Off the wire
GOLF Palmer, Bryan lead
Ryan Palmer shot a 5-under 65 on Friday and shared the lead with PGA Tour rookie Wesley Bryan going into the weekend at the Honda Classic at Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. Palmer made seven birdies on another day of ideal scoring and reached 9-under 131. Bryan, who had his best PGA Tour performance last week at Riviera, shot a 67 and saved his round with a bogey on the 13th hole when he had to play one shot from the trees with his putter. They were a shot ahead of Rickie Fowler, with Anirban Lahiri another shot behind. Palmer took four months off at the end of last year when his wife was diagnosed with breast cancer. He said her recovery is going well. Ken Duke (Arkadelphia, Henderson State University) and David Lingmerth (Arkansas Razorbacks) did not make the cut.
Rain suspends play
Unseasonably heavy rain forced organizers of LPGA Thailand at Chonburi to suspend second-round play on Friday. Play was halted for hours, and 13 players didn’t start, including co-leaders Ariya Jutanugarn of Thailand and Amy Yang of South Korea. The second round will resume today.
Darkness halts play
Paul Waring led by one shot after 12 holes of his second round when play was suspended because of darkness at the Joburg Open in Johannesburg on Friday. The Englishman made five birdies in those holes on the West Course at Royal Johannesburg and Kensington to move to 12 under par, ahead of South Africans Darren Fichardt and Dean Burmester. Fichardt was in the clubhouse with a second 66, thanks mainly to a sizzling opening nine on the East Course. Burmester was 11 under with three holes of his second round to complete. Jacques Kruyswijk is fourth at 10 under and defending champion Haydn Porteous part of a five-way tie for fifth a shot further back.
TENNIS Del Potro elimnates Querrey
Juan Martin del Potro never faced a break point and eliminated defending champion Sam Querrey 7-5, 7-5 on Friday night to reach the Delray Beach Open semifinals. Del Potro overcame 16 aces by Querrey, who was seeded fourth. Del Potro will take on No. 1-seeded Milos
Raonic today for a berth in the final. Raonic edged Kyle Edmund 4-6, 6-3, 6-4. On the other half of the draw, Jack Sock moved into the semifinals by beating Steve Johnson 6-4, 7-6 (4) in an all-American matchup. Sock will play yet another American next: Donald Young, who didn’t even need to play a point to get to the semifinals. Young’s quarterfinal opponent, Steve Darcis, withdrew from the tournament, citing personal reasons.
Thiem advances
Second-seeded Dominic
Thiem beat Diego Schwartzman of Argentina 6-2, 6-3 on Friday to reach the Rio Open semifinals, where he is the favorite following No. 1 Kei Nishikori’s defeat in the first round. Thiem has won seven ATP singles titles — five of those on clay. He was tested at times, saving eight break points out of 10, but took all six of his chances on Schwartzman’s serve. The 23-yearold Austrian next faces Albert Ramos-Vinolas. The Spaniard defeated Nicolas Kicker by the same score, breaking the Argentine’s serve three times. In the other two quarterfinals, fourth-seed Pablo Carreno Busta of Spain defeated Ukraine’s Alexandr Dolgopolov. After splitting the first two sets, Dolgopolov retired with a left hip injury trailing 1-0 in the third set. In the other quarterfinal, wild-card Casper Ruud of Norway defeated Brazilian Thiago Monteiro 6-2, 7-6
(2). Ruud will face Carreno Busta today.
Wozniacki moves up
Caroline Wozniacki reached her second final in two weeks by beating Anastasija Sevastova of Latvia 6-3, 6-4 at the Dubai Tennis Championships on Friday. Wozniacki was a finalist at Doha last weekend, when she lost to
Karolina Pliskova. Wozniacki posted an impressive 70 percent first-serve percentage against Sevastova. She lost her serve on the one break point she faced, in the eighth game of the second set, but otherwise was impenetrable on her serve. Wozniacki plays top-seeded Angelique Kerber or seventh-seeded Elina Svitolina in the final today. She has a losing record against both potential finalists: Kerber leads 8-5, while Svitolina leads 1-0.
