Sports Today

Heartbreak and some consolation for Johnson in US Open

UNIVERSITY PLACE, Wash. – Dustin Johnson had his baby in his arms, a smile of sorts frozen on his face.

There would be plenty of time later to sort through the pain and the what-ifs. Still in shock from the events of a few moments earlier, he walked from the 18th green, holding little Tatum, with fiancee Paulina Gretzky lending a comforting hand on his back.

The U.S. Open would have been his had he made a 12-footer on the final green. An 18-hole playoff with Jordan Spieth would have been scheduled for Monday with a 3-footer coming back.

He missed both, and one of the most dramatic U.S. Opens ended in the worst way imaginable. The cruelest of games had dealt Johnson the cruelest of blows.

Instead of holding the Open trophy on the 18th green, he was looking for a quick exit from the chamber of horrors that was Chambers Bay. Instead of resting up for an 18-hole playoff on Monday, he was heading home wondering how it could have all gone wrong. He tried to keep it in perspective the only way he knew how.

Armstrong confirmed for USA Pro Challenge

Armstrong and her Twenty 16 p/b Sho-Air team will be joined by the other five UCI-registered teams from the US: Optum, UnitedHealthcare, Tibco-SVB, BMW and Pepper Palace, as well as elite teams Visit Dallas, Colavita/Bianchi, DNA Cycling and the Colorado Women’s Cycling Project, with a full list of teams to be announced in early August.

The riders will have three stages, the first of which is an 8.5-mile time trial in Breckenridge on the same course as the men’s pro race, a road race from Loveland to Fort Collins, and a criterium in Golden.

WNBA star files for annulment with fellow player

PHOENIX – 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.

Jump on Newcastle Journey

Journey has plenty to find on the official figures with some of her peers in the Betfred TV/EBF Hoppings Stakes at Newcastle on Friday but she has looked a reformed character of late.

The John Gosden-trained filly initially looked disappointing and it took her four runs to break her maiden.Home bred by George Strawbridge, her mother Montare won a French St Leger but was notoriously highly strung and that appeared to be the case with Journey.However, Frankie Dettori has been on board the last two times and she has been far more tractable.

On her penultimate outing at Goodwood she went down narrowly to James Fanshawe’s Speedy Boarding.At the time the form looked nothing out of the ordinary, but Fanshawe rates the winner very highly indeed and she came out and impressively won the Ballymacoll Stud Stakes next time out.

The pair did pull six lengths clear of the remainder at Goodwood so it was no surprise when Journey finally came good next time out at Newbury.Given an easy time of things at the head of affairs, Dettori got her to settle and was able to give one of his special waiting-in-front rides, beating some highly-touted fillies easily.

A day to remember for the new face of golf

That belonged to Spieth, the phenom from Texas who impressed so many by not only winning the Masters but the grace and composure he showed while doing it. He spoke after that win about bringing a present home to his special needs sister, and it was clear that meant almost as much to him as winning his first green jacket.

He’s now halfway to history, yet still barely old enough to drink. The last player who did things like Spieth was named Tiger Woods, which seems so long ago.

Now he’s the youngest since Bobby Jones nearly a century ago to win back-to-back major championships. Spieth has a chance to do what even Woods couldn’t and win all four of golf’s major tournaments in one year.

Watching him Sunday on the crunchy greens at Chambers Bay, it was hard not to get the sense that he’s only just begun.

Strategic to lead on Eve of Tour de France Finish

With yet another stunning comeback in the final time trial, Landis reclaimed the famed yellow jersey of the Tour de France leader Saturday along with a 59-second lead that should land him atop the victory podium in Paris.

The American would be picking up where another Yank left off just last year, when Lance Armstrong completed his seventh and final Tour triumph.

“I could not be happier,” Landis said. “It’s one of the best days of my life.”

For full sports coverage, go to FOXSports.com

The Phonak team leader, who trailed former teammate Oscar Pereiro of Spain by 30 seconds before the penultimate Stage 19, outpaced the Spaniard by 1 minute, 29 seconds in the race against the clock.

Overall, Pereiro fell to second, 59 seconds behind Landis, while German rider Andreas Kloeden, 1:29 back, pushed Spaniard Carlos Sastre off the podium into fourth.

Sunday’s ride could be the most anticlimactic moment of this unpredictable Tour, marked by Landis’ bizarre performance swings — from despair to elation — and news that he’s been riding with an arthritic hip.

Golden State evens NBA Finals with vital Game 4 win over Cleveland

CLEVELAND – No panic, no playing around. Just California cool.

The Golden State Warriors simply did what they had to do, and now they’re going home in the same shape as when they left — tied in the NBA Finals.

Stephen Curry and Andre Iguodala scored 22 points apiece and the Warriors, showing their depth and why they were the league’s best team all season, squared the finals at 2-2 on Thursday night with a 103-82 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Game 5 is Sunday night at Oakland’s rambunctious Oracle Arena, where the teams split two overtime games last week.

“We’ve seen it all year, every team we go up against, we use our strength in numbers,” said Iguodala, who made a surprise start. “Not only do we have a good first unit but we’ve got a second unit that is coming at you with the same type of speed, same type of high-IQ basketball. It’s hard to keep up with us.

“We’re going to try to keep it going.”

LeBron James scored 20 points — 21 under his average in the series — with 12 rebounds and eight assists, but Cleveland’s megastar, who played with a cut on his head sustained in the first half, didn’t score in the fourth quarter and couldn’t do enough for the undermanned Cavaliers.

Timofey Mozgov led Cleveland with 28 points and Matthew Dellavedova, again battling leg cramps after a hospital stay for dehydratio