Weekend Sports In Brief
AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) Adam Scott finished the job this time, and put an end to more than a half-century of Australian misery at the Masters.
With the two biggest putts of his career, Scott holed a 20-footer for birdie on the 18th hole of regulation that put him into a playoff with Angel Cabrera, and then won his first major championship Sunday with a 12-footer for birdie on the second extra hole.
It was a riveting conclusion to a week filled with some awkward moments. There was the one-shot penalty called against 14-year-old Guan Tianlang that nearly kept the Chinese teen from becoming the youngest player to make the cut. There was the illegal drop by Tiger Woods, who was given a two-shot penalty over questions and confusion about why he was not disqualified for signing an incorrect card.
Woods closed with a 70 to tie for fourth with Marc Leishman (72). Brandt Snedeker, tied with Cabrera for the lead going into the final round, closed with a 75 and finished five shots behind.
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BASEBALL:
SAN DIEGO (AP) - San Diego Padres slugger Carlos Quentin on Sunday dropped his appeal and began serving an eight-game suspension for rushing the mound and inciting a brawl in which Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Zack Greinke broke his left collarbone.
With the suspension starting with Sunday's game against Colorado, Quentin will miss the Padres' three-game series at Dodger Stadium beginning Monday night.
Quentin charged the mound after he was hit in the upper left arm by a pitch from Greinke. The two players lowered their shoulders and Quentin slammed into Greinke, who broke his left collarbone in the wild fight that ensued.
DENVER (AP) - A Colorado jury in a lawsuit brought by the family of a severely injured high school football player has found that helmet maker Riddell was negligent in failing to warn players about concussion dangers.
Saturday's ruling came as the company faces a similar lawsuit in Los Angeles, plus a complaint by thousands of former NFL players against the league and Riddell. The jury awarded $11.5 million to the family of Rhett Ridolfi, who suffered a concussion during practice at Trinidad High School in 2008. Ridolfi, now 22, wasn't immediately taken to the hospital and now has severe brain damage, as well as paralysis on his left side.
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PRO BASKETBALL:
PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Doug Collins has told the Philadelphia 76ers he will quit as head coach following this season with a year left on his contract.
Two people with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press that Collins informed ownership he's not coming back for a fourth season on the bench. The people spoke to The AP on Sunday on condition of anonymity because the Sixers and Collins had not formally announced the move.
The people told The AP that management wanted Collins to return and he was under no pressure to step down. There was no immediate word if Collins, owed $4.5 million in the last year of his contract, would remain with the franchise in some capacity.
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SOCCER:
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - When Earthquakes forward Alan Gordon directed a slur at Will Johnson, the Timbers midfielder responded with the game-winning goal.
Johnson's goal in the 78th minute gave Portland a 1-0 win on Sunday night. Gordon was ejected in the second half after receiving a pair of yellow cards involving fouls on other players. But minutes earlier, he was seen on the television broadcast using a slur toward Johnson.
After the match, Gordon released a statement through the team, apologizing and saying the ``language'' he used ``does not reflect my feelings toward the gay and lesbian community.'' Gordon prefered to not comment on what Gordon said, adding that ``It's a very sensitive matter. I'd prefer the league go through with their protocol.''
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COLLEGE BASKETBALL:
A person familiar with the situation told the Associated Press that Eddie Jordan is nearing an agreement with Rutgers to replace Mike Rice as coach.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity because Jordan and Rutgers interim athletic director Carl Kirschner are meeting again Sunday to finalize the language in the contract before an announcement can be made. Jordan, an assistant coach with the Los Angeles Lakers, flew to New Jersey Saturday to begin the process. A deal could be in place by Monday, with a press conference later in the week.
Jordan, 58, who played for the Scarlet Knights from 1973-77, would take over a program mired in scandal after a video was released that showed Rice kicking and grabbing players while uttering anti-gay slurs at them in practice. Jordan has been a head coach in the NBA with Sacramento, Washington and Philadelphia, and helped lead Rutgers to the 1976 Final Four.
Rice was fired April 3, a day after the video aired on ESPN. Athletic director Tim Pernetti resigned April 5.
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AUTO RACING:
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) - A medical examiner says a man who died in the infield during a NASCAR race at Texas Motor Speedway shot himself in the head. The Tarrant County medical examiner's office on Sunday said the death of 42-year-old Kirk Franklin of Saginaw was a suicide.
Fort Worth police have said a man who was camping in the infield died of a ``self-inflicted injury'' after getting into an argument with other campers. The incident happened late in the Sprint Cup race. Police spokeswoman Cpl. Tracey Knight has said alcohol may have been a factor. Knight said several people witnessed the incident, but nobody was in danger.
