College Football
SEC moves ahead alone on tougher transfer rules
HOOVER, Ala. – A domestic violence advocate said she was pleasantly surprised the Southeastern Conference was the first league to enact a rule barring athletes who have been in trouble for abuse.
The league is approaching its first season since putting in the rule that won’t let member schools sign an athlete disciplined for serious misconduct at another stop. The transfer rule defines a serious offense as “sexual assault, domestic violence or other forms of sexual violence.”
Katherine Redmond Brown, founder of National Coalition Against Violent Athletes, said the message was long overdue.
Golf
Palmer’s grandson leads weekend’s other PGA event
OPELIKA, Ala. – Sam Saunders, Arnold Palmer’s grandson, shot a 7-under 64 in warm conditions Thursday to take the first-round lead in the inaugural Barbasol Championship.
Saunders saved par with a 15-foot putt on the par-3 eighth hole and closed with a birdie on the par-4 ninth to cap his bogey-free round on Grand National’s Lake Course.
The 27-year-old former Clemson player is winless in 45 career starts on the PGA Tour, with a career best tie for second this year in the Puerto Rico Open.
Jason Gore was a stroke back at 65. He birdied four of his last five holes.
Stanford junior Maverick McNealy, the Jack Nicklaus Award winner as the Division I player of the year, was tied for third at 66 along with Martin Flores, Will Wilcox, Carlos Ortiz and Carlos Sainz Jr.
Ha Na Jang paces the Marathon Classic early on
SYLVANIA, Ohio – South Korea’s Ha Na Jang birdied the par-5 18th for a 5-under 66 and a one-stroke lead Thursday after the first round of the LPGA Tour’s Marathon Classic.
Winless in 23 career tour events, Jang birdied four of the first five holes on the back nine at Highland Meadows, dropped a stroke on the par-4 15th and rallied with the closing birdie.
Nannette Hill, Wei-Ling Hsu, Lee-Anne Pace and Sarah Kemp were tied for second. Kemp bogeyed the final hole to drop out of a tie for the lead.
Top-ranked Inbee Park, a three-time winner this season, birdied her final hole for a 70.
NBA
Prosecutors after alcohol monitoring for Ty Lawson
DENVER – Colorado prosecutors want Denver Nuggets point guard Ty Lawson to use an alcohol monitoring device after he was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence for a second time this year.
Lawson was arrested in Los Angeles on Tuesday and is scheduled to stand trial in a Denver DUI case next month.
After his January arrest in Denver, Lawson was ordered not to drink alcohol or violate laws as part of his bond. Prosecutors now are asking a judge to require him to use a device, such as an ankle bracelet or a home breath tester, that monitors the body for alcohol.
A judge could rule on the request Friday when Lawson is due in court for a hearing.
Soccer
First FIFA official sent to U.S. for corruption probe
BERN, Switzerland – Swiss authorities said one of the seven FIFA officials arrested in Zurich as part of a U.S. corruption probe has been extradited to the United States.
Switzerland’s Federal Office of Justice said the unnamed official, whom it didn’t identify, was extradited on Wednesday. It said in a statement Thursday that he was handed over to three U.S. police officers who accompanied him on the flight to New York.
The official agreed last week to be extradited, unlike six others who are contesting the extradition.
Associated Press
