Off the wire

BASKETBALL France captures gold

France won its first major basketball title, beating Lithuania 80-66 on Sunday in the final of the European championship. San Antonio Spurs star Tony Parker had a quiet game for France, which broke open a close contest by closing the third quarter with a 14-0 run that kept Lithuania scoreless for 4 minutes. France’s lead grew to 22 with 3 minutes remaining in the third and Lithuania never recovered. Nicolas Batum of the Portland Trail Blazers scored 17 points, and Boris Diaw - Parker’s Spurs teammate - added 15 for France. Parker finished with 12 points after scoring only four through the first three quarters. Linas Kleiza, who played seven seasons in the NBA with Portland and Denver, led Lithuania with 20 points. Spain beat Croatia 92-66 earlier in the bronze medal game.

Seimone Augustus hit a 15-foot jumper with 21.1 seconds left and the Minnesota Lynx held off the Seattle Storm for a 58-55 victory on Sunday and a sweep of the best-of-three Western Conference semifinals. Maya Moore scored 22 points and Rebekkah Brunson had 15 points and 13 rebounds for Minnesota, which won the WNBA title in 2011 and lost to Indiana in last year’s finals. Minnesota opens the Western Conference finals this week against the winner of the Los Angeles-Phoenix series, which will be decided on Monday. Tina Thompson made a driving layup to put the Storm up 55-54 with 1:20 remaining, their first lead since late in the second quarter. But Augustus, who had 10 points, responded with her jumper from the right side. Brunson hit two free throws with 11.6 second left for the final margin. Noelle Quinn missed a driving layup in the final seconds for Seattle, which rebounded the miss but couldn’t get off another shot in the game played at the Tacoma Dome because KeyArena in Seattle was unavailable due to a scheduling conflict with a Microsoft event. Thompson had 13 points and nine rebounds in the final game of her 17-year career. She announced before the season that she would retire at the end of the year. The 38-year-old forward is the WNBA’s career scoring leader and won four league titles with Houston. Tanisha Wright led Seattle with 16 points. Camille Little added 14 points as the Storm lost in the first round to the Lynx for the second consecutive year. Seattle made its league record 10th consecutive playoff appearance. Moore scored seven in the third quarter to help the Lynx to a 42-39 lead. Wright scored six for the Storm.

Tamika Catchings had 18 points and 12 rebounds and the Indiana Fever advanced to the WNBA’s Eastern Conference finals by completing a best-of-three series sweep of the Chicago Sky with a 79-57 victory Sunday. Erlana Larkins added 14 points and Shavonte Zellous scored 10. The Fever (18-18) will play at either Atlanta or Washington in Game 1 of the conference finals on Thursday. The Fever were the only WNBA team to reach the playoffs with a losing record. But Indiana took advantage of Chicago’s poor shooting to defeat the Sky for the fifth consecutive time. The Sky (24-12) missed their first six shots from the field, but took an early 6-3 lead by hitting 6-of-6 free throws. But Catchings scored six consecutive points for the Fever to give Indiana a lead it would never relinquish.Sylvia Fowles led the Sky with 14 points. Epiphanny Prince scored 10 points, and WNBA Rookie of the Year Elena Delle Donne added 10 points, but was scoreless in the second half. The Sky, in the playoffs for the first time in franchise history, shot just 17-of-57 from the field but were 22-of-28 from the free throw line on Sunday.

Derrick Rose believes he’s ready to dominate again and help the Chicago Bulls contend for a championship. With training camp set to open this week, the former MVP point guard says there are no lingering issues with his surgically repaired left knee. Rose says it might take one game or “five games, 10 games” to regain his rhythm. He also thinks it will be a “smooth process.” Rose spoke Sunday before a youth event at the United Center to promote next month’s launch of his latest signature adidas basketball shoe and apparel.