BASKETBALL Simmons’ season over
The Philadelphia 76ers said No. 1 overall pick Ben Simmons will miss the rest of the season because his surgically repaired right foot hasn’t healed as quickly as expected. Simmons fractured the fifth metatarsal bone during the team’s final training camp scrimmage in October and hasn’t played a game. The 6-foot10, 250-pound Australian was Philadelphia’s first No. 1 overall pick since Allen Iverson in 1996. Simmons was going to play point-forward for the team. Sixers President Bryan Colangelo also said star center Joel Embiid will miss at least four games because of a bruised left knee that has sidelined him for 11 of the last 12 games. The rebuilding Sixers have already doubled last year’s victory total. Philadelphis had a 2135 record entering Friday night’s game against Washington.
BASEBALL Cubs, Strop redo deal
The Chicago Cubs and reliever Pedro Strop have agreed to an $11.85 million, two-year contract that includes a club option for 2019. The deal announced Friday supersedes a $5.5 million, one-year agreement from earlier this month. Strop went 2-2 with a 2.85 ERA in 54 appearances last year, helping Chicago win the World Series for the first time since 1908. Strop, known for wearing his hat off to the side, and ace right-hander Jake Arrieta were acquired in the same July 2013 trade with Baltimore. Strop, 31, is 15-20 with a 3.23 ERA in eight seasons with Texas, Baltimore and the Cubs. He will make $5.5 million this season and $5.85 million next year. The club option is for $6.25 million with a $500,000 buyout.
Villanueva, Eagles sign
The Hanwha Eagles in South Korea have agreed to a $1.5 million, one-year contract with pitcher Carlos Villanueva. A 33-year-old right-hander, Villanueva was 2-2 with a 5.96 ERA last year in 51 relief appearances for San Diego. Hanwha said in a statement Friday it planned to use Villanueva as a starter. An 11-year major league veteran, Villanueva is 51-55 with a 4.31 ERA in 76 starts and 400 relief appearances for Milwaukee (2006-10), Toronto (2011-12), the Chicago Cubs (2013-14), St. Louis (2015) and the Padres. Earlier in the offseason, the Eagles agreed to a contract with former big league pitcher Alexi Ogando.
Shoemaker returns
Matt Shoemaker is the player people are happiest to see this spring in the Los Angeles Angels’ camp. It wasn’t clear Shoemaker would make it here. On Sept. 4 in Seattle, the Mariners’ Kyle Seager ripped a line drive up the middle — clocked at 105 mph as it left his bat — that struck Shoemaker above his right ear. Though Shoemaker was able to walk off the field, he had to undergo emergency surgery after tests showed a skull fracture and bleeding in his brain. His recovery took several weeks, but, otherwise, Shoemaker said he had a quiet, productive offseason. “The good thing is that it was just a little different, just that first month being home through the recovery from the surgery. Other than that, everything was the same, getting all my work in and preparing for this season,” he said. The right-hander has joined a group of pitchers to undergo similar experiences, including in recent years Evan Marshall, Brandon McCarthy, Dan Jennings, Carlos Carrasco, Aroldis Chapman, John Danks, Chris Young, Juan Nicasio and Hiroki Kuroda.
SOCCER U.S. roster announced
Carli Lloyd and Alex Morgan are among 23 players named to the U.S. national team’s roster for the SheBelieves Cup tournament next month. Coach Jill Ellis drew the players for the roster from a pre-tournament training camp. The event, which will include Germany, France and England playing in three double headers across three cities, opens Wednesday in Chester, Pa. Megan Rapinoe was not among the players invited to camp as she continues to regain form following knee surgery. Meghan Klingenberg, who participated in camp but is still recovering from a back injury, and Amy Rodriguez, coming off the birth of her second child, were also left off the roster. Brianna Pinto, who is just 16, is among three players on the roster who have never made an appearance with the national team. Lloyd, Morgan and Crystal Dunn will break from playing with their European club teams for the tournament.