Off the wire

TENNIS Venus eyes U.S. Open

Venus Williams said the bad back that forced her out of Wimbledon shouldn’t keep her out of the U.S. Open two months from now. During a conference call with reporters Friday, the seven-time Grand Slam champion said, “I definitely have full expectations to be at the Open.” Back home in Florida, Williamssaid she’s keeping tabs on Wimbledon where her sister, Serena, has a third-round match today against Kimiko Date-Krumm. Venus Williams said she’s spending time at the gym and working on projects. She’s being featured in a documentary on ESPN called Venus Vs., which chronicles her efforts in trying to get equal pay for women in tennis.

HOCKEY Parade draws 2 million

Chicago police say more than 2 million people turned out to celebrate the Blackhawks’ Stanley Cup victory. Fans clad in the team’s colors of red and black started streaming into the city early Friday, and by mid-morning they were lined up along the parade route. Later fans streamed into Grant Park, where a huge throng of fans waited for players to speak. The Chicago Fire Department said just a few people suffered heat-related health problems on what turned into a warm day. Department spokesman Larry Langford said 42 people had to be taken to area hospitals. He also said 20 people jumped in nearby Lake Michigan - something they are not supposed to do - and firefighters made sure all 20 got out of the water.

BASKETBALL Allen staying with Heat

Ray Allen is returning to the Miami Heat next season. Allen exercised his $3.2 million player option Friday, barely a week after the Heat finished off the San Antonio Spurs to win the NBA Finals in seven games. Allen made one of the biggest shots in Heat history, athree-pointer with 5.2 seconds left in Game 6 of the NBA Finals to tie the game and force an overtime where Miami ultimately prevailed. Allen turns 38 next month, yet still played in 102 games during the regular season and playoffs. That was the most appearances by any player in the league this past season. Allen averaged 10.9 points in the regular season and 10.2 points in the playoffs.

BASEBALL Jones jersey retired

Chipper Jones was greeted with a long ovation as the Atlanta Braves retired his No. 10 jersey Friday night. Jones, the 1999 National League MVP and an eight-time All-Star, was honored before Atlanta’s game against Arizona. The former third baseman retired after last season’s playoff loss to St. Louis having played his entire 19-year career with the Braves. Wearing a gray suit and a red tie, Jones spoke to the Turner Field crowd in Atlanta before he threw out the ceremonial first pitch and was driven around the field to adoring cheers. Most seats in the stands were filled as Jones stepped to the microphone while “Crazy Train,” the 1980 hit single by Ozzy Osbourne that used to play before his at-bats, boomed through the public address system.MOTOR SPORTS

Rosberg sets fast time

Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg was fastest in practice at the British Grand Prix, followed by the Red Bull drivers Mark Webber and three-time defending champion Sebastian Vettel on Friday. Rosberg, who won the Monaco GP, was 0.299 seconds faster than Webber. The Australian surprised his team Thursday by announcing he would be leaving Formula One at the end of the season to race sports cars. Vettel was 0.432 seconds behind as he looks to extend his lead atop the drivers’ championship. The German has a 36-point lead over Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso with 12 races remaining. Lotus driver Kimi Raikkonen is another eight points back in third and Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton is fourth. Hamilton was the closest among Vettel’s rivals, coming in fifth fastest.

Along with new engines, the 2014 Formula 1 season will have plenty of other changes including a penalty point system for drivers and expanded testing to be allowed, the World Motor Sports Council announced Friday. The penalty system was prompted by race crashes in the past year. The system would allow a driver to accumulate 12 points before he is banned from the next race. The council said the penalty points would depend on the “severity of the offense.” It also announced plans to allow preseason testing in January, which raises the prospect that some could take place in Abu Dhabi or Bahrain, which have been lobbying to host them. It also would allow four two-day track sessions during the season. The tests would be held in Europe and on the Tuesday and Wednesday after each race to “ensure minimal additional resources are necessary.” In-season testing was banned in 2009 because of concerns over the high costs, especially among the smaller teams. Other changes approved by the World Motor Sports Council, the rule-making body of the International Automobile Federation (FIA), included allowingMercedes to supply engines to a maximum of four teams in 2014. There are other rule changes for drivers, as well. Gear boxes can be used for six rather than five races, no more than 100 kilograms of fuel can be used for one race and pit lane speeds have been set at 80 kilometers per hour in practice and qualifying. Currently, the speed limit is 60 kph in practice and 100 kph for qualifying.

Kyle Petty continues to doubt Danica Patrick’s future as a NASCAR driver. During a Thursday night appearance on SPEED’s Race Hub program, the former driver and current TV analyst said Patrick is more of a marketing machine than a race car driver and doubts the 30-year-old will ever be one “because I think it’s too late.” Patrick is a Sprint Cup Series rookie with Stewart Haas Racing. She won the pole and finished eighth in the season-opening Daytona 500 but her average starting and finishing positions are 32nd and 25.8 respectively. Former boss Dale Earnhardt Jr. disagreed with Petty’s assessment, saying Friday that Patrick “is outrunning several guys on the circuit.” That assessment likely won’t stop Petty, 53, son of seven-time Cup champion Richard “The King” Petty and an eight-time race winner, from criticizing Patrick. An analyst for TNT and Fox/ SPEED, he understands the widespread interest in Patrick, who has been featured in racy TV ads for sponsor Go Daddy and was Indy-Car’s most popular driver for several years. “Danica has been the perfect example of somebody who can qualify better than what she runs,” Petty said. “She can go fast, but she can’t race.” Patrick said Friday she doesn’t care that Petty thinks she’s better at getting attention than driving because she’s heard it all before. But if Petty is going to attack her, he should at least get his facts straight, she said. “Those who watch know I can’t qualify for crap. The race goes much better,” she said.

SOCCER Blatter pledges $100 million

FIFA President Sepp Blatter responded Friday to criticism of the cost of staging the World Cup in Brazil by pledging to give at least $100 million from profits back to the country. Soccer’s governing body gave South Africa $100 million to invest in development projects following the 2010 World Cup, but had not previously said it would establish a similar “social fund” after the 2014 tournament to Brazil. The Confederations Cup, a World Cup warmup event, has been marred by protesters denouncing billions of dollars spent to host the World Cup - money some say should be going toward improving public services. “We have left a legacy [in South Africa], a special fund of $100 million, this fund is controlled by the Football [Association] of [South] Africa, the government of South Africa and FIFA,” Blatter said during a news conference. “I am sure an amount like that, or even higher, will be possible to have here. … The aim from FIFA is not to take profit out of the country, but to put into the country.” Blatter said he can “ understand this social unrest” in Brazil while the tournament has been taking place. The demonstrations took off earlier this month over a 10-cent hike in bus and subway fare in Sao Paulo and morphed into a mass, nationwide movement voicing public dissatisfaction with a range of issues such as government corruption, poor education, health care and spending on the World Cup. The government is projecting that $13.3 billion will be spent on stadiums, airport renovations and other projects for the World Cup, with an estimated $3.5 billion on the 12 venues.