UCLA gives Alford extension
UCLA extended basketball Coach Steve Alford’s contract by one season to 2020- 21, reducing his buyout fee in the later years.
The contract rollover will pay Alford $ 300,000 in base pay and $ 2.3 million in talent fee. Alford can earn up to $ 270,000 bonus for an academic progress and the team’s on- court performance. There remains a hefty buyout/ termination fee package in the contract. Alford must pay $ 10.4 million if he leaves before April 30, 2017. He pays $ 7.8 million if he leaves before April 30, 2018, and $ 5.2 million if he leaves before the same date in 2019. The buyout fee drops to $ 1 million if he leaves before April 30, 2020.
Second- seeded Rafael Nadal, in his third match back after an injury layoff, lost to big- hitting qualifier Martin Klizan, 6- 7 ( 7), 6- 4, 6- 3, in the quarter finals of the China Open at Beijing. Top- seeded Novak Djokovic defeated Wimbledon semifinalist Grigor Dimitrov, 6- 2, 6- 4, and sixth- seeded Andy Murray took out U. S. Open champion Marin Cilic, 6- 1, 6- 4. Djokovic and Murray will play each other in the semifinals. Third-seeded Tomas Berdych beat John Isner, 6- 1, 6- 4, and will next play Klizan.
On the women’s side, second- seeded Simona Halep withdrew before her quarterfinal against Ana Ivanovic because of a hip injury. Ivanovic next faces Maria Sharapova, a 6- 0, 6- 4 winner over Svetlana Kuznetsova, and Samantha Stosur plays Petra Kvitova, who defeated Roberta Vinci, 7- 6 ( 2), 6- 4.
Kei Nishikori defeated unseeded Jeremy Chardy, 6- 4, 6- 2, in the quarterfinals at Tokyo. He will next play unseeded Benjamin Becker, who beat Jack Sock, 4- 6, 6- 1, 6- 4. Third- seeded Milos Raonic and Gilles Simon also won to set up their semifinal.
Raphael Jacquelin of France birdied his closing two holes for a two- under 70 to take a one- shot lead after the second round of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship at St. Andrews, Scotland. Jacquelin was at nine- under 135. The tournament is played on three courses, with 11 of the players in the top12 having played Kingsbarns on Friday. Shane Lowry was the exception, shooting a 70 at St. Andrews. Lowry was among four players, including Padraig Harrington, whowere in a tie for second.
Top-ranked Stacy Lewis bir died the final hole for a five- under 68 and a two- stroke lead over fellow Texan Brittany Lang after the second round of the Reignwood LPGA Classic at Beijing. Lewis was at 12- under134.
Kevin Harvick shattered his track record at Kansas Speedway and won the pole to start the second round of the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship Sunday at Kansas City, Kan. He turned a lap of 197.621 mph to break his record set in the spring by nearly 3 mph.
Atoxicology report in Nashville showed that Rob Bironas, a former Tennessee Titans kicker, had a blood alcohol content of 0.218%, more than twice the legal limit for driving in Tennessee when he died in a one- vehicle crash. Tennessee’s limit for driving under the influence is 0.08%. The toxicology report also detected a lowlevel of diazepam, or Valium, but at a level so low to have a “negligible effect” according to a release. The autopsy report showed the 36year- old Bironas died of blunt-force trauma after his SUV went off the road and crashed into a line of trees Sept. 20. Calls to 911 described Bironas as chasing people and trying torun them off the road before losing control of his 2009Yukon Denali near his home.
Four- time defending champion Sebastian Vettel told Red Bull Racing he will leave the team at the end of the season, triggering whati s expected to be a major shake- up of the Formula One driver lineup.
In the women’s basketball world championships, the U. S. repeatedly went inside to shoot a team record71% in a 94-72 quarter final rout of France at Istanbul, Turkey. The U . S. will play Australia next.