Williams defeated in return at Italian Open
ROME — Serena Williams’ 1,000th tour-level singles match ended in defeat as she marked her return to action with a 7-6 (6), 7-5 loss to Nadia Podoroska on Wednesday in the second round of the Italian Open.
The eighth-seeded Williams, who hadn’t played since the Australian Open, rallied from a break down twice in the opening set and saved the first three set points she faced in the tiebreaker before Podoroska converted her fourth. The Argentine went on to win in 1 hour, 58 minutes.
Colleges: A report about the stunning lack of action at the University of Michigan while a rogue doctor was sexually assaulting hundreds of young men has cast an unflattering light at one of the school’s giants, the late football coach Bo Schembechler, whose bronze statue stands on campus. Schembechler, who led the team from 1969-89, was vividly told by at least four people that Robert Anderson had molested them during routine physicals or other exams, according to the report commissioned by the university. Yet, the report says, he took no direct steps and even told one man to “toughen up.” ... Mike Polisky resigned as Northwestern’s athletic director amid mounting criticism following his promotion last week to replace Jim Phillips.
NASCAR: An appeals officer ruled that JR Motorsports did not violate any rules when NASCAR disqualified Noah Gragson at Darlington Raceway. The decision restored the fourth-place finish Gragson earned Saturday in the Xfinity Series race.
Bryant crash: Two Los Angeles County firefighters could be fired and a third suspended after first responders took and shared graphic photos from the site of the helicopter crash that killed Kobe Bryant, his teenage daughter and seven others, court documents say. The court documents were filed Monday as part of widow Vanessa Bryant’s federal lawsuit against Los Angeles County that alleges invasion of privacy.