Off the wire

FOOTBALL

Georgia OL cleared to play

Georgia received an important boost for 2013 on Thursday when offensive lineman Kolton Houston finally won his long battle for eligibility. Houston was granted reinstatement by the NCAA following three years under suspension for an anabolic steroid he was given for shoulder surgery. Houston was declared ineligible in January of 2010, his first semester at Georgia, following routine NCAA drug testing which detected the banned substance 19-norandrosterone. The substance continued to show up in Houston’s system in subsequent tests. He has two years of eligibility remaining and could petition for a third year.

University of Oklahoma President David Boren said the university plans to extend the contract of Coach Bob Stoops through the 2020 season. Boren announced Thursday that he will recommend that the OU Board of Regents take formal action at its September meeting. Stoops has guided the Sooners to 14 consecutive bowl appearances and amassed a 149-37 record since he was named head coach in 1999. He won a BCS National Championship in 2000. Stoops received a contract extension two years ago to keep him as Oklahoma’s head coach through 2018 and pay him $34.5 million over seven years.

BASEBALL

Brett steps down as coach

George Brett took over as the Kansas City Royals’ interim hitting coach with the rudderless team mired in an eight-game skid. He leaves with them showing signs of life. The Hall of Famer announced Thursday that he was stepping down from his on-field job and returning to the Royals’ front office, where he’s served as vice president of baseball operations since retiring as a player following the 1993 season. “It’s been a tremendous experience for me to put on the uniform again after 20 years away,” Brett said during a brief news conference,breaking down for a few seconds. “It was special.” Brett has helped out at spring training for years as a volunteer coach, but his stint as the interim hitting coach was the first time he’d worn his No. 5 jersey for games that counted since the last out of his last game as one of the game’s greatest third basemen.

Toronto Blue Jays right-hander Brandon Morrow has been shut down for six weeks with a nerve problem in his forearm, effectively ending his season. Morrow began the season as Toronto’s No. 2 starter and went 2-3 with a 5.63 ERA in 10 starts. He left a May 28 outing against Atlanta after just two innings and has not pitched since. Multiple magnetic resonance imaging exams showed only inflammation, but Morrow complained of persistent soreness. His injury, an entrapped radial nerve, was diagnosed following a visit Wednesday with renowned sports surgeon Dr. James Andrews. Morrow won’t resume throwing until September, leaving him little time to return to the Blue Jays in 2013. A seven-year veteran and former first-round draft pick who came up as a reliever with Seattle, Morrow is 41-40 with a 4.22 ERA and 16 saves in 218 career games, including 102 starts.

The Philadelphia Phillies have put All-Star outfielder Domonic Brown on the seven-day concussion disabled list. The Phillies made the move Thursday. Brown hit his head on the ground diving for Carlos Beltran’s triple in the seventh inning of Tuesday night’s 4-1 loss at St. Louis. Brown underwent a concussion test on Wednesday. He leads the Phillies with 24 home runs and 69 RBI. He has started 97 games and is hitting .271.

The Los Angeles Dodgers have designated injury-plagued left hander Ted Lilly for assignment and recalled utility man Elian Herrera from Class AAA Albuquerque. Lilly, 37, was 0-2 with a 5.09 ERA in five starts this season, and has been on the disabled list three times. He missed the first 3 1/2 weeks while recovering from shoulder surgery, then sat out another three weeks with a ribcage strain. He hasn’t pitched since June 4 because of a neck strain.

TENNIS Federer falls in round two of Swiss Open

GSTAAD, Switzerland - His game inconsistent and his new racket not offering much help, Roger Federer lost yet again to a player way down in the rankings.

The Swiss star fell 6-3, 6-4 to Germany’s Daniel Brands in the second round of the Swiss Open on Thursday, the third consecutive tournament in which he made a startling exit.

Playing on clay and before home fans, Federer was troubled by the serve and big forehand of his 55th-ranked opponent.

Federer’s other losses in the past month were to No. 116 Sergiy Stakhovsky at Wimbledon and No. 114 Federico Delbonis at Hamburg, Germany.

The top-seeded Swiss is now ranked No. 5, his lowest in a decade since he started his run of 17 Grand Slam singles titles at Wimbledon in 2003.

Federer saved a first match point by serving an ace when trailing 5-3, and a second in the next game with a forehand winner. Brands, who took a set off Federer in a second-round loss at Hamburg, then ended the 65-minute match with a service winner in the thin mountain air.

The 31-year-old Federer was returning to Gstaad for the first time since he won the title in 2004 and where he debuted on the ATP Tour in 1998 as a 17-year-old ranked No. 702.

Federer rarely loses an opening match. This defeat ranks alongside that of his round-of-64 exit in straight sets at Indian Wells, Calif., in March 2007 to Guillermo Canas of Argentina, then ranked No. 60.

Federer was hoping to tune his game in Gstaad and Hamburg after his second-round exit at Wimbledon. After a three week break, he returned to Hamburg, testing his new racket yet citing back pains that limited his movement. He lost there in the semifinals.