an interesting race, I think. Gleneagles has had a tough spring, he has two Guineas and a St James’s Palace in his legs, so we’ll see.

5 toughest performances in US Open history

HOGAN AT MERION: Ben Hogan was the reigning U.S. Open champion when his car collided with a bus in West Texas in 1949, an accident so horrific that it nearly killed him and doctors feared he would never walk again.

Hogan returned to golf a year later and played the U.S. Open at Merion in 1950. He had to soak his legs for an hour each night just to keep playing, and while he was only two shots behind Dutch Harrison going into the 36-hole final day, there were questions whether they could hold up over two rounds.

With Hogan needing a par on the 72nd hole to get into a playoff, his legs were so weakened that he hit 1-iron into the 18th. A plaque at Merion commemorates the shot Hogan hit that led to par, and the photo of his swing is among the most famous in golf. And he won the playoff. Of his four U.S. Open titles, that one meant the most to Hogan “because it proved I could still win.”

Every day is like a Classic during the first week of Tour de France

Twelve months ago, Froome’s yellow jersey defence came to a premature halt when he crashed out of the Tour just before the first cobbled section on stage five. The pavé makes a return this year, but the Team Sky leader warned that the entire opening act, as the race sweeps across Belgium and northern France in the first week, is replete with potential pitfalls.

“That first week really is going to be crucial – the first nine days, actually, until we get up into the mountains on stage 10,” Froome said on Wednesday. “In my mind, it’s almost as if each one of those nine stages is like a Classics race in its own right. You’ve almost got to do nine one-day classics before then starting the GC race up in the mountains. And before you get through those nine Classics, you’re not even entered for the GC race in that regard.”

Magic tab Skiles as head coach

Orlando, FL (SportsNetwork.com) – Scott Skiles’ best seasons as an NBA player came with the Orlando Magic. The former point guard will now try to restore the struggling franchise back to glory as its new head coach.

The Magic have announced the hiring of Skiles, a former head coach with Phoenix, Chicago and Milwaukee who’ll be returning to the bench following a two-year hiatus.

Skiles, whose 2,776 assists in a Magic uniform ranks second in club history, owns a 443-433 overall record in 13 seasons as an NBA head coach. The fiery 51-year-old’s most recent stop came with the Bucks and ended when he and the team mutually agreed to part ways 32 games into the 2012-13 campaign.

Skiles’ teams have earned postseason berths six times, reaching the conference semifinals with Phoenix in 1999-00 and Chicago in 2006-07. Milwaukee made the playoffs only once in five seasons under his direction, however.

Prior to taking over the Suns in 1999, Skiles also served as a player-coach with PAOK in the Greek Basketball League.

Dutch Connection tops Lennox list

The Dutch Art colt opened his account at this meeting last summer and is one of three possibles from the Charlie Hills stable, along with Cable Bay and Kiyoshi, from a total of 39 entries.

“Dutch Connection came out of Ascot really well. He lost eight kilos but has put that all back on,” said Hills.”The Qatar Lennox Stakes looks the obvious choice for him, although he is also in the Prix Jean Prat at Chantilly next month (July 12) and we will just see how we go.”I thought he did really well to win under a penalty at Ascot and he was giving a lot of weight away to the second (Fadhayyil).

“I just felt our horses were a under a cloud around Guineas time, but we never lost faith in Dutch Connection and hopefully he has a nice season ahead of him now.”Cable Bay has been good since Haydock. We decided to swerve Royal Ascot to focus on a Group Two and the Lennox has to be a strong possibility for him.

“He is improving now to what we thought he was as a two-year-old (second in Group One Dewhurst Stakes). He is a pretty good horse and we don’t know how good he is just yet.”