Off the wire

GOLF Shindler leads Charity

Conrad Shindler shot a 9- under 63 on Thursday at the Web. com Charity Championship at Springfield, Mo., to lead Chesson Hadley by two strokes. Bryan Bigley, Jeremy Paul and Andrew Svoboda are tied for third at 5 under. The first round was suspended due to darkness after inclement weather caused delays earlier in the day.

Matt Atkins ( Henderson State) was able to finish with a 4- under 68.

Taylor Moore ( Razorbacks) was 1 under after 5 holes. Ethan Tracy ( Razorbacks) is 1 under after two holes. Andrew Landry ( Razorbacks) is 1 over after 6 holes. Sebastian Cappelen ( Razorbacks), Austin Cook ( Jonesboro, Razorbacks) and Zack Fischer ( Little Rock) were unable to begin their rounds.

BASEBALL Ump Kaiser dies

Former major league umpire Ken Kaiser, a colorful figure between the lines who briefly moonlighted as a professional wrestler to make ends meet while working in the minor leagues, has died. He was 72. The World Umpires Association said Thursday he died in his hometown of Rochester, N. Y., on Tuesday. Kaiser had diabetes for years. An American League umpire from 1977- 99, Kaiser umpired two World Series, one All- Star Game and several playoff series. The 6- foot- 3 Kaiser, who wrote in his book, Planet of the Umps: A Baseball Life from

behind the Plate, that when he graduated from high school in 1964 his “long- range plan was lunch.” He weighed just under 300 pounds and often was criticized for that portly physique during the more than 3,000 big- league games he umpired. Kaiser wrote of his decade in the minor leagues and off- season jobs that included bar bouncer, bank teller, and that short stint as the wrestler dubbed “Hatchet Man.” Kaiser’s umpiring career ended when he joined a group of umpires who submitted their resignations in 1999 during labor negotiations, a gamble by the Major League Umpires Association that failed. He was not rehired. He is survived by two adult children. Funeral plans

are incomplete.

TENNIS

Teen upsets Nadal Canadian teenager Denis Shapovalov upset top- seeded Rafael Nadal 3- 6, 6- 4, 7- 6 ( 4) in the third round of the Rogers Cup in Montreal on Thursday night. Shapovalov, 18, advanced to a quarterfinal meeting Friday night with France’s Adrian Mannarino, who defeated Hyeon Chung of South Korea 6- 3, 6- 3. Roger Federer overcame a weak first set to post a 4- 6, 6- 4, 6- 2 victory over

Spaniard David Ferrer in an earlier third- round match. In today’s quarterfinals, the second- seeded Federer will face 12th- seeded Roberto Bautista Agut of Spain, who outlasted Frenchman Gael Monfils 4- 6, 7- 6 ( 5), 7- 6 ( 2) on center court at Uniprix Stadium. Unseeded Argentine Diego Schwartzman beat American Jared Donaldson 0- 6, 7- 5, 7- 5 to advance to a quarterfinal meeting with Robin Haase, the 52nd- ranked Dutchman who upset seventh- seeded Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria 7- 6 ( 3), 4- 6, 6- 1. Kevin Anderson of South Africa downed American Sam Querrey 6- 4, 6- 1 and will next play fourth- seeded Alexander Zverev, who ousted 16th- seeded Nick Kyrgios 6- 4, 6- 3.

Pliskova advances Karolina Pliskova advanced to the quarterfinals at the Rogers Cup in Toronto on Thursday when Japanese qualifier Naomi Osaka was forced to retire because of an injury. The world’s top- ranked player moved on with a 6- 2, 6- 7 ( 4), 1- 0 victory when Osaka had to retire because of an abdominal injury. Pliskova will move on to play sixth- seeded Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark, who ousted 10th- seeded Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland 6- 3, 6- 1. Second- seeded Simona Halep of Romania needed only 59 minutes to breeze by Barbora Strycova of the Czech Republic 6- 1, 6- 0 while American Sloane Stephens upset third- seeded German Angelique Kerber 6- 2, 6- 2. Later Thursday, fifth- seeded Ukrainian Elina Svitolina defeated American Venus Williams 6- 2, 6- 1, and Spain’s Garbine Muguruza dispatched Australian qualifier Ashleigh Barty 6- 0, 3- 6, 6- 2. Also, Caroline Garcia of France advanced with a 6- 4, 6- 2 win over American CiCi Bellis, and Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic moved on with a 6- 3, 6- 7 ( 3), 6- 2 victory over Ekaterina Makarova of Russia.

Shot clock testing

The U. S. Tennis Association said shot- clock technology will be tested beginning this month at the U. S. Open. The technology tracks the time taken by the server between points. Stacey Allaster, head of pro tennis at the USTA, told USA Today that it will be tested during the tournament’s junior and collegiate events in the second week of the Open. Grand Slam events and the women’s tour allow 20 seconds for a player to serve, while the men’s tour has a 25- second limit. However, enforcement of the rule is left to the discretion of the chair umpire. At the Open’s junior and college events, the shot clocks will be controlled by the chair umpire, starting after the score from the previous point has been registered. USTA officials hope shot clocks could be used at the U. S. Open level within three years. The final major of the year runs from Aug. 28- Sept. 10 at Flushing Meadows in New York.