Off the wire
FOOTBALL McCoy to start
Washington Redskins Coach Jay Gruden said Colt McCoy will start at quarterback against the reigning Super Bowl champion New England Patriots. Gruden announced the switch to McCoy after practice Friday. McCoy hasn’t appeared in a game since breaking his right leg during a game in December. Case Keenum started Washington’s first four games this season, all losses. But he was yanked in favor of first-round draft pick Dwayne Haskins in the second quarter of last week’s 24-3 defeat at the New York Giants. Haskins threw three picks in his NFL debut. Keenum has six turnovers over his past two appearances — four interceptions and two lost fumbles — and has been dealing with an injured right foot. McCoy, 33, owns a career passer rating of 78.9 with 29 TD passes and 26 interceptions. His teams have a 7-20 record in his starts.
ATHLETICS
St. Thomas to Summit?
The University of St. Thomas, soon to be kicked out of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference for competitive reasons, has received an invitation to join the Summit League with the goal of taking its sports teams from Division III to Division I. University President Julie Sullivan announced Friday that the school has submitted a waiver request to the NCAA for a reclassification process that would allow it to bypass Division II and thus accelerate the move. In May, the MIAC announced it had decided to oust St. Thomas, the largest school in the league, one of the founding members in 1920 and the most successful in recent years in sports. Conference presidents cited athletic parity as their primary concern; the Tommies have won 12 consecutive MIAC all-sports trophies.
GOLF Na shares lead
Kevin Na had two back-nine eagles and shot a 9-under 62 on Friday for a share of the second-round lead in the PGA Tour’s Shriners Hospitals for Children Open at Las Vegas. Na eagled the par-5 13th and 16th holes and added birdies on the par-3 17th and par-4 18th to match Lucas Glover, 2017 winner Patrick Cantlay and Brian Stuard at 12-under 130. Glover shot 63, also making an eagle on the 15th. Cantlay eagled the par-4 15th, driving the green and holing a 45-footer, in a 64. Stuard shot 65. Matt Jones was a stroke back after a 63. First-round leader Nick Taylor followed his opening 63 with a 69 to top the group at 10 under. Phil Mickelson was 8 under, following an opening 65 with a 69. Austin Cook (Jonesboro, Arkansas Razorbacks) and Andrew Landry (Razorbacks) did not make the cut.
Three on top
Alena Sharp shot a 6-under 65 on Friday for a share of the second-round lead with Brittany Altomare and Cheyenne Knight in the LPGA Tour’s Volunteers of America Classic at The Colony, Texas. Sharp closed with a bogey on the par-4 18th to drop into the tie for the lead at 9-under 133 at Old American Golf Club. Altomare had a 66, and Knight shot 67. The three leaders are winless on the LPGA Tour. First-round leader Stephanie Meadow was 8 under, following her opening 63 with a 71. Jaye Marie Green and Katherine Perry each shot 68 to reach 7 under. Ariya Jutanugarn was 6 under after her second consecutive 68. Georgia Hall (68) also was 6 under with Caroline Hedwall (67), Jane Park (67) and Wei-Ling Hsu (68). Maria Fassi (Arkansas Razorbacks) had five birdies and a bogey on No. 8 for a 4-under 67. She was tied for 12th place at 5-under 137 going into the weekend. Gaby Lopez (Razorbacks) had one birdie on No. 7 and four bogeys for a 3-over 74. She is tied for 37th at 1-under 141.
Pair out front
Adri Arnaus and Rafa Cabrera Bello took a one-shot lead at the European Tour’s Spanish Open in Madrid on Friday, as Spaniards finished the second round in the top four spots on the leaderboard. Samuel del Val was third, followed by defending champion Jon Rahm another stroke behind. Arnaus, who is playing his first season on the European Tour, hit one eagle and five birdies to go with one bogey and card a 5-under 66 on the day. Cabrera Bello made six birdies and has not shot a bogey over 36 holes of the event at the Club de Campo Villa de Madrid. Rahm overcame a double bogey on hole two and ended the day with seven birdies to close on the lead. Overnight leader Kristian Krogh Johannessen fell five shots off the pace. Sergio Garcia is seven strokes adrift.
TENNIS
Djokovic advances
Novak Djokovic is making quite a debut in Tokyo. Competing in the Japanese capital for the first time, Djokovic beat fifth-seeded Lucas Pouille 6-1, 6-2 Friday to advance to the semifinals of the Japan Open. He will next meet David Goffin, who beat Hyeon Chung 6-2, 6-2. Goffin is the only former champion in the draw. He lost to Nick Kyrgios in the 2016 final before defeating Adrian Mannarino for the title in 2017.
Thiem beats Murray
Andy Murray’s run at the China Open is over. The former No. 1, who had won consecutive singles matches for the first time since undergoing hip surgery in January, lost to top-seeded Dominic Thiem 6-2, 7-6 (3) Friday in the quarterfinals. Also, Karen Khachanov of Russia beat Italy’s Fabio Fognini 3-6, 6-3, 6-1, Alexander Zverev downed Sam Querrey, 7 (7)-6 (3), 6-2, and Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece beat American John Isner 7-6 (3), 6-3. Top-seeded Ashleigh Barty reached the semifinals in the women’s draw by beating Petra Kvitova 4-6, 6-4, 6-3. In today’s semifinals, Barty will face eighth-seeded Kiki Bertens, who defeated Elina Svitolina 7-6 (6), 6-2. Also, defending champion Caroline Wozniacki beat Daria Kasatkina 6-3, 7-6 (5) and will next face Naomi Osaka, who served 10 aces to end U.S. Open champion Bianca Andreescu’s winning streak at 17 with a 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 victory.