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) - Kyle Busch took advantage of a late caution to regain the lead and held on for the final 16 laps after the last restart Saturday night to win the Sprint Cup race at Texas, completing a NASCAR weekend sweep.
Busch followed Martin Truex Jr. for about 50 laps before a yellow flag for debris with 21 laps left. Busch took the lead off pit road during the caution and charged forward with a strong restart in his Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota.
It was the second time this season, and a NASCAR-record seventh time in his career, that Busch won Cup and Nationwide races in the same weekend.
SHANGHAI (AP) - Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso won the Formula One Chinese Grand Prix on Sunday, claiming his and the team's first win since last year's race in Germany.
Alonso took the lead for good with 13 laps to go and won by 10 seconds from Lotus' Kimi Raikkonen, with pole sitter Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes finishing third, just two-tenths of a second ahead of Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel.
ROCKINGHAM, N.C. (AP) - Kyle Larson picked up his first NASCAR national series win by holding off Joey Logano on the final restart of the Truck Series race at Rockingham Speedway.
Logano was closing in on Larson when a collision between Timothy Peters and Ryan Sieg brought out the caution with two laps remaining. Logano was second after flying to the race from Saturday's night's fifth-place finish at Texas.
Brendan Gaughan was third and was followed by Johnny Sauter, and Chase Elliott.
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COLLEGE HOCKEY:
PITTSBURGH (AP) - Jeff Malcolm stopped 36 shots and Yale won its first NCAA hockey championship with a 4-0 victory over top-seeded Quinnipiac on Saturday night.
Clinton Bourbonais, Charles Orzetti, Andrew Miller and Jesse Root scored for the Bulldogs (22-12-3), who avenged three earlier losses to the Connecticut-rival Bobcats this season by stunning the nation's No. 1 team on the biggest stage of all.
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PRO FOOTBALL:
PITTSBURGH (AP) - Emmanuel Sanders is sticking with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The team announced Sunday it matched the $2.5 million offer the New England Patriots made to the restricted free agent wide receiver last week. Pittsburgh would have received a third-round pick from the Patriots if it let Sanders go to New England.
Instead Sanders will likely be second on the depth chart behind Antonio Brown when training camp opens in July. The 26-year-old Sanders caught 44 passes for 626 yards and a touchdown in 2012, and was the only wide receiver to appear in all 16 games for Pittsburgh in 2012.
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COLLEGE BASKETBALL:
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) - Trey Burke is leaving Michigan early for the NBA draft.
The Associated Press national player of the year announced his decision Sunday. The move comes as no surprise. Burke considered going pro a year ago but decided to come back for his sophomore season. He led Michigan to the NCAA title game, where the Wolverines lost to Louisville.
The 6-foot point guard averaged 18.6 points and 6.7 assists per game in 2012-13, He made perhaps the most memorable shot of the NCAA tournament, a long 3-pointer in the final seconds against Kansas that sent that regional semifinal to overtime.
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TENNIS:
MONACO (AP) - Sixteenth-seeded Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany and Alexandr Dolgopolov of Ukraine won in straight sets in the first round of the Monte Carlo Masters on Sunday.
Kohlschreiber broke Brazilian Thomaz Bellucci's serve five times in a 6-4, 6-2 win, while Dolgopolov saved all three break points he faced in a 6-2, 6-4 win against Bernard Tomic.
Top-ranked Novak Djokovic said he's unsure whether he'll play at the Monte Carlo Masters this week, even though he is optimistic his right ankle injury is healing. The Serb twisted his ankle on April 7 during the quarterfinal of the Davis Cup against the United States.
HOUSTON (AP) - John Isner of the United States beat Argentina's Nicolas Almagro 6-3, 7-5 in the final of the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championship.
Isner won his first tournament of the year and the sixth of his career. He had seven aces in the match, giving him a record 64 for the tournament. He broke the record of 60 set by Pete Sampras in 2002. Almagro leads the ATP Tour with 266 aces. He had five against Isner.
CASABLANCA, Morocco (AP) - Tommy Robredo won the Grand Prix Hassan II by beating Kevin Anderson of South Africa 7-6 (6), 4-6, 6-3 in the final Sunday for his 11th career title.
In their first meeting, the Spaniard saved four break points in the third set and broke Anderson for the second time in the match to clinch his first title since winning on outdoor clay in February 2011. Ten of his titles and 15 of his 18 career finals have been on the surface.