MORNING ROUNDUP
McIlroy, Fleetwood share lead at Players Championship
Rory McIlroy finished eagle-birdie-par down the famed closing stretch at the TPC Sawgrass for a 7-under 65 to tie Tommy Fleetwood for the lead going into the weekend at The Players Championship in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. Fleetwood rode a birdie-eagle-birdie start to a 67 on Friday and was the first to reach 12-under 144. Tiger Woods hit two balls in the water on the island-green 17th and shot 71. He was nine back.
Dillon wins pole at Fontana after nobody finishes final lap
Austin Dillon got his fourth career pole Friday essentially by default after no drivers completed a lap in the final round of qualifying for the NASCAR Cup Series race at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California. With all 12 final-round drivers determined to go out as late as possible in a drafting group, every car idled near the front of the pit road from the start of the session until roughly 44 seconds remained. The cars had barely exited Turn 4 when time ran out, which meant none of the final laps counted. Dillon got the pole for turning the fastest lap in the previous session in his Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet.
Browns' Hunt suspended 8 games
The NFL suspended Cleveland Browns running back Kareem Hunt for eight games on Friday for two "physical altercations," one in which Hunt shoved and kicked a woman in a hotel hallway while he played for Kansas City. Hunt will not be eligible to play until November as part of his penalty for violating the league's personal-conduct policy.
Tannehill traded to Titans
The Miami Dolphins traded quarterback Ryan Tannehill on Friday to the Tennessee Titans in a deal that also involved draft picks. The Dolphins sent their sixth-round pick this year to the Titans for a fourthround choice in 2020 and a seventh-round pick in April. Tannehill's sports agency tweeted that as part of the trade, he signed a one-year deal with the Titans. He will replace Blaine Gabbert as the backup to Marcus Mariota. General manager Jon Robinson said Friday that Gabbert will be released.
Elsewhere ...
• New York Yankees ace Luis Severino will miss all of April because of right shoulder inflammation. Severino had been scheduled to start on opening day on March 28 but was scratched from his first planned spring training appearance on March 5. • It's Roger Federer vs. Rafael Nadal again, only this time it'll be Saturday in the semifinals of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California. Federer beat Hubert Hurkacz 6-4, 6-4 and Nadal got by Karen Khachanov 7-6 (2), 7-6 (2) on Friday to set up the old rivals' 39th career meeting and first in 16 months.