Off the wire

SWIMMING U.S. women strike gold

Missy Franklin is off to a good start at the world swimming championships, thanks to a teammate. Katie Ledecky showed her Olympic triumph was no fluke, turning in another dominating performance before she heads off to 11th grade. Franklin captured gold in the first of her eight events in Barcelona, though it took a brilliant anchor leg by Megan Romano to pull it out a victory in the women’s 400-meter freestyle relay Sunday evening. No swimmer - not even Michael Phelps -has ever won eight golds at the world championships, and Franklin would’ve been out of the running on the very first night of pool swimming if not for Romano chasing down Australia’s Alicia Coutts. She touched in 3 minutes, 32.43 seconds, edging Coutts by 0.12.The Netherlands finished another 3 seconds behind for the bronze. The 16-year-old Ledecky captured the first U.S. gold of the night, just missing the world record in the 400 free. Like Franklin, she’s planning a grueling program at these worlds that also includes the 800 and 1,500 free. Now retired - though for how long remains a pressing question in the swimming world - Phelps cheered on his former teammates from the stands at the Palau Sant Jordi, where he had a breakout performance at the world championships 10 years ago. He was in no condition to swim on this night, entering the arena wearing a boot cast on his right foot, apparently after injuring it a couple of weeks ago playing golf. Qiu Bo won his second consecutive world title in the men’s 10-meter platform on Sunday, giving China its ninth gold medal in 10 diving events at the world championships. Defending champion Qiu had no problem defeating the 12-man field with his six dives - including two near perfect efforts - to rake in 581 points. Behind Qiu, Olympic champion David Boudia took his second consecutive silver and Germany’s Sascha Klein repeated his bronze to complete the exact same podium from the 2011 world championships.

BASEBALL Marlins hitting coach resigns

Tino Martinez resigned as the Miami Marlins’ hitting coach hours after complaints by players that he verbally abused them became public. Martinez was in his first year as a professional coach this year. He was in the dugout for Sunday’s 3-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates, then met with Marlins officials and resigned. “I want to apologize to the Marlins organization for my behavior,” Martinez said. “I have made some comments to certain players at certain times that I thought was more constructive criticism. Obviously, they didn’t feel that way, and it kind of backfired on me.” Martinez said he once touched a player in anger, grabbing rookie Derek Dietrich by the jersey in the batting cage early this season. Dietrich, recently demoted to Triple-A New Orleans, was among the players to complain about Martinez. Martinez said he offered to resign earlier, but team Owner Jeffrey Loria wanted him to stay on the job. When the complaints by players became public in a story Sunday by the Miami Herald, Martinez became certain he should resign. “It has been building for a few days,” he said. “I didn’t know this was going to come out publicly. When this came out, I thought it was the right thing to do.” The Marlins said a new hitting coach would be hired soon. The young team ranks last in the majors in runs, home runs, batting and slugging, and the 45-year-old Martinez said he became frustrated as players struggled.

Former New York Yankees owner Jacob Ruppert, umpire Hank O’Day and James “Deacon” O’White were inducted posthumously into the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum on Sunday in Cooperstown, N.Y. Ruppert, who died in 1939, was elected by the 16-member Pre-Integration Era Committee. Anne Vernon, a great grandniece of Ruppert, accepted the award for the family. Ruppert purchased the Yankees prior to the 1915 season for $480,000, then proceeded to transform what had been a perennial also-ran into a powerhouse. He hired Miller Huggins as manager, then snared Babe Ruth in a 1919 trade with the Boston Red Sox, a deal that changed the dynamics of the sport. Four years later, Ruppert had Yankee Stadium constructed and “The House That Ruth Built” became baseball’s mecca. Ruppert hired general manager Ed Barrow from the Red Sox in 1921, and together they won 10 AL pennants and seven World Series in 18 seasons. Dennis McNamara, a grandnephew of O’Day, accepted the award for the family. O’Day was selected by the 16-member Pre-Integration Era Committee. He was born in 1859, played major league ball for seven years, then turned to umpiring in 1895. After working a season in the minor leagues, he joined the National League in 1897 and went on to umpire more than 4,000 games. His greatest contribution to baseball was convincing everyone associated with the game to treat umpires with dignity. Jerry Watkins, a great grandson of White, accepted the award Sunday on behalf of the family. White, a barehanded catcher, was one of major league baseball’s earliest stars and was the first batter in the first professional game in May 1871. An outstanding hitter, White was regarded as the best catcher in baseball before switching to third base late in his nearly 20-year career. A deeply religious man, he earned the nickname “Deacon.” White played for six teams and had a .312 batting average. He accumulated 2,067 hits, 270 doubles, 98 triples, 24 home runs and 988 RBI before retiring in 1890. He died in 1939.

TENNIS Isner downs Anderson in final

Top-seeded John Isner won the Atlanta Open on Sunday, beating second-seeded Kevin Anderson of South Africa 6-7 (3), 7-6 (2), 7-6 (2) in the tallest final in ATP history. The 6-foot-10 Isner, who lost in the Atlanta final in 2010 and 2011 to fellow American Mardy Fish, won his seventh career title. Anderson is 6-foot-8. Isner rallied to win two tiebreakers, pushing his ATP-best tiebreaker record to 27-6. All three sets were played on serve, and Anderson lost serve only once in four matches.

MOTOR SPORTS Hamiltwon wins in Hungary

Lewis Hamilton won the Hungarian Grand Prix in Budapest from the pole position on Sunday to clinch his first victory of a frustrating season. Kimi Raikkonen was second after holding off a strong late challenge from Sebastian Vettel, who was third ahead of Red Bull teammate Mark Webber.

SOCCER Shea’s goal lifts U.S. by Panama

CHICAGO - It took Brek Shea less than a minute to give the United States a goal. And the Gold Cup title.

Shea scored 42 seconds after coming into the game as a substitute, and his goal in the 69th minute gave the United States a 1-0 victory over Panama in the CONCACAF Gold Cup final. It is the fifth Gold Cup title for the U.S., but it’s first since 2007. The victory also extended the Americans’ winning run to a record 11 games, four more than their previous best.

When the final whistle sounded, the Americans on the bench raced onto the field to join their teammates. Several players jumped up and down, and hugs and high-fives were exchanged. Coach Jurgen Klinsmann, who watched the game from a luxury box after being suspended for his tirade over the officiating in the semifinals, quickly made his way down to the field, pumping his fists in the air as he walked.

Landon Donovan and Eddie Johnson both struggled to get free, covered closely by Panama’s dogged defense.

But they found their rhythm in the second half, creating several chances. The best came in the 56th minute, DaMarcus Beasley chipped a ball into Donovan, who was in front of the goal at the near post. Donovan got his head on the ball, but not at the angle he wanted and it flew wide of the net. As the crowd groaned, Donovan threw back his head and Beasley swatted the red flag in the corner.

The Americans were still scratching to create something - anything - when Shea replaced Joe Corona in the 68th minute. He didn’t waste any time making his presence felt as the Americans pushed forward again.

Alejandro Bedoya fed Donovan, but he muffed the shot. The ball continued to roll past Panama’s Roberto Chen and on toward the net. Parked inches from the goal line, Shea stuck out his left foot and tapped the ball past goalkeeper Jaime Penedo for his second international goal.

The Americans had a chance to double the lead in the 84th minute when Shea fed a wide-open Eddie Johnson 2 yards from the goal. But Johnson couldn’t finish it, sending the ball flying over the cross bar.