FOOTBALL Clemson lineman out

Sophomore offensive lineman Isaiah Battle will miss No. 3 Clemson’s next game against Wake Forest after he was ejected for punching North Carolina State defensive back Jarvis Byrd last Thursday night. Clemson Coach Dabo Swinney said Sunday that Battle would sitwhen the third-ranked Tigers (3-0, 1-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) return home to face the Demon Deacons on Saturday. Battle, from Brooklyn, N.Y., threw an uppercut that knocked Byrd to the turf late in Clemson’s 26-14 victory over the Wolfpack. Swinney said Battle was wrong and would also face punishment at each practice this week. The coach said Battle was immediately remorseful when he returned to the sidelines and understood his actions were embarrassing to the school. Swinney said Battle also knows it’s a mistake he can’t make again.

Texas linebacker Jordan Hicks will miss the rest of the season with an Achilles tendon injury in his left leg and quarterback David Ash is being evaluated for symptoms of a head injury. Hicks was hurt during the Longhorns’ 31-21 victory Saturday night against Kansas State. He was leading the team in tackles with 41. The senior missed most of last season and took a medical redshirt because of a hip injury. Texas announced Sunday that Hicks would have surgery to repair a ruptured left Achilles tendon. Ash played only the first half against Kansas State and threw for 166 yards, helping Texas take a 17-7 lead. He had missed the previous game against Mississippi with concussion-like symptoms.

Former Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer says he wasn’t aware of Houston Texans running back Arian Foster ever receiving money during his college career. “As the head coach at Tennessee for 17 years, I took great pride in having a program that was NCAA compliant, as did our staff and administration,” Fulmer said in a statement released to the Associated Press on Sunday. “If we knew of a violation, big or small, we reported it.” Foster, now a running back with the Houston Texans, says in an upcoming documentary he “was getting money on the side” during his senior year at Tennessee. Fulmer coached Foster at Tennessee from 2005-08. Sports Illustrated first reported Foster’s comments in the EPIX documentary “Schooled: The Price of College Sports.” Foster expanded on his comments Friday and said the money he received didn’t come from a coach. “Side people always offer you money all the time, just random people usually. ‘Can I take care of you?’ ” Foster said Friday. “It happens all the time. When you’re at college and your family doesn’t make a lot of money, it’s hard to make ends meet. … Toward theend of the month, you run out every month. It’s a problem all across America. It’s just when you play top-tier Division I football, there’s people that are willing to help you out. I got helped out.” Andrew Muscato, a producer of the documentary, said Foster didn’t specify during the four-hour interview that took place in February how much money he received or who paid him. Tennessee Athletic Director Dave Hart said in a statement released by the university Friday that, “We can’t speak to something that allegedly happened a long time ago.” Hart said what the university can “say is that the values and priorities of our athletic department and football program are aligned, and the constant education of our student-athletes regarding the rules and the consequences of their choices is of the highest priority.” The Foster report came one week after Yahoo Sports reported that a runner for agents provided illegal benefits to Tennessee defensive lineman Maurice Couch and former Tennessee quarterback Tyler Bray as well as former Alabama offensive tackle D.J. Fluker, former Mississippi State defensive tackle Fletcher Cox and former Mississippi State wide receiver Chad Bumphis. Couch has been ruled ineligible while the school investigates those allegations. Tennessee is on probation through Aug. 23, 2015, for previous violations. Generally, the NCAA has a four-year statute of limitations on allegations. But if the NCAA determines there are extenuating circumstances in this case such as a pattern of behavior, it could subject Tennessee to another investigation and potentially more penalties.

HORSE RACING Motion Lounge rallies

Motion Lounge came from eighth to beat Milkyyourway by 1 3/4 lengths, giving trainer Dominick Schettino a 1-2 finish on Sunday in the $92,400 allowance feature at Belmont Park. Motion Lounge, a four-year-old, earned her second victory in 10 starts in the race for New York-bred fillies and mares originally scheduled for the turf. Mike Luzzi was aboard for the 1 1-16 miles in 1:45.06 over the main track rated fast. Motion Lounge paid $11.40, $5.90 and $4.10. Milkyyourway, a separate betting interest, returned $7.80 and $4.70, while Chloe Bear paid $3.70 to show.