Off the wire

GOLF

Scheffler maintains lead

Scottie Scheffler held onto the lead Saturday at the WM Phoenix Open in a bid to successfully defend his title and regain the No. 1 spot in the world. The second-ranked Scheffler shot a 3-under 68 in front of some 200,000 fans at TPC Scottsdale to get to 13 under, two strokes ahead of thirdranked Jon Rahm and Nick Taylor. Rahm also had a 68, holing a curling 40-footer for birdie on the stadium 16th for his third birdie in four holes. Taylor shot 67. Scheffler would take the No. 1 spot from Rory McIlroy — tied for 28th at 3 under after a 70 — with a victory, as long as McIlroy finishes worse than solo third. Scheffler also could get to No. 1 by finishing solo second if McIlroy is 36th or worse and Rahm doesn’t win. Rahm, the former Arizona State star from Spain, would go to No. 1 with a victory if McIlroy finishes worse than a three-way tie for second, or by finishing solo second if McIlroy finishes worse than solo 47th and Scheffler doesn’t win. Former University of Arkansas golfer Taylor Moore is tied for 16h at 7-under 206. He shot a 4-under 67 on Saturday.

Ames wins in Morocco

Stephen Ames shot an evenpar 73 Saturday and was an easy winner of the Champion Tour’s Trophy Hassen tournament in Rabat, Morocco. Ames, with a 9-under 210, won the event by five strokes over Mark Hensby, who shot a 2-over 75 on Saturday. Miguel Angel Jimenez turned in Saturday’s best round with a 4-under 69. Ken Duke (Arkadelphia, Henderson State) posted a 73 on Saturday and finished the tournament with a 1-over 220 and in a tie for 14th place. Glen Day (Little Rock) shot a 77 for the second day in a row and completed the tournament at 6-over 225.

BASKETBALL

Texas-Arlington fires coach

Texas- Arlington fired second-year head coach Greg Young with six games left in the regular season. Royce Johnson was named interim head coach for the Mavericks (9-16, 4-8), who play their next game Wednesday at Sam Houston State. They are in their first season playing in the Western Athletic Conference and made their only NCAA Tournament appearance 15 years ago. Young’s departure from the program was announced Friday, a day after a 64-58 win at UT-Rio Grande Valley. He was 2034 as head coach after being a UT Arlington assistant from 2009-21, working for former head coaches Scott Cross and Chris Ogden.

BASEBALL

A’s trade for OF Bleday

The Oakland Athletics acquired lefty-hitting outfielder JJ Bleday from Miami on Saturday, sending left-hander A.J. Puk to the Marlins. The 25-year-old Bleday made his major league debut last year, hitting .167 with 5 home runs and 16 RBI in 65 games. He made 27 starts in center field. Picked fourth overall in the 2019 draft, Bleday hit .228 with 20 homers and 52 RBI in 85 games for Class AAA Jacksonville last year. The 27-year-old Puk went 4-3 with a 3.12 ERA and four saves in 62 relief outings last season.

Rays reliever wins case

Reliever Jason Adam beat Tampa Bay in the first of four arbitration cases involving the Rays and will get $1.775 million instead of the team’s offer of $1.55 million. Adam was 2-3 with a career-low 1.56 ERA and a career-best eight saves in 67 relief appearances last season, striking out 75 and walking 17 in 631/ innings. The righthander 3 earned $1.15 million. Tampa Bay also is awaiting decisions in the cases of relievers Ryan Thompson ($1.2 million vs. $1 million) and Colin Poche ($1.3 million vs. $1.175 million) and outfielder Harold Ramirez ($2.2 million vs. $1.9 million). Those decisions are being held for cases involving other players to be argued or settled next week.

TENNIS

Top seed ousted in Dallas

Wu Yibing became the first Chinese player to reach an ATP Tour final, rallying for a three-set victory over top-seeded American Taylor Fritz in the Dallas Open on Saturday night. Wu will play John Isner, who also won after dropping the first set and advanced to the final of his hometown event with a victory over fellow American J.J. Wolf. Yibing won 6-7 (3), 7-5, 6-4 and survived all nine break points he faced, including five when down a set and trailing 2-1 in the second. Fritz had 20 aces to Yibing’s six, but Yibing capitalized on two of his four break chances. Isner, who became the first tour player with 500 career victories in tiebreakers in the quarterfinals, outlasted Wolf 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (4) to clinch a spot in his 31st career final.

FIGURE SKATING

Japanese skaters prevail

It was a memorable night for Japan at the Four Continents Figure Skating Championships. Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara became the first pairs skaters from their nation to win the prestigious event among non-European countries Saturday. Then, hours later, Kao Miura followed them to the ice inside Broadmoor World Arena and made it confidently through his free skate in the thin air of Colorado Springs, Colo., to win the men’s event. Indeed, many skaters struggled to get through their long programs. Jin Boyang appeared to be so light-headed after his free skate that he collapsed face-first to the ice. Even after taking time to catch his breath, the veteran Chinese skater still appeared unsteady as he headed to the center of the ice for bows. Kao Miura finished with 281.53 points, the second-highest score in the world this year, and he needed just about all of it after Keegan Messing’s performance. The longtime Canadian standardbearer took silver with 275.57 points, while Shun Sato climbed from sixth after his short program to round out the podium.

HORSE RACING

Newgate off Derby trail

One of trainer Bob Baffert’s promising 3-year-old colts is off the Kentucky Derby trail. Newgate will be out of training for at least two months after being diagnosed with a minor hock issue. The hock is an area on the back of a horse’s leg involving a series of joints and bones. “His prognosis to return is excellent,” Tom Ryan of SF Racing, part of the colt’s ownership group, posted on social media. “We look forward to seeing him back this summer.” Newgate won the Robert B. Lewis Stakes by a neck at Santa Anita last week. He was second in the Sham Stakes on Jan. 8. Newgate had been ineligible to earn any Kentucky Derby qualifying points because Baffert has been suspended for two years by Churchill Downs Inc. The penalty, which ends after this year’s Derby, stems from Medina Spirit’s medication violation after the colt won the 2021 Derby and was later disqualified. Baffert is challenging the ban in federal court. The setback for Newgate is also a blow to jockey Frankie Dettori, who is retiring after this year’s Breeders’ Cup in November.