LSU's Mulkey angry with Post; legal action possible
BATON ROUGE, LA. >> LSU coach Kim Mulkey lashed out at and threatened legal action against The Washington Post on Saturday, saying the paper has spent two years pursuing a “hit piece” about her and that it gave her a deadline to answer questions this past week while the defending national champion Tigers were preparing for the women's NCAA Tournament.
“The lengths he has gone to try to put a hit piece together,” Mulkey said of award-winning Post reporter Kent Babb, whom she did not mention by name. “After two years of trying to get me to sit with him for an interview, he contacts LSU on Tuesday as we were getting ready for the first-round game of this tournament with more than a dozen questions, demanding a response by Thursday, right before we're scheduled to tip off. Are you kidding me?
“This was a ridiculous deadline that LSU and I could not possibly meet, and the reporter knew it,” Mulkey continued. “It was just an attempt to prevent me from commenting and an attempt to distract us from this tournament. It ain't going to work, buddy.”
Babb confirmed to The Associated Press that he is working on a profile of Mulkey, but declined further comment. The Post also declined comment.
Babb has been working for The Washington Post for 14 years. Three times, his features have been named best in the nation by The Associated Press Sports Editors. Babb also has written two books: “Across the River: Life, Death, and Football in an American City,” and “Not A Game: The Incredible Rise and Unthinkable Fall of Allen Iverson.”
Men's tournament
DREW BROTHERS GET HELP FROM DAD >> Former Valparaiso legend Homer Drew is racking up frequent flyer miles crossing the country to support his sons while they coach in the opening weekend of the NCAA Tournament.
Scott and Bryce Drew are trying to lead their teams into the Sweet 16. Their 79-year-old father watched Bryce get his first NCAA win when Grand Canyon beat Saint Mary's late Friday night in Spokane, Washington.
Then Homer Drew flew Saturday to Memphis, where he planned to watch Scott coach Baylor on Sunday.
Asked how his father was getting to Memphis, Scott joked: “Bus.”
That would be a 2,000mile road trip. Homer flew commercial.
Golf
MITCHELL TAKES LEAD >> Keith Mitchell capped off a magnificent run through the “Snake Pit” at Innisbrook with a shot he never saw go in. His 7-iron from the 18th fairway onehopped into the hole for eagle and a 5 under and a two-shot lead in the Valspar Championship.
Mitchell was among a dozen players on the fringe of contention at a tournament so tight that it began with all 77 players who made the cut separated by a mere six shots.
That changed when he went 3-2-2 through the closing stretch of the Copperhead course, the first player to do that in tournament history. Mitchell holed a birdie putt just inside 15 feet on the 16th hole, hit 6-iron to inside 3 feet for birdie on the par-3 17th and then holed out on the 18th hole with a 7-iron from about 151 yards up a steep hill.
That puts Mitchell at 10-under 203, two shots clear of Mackenzie Hughes (69), Seamus Power (68) and Peter Malnati (68). SHIN SHARES LEAD >> One of Seri's Kids had an unlikely share of the lead in the Fir Hills Seri Pak Championship after a windy afternoon at Palos Verdes Golf Club.
Jiyai Shin — the 35-yearold South Korean star who last played a full LPGA Tour schedule in 2013 — shot a bogey-free 8-under 63 on the course overlooking the Pacific Ocean, then ended up tied for the lead hours later when defending champion Ruoning Yin closed with a triple bogey.
Soccer
TEEN SCORES FOR BRAZIL >> Real Madrid-bound Endrick became the youngest men's player to score an international goal at Wembley as Brazil beat England 1-0 in a friendly.
Endrick, who will move from Palmeiras to Madrid at the end of the season when he turns 18, struck nine minutes after coming on as a second half substitute.
“My family is here, my girlfriend, my agents. I am not much of a crier, I am holding myself, but this is something unique and I am very happy,” he said.