Off the wire

In this Feb. 7, 2018, file photo, then-Connecticut head coach Kevin Ollie watches the first half an NCAA college basketball game, in Storrs, Conn.
In this Feb. 7, 2018, file photo, then-Connecticut head coach Kevin Ollie watches the first half an NCAA college basketball game, in Storrs, Conn.

GOLF

Spieth, Johnson lead

Jordan Spieth has no idea what it is like to play from behind at the Travelers Championship at Cromwell, Conn. The defending champion led after every round last year in his first visit to TPC River Highlands, and a shot a 7-under 63 on Thursday to match Zach Johnson for the first-round lead. Spieth had six birdies and an eagle out the bunker on par-5 sixth hole -- a shot reminiscent of the greenside bunker shot that gave him a victory last year over Daniel Berger in a playoff. Johnson went out in the morning and led for most of the day. He had eight birdies, including six consecutive on the back nine, one off the course record. Rory McIlroy missed a 13-foot putt for par on the final hole that would have given him a share of the lead and finished in a three-way tie for third place with Brian Harmon and Peter Malnati. Brooks Koepka followed his second consecutive U.S. Open victory with a 68. David Lingmerth (Arkansas Razorbacks) shot a 3-under 67. Austin Cook (Jonesboro, Razorbacks) and Ethan Tracy (Razorbacks) each shot a 68. Ken Duke (Arkadelphia, Henderson State) shot even-par 70. Matt Atkins (Henderson State) was 1 over.

Ex-Hog shares lead

Sebastian Cappelen (Arkansas Razorbacks) and Ben Kohles each shot a 5-under 65 on Thursday to share the lead after the first round of the Web.com Tour's Wichita Open at Crestview Country Club in Wichita, Kan. Jose de Rodriguez and Kurt Kitayama are a stroke back. Roger Sloan and Scott Pinckney are two strokes off the lead. Taylor Moore (Razorbacks) and Tag Ridings (Razorbacks) each had a 3-over 73. Patrick Sullivan (Maumelle, UALR) was 7 over after a 77.

Gros ahead by 1

Sebastien Gros carded a 4-under 68 in windy conditions to lead by one shot after the opening round of the BMW International Open on Thursday. The Frenchman had four birdies to take the lead before the turn, and a six-footer on the 15th hole moved him two ahead. But a bogey on the next hole left the 28-year-old Gros just one ahead of Jorge Campillo, Scott Jamieson, Aaron Rai and Henric Sturehed. Christofer Blomstrand, Nico Geyger, Mark Tullo, Victor Perez, David Howell and Nicolai von Dellingshausen are a further stroke back on 2-under 70. Defending champion Andres Romero was among a large group at 1 under, including 2013 winner Ernie Els and three-time European Tour winner Andy Sullivan.

TENNIS

Djokovic advances

Novak Djokovic eased past second-seeded Grigor Dimitrov at Queen's Club in London with a 6-4, 6-1 victory on Thursday. Former top-ranked Djokovic, who accepted a wild card into the Wimbledon warmup tournament, had little trouble against the 2014 champion and advanced to the quarterfinals. Earlier, Nick Kyrgios sent down 32 aces as the Australian beat seventh-seeded Kyle Edmund 7-6 (3), 6-7 (5), 6-3. Kyrgios faced only one break point as he moved into the quarterfinals.

Federer on to quarters

Defending champion Roger Federer overcame two match points against Benoit Paire to reach the quarterfinals of the Gerry Weber Open with a 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (7) victory on Thursday. Federer next faces Matthew Ebden of Australia, who upset former champion Philipp Kohlschreiber 4-6, 6-1, 6-2. Also Thursday, Borna Coric defeated Nikoloz Basilashvili 6-4, 6-2. He next faces Andreas Seppi after the Italian beat Florian Mayer 6-2, 6-4.

Strycova moves ahead

Wimbledon champion Garbine Muguruza tried to look on the bright side of her second-round 6-2, 6-4 defeat to unseeded Barbora Strycova in the Birmingham Classic on Thursday. The top-seeded Spaniard struggled in windy conditions against the tenacious Czech, who has won their last three encounters on grass. Strycova reached the quarterfinals here for a third time and now plays Lesia Tsurenko, the unseeded Ukrainian who overcame sixth-seeded Daria Kasatkina 1-6, 6-3, 6-3. Earlier, defending champion Petra Kvitova beat Daria Gavrilova, a troublesome opponent in the past, 6-2, 6-2 to reach the quarterfinals. Fourth-seeded Kvitova next plays Julia Goerges, the world No. 13.

TRACK AND FIELD

Hogs advance

Keturah Orji set a meet record in the triple jump with a leap of 47 feet, 101/2 inches, highlighting the opening session Thursday at the USA Track and Field Outdoor Championships in Des Moines, Iowa. Mike Rodgers, 33, set a world mark for 2018 in the 100 meters at 9.89 seconds in an opening round heat, just 0.04 seconds shy of his personal best. Molly Huddle won the women's 10,000 for a record fourth consecutive time, while Lopez Lomong took the men's 10,000 in 28.58.38. Obi Igbokwe (400) and Kenzo Cotton (100) of the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville advanced to the semifinals in their respective events. Arkansas' Derek Jacobus is in sixth place in the decathlon with 3,874 points after the first day.

BASKETBALL

Ollie fired for improper recruit contact

STORRS, Conn. — The University of Connecticut fired men’s basketball coach Kevin Ollie after finding NCAA violations that included improper training sessions and improper contact with recruits by Ollie and former UConn star Ray Allen, according to documents released by the school.

The violations are laid out in more than 1,300 pages of emails, transcripts and contracts given to The Associated Press and other media organizations who filed Freedom of Information requests with the school after Ollie was fired in March. They were released this week after UConn President Susan Herbst upheld the firing decision, a process that now heads to arbitration.

The NCAA is investigating UConn for potential violations, but has not issued a finding.

The violations cited by Athletic Director David Benedict in firing Ollie include:

Ollie shooting baskets with a recruit during an unofficial visit to the school last September;

Ollie arranging a call between a potential recruit and Allen, the former NBA great who is now considered a school booster by the NCAA;

Ollie arranging improper training sessions both on and off campus with a friend who is a personal trainer.

Benedict said Herbst and former UConn athletic director Warde Manuel had stressed the importance of compliance with Ollie when he was hired in 2012, following previous violations by the program. Benedict said Ollie had certified to him three times that the program was in compliance with all NCAA rules.

“That makes the violations all the more troubling,” Benedict wrote in an April letter to Ollie upholding his decision to fire him with cause, a decision that allows UConn to forego paying more than $10 million left on the coach’s contract.

In a statement to The Associated Press on Thursday, Ollie’s lawyer Jacques Parenteau called the infractions cited by UConn in firing Ollie minimal and isolated.

“There is no just cause to deny Coach Ollie the payment he is owed under his agreement with the university,” he said. “We are confident that Coach Ollie will prevail in arbitration.”

Sports on 06/22/2018